Second Semester

"Good morning, Verano-kun."

"Good mornin’, Rossi-chan."

"Let’s do well this semester. I’m looking forward to it."

"Likewise, can’t wait."

School resumed at the start of September. For the remainder of summer, me and my three other friends completed our homework – together or apart – and had a few more hangouts at the park. Rossi-chan went on vacation abroad in Italy for a week, and by the time she came back, the second semester began.

The school posted a bulletin at the front entrance to tell each student the new classroom they were assigned to. I was still in the same class as before, but it seemed like Mitoma-kun was switched out. It wasn’t a total loss, because in his place was the girl from the garden.

My seat was no longer by the window at the far back left of the classroom, but next to it. Students were free to select which seat they sat at, and I had given up that seat at the request of Rossi-chan, who was enthralled by the view of the courtyard. Not that it was pertinent, but I noted how cute and comely she was in her uniform again.

"I can’t believe you had this view the entire time last semester. Seeing this during the springtime, I’m so jealous."

We took our seats. Homeroom was about to begin.

"It helped quite a bit when I was in a slump for poems. It shouldn’t be so bad in the fall, right? I stared at the courtyard more than I paid attention in class."

She placed her left elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand as she looked at me.
"It’ll look as luscious as spring for the beginning of autumn, until the leaves die out near winter. Now you’re stuck staring at me, while I stare outside."

Hmm, which one of us had the better upgrade? I think this semester will be better than last, I thought, hiding my optimism for the moment.

Classes were the same in terms of note-taking for lectures; I did none. Rossi-chan was my antithesis. She was actively involved with the lectures, answering questions and participating in activities whilst I twirled my pencil and played the air-piano without concern for the material.

By the time lunch came, we decided to meet Mitoma-kun and Natsu-chan – who were stuck in the same class – at the flower garden.

"It was funny when the teacher scolded you for zoning out when he asked you a question."

"Heha, you thought I was zonin’ out, but really I was stallin' for time so I could figure out the right answer."

"I see. In that case, that was quite clever of you. If only you actually said the right answer. Fufu."

"In my defense, the teacher didn’t cover 'Ezo' as well as he should’ve. If he did, maybe then I would’ve known he was talkin’ about Hokkaido."

"Fufu."

We arrived at the flower garden where the first thing Rossi-chan did was admire the progress of the flora. During the summer, Hanayo-senpai took the responsibility of caring for the flowers, despite Rossi-chan begging to take part too.

"It’s as beautiful as we left it. It doesn’t seem like any have died prematurely, which means they’ll be able to live to their full potential!"
She dropped her schoolbag on the freshly cut grass and skipped along towards the inner part of the garden. A princess returning to her royal sanctuary. Her smile, that has been cared for like the flowers, stretched from ear-to-ear.

I picked up her bag and followed her. She twirled around in a similar fashion to Muku’s giddy spin – they must’ve loved their time together. I hadn’t noticed at the time, but all I could do was watch her as she greeted every species of flowers with a "Tadaima!" as she crouched down and gently caressed their hued petals.

"Hey, hey, Verano-kun! The sakura trees still have their blossoms! Typically, they start falling by the beginning of the new semester, waiting for spring to arrive again. We’ll be able to see the process everyday."

Everyday huh? I thought. Nice to know she’s plannin’ on comin’ here that often. For this entire semester…and the next one…and all of our second and third-year, we’ll be watchin’ the flowers’ life cycles in this garden.

"Oi, did we keep ya guys waiting long? The line at the cafeteria is hectic."

Rossi-chan and I turned to see Natsu-chan and Mitoma-kun with the school’s lunch in their hands. The four of us converged to the spot of the butterfly weeds and sat down to eat. There were two different conversations ongoing.

"Verano-kun, this flower will be turning one years-old soon and it’s still bare. This means we won’t see any orange on the tips until it’s second year."

I continued her statement with an interjection, "And it won’t bloom its petals until the third?"

"Mhm." She nodded her head affirmatively. "It’s a shame we’ll have to wait an elongated amount of time, but it’s also good!"

"How so?"

"It gives us more time to work on its meaning! But that doesn’t mean we can slack off, understand?"

"I know, I know."

We exchanged looks of anticipation, then turned to join the other two in their conversation about sports. They informed Rossi-chan and me about not being able to come here every single day, because they want to play sports in the field. Neither of us seemed to mind, and a small part of me was relieved.

The idea of Rossi-chan and I alone in the garden again made me happy, but I tried my best to not let that show.

After lunch, we walked back to class together, splitting once we reached the different rooms. I repeated the same patterns I did in the morning and before I knew it, the dismissal bell rang. School was over, and the after school club activities began.

"Yay! Club time! I’m fatigued, watering the plants again will be reinvigorating."

We watered the plants at the stone columns and at the flower garden. Rossi-chan handed me her calendar as she gave me a trivia quiz about the flower species. I failed for the most part, but she was still elated to see the progress I made from the summer.

"By the way, I have a souvenir for you from Italy. I had to make a specific request to the tailor, but I think it looks nice!"

A tailor? She didn’t get me one of those mafia suits, did she? Wait, what measurement did she have of me?

She reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out a small piece of clothing. I recognized what it was due to the unconventional design of it; a deep red glove. It had the pinky, ring, and index fingers cut short to mirror my glove with the fingerless scissor-cut.

"O-Oh wow…"
I took a closer look, and saw that a design was also stitched onto the back of the glove.
"It’s a red gardenia, isn’t it?"

"Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I thought hiding your knuckles’ bruises brought back some bad memories, so I wanted to cover it with something that was good. Do you like it?"

This girl showed me how to release myself from the shackles of my past. She seems better now, but I can tell she’ll be somewhat stuck once tests roll in. She’ll need to confront her parents about her worries, and I’ll start helpin’ realize by the time this semester ends.

"Rossi-chan," I called to her. She tilted her head. "Even though there’s school now, and I’m sure you’ll want to focus on studyin’ for exams and such, I was thinkin’ that we can still explore a bit of Kyoto for more research. What do you think?"

She took a brief moment to think, but our eye contact remained intact. It was only broken because she looked down as she walked closer to me, then reached out both her hands that were carrying the watering pail. I took the pail from her hands and she brought them to her side, then clasped them behind her back.

"I admire how straightforward you are about asking me out, Verano-kun."

I was bemused by her response. I knew she was teasing me, hoping to see me turn into the color of a peony flower, but I didn’t know why she phrased it that way. I felt a sense of déjà vu.
"You know it’s not like that. But if you’re thinkin’ it’s that way, then are you hopin’ it is like that?"

Her reaction was expected: She turned away from me and started waddling away. I knew she was the peony, and perhaps while thinking of how she looked with a flustered face changed mine expression too, but there’s no need to go into that…just yet.

"D-Do you like the glove?" she asked again.

"Yes, I do."

"Th-Then our answers are the same. When do we go out again?"