ACT II - The Second Reveal I

Laughter shared, numbers exchanged and bonds deepened—there was no surprise that my weekend had given me a huge boost in morale. Things were finally starting to look up for me! However, this was just the beginning.

Now that I was back at school, it was time to follow my initial plan about confirming things with Reo. One thing though, he was absent! Occasionally, he was late to classes so I hoped it was just that, but as periods passed and passed, there was no handsome, pink-haired guy coming inside from the class' door. Even Michiru had made a surprise visit during the meal break!

With the last period's chime, I layed down on my desk, bummed out from not being able to see Reo. What even was up with him? I didn't recall him being fully absent before. Did something happen to him, or was he—

"He's just sick, y'know."

The voice who had interrupted my worrywart-tendency infused thoughts was none other than my desk neighbor, Rena. She coolly took out her Math notebook in front of her, ready for the last class.

I scratched my neck, getting embarrassed about being caught.

"Haha, I'm just bummed about Math being the last lesson of Mondays… I mean, who does that, right? Cruel decision by the teachers…!"

She stared directly at my eyes, her cold blue eyes sending a shiver down my spine—which was actually quite appreciated, as the weather was really hot that day. Her voice wasn't any less chilling.

"Don’t lie to me. I think I know you well enough at this point. I can read you like a book."

The fact that she was always closely observing me made my heart skip a beat. While it was true that she was always judging me and making rude remarks… I couldn't help and feel flattered to receive the attention of such a girl, well, positive or not.

I buried my face in my arms, lying down further on the desk. I didn't want her to see my blushing face…! Something about her always made me act weird.

I heard her sigh, and then a cool wind coming my way. A quick glance revealed that she was fanning me—with her special fan, nonetheless!

I rose up in panic, making Rena scowl at me.

"What? Did you think you were hiding that red face and sweat dripping on your forehead from me as well? Today is hot, let me just cool you off a bit. I'm not as heartless as you might think. Lie back down."

Woah—now this was unexpected! But I knew better than to refuse Rena Kogarashi's orders, so I lied back down; blush deepening further because our classmates were looking at us and whispering to each other…!

"T-to think you know that Reo-kun is sick… You always know what's going on in our class. It's just something light, yeah? His sickness, I mean."

"Well, yeah. I always have all the info about all the gossip and news regarding our class. Stop being so worried over a simple cold. He'll be back tomorrow or at worst, the next day."

The heavenly wind caused by the beautiful hand fan came to an end with our Math teacher entering the class. I almost wanted to curse under my breath! I didn't know if I could ever get to enjoy such a caring act from Rena once again…

She leaned towards me to quickly whisper into my ear, "Speaking of, someone needs to water those plants so can you handle them after class? I gotta rush after class because I have part time work."

It felt thrilling to hear her voice in a whisper and her face so close to mine, but unexpectedly it didn't get me any flustered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—as if we were close friends already. Well, this wasn't the time to get unrelated ideas, so I raised my hand to give her a quick thumbs up.

While it was true that I wouldn't get to ask Reo about his bracelets, this gave me the perfect chance to (maybe) catch a glimpse of his past. I focused my entire heart and mind on this, hoping it raised my chances on the Reveal. That being said, throughout the class my focus was divided between many topics: Reo and Reveal-related thoughts, trying to understand the math equations on the board, attempting to remember if Rena ever told me about her part time job, reminiscing about the fun time I had with Ria and Michiru, the group chat messages from my Canadian friends…

My life had been so busy lately, there was so much to ponder about! I wouldn't change this tired, yet sweet feeling for anything in the world, though…

My eyes glued to the clock, my heartbeat got quicker with each passing minute. I had already made my plan: I needed the classroom to be empty so I could try my shot at getting a glimpse. I was going to go to my club, buying some time while changing into my training clothes. I'd quickly inform our captain that I needed to water the plants. The Reveal seemed to stop the time in the outside world, so if I managed to get it, there'd be no issues with my club activities. And if it didn't happen? I'd just water the plants and go back to my club, without losing too much time.

A perfect plan. With the bell finally ringing, it was time for action!

—

With slow, quiet steps, I approached the classroom. I gently grabbed the sides of the door and with a peek inside—

Yesss, Empty Classroom: confirmed!

I stepped inside, closing the door so no innocent bystander would have to witness me doing weird movements in front of objects, trying to get a response from them. I adjusted my spectacles resting on my face, telling them "I'll be in your care. Now then, where do we begin?"

Since I had the information of him drawing on the board after school, I decided to go for it first. I got my entire concentration mode on, and started running my hand all over the chalkboard. It felt super awkward caressing the board which all of our lessons were held on daily, but hey, I was a man on a mission right now!

It didn't seem to work. Maybe it was because he wasn't in direct contact with the board…? I tried holding the chalk pieces, but it was no use. It did, however, give me a faint tingling sensation. It made me feel as if I knew every single teacher who had used these chalk pieces; the board eraser also made me have a similar experience, this time a bit more intense than before.

It's not like I was getting actual visions, though. It was more in the lines of 'this student used it to erase the English examples on previous Thursday', it was as if I simply knew every single usage. Reo, and even me, included. All the times we had been called by the teacher to solve a problem or help with the erasing, it was all recorded inside this board eraser.

Fascinating, I muttered. But it wasn't what I had been looking for.

I finally walked towards the class plants. They were growing so beautifully, all their different shades of green sparkling under the evening sun. It was all thanks to Reo.

I had the watering can filled with water on my way to class (which had also not given me the Reo Reveal I hoped for…). I felt like apologizing to the plants, for some reason.

"Poor guys, it must have felt awful being dehydrated all through the weekend and today, too. Fear not! Reo Kajimaru's friend is here to save you all!"

I reluctantly touched one of the plants, hoping it would give me what I wanted: it was a futile attempt. Well, it was expected as there was no direct contact between him and the plants, the water rained down on them from the watering can.

I guess it was time to give up for now. I carefully watered the plants, all the while wishing for Reo's good health. If not for him, these plants wouldn't be taken care of at all. Our classmates were always focusing on other things. I suspected most of them didn't even take notice of our classmate's absence.

Yeah, teenagers were self-centered like that.

I sat down on Reo's desk, and took one of the plants inside my hand to examine it. It was a beautiful succulent, it didn't require as much watering as the other fellas.

I felt a zap take all over my body, and suddenly I was in Reo's hands, looking into his gentle and droopy green eyes.

I've made it—the Reveal was taking place!