Secrecy

Walking alongside Hachimura as we were heading back to our classroom, I couldn't help but wonder why he'd transferred to our school. He had shared only fragments of his past with me, leaving me curious and eager to know more about his mysterious history.

"Hey, Hachimura," I asked, breaking the silence between us, "you said the reason for your transfer was because you were being bullied by other kids in your previous school?"

Hachimura's expression tightened, and he seemed reluctant to share the whole story. "Yeah, that's right," he finally replied, his voice tinged with a mix of sadness and resolve. "I got sick and tired of all the bullying, so I asked my mom if I could transfer to a different school."

His answer left me with more questions than answers. What were the details he left out? What had he endured that led him to seek refuge in a new environment? The fragments he revealed were like scattered puzzle pieces, begging to be assembled into a coherent picture.

"I didn't think you could get bullied," I said, trying to sound casual, "I always thought you were popular in your middle school days."

A hint of a smile played on Hachimura's lips. "Haha, yeah," he chuckled softly, "I guess appearances can be deceiving."

His words lingered in the air, leaving me with a sense that there was more to his story than met the eye. But for now, I chose not to push further, respecting his boundaries. Together, we continued our walk, and I tried to push the fragments of his past to the back of my mind.

As I settled into my seat, my gaze shifted towards Hiroshi, who appeared preoccupied with his phone. Sensing his unease, I approached him, hoping to distract myself from the enigma of Hachimura's past.

"Hey, Hiroshi, how was your lunch with your girlfriend?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Hiroshi forced a smile and replied, "Oh, uh, it was really great! My mom made me two bento boxes, and I'm stuffed from all that Teriyaki."

"I see," I said, pretending not to notice the sadness in his eyes. "Next time, invite me to eat lunch with you and your girlfriend."

"Haha, sure, I'll let you join us next time," Hiroshi replied, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Despite his attempt to brush off the matter, I couldn't help but notice the lingering unease in his eyes. Concerned, I asked, "Are you okay? You seemed upset when I arrived. Is everything alright?"

With a playful demeanor, Hiroshi deflected my worry, responding, "Oh, it's nothing. Just got a weird text message. Why? is my little Takumi worried about me?" He reverted to his usual outgoing self, avoiding any further discussion of his troubles.

"Knock it off. I'm not that worried. Just wanted to make sure you're okay," I said, feeling my face turn tomato red.

"Anyway, if anything is wrong, will you tell me?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, sure. You'll be the first person I'll talk to if anything is wrong," Hiroshi reassured me.

Hiroshi then brought up the topic of Hachimura and our lunch on the rooftop. He asked how it went and mentioned that we had been up there for a while.

"It was alright, I guess," I replied as I made my way to my desk. As I sat down, I noticed that Hachimura's desk was empty. I had assumed he was right behind me as we both walked back to the classroom.

"Hm? I thought he was right behind me. Did he get lost or something?" I wondered to myself. I was about to go look for him when he suddenly appeared, walking over to his desk and holding something in his hands.

"What do you have there?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, this? Some girl gave this to me. She said not to open it until after school," Hachimura replied.

"It's probably just a love letter," I said nonchalantly, not surprised by the possibility.

"Really? You think so?" Hachimura's face turned bright red as he considered the idea.

"Yeah, I mean, you are popular, so of course, girls would fall for you. One of them even took the time to write you a love letter, so it's obvious that she's into you, dude," I said, looking out the window as I spoke.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Hachimura agreed, placing the love letter in his bag.

A brief silence hung in the air before I broke it by asking a question that had been on my mind.

"So, what are you going to do if she confesses to you?" I inquired, curious about Hachimura's intentions.

"I don't know. I'll probably turn her down once I read the letter. Confession or not, she's not the one I'm interested in. But she took the time to put her feelings into this letter, so it would be a shame if I didn't read it," Hachimura explained.

"Ah, right. I see," I replied, understanding his perspective.