'Serpentine'

a hydrangea hairpin, and a loose strand, carefully combed into place as if in preparation.

“you know about them, don’t you?”

her eyes. a deep brown gaze flowing from one of mine to the other. back, and forth, unwavering.

“...Rivers?”

i echoed the sound her voice had made.

a word i hadn’t heard before, or yet.

even so i recognised it. perhaps it was for the lights that coursed just beneath the surface of the look ms. murasaki gave.

at last. a part of me thought. there had been so little those eyes let on, so little they said, as if leading me into a still room away from the world. a place where i was unsure what to reply.

finally, something i could work with had been given to me.

but...

rather than answer right away, something in me had to make sure.

i peered around the room. though a few other faces had turned our way, it wasn’t in a manner that didn’t soon smile as my glance met with theirs.

atsushi. megu. kasumi, of course, fubuki. andou.
only mitsuru seemed to raise an eyebrow, though following it was a playful glimpse of a grin, between the girl opposite me, and—

“Mitsu, can you pass me the, uh...?”

“—Oh! Sure!”

and they were back in it, the smells of kitchen chemistry beginning to near their peak.

murasaki’s voice felt quiet to me, but. she intoned her words clearly, without the reservation that i couldn’t help feeling as i watched the lights swim underneath her large, occasionally-blinking gaze. it wasn’t a wonder that the others nearby could overhear us.

i cleared my throat, under false pretenses.

“i saw a River.” i murmured. “but...”

“when?” ms. murasaki followed up.

as if she knew not to pressure the conversation, she restrained the hands that were restlessly creeping forward across the table.

nevertheless, she leaned in.

“where?”

those, albeit hesitantly, i could at least answer.

“this morning. the first block down the hill.” i frowned, trying to fill the gaps, the haze that gathered around me when i tried to recall.
“it was coming from... further in, somewhere past the hills.”

murasaki seemed to consider this quietly.

what feeling crossed her face, i wish i could tell. was it excitement?

“you got lucky.” the girl said quietly. “apparently more than a block away behind the buildings, you couldn’t even see it coming.”

“apparently.” i blinked, repeating the word, selecting it out as an askance that almost wasn’t necessary.
whatever it was that made her lips purse, her eyelids crease gently, she was immersed in it. and, somehow, willing to share.

“it went over my school.”

“Whatcha guys talkin’ about?”

new to the arrangement of the table was a face, as fubuki leant her chin on the smooth edge that faced the room. she smiled, equal parts a welcome and a self-invitation, as the rest of her body already slid towards a chair beside ms. murasaki.

the girl turned, with the kind of half-bow that was meant to lead into a full introduction.

“i was just asking aki about dating.”

‘wha—?’

by reflex, the half-word was on the tip of my tongue. but as fubuki’s jaw fell open, and she glanced at me, back to ms. murasaki, and then at an incoming mitsuru, and back to me, i felt a small sigh of deference sound at the back of my mind.

a class-act magician, like all high-school girls were.

“Aki— i mean, kotowa?? Kotowa, dating?”

fubuki fell for it, smoke, mirror and sinker.

i smiled, bringing my defenses up to her level. “yeah. ms. murasaki’s been having boyfriend troubles.”

“Girl,” fubuki gasped. “Tell me about it! –andou, come here, we’re having love talk!”

“Not... quite what I was expecting.” andou admitted, carrying a bowl on top of a thin stack of plates. “Uh, pudding cheesecake, anyone?”

“Mmmm.” suddenly, it became apparent mitsuru had ridden in on his shoulder, clinging sleepily to the baseball captain. “I think i’d rather have some of sensei’s bento.”

“Oh?” adjusted a pair of glasses that weren’t actually on her face. “I didn’t know the two of you were an item.”

“Noo,” mitsuru beamed. “Andou’s just tall enough so i can catch a ride... unless?”

he shifted around with a chuckle, in the perfect masculine combo of jest, false bravado, confusion.
“I... haven’t heard any rumours. have you?” he managed.

“—Keh. you’re the baseball captain, you do realise? you could really stand to be less lame!” fubuki despaired.

“What are you talking about?” mitsu giggled. “He’s a big, strong man. he’s mr. right.”

“Ladies, please.” while andou re-centered himself, let himself play up more on the part of the bravado, i looked for what ms. murasaki was thinking in the midst of all this.

her eyes swam. she passed from one subject to another, as if intentionally not to stare, but her gaze, her focus remained unchanging.

it passed to me. until fubuki swung around.

“So. i’m fubuki kannagi, and it is a pleasure, but i couldn’t help noticing that you’re an unfamiliar face. what’s your name?”

“ah.” the girl stood, completing the arc of her previous bow. “please, call me haru. i’m... transferring, for lack of a better term.”

she parted with her own words with a troubled look, but as the two of them made way for andou to set the table with pudding plates, fubuki leant in.

“Oho?” perhaps it was the impetus of the class rep to know, as she kept pushing. “Well, i’d love to welcome you. i couldn’t help but notice your uniform - it’s from kitagawa academy, isn’t it?”

“that’s right.” murasaki nodded, still up from her seat. “it’s impressive you recognised it.”

