Getting to Know Each Other

And there she was, rushing because she was late and apologizing to the teacher, even though the class hadn't actually started yet. She hurried to her desk, barely noticing Ren, and grabbed her school supplies. The boy's plans went down the drain; there would be no chance for a decent conversation while the teacher was speaking, and he needed to apologize for his embarrassing behavior from the day before.

Once again, he went through the class without paying attention. This time not because he was drawing, but because he needed all his strength to prepare himself to talk to Aria.

"After the break, we will have talk about your future jobs. Most of you already know what you want to do, but it's important to discuss your futures," the teacher said when the class was almost over, but Ren didn't listen. He looked at the clock attentively, aware of the window of time he would have to talk to the girl. When the time was up, Ren tried to be quick. He knew it would be difficult, so he needed to push himself to start, as he wouldn't be able to give up later.

He nudged Aria's shoulder, feeling the redness on his face from nervousness. She turned, almost startled, and looked at the boy.

For a moment, all the words escaped Ren. Seeing his classmate's face made him feel like the whole world stopped, as if nothing else mattered.

"Hi...?" Aria asked while Ren remained silent.

The shock was enough to awaken the boy, who had already given Aria enough reasons to find him strange.

"Hi! Sorry about yesterday! My name is Ren, and I had to leave in a hurry. I should have been more welcoming to you, I'm sorry."

Ren's words elicited a little laugh from Aria, and seeing her smile made his heart melt.

"No problem! Nice to meet you, Ren. I'm Aria, but I guess you already knew that."

Ren celebrated that he had made it this far, but desperation took over again. He had only planned the beginning of the conversation and didn't know how to proceed.

"Well, you know... I wasn't born here, but I moved here when I was very young, so if you need a guide, you can count on me, hahaha."

He couldn't control the pace of the conversation anymore; he was taking one step at a time and regretting every word afterwards.

Aria, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind. She smiled during the conversation, but there seemed to be something wrong. Ren couldn't tell what it was, but it was as if the girl was expecting something special.

"Deal, Ren. I've spent my whole life in another city too, I just moved here, so I'd love a tour guide."

Ren froze; he couldn't believe it, but he felt like he was almost setting up a date with Aria. And not only that – she seemed to be accepting.

"By the way, I saw you drawing yesterday. Could I take a look? I really like art," she said before Ren could respond about showing her around the city.

"Of course!" Ren immediately replied, excited to share his art, until he remembered that on every page, there was a version of Aria. "Actually... this is just a rough draft; tomorrow, I can bring some better stuff. But I usually draw manga; I'm not sure if that's what you like."

"I love all kinds of visual arts; I'm amazed by people's creativity. I don't have the slightest talent for drawing."

If he had any doubts before, now he was sure. Aria seemed perfect. She was a great human being, kind and caring, and just from this short conversation, Ren knew he could count on her for anything he needed.

Getting shy and not knowing how to continue, Ren tried to bring the conversation to an end.

"We should go grab something to eat! We have to make the most of this time before more boring classes."

"Well, we have the vocational talk afterwards, right?"

He wouldn't be able to answer that since he hadn't paid attention in class, but he didn't like the news. He might not enjoy the classes, but he preferred them much more than talking about his future. First, because everyone seemed to know what they wanted to do in life, and second, because he didn't like to be reminded that adulthood was the end of magic.

"So, see you at this talk, Aria. We'll talk later," Ren concluded, ready to escape the conversation. He loved talking to her; he just didn't know how long he could maintain the dialogue without making a fool of himself again, and he left the classroom.

It didn't take long for Leo to capture him, rubbing his fist on Ren's head, messing up his hair.

"That's my boy! You managed to talk to her!"

"Yeah, yeah. She's amazing."

"So, do you admit you're in love?" Leo asked with his mischievous smile.

Ren wouldn't admit that, at least not now and not to Leo.

"I'm hungry, let's go!"

The two of them ate together, but Ren needed to get his ideas out, something that Leo didn't mind. He loved watching his best friend work; it felt like witnessing magic happening.

Ren, on the other hand, didn't mind being observed while he worked. Drawing was his place of peace, where he disconnected from the rest of the world, and all that mattered was art.

And there they were, the order of knights, all powerful and armed with special weapons and secret techniques, except for the Small Shining knight.

He walked at the back of the group, letting his bigger and stronger companions deal with the problems while he simply fulfilled his duties as a knight.

Until the mage leading the expedition approached him, and they had their first conversation. Why was she talking to him? It didn't make sense; he had nothing to contribute, and she seemed to be the key to everything.

Still, they talked about trivial things, nothing about saving the world or epic battles, just a friendly conversation.

He was making good progress in developing his story when Leo pointed his finger in the middle of the page.

"Is this me?"

He was pointing to the biggest and strongest of the knights. Ren hadn't even realized it while he was drawing, but it was indeed a medieval version of Leo.

"That's Lionheart, the strongest of the knights," Ren replied.

"Even the name is a reference! What an honor, but we have to go, shorty."

Once again, Ren was so absorbed in his universe that he didn't hear the school bell.

"Great... time for the vocational whatever..." he said sarcastically, more interested in how his story would continue.