Change Is Inevitable

It had been a few days since they last visited her house. Ayane would still talk to them out of common courtesy, but it was evident enough even to a stranger, that things were not the same. In the evenings after school, only Natsume would hang out with Akihiro.

The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground as they were walking down the path leading home. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky making the evening look beautiful.

“Natsume, have you ever felt something weird inside your chest?” Akihiro asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I feel like there’s something in my heart. It’s like I’m physically aware that there is something but I can’t figure out what it is. I can feel it from the inside.”

“Yea I know what you are talking about. I’ve felt it too….back in middle school,” Natsume said and then looked at Akihiro. “Honestly speaking, Aki kun, you’ve been weird recently. You’ve become slightly more talkative and active. What happened?”

“I don’t know either,” Akihiro said as his head hurt again and he placed his palm on his head.

“After all, you are a teenager. Change is inevitable and we must accept it.”

“My face muscles work against my will. My body feels weird. These sensations are something I have never felt. Something is wrong but I can’t figure out what.”

“It’s not weird. It’s not wrong. It’s just new. It’s different. Though I never expected you to change like this, you and I have no other choice than to accept it.” Natsume said as he put his hand across Akihiro’s shoulders.

“Does the body have a mind of its own? Can it disobey what I say? Can my mind wonder why my body is acting like that?”, asked Akihiro.

“Yes, it can. Just because it’s your own body, doesn’t mean you’d understand it instantly. Most people don’t understand it either. I don’t know if I like this side of you yet, but you seem a little more human than before.”, Natsume said as he left his hands off him and continued walking with his hands in his pocket.

“Do you miss the time when Ayane used to come with us?” Akihiro asked.

“No, not at all. Honestly, I wish I missed her if that makes sense. I wish I could feel such intense emotions. I wish I could miss her. Alas... I think I just don’t care.”

“Ohh…”

“The only time I did feel something so intensely was probably in middle school. I didn’t realize it then, I kept telling myself that I was rational and everything was justified. Now looking back, it’s obvious that my emotions took control.” Natsume said.

“Emotions…” Akihiro muttered to himself.

“Do you miss Ayane?”, Natsume asked.

“No, I can live without her too.”

Natsume looked at Akihiro from the corner of his eye. Akihiro was still lost in his thoughts. His eyes, which used to be indifferent to all and completely unbothered, were now filled with an energy that looked totally out of place, yet somehow perfectly natural. Natsume knew that Akihiro was prone to change, but he never expected it to turn out like this. The old Akihiro would have never brought up Ayane in the conversation.

“People change, things change, feelings change, everything changes. Everything in this world is prone to changes. After all, there is nothing permanent except change, and you have no other choice but to accept it and move forward or else you will be left alone, rotting in the past.”

“Yea I know.” Akihiro said.

“Haha don’t worry, if she leaves you, her mother is always there.” Natsume joked as they walked down the path.

----

The next day as usual Natsume was sitting and talking to Akihiro. Ayane was talking to Mizouchi and laughing in the other corner, while Rumi was with her friends. Word had gotten out that Rumi Sato and Shinoda Watanabe were dating. They were now the most popular couple in school and the topic of discussion amongst most groups.

Meanwhile, Ayane continued to distance herself from Akihiro and Natsume. Since Natsume sat at the last bench, next to the window, he could clearly see everything happening in the class. He could not only see everything happening around, but it was also easy for him to peek out through the window and contemplate various other topics without getting caught, thus making the seat perfect for him when the class got boring.

On most days it was the latter, but on special days like this one, it was the former. Natsume was like a lonely observer, keeping a record of everything without being involved.

Natsume was silently observing Ayane’s odd behaviour in class.

“Increased blood flow increases the efficiency of the body. That is the principle of yoga.” The teacher said as he tapped his chalk on the board. “That is why when you meditate or when you exercise, your productivity increases. A person, who meditates and does yoga every day, would tend to be smarter than his peers.”

Natsume was too focused on Ayane to be able to hear the teacher anymore. She was flipping through her book which was scribbled on every page. The pages were in a horrendous condition.

After flipping through all the pages, she closed the book and kept it under her desk, as she tried to focus in class.

But it was futile because her mind was distracted, and that was evident by her disturbed shifting gaze and slightly worried expression that weighed down on her face.