“Really? that’s amazing. what made you decide to step down from one of the top prefectural schools?”

fubuki, it seemed, was no pushover when it came to magic tricks.
i couldn’t quite tell what the aim of this one was. i couldn’t help but feel like ms. murasaki was being slowly urged onto her back foot.

even less clear, even more without explanation, was the urge i felt to interrupt.

i smiled. perhaps i’d been caught up in everyone else’s pace, feeling a need to join in on the boundary-setting, the hierarchy-defining, the position-establishing.
were those really necessary parts of the friendships. the camaraderie, the warmth i’d so often been tempted to come back to, here?

“Aki...”

i looked out the window, as canopies of red pine burst up from the park grounds and broke away, leaving a dance performance of green that sent the view diving into cherries, dahlias, acer maple, and stretches of paths that wound, rather like streams, through the grassy grounds.

“You’re ahead of the rest of them, Aki. You always have been. You’ve always understood...”

i used the view to wait out another unpleasant recollection.

“i suppose... it was the scenery.” came ms. murasaki’s reply.
“and the fact that, well...”

something in her voice sparked it in me to look over, only to find that she was making no motions whatsoever to hide her gaze.

“Hmm... difficult to explain, isn’t it?” mitsuru glanced between murasaki and me. “Still, i’m jealous. i’m not brave enough to confess to Kotowa just yet.”

“C-confess?” suddenly, fubuki had been recruited into the operation. “To Kotowa?”

“She called him ‘aki’, too.” mitsuru aimed a teasing smile at her friend, although just as much one at me.

i supposed it was my turn.

“well, i’m thankful, in that case. if a girl as cute as either one of you called me by my first name, much less confessed, i’d just turn into a flustered mess.”

“Oh...” mitsuru pouted. “I don’t believe you. murasaki said it herself, and she’s plenty cute. don’t you think, Kotowa?”

that moment, murasaki’s eyes darted away. she proved that the interest in the scenery outside the window she’d just expressed had been more than just flowery waxing.

“oh, yes.” i managed. “she’s up in there in joint first, along with the rest of you.”

i wondered if i saw her eyes roll, just then.

“—Booooo!”
mitsuru’s response was much more up-front.

at last, andou made a move. i watched him, smiling widely and wryly, as he put his hands together.

“Now that everyone’s extremely buttered up, let’s eat.”

to that, fubuki and mitsuru nodded enthusiastically.

“You’re so right!”

“—I’ve been looking forward to this all morning.”

fubuki glanced around. “Have some too, Kotowa, murasaki!”

“thank you.” the girl smiled, although she seemed hesitant to break contact with the window beside her.

i nodded as well.

i couldn’t imagine a mind that would think to put these two desserts together other than ms. teto’s, but it seemed she had many more ideas in store. each group across the home-ec facility gathered around a different variety of experiment, ranging from cream-based fruitcakes in flute glasses, to tartes, to successful versions of the caramel soufflé that had been part of the cause of such consternation at the time of my arrival.

even now she was journeying around the tables like the hostess of an event, checking in, admiring her handiwork done by the hands of the students.

“I’m so relieved...” she arrived at the table who’d prepared the soufflé, if gazing a little longingly.

“Have some, sensei!” i heard them laugh.

“—Good luck at your comeback, miss!”

“—I almost forgot.” fubuki blinked, as she took a tentative serving of the jiggling dish between us. i noticed that murasaki had taken to a helping of rice and grilled fish from the lunchbox between her and i, rather than opting for the pudding cheesecake. part of me was inclined to follow suit.
“Miss teto’s going on another show tonight, isn’t she?”

“I heard they offered it to her like a few days ago, and she just decided on the spot." mitsuru chuckled. “I’m glad she’s taking the plunge, though. she deserves the recognition.”

“Mmmm, really!” andou’s eyes were alight like the sparkling, quivering piece of jelly on the end of his spoon, as he finished his first mouthful. “She needs to start a restaurant, i’d help out there part time!”

“—Oh my, she’s totally swayed the captain out of his career.” fubuki giggled.

there was something fixating about the way ms. murasaki continued to stare out the window. i wondered why.

slowly, though, i began to catch sight of an answer.

“What’s... that?”

voices could carry a temperature. i could feel a chill on my back, as i heard a gasp from one of my classmates.

i didn’t know who. but soon it became indistinct, as the atmosphere of comfortable chatter cooled to a quiet... shock.

only more gasps broke it, before they too dove into the silence.

i looked out the window.

i couldn’t think of a word for it other than... disaster.

far away as we were in a classroom overlooking the city, seemingly protected from noise and interruptions by thick, scenic foliage, you could still hear traffic, or thunder. we wouldn’t have been naive to the earth shaking, or the flash of detonating bombs in a place that was mere kilometres our neighbour.

it was only a short bike ride away, in fact.

but the lights streaming over the city like a divine river were utterly... silent.

yet, what was most shocking to me was the sound of it shattering.

a chair scraped. a pair of delicate shoes stomped the hard floor of the home-ec room.

the rustle of collars and hair and breath, of my classmates turning to watch ms. murasaki leap up, having revealed the ferocity and beauty of an uncoiled snake as she sprinted for the door.

louder gasps followed in her wake. murmurs, cries of askance, all of it falling behind.

her glance lingering for a time too short to be a moment, linking with mine.

don’t you go.

the thought i had, one that i could feel myself trying to see in her eyes, having seen it in mine.

and then, ms. murasaki turned the corner, and became quickly fading footsteps down the hall.

“Who just—? what’s happening?!"

“—Kotowa!!”

i heard my name being called. by who, i don’t know.

i had already vanished around the door.