Annoying Classmate

"Hey Souma, are you really alright?" I heard Yamato talking and turned towards him. "You know, you could've taken a few more days off, right? Dude, you can't be fine right now." I squinted my eyes at him and looked away towards the window. Of course, I'm not fine.

Yamato was mostly a good guy. He was the first one to approach me in this class of strangers. We had had our desks assigned only twice, and coincidentally, he was sitting in front of me both times. He's funny and always came up with new things to do. He's the talkative type. Usually, I don't mind, but today, all voices seemed to be giving me a headache. I hadn't come to terms with anything yet. I didn't see her dead, so there was the small hopeful part of my mind that thought I'll go back home and she will be there.

Helping Mom wash the dishes, or laughing at some dumb TV program, Saeko would be there.

Then, there's the realist side reminding me constantly. Forget her. She's not coming back. This is all pointless. You know better than to cry around for something impossible.

"You know, Souma, you should rest in the nurse's office. You didn't even eat lunch and the break is almost over now. You really don't look well." I may have shouted at him in frustration. The classroom door slid open loudly and I felt glad I didn't shout at Yamato. He deserved better than getting shouted at for being concerned for a friend.

The person who made this grand entry... looked sort of familiar. I wanted to figure out where I had seen this guy before, but he started walking up to me. Quickly coming to my desk in no time at all. Now, that caught me off guard.

"You're Souma Ayato?" The guy rest his palms on my desk and leaned close to my face. I almost fell off my chair. What a weird guy. "Answer me." He demanded rudely and stared down at me with an adamant expression.

"No, sorry but you got the wrong person." I turned my face away.

Yamato made a confused face. "Ehhhh?"

But this guy really had no tact at all. "Hey, why are you lying?" 

I tsk'ed and looked at him. "So what? I don't know you, so it's a little weird for you to know my name, you know?" I folded my arms. "I'm not in the mood if you're trying to pick a fight. Just go away."

"Hmmm," What the hell is this guy thinking—? "I'm Hikari Shimizu. Remember that." First, he comes into my class out of nowhere. Then starts introducing himself. "I'd talk more, but the bell is about to ring and we have PE after this... I'll meet you after school. Let's talk more then."

"Hey wait-" And he was gone just as quickly as he came. "Ugh, what the hell was that about?"

Yamato turned to me. "Do you know him?" I shook my head. "Well, at least he annoyed you enough to take that sad look off your face." I don't think I looked that upset. "That guy seemed funny, if you end up becoming friends then don't forget about me!" I eyed him angrily.

"What makes you think I'll even talk to him again? Who just walks into a class uninvited like that and starts talking so casually? What a weird guy..."

"Hehehe..." Yamato smirks. "You say that, but that's how you reacted when we first met too. You need to be more honest about your feelings!" I tried to elbow him and missed. He burst out laughing.

The bell rang and the next teacher came in. I couldn't pay attention so I started watching outside the window, some class was running on the field.

I noticed the guy... Hikari Shimizu? He did mention he had PE after the break. I watched a little more and noticed he had pathetic stamina. The rest of the guys were still running far ahead, and he stood panting after just one lap. A small laugh escaped my lips. For being so energetic, he can't even run a little.

Rest of the classes, I kept nodding at whatever the teachers had to say. I already missed so many classes, a few more wouldn't hurt. The last bell rang and Yamato stood up first, stretched out his arms and loudly yawned. "Souma, sorry but I need to buy this quickly or they'll run out. My little sister will kill me if I forget to buy it." He showed me a picture of some cake on his phone. "You'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah, no need to babysit me." Thinking about that, Saeko used to buy me things too. Snacks that girls in her class were eating, or manga that I mentioned I wanted to read. "I'm heading straight home after this."

I walked outside with my bag on my shoulder towards the shoe lockers. I slipped into my sneakers and walked towards the gate. Just as I was trying to avoid it, Hikari Shimizu was waiting for me there. "Wow, you're really late, dude. I thought you weren't in any clubs."

"Are you stalking me?" I saw his face morph into amusement and then it clicked. Wasn't he the same guy from the funeral? "Hey, what were you doing there yesterday? Do you know my sister?" I got the hunch that this guy was on to something.

"So you finally remember me! Souma- I can call you that, right? It's really confusing with Ayato if you're both Ayato." He was talking about Saeko. He paused and stopped talking in a rush. "In short, I knew your sister." 

Again, that same sad expression from yesterday. It pissed me off for some reason.

"How?" Why would my sister know someone like him anyway?

"Well, you see... that's a secret!" The hell! He's just messing with me!

"Okay, okay don't get angry, geez." He continued." You're so different from her, she never got mad at me like that... What I want to ask is, uh, can you tell me which university she went to?"

"Why should I tell you that? For all I know, you could've been stalking her and now she's not even here anymore!" I didn't notice how my voice had gotten louder. He doesn't even know her- what right does he have to ask that? "What even is the point of any of this?! She's not coming back! Just leave it behind and move on, damn it!" Ah, it hurts. It really hurt to have the words come out of my own mouth. I knew it, of course, I did. Those were my own true thoughts and he made me say it out loud.

Suddenly, he grabbed me by the shoulder. "Souma," He looked at me with a very scary gaze. "That's not what you want, right?" What I want is not the right thing to do. Let the dead rest in peace and live a life respecting their wishes. But... I don't know what Saeko wanted. And I want to know.

"When people die, they don't just disappear into thin air. They leave behind traces. You just need to find them and piece them together." He said it. He said what I wanted to say. The true feelings of mine, which I was hiding behind excuses and righteousness and whatnot. He said it to my face.

"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here." I pushed him away. "But if you're finding out about my sister, then take me with you. There are many things even I don't know about her."

He smiled brightly. "Of course, I'll take you with me. To be honest, I don't think they'll let me enter her campus without a family member, and then I don't know what she was studying or what building she went to either. But, all that doesn't matter!" He put his arm around my shoulder, "I knew Saeko better than anyone!"

"You're really suspicious. Why do you even know anything about her at all? Why do you even bother—" He shushed me quickly.

"Listen here, Mr little Brother. She may be your sister but she also had other people she talked to, alright? She was just as important to me too. Do you know how much I cried over— Ahem," He got slightly flustered? "The point is, I'm not a stalker. I'm a precious friend of hers and besides, you're the one who seems to have a sister complex."

"The hell are you talking about!?" I shoved him away and he laughed.

"If you react like that, then you'll just prove that I'm right." What an annoying guy...

But surprisingly, I didn't feel wary of him anymore. I even felt sort of hopeful, the thought that... there are ways to find out about Saeko. Such a simple thing as going to her university, and finding her friends; why didn't that occur to me first? People leave traces behind, even the most mysterious people do. Such an obvious thing, seriously.