Eyes louder than words

9. Eyes louder than words

During the last week of summer break, I went to a nearby fishing store, just before closing time, to grab some fishing gloves since I lost my previous pair somewhere.

When I walked out of the store again, I heard some distant sounds of sobbing noises carried to my ears by the wind.

A sailor might follow the sound of a mermaid’s voice, but I want to go home. Though involuntarily, my every step homeward brought me closer to the sobbing noise.

Behind the corner of the store, in the pitch black shadows beneath the stairs, sat the source of the sobs. A familiar source at that.

“...Ayano?”

She lifted her head up, looking helpless and vulnerable for no longer than a single second, before she looked offended.

“What are you doing here?!” She swung her newly purchased landing net at me, the big price label nearly hitting my face.

“Right back at you.”

She sniffed, tightly clenched her knees to her body and said, “Leave me alone.”

“Gotcha.” I turned around, ready to go home.

“Wait, don't go!”

What’s it with her…

Somehow this interaction ended up being a time stealing trap I couldn’t escape. She began venting about what was bothering her. Starting with how she couldn’t do anything fun this summer without revealing any information as to why. Then she complained about how poor her catches had been.

“So anyway, none of that is the reason for this,” she pointed at her puffy eyes, post crying.

Realising I had been listening to all she had to say only for it to have nothing to do with the situation at hand made me regret lending my ear in the first place. I want my time back.

“I’m going home,” I announced as I stood up.

“Well, then so am I,” she also jumped up, and stared at the night sky. “A starry sky hidden behind the clouds,” she whispered, more to herself than to me I suppose, “maybe that’s why I’m running away.”

* * *

Now that summer break is over, the second trimester was ready to begin. As per usual, Keito and I were on our way to school.

“Three words, Ryotarou, three words.”

“Hm?”

“School sports festival!” He exclaimed.

I stared out at the green September trees that had long turned with the season, soon to change again. “That’s in Octobre, isn’t it?”

He nodded, “As the second choice goalkeeper of our school’s football club, I’ll surely be the man between the posts during the football event in our class’s team!” He seemed more pumped up than usual.

“What else will put you in the spotlight?” I asked.

He closed his eyes to think, “Let’s see, there’s the hundred meter sprint that I want to do. Also the relay race of course… and the—” he walked straight into a lamppost.

“Ryotarou! Why didn’t you warn me?!”

“I thought this would be funnier.”

He swung his arm around my neck, “As violence inducing as ever, huh.”

Once we arrived at school and walked through the hallway, around Keito’s classroom, it was packed with students from different classes who were peering through the windows, inside his classroom.

“Heh, guess they’ve been awaiting my arrival,” Keito grinned.

Though they clearly weren’t, given how hard he struggled to make it through the masses. Once he managed to get into his classroom, I walked away, headed to mine.

“Ryotarou!!”

I turned back to his classroom and saw him sprinting through the crowd.

“She’s here!”

“Who’s here?”

A radiant hue glowed out of the door. When I looked away from Keito, I saw another familiar face coming through the crowd. The person who’s most likely the cause of this crowd in the first place.

She twirled through her hair with her index finger, walking closer to us. As if she possessed some magic magnetism, all eyes from the people in front of the classroom followed her every move.

“Wow, so this is the school you guys attend, huh. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

I was left speechless, dumbfounded even.

She giggled, “What, missed me already?”

I couldn’t help but get distracted by her clothes. She wore an oversized pink t-shirt tucked into her white shorts—very short shorts. Our summer uniform is a simple white buttoned shirt and black pants… just how rebellious can an outfit get?

“Why’d you change schools?” Keito asked her.

She got even closer and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Picture a sky full of stars hidden behind the clouds,” she said the same thing as yesterday but in a dreamy voice as she gestured some sort of rainbow arc with her other hand. “Now wash away the clouds. That’s why I’m here!” She posed like some sort of idol.

“Ryotarou,” she fiercely shot a glance at me. “You might’ve stolen my spotlight at sea, but you won’t outshine me here at school.” She nonchalantly walked back into the classroom.

