I don't care anymore...

November 11, 2030. Saturday

It's been 1 month since my humiliating loss. Despite that, my classmates still talked behind my back. No, it wasn't just them, the whole school was talking about me, saying that I was a big talker, arrogant, and I deserved to lose. As the school bell rang, my classmates got up and grabbed their backpacks, getting ready to leave. Some were talking with their friends. Some were going out with their mates. I even heard a group of my classmates going to karaoke. Saturday class, which happened once a month, was only a half day.

Me? Of course, I'm alone, in the corner of the classroom, quietly sitting. Then, I decided to get up. All of a sudden, my classmates suddenly turned their heads in my direction. Their faces were filled with disgust. Some even clicked their tongues. Not one of them felt bad for me, the smug boy who lost to a noble young man. As I made my way towards the front of the room, I can hear their whispers about me.

"Look who it is. Mr. Smug." A girl with long black hair whispered to her friend.

"How dare he mock us." A boy with brown hair said to his group of friends.

"Heh. Screw him" A girl who looked like a gyaru, tied blonde hair, cackled while mocking me.

I didn't care about their comments, nor did I look at them. I just pointed my head down. while making my way out. When I reached my way to the front of the class, A girl with white hair blocked my way. It was Junichiro Shiro. She was the class president, and her father was the president of a huge marketing company. She had everything everyone wanted. I had no idea what she wanted with me. Well, I did have one thought, she wants to poke fun at me.

"Where do you think you're going?" She said while grossly looking at me.

I remained quiet, hoping she would stop. But she kept going.

"Are you deaf? Or do you wanna be beaten again?" She stated, knowing that I was still traumatized by that.

I again didn't say a word. I wanted to get out of there. It was torture, for someone like me. I decided to run for the door, but Shiro tripped my leg and I fell to the ground with my bag. As I looked up at her, her eyes were filled with pleasure, like a sadist eyeing someone in pain. The whole class laughed loudly. While they were humiliating me, Shiro uttered.

"How does it feel to be looked down upon, huh?!!"

The whole room was filled with even more laughter. Someone said,

"HAHAHA. Good one, Shiro!!"

A group of people walked up to her and exclaimed,

"Hey, lemme know what it feels like!" They said, wanting to look down on me.

As they looked down at my terrified eyes and shaking body, I was petrified by their sadistic eyes while they were chuckling. None of them felt bad for me. I quickly got up and grabbed my bag. I dashed out of the room and into the hallway while looking down. I didn't care who was in front of me. If I bump someone, so be it. I quickly got down the stairs, making my way to the exit. People were looking at me. I ignored their stares and charged through the front door. I continued running, neglecting anyone gazing at me.

----

I was now in the middle of town. I momentarily stopped to catch my breath. When I caught it, I looked up and saw that I reached a familiar café. I immediately got inside.

The place was packed but there were still a few spots free. I didn't order anything, I just quickly went to the farthest seat and sat down No one paid attention to me, which was good. I looked down at the table, contemplating the events that happened today. I slumped down and used my arms to cover my head like I'm sleeping but still awake.

----

Moments later, it was now dusk. When I rose my head, I saw that the cafe was empty. No customers, no finished plates, just conditioned air. When I was still playing chess, I always stopped by this place to take a break. At that time, I was still prideful but never bad-mouthed their dishes and drinks. I was honest when I told them it tastes good. It was the only place where I can be myself. I felt like I have a real family. But now that I lost, they probably won't care about me anymore. The game was broadcast live in the whole of Japan, so I'm sure they watched my arrogant self and eventual loss. Since then I hadn't come to this place

A mature woman dressed in a worker's uniform spotted me at the farthest table and exhaled. She seemed to have waited for me to wake up to ask me to leave, at least that's what I thought. As she walked toward my table, I quickly stood up, grabbed my bag, and got ready to leave. I didn't want to communicate with her. I thought that I was gonna be mocked again. I tried to quickly escape but she stopped me.

"Hey." Her voice sounded also mature. I didn't respond. I again tried to run away but she grabbed my coat, preventing me from leaving.

"Not even gonna order something before you leave?" She asked. I didn't have the energy to do so. I was still thinking about what happened earlier in class.

"Please let go of my coat. I need to leave quickly..." I finally spoke, although in a low volume, still audible.

"You're...Shinji, right?" She asked. I didn't quickly respond and stayed quiet. She asked again.

"Do you remember me?" She asked. I knew her, but again, I didn't answer.

"Come with me." She sighed and pulled me to the front of the café. I couldn't say anything. I was dumbfounded. When we reached the front of the café and the cashier area, she spoke.

"Wait right here, got it?" She said before going to the kitchen. Her tone of voice was like that of a mother's, lecturing his son. I was in no way related to her. I thought, "What is she doing?" But I just stood there, waiting for her. I thought. "Whatever it is, It can't get worse than what happened today." I didn't care what she was going to do to me. Humiliate me, mock me, or injure me, I don't care anymore.

"Sorry for the wait!" She exclaimed while walking toward me. I looked at her, not caring about anything. When she finally reached me, she quickly panted. It seems she was in a hurry doing whatever she was doing in the kitchen. As she did so, I saw a plastic bag with what seemed to be two slices of cake and a large cup of coffee. I thought that she was gonna use this to ridicule me. But when she finally caught her breath, she handed the bag to me.

"Here. Take this."

To be continued...