A Cold Thursday

Shiori’s mother glared down her nose at Yuta, her overprotective nature giving rise to spite.

“Mom, all he did was teach me science!”

“Is that true?” She narrowed her eyes.

Yuta nodded. “The only other thing that happened was she ate the sushi my parents prepared for her.”

Her mother’s stature softened. “Oh, your parents made her something to eat! That’s nice. You must have very wonderful parents.”

Shiori breathed out in relief as if a bomb had been defused at the last second.

“I do. Your daughter is very lucky to have a parent that cares so much about her.”

“You flatter me. Now that Shiori is home safe and sound, I think it’s time for you to leave.” Her tone hardened toward the end of her sentence.

“Yes ma’am,” Yuta turned and quickly left the property. As he headed home, he overheard Shiori complaining to her mother about her behavior.

…

Lockers slammed around Yuta. He had just put his street shoes in his locker when Hitomura leaned against the locker next to him. He sneezed. “Good morning.”

“Yuta… do you have a cold?”

“I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“If you insist. Have you checked Shiori’s locker yet?”

“Not yet. I was about to.”

A troubled look appeared on Hitomura’s face. “Shiori hasn’t arrived yet, has she?”

“I don’t know what time she gets here. We’ll find out when we open her locker.” He closed his locker and found Shiori’s locker on the next set of lockers over. After putting the combination in, the lock came off.

“You remember her combination perfectly?” Hitomura’s mouth gaped in awe of Yuta’s talent.

“I don’t easily forget things,” under his breath, he added, “anymore, at least.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He pulled the locker open, revealing Shiori’s school shoes. “Looks like she’s not here yet.”

Slipped inside on the shoes was another note. Yuta grabbed it and handed it to Hitomura, closing the locker afterward and placing the lock back in position.

Hitomura ripped the note and pocketed the shreds. “It’s a good thing we arrive before Ozaki does.”

“Yeah.” Yuta slung his bag over his shoulder and sneezed again. He proceeded deeper into the school. Hitomura followed close behind, talking about how he stayed up all night playing a new dating sim that came out the previous day.

Someone barreled into Yuta from the side, nearly knocking him off his feet. The impact caused him to gasp. He looked over and saw Kotori hugging him tightly, smiling widely with closed eyes.

“We can spend more time together, Yuta! Just like we used to!” Her cheek was buried in Yuta’s shoulder.

Hitomura half-froze in another one of his dramatic poses, head tilted back with a finger pushing his glasses to his face. “Yuta, who is this little sister type attached to you?”

A few students in the hall that beheld the scene whispered among themselves.

Yuta sighed and pushed Kotori off of him. “This is my cousin, Kotori. She’s a first-year student who just transferred here.”

Kotori dropped to her knees with her hands on the floor. “Onii-chan rejected me…”

“Don’t adhere to his fantasies!” He pulled Kotori to her feet and put his hand on her head. “I’m fine with you being around me, but don’t act too attached. It’s annoying.”

“Okay, Yuta!”

“Now get to class. You don’t want to be late on your first day.” He lifted his hand from her head.

“See you later, Yuta!” With both arms outstretched, she ran down the hall.

He called after her. “And no running in the halls!” Another sneeze came.

“You definitely have a cold. I know I don’t say this often but,” he leaned in to whisper in Yuta’s ear, “you should go to the nurse’s office.”

“I’ll be fine, Hitomura. I told you not to worry about me. That’ll just distract you from your schoolwork.”

“Have it your way, then. But if it gets worse, I’m dragging you to the nurse’s office.” He shivered, remembering the last time he saw the nurse.

“It won’t get worse, I promise.”

…

Shortly after he took his seat in the classroom, Shiori entered the room holding her bag to her chest. She set it down next to her desk and pulled out the book she had discussed with Yuta the previous day.

Yuta sneezed, catching Shiori’s attention. She set her book on the desk and grabbed a pack of tissues. Speedily, she crossed to where Yuta sat and put the tissues on his desk.

He looked up at her. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Shiori shook her head and pushed the tissues closer to him. “You got sick because of me.”

“It was my decision to walk you home. You’re not to blame.”

“Still, I feel bad…” She averted her eyes, finding it more comfortable to stare at the floor than Yuta.

“Well, if you feel that way…” He grabbed the pack and placed them in his pocket. “I guess I have no choice but to use them.”

Her eyes lit up and her gaze returned to Yuta. A smile appeared on her face. After a quick bow, she ran back to her desk.

Yuta watched her scurry away with a smile. ‘She’s not good at interacting with people, but she has a big heart.’ He sneezed again and cursed his cold. In hindsight, he wished he had taken the time to grab a jacket.

The bell rang, and the students that hadn’t yet all took their seats. Mr. Sawajima entered the classroom and took his place at the front of the class. "Alright class, welcome back to another day of school. The only announcements I have are to remember that there is no running in the halls, and bullying is not acceptable. Please treat your fellow classmates as well as other students with the utmost respect."

Shiori wore a panicked expression and whipped her head around as if she was looking for something. At first, Yuta didn’t understand what she was looking for, but upon careful observation, it hit him.

The book she placed on her desk earlier had disappeared.