Everyone fakes smiles for different reasons and not many can differentiate between a real and a fake one, yet Natsume was instantly able to tell that she had been bothered by something. After all, He had always been a very observant kid.

“Natsume! Answer this question. Why does our breathing and heart rate increase after exercise?”, the teacher asked.

Natsume stood up, “Since our body uses a lot more energy during exercise, it requires much more energy to keep up. That demand is supplied by faster breathing to increase the oxygen influx and higher heart rate to increase the speed of transport of oxygen to the body cells.”

“Clap for him everyone.” the teacher said and the whole class clapped. “There are majorly 2 types of students- stupid ones who don’t listen in class and smart ones who don’t listen in class. Natsume, I didn’t teach that part yet. I know you weren’t listening to the class. Get out now!”, the teacher shouted.

Natsume was befuddled by this sudden turn of events. “But sir I kn-“
“OUT!”

Natsume walked out of the class, still in shock, wondering how he was caught. The teacher continued teaching the class, without Natsume.

----

“Oh my, I didn’t expect that question to be a trap! Damn! I’ve been underestimating these teachers too much.” Natsume whined as he grabbed his stuff from the locker room along with Akihiro after school ended. “Oh is that Ayane?”

He pointed to the girl standing next to the storage room. She was placing the cleaning equipment back inside.

She then walked out of the room and began to lock it. Something was odd. From afar, it was hard to make out, but it seemed like she was crying. Rumi and her friends walked up to the storage room and began talking to Ayane.

It was pretty evident that they weren’t consoling her. Ayane clenched her fist but continued to ignore them. Once she finished locking the door, she immediately ran away, towards the main school building.

Ayane was running to the classroom to grab her school bag. Natsume and Akihiro were standing in the hallway that led to the classroom. She stopped at a distance in front of them. Natsume waved at her but she chose to ignore them and ran past them.

“If you need help, ask for it!” Natsume shouted. She paid no heed to his offer and continued to run towards the classroom, faster than ever.

‘Tsk, what a stubborn girl...At least Yui used to rely on Ryuga.’

----

“Aki-kun, come with me.”, Natsume ordered as he dragged Akihiro to the classroom. Mizouchi was solving some math problems.

“Oi, Mizouchi-kun!”, Natsume shouted.

Mizouchi didn’t seem to hear anything. He continued to scribble math equations in his book.

“Oi! Mizouchi-kun! Can you hear me??”, Natsume shouted again, but Mizouchi was too engrossed in his own world of maths problems.

“Tch, nerd.”, Natsume walked closer to Mizouchi and whispered in his ear. “Oh look, Ayane’s dress fell off!”

“WHAT! WHERE? HOW?”, Mizouchi stood up and looked around. “...what?”

Natsume began laughing. “Yep, men will always be men.”

Mizouchi had realised what was going on. His cheeks turned red as he furiously sat down and flipped the pages of his math notebook.

“Okay okay sorry! You weren’t listening to me so I had to do that...pfft-”, Natsume started laughing again.

“What do you want?”

“Oh yea, Mizouchi-kun...wanna come over to my place tonight?”

Mizouchi ignored him and continued scribbling in his math notebook.

“Please do accept my gravest apology, your highness! Listen, I was thinking we all can go on a trip somewhere this weekend. So we’ll meet at my house and plan for the weekend trip.”

“Mhmm...”, Mizouchi mumbled as he continued solving maths problems.

“So you coming?”

“I’ll see…”

“Ayane would be coming though.”

“HUH?... Why…. why would that matter?”, Mizouchi jumped. The red on his cheeks became even more prominent.

“Oya oya, blushing are we?”, Natsume poked fun at him.

“N-no...F-fine! I’ll come with you. Now let me study in peace.”, Mizouchi said as he pushed them away and continued to solve his math problems.

His pen started shaking and fell on the floor.

“Oya, are you that embarrassed?”

“Go away!”, Mizouchi said as he grabbed his maths book and ran out of the class.

Natsume sat on Mizouchi’s seat and watched him run out of the class.

‘What a cute boy…’

“Natsume, why do you want to go on a trip this weekend?”, Akihiro asked.

He let out a big sigh as he looked out of the window. His hand supported his face, and the cold breeze which blew from the window, lifted the hair that was drooping over his forehead.

“Redemption probably....”