“She’s pretty isn’t she? So pretty…” Keito said, with his head still in the clouds he had pictured.

“I’m heading to my class.”

Thinking I’d escaped the herd animals of students, my classmates—solely the boys—were also gathered outside.

“Shima, great timing!” One of them yelled out the moment he saw me.

I waited for the follow-up question.

“Have you seen Mister PE-Yamada?” At this point of the school year, most students had already met both. Hence why PE-Yamada and Nurse-Yamada are the twins’ new names.

“Can’t say I have.”

“We’ve still got time to find him, let’s split up and look for him.”

Without wasting a single second, all of them ran away. I figured I might as well help them out since I knew where he would most likely be right before the bell rings, though I had no idea what they needed him for.

And of course, as the only one unaware of why we’re looking for him in the first place, I’m the one who came across him first, on his way to the school gates, which he’d shortly close.

I told him, “Mister Yamada, our class is looking for you.”

“Really? …Am I in trouble?”

Him being the teacher, I doubt it, though still… it’s PE-Yamada. “I don’t know. It did seem pretty urgent.”

“Alright… you handle the gate-closing, I’ll quickly make my way to your classroom.” With that said, he threw me the keys and dashed off.

For some reason, I was left with the teacher’s impulse to yell, “No running in the hallways” though I managed not to.

I glanced at my watch, about two minutes left.

Some students hastily made their way inside, others who’re more used to being late, walked in with the most minute sense of urgency.

In the final minute, someone who’s usually way earlier, walked in. Katsumata. Where she normally would nod or wave from a distance, she walked closer and closer whilst doing neither.

As the memories of summer rose up in my brain, I readied myself to get ignored. Until she stood about a step away from me, waved and said, “Good morning.”

“…Good morning,” I replied, a little taken aback.

Where normally after a greeting from afar, she’d increase her pace and walk away, she stood still and made the usual face she makes when she’s collecting her thoughts. “…I guess we’re both a little late today.”

“I was actually on time, but—” I showed her the keys I was handed. “—PE-Yamada made me the gate-closer.”

The first warning bell rang.

“I guess I’ll fulfil my duty.” As I was about to close the gates, some students came running through. Relating to the hassle of getting scolded for being late, I let them quickly run through. Though with every student I let through, I felt bad for the next not being able to make it. Right before the second bell rang, I casted my empathy away and just closed the gates like I was supposed to.

Turning around to make my way to the classroom, Katsumata was still waiting.

“You didn’t have to wait, you know?”

“I didn’t have to… but I wanted to.”

Most likely unaware of the enchanting charm her words held, we proceeded towards our classroom without saying much else.

In front of our classroom stood the earlier troupe, seemingly negotiating with Mister Yamada.

“Listen, teach, we don’t want to dance!”

“I get it, but I don’t make the rules—wait! I do make the rules! I don’t care what you guys want or don’t want to do. It’s in the curriculum, we’re gonna dance!”

“Shima!” Karaoke boy, Ozawa, yelled out. “Help us out over here, Mister Yamada isn’t siding with us for some reason…”

I should’ve avoided the incident all together from the get-go, but it didn’t seem like I had much of a choice now. “What’s the problem?”

Mister Yamada was the first person to answer. “See, at the start of the sports festival next month, we’ll be opening-dancing, and these rowdy boys are causing a scene about it.”

“Mister Yamada… we want some football practice for the final event… heck, even running would be less of a chore than dancing.”

“Shima, talk to your class…” Mister Yamada threw the problem in my lap.

I’ve never been the spokesperson for neither my class nor Mister Yamada himself, yet they put their expectations on me to find the golden mean. Since I didn’t really want to dance either, I decided to give it my best shot, regardless of how much I didn’t want to be a part of this conversation to begin with.

“Which classes will be dancing?” I asked him.

“All of them,” he quickly replied.

“If all classes are dancing, who exactly would we be dancing for?”

His puzzled face was as easy to read as a picture book. I decided to double down. “If only the people who want to dance are dancing, the dance will look more appealing. And good dancers appreciate an audience, don’t they?”

In football terms, I crossed the ball so beautifully, that the others couldn’t help but head the ball straight into the net, especially with a short keeper like Mister Yamada.

After their back and forth, he conceded, “Alright, alright… The people who want to dance, will dance. The people who want to practice for the main event, will do so as well. Though if I catch one of you slacking during one of my classes, you’ll be sent straight to dancing, got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone headed inside, after handing him the keys back, Katsumata and I also headed inside. She tightly clenched the straps of her bag before saying, “You…you handled that pretty well…right?”

The moment her sentence ended, the boys from our class gathered around me. “Shima, you’re a legend!”

“We’ll carve you a statue to show our gratitude, ha-ha!”

Whilst I was being drowned in praise, quite literally short of air, Katsumata silently made her way to her desk, looking a little let down for some reason.

* * *

During lunch that same day, I was eating bread I bought here in the cafeteria. So was Keito sitting in front of me… and so was Ayano seated next to him.

Ayano’s presence at our table wasn’t really the problem. It was all the gazes she brought with her, the many people that passed our table extra slowly, the people who tried sitting next to me or her, only to be dismissed by their queen herself.

“Doesn’t it annoy you?” Keito asked. “All the people bothering you and stuff.”

She shook her head, “Not at all.” She waved at some students from afar, who ended up fighting over who she waved at. “All this attention,” she smiled, “I’m used to it.”

“Eh? Was it the same in your old school?”

Her smile faded as rapidly as it appeared. “A starry sky doesn’t sparkle on a cloudy night.”

She made another starry sky reference, though I didn’t really know what she meant by it, neither was I all too interested in deciphering it.

Right as Keito was about to say something, a crumpled piece of paper was thrown our way. He unwrapped it and read aloud, “Keito or Shima, please swap seats.” He turned towards the table who threw it, consisting mostly of my classmates.

“Hm? Who’s that bunch o’ people?”

“Classmates,” I said.

We continued eating without paying it much attention. Until she suddenly asked, “So, if they’re your classmates, then why do they call Keito by his first name, but you by your last name?”

I turned my eyes to Keito. As the only one who knows why, it didn’t really feel appropriate to answer her question.

Keito took a massive bite from his bread, “This bread is mighty delicious,” he said with his mouth full.

Avoiding a question in such pathetic manner made everything even more suspicious. Ayano also didn’t seem like she’d drop the conversation like that.

“What? Got a funny last name or something?”

I hooked my finger inside my shirt’s collar and flapped it a bit, unconsciously averting my eyes to the spot Katsumata usually sits. Though where she normally sits with her back facing me, she sat on the opposite side, even looking over at our table.

“So we’re just gonna give me the silent treatment or what?”

I stood up with my bread in hand. “There are people who’d love to shower you with attention.” I nodded to one of the hopeful classmates, signalling that my seat is free. “See you.”

Right before I left, Keito casted his eyes down and said, “I don’t miss him, Ryotarou. I don’t miss him.”

I knew he was talking about his brother, I knew he said those words more to himself than to me, and I knew that by just saying them, he was hurting even more. Something his smiley-façade would never reveal.

I left to sit with Katsumata, both because she was acting odd today, and mostly to avoid the topic at the other table.

“Mind if I sit here?”

She shook her head, “Please feel… free to.”

Where normally, she would hold her head down and make as little eye contact as possible, her gaze didn’t leave my face once I sat down.

When I raised my eyes to meet hers, she didn’t look away and forced a smile on her face.

Why is everyone acting so weird today?

* * *

After school, I headed home on my own since Keito had his football practice. Once out of the school gates, I felt a heavy blanket dropped over my shoulders. I’m drained. I couldn’t remember the last day of school that had me tired like this.

“Ryota~rou, I finally found you again!”

The person who spun herself into my vision was Ayano. Acting overly friendly, most likely to gather some information about Keito. She did strike me as the curious type, but I never thought she was this persistent.

I shot a glance at her, acknowledging her existence, but soon returned on my way home.

“Ignoring me again, huh. Anyway, I want to ask something, and you have no choice but to listen.”

I waited for her inevitable question.

“Why did you start fishing last year?”

Despite my best efforts to keep a neutral expression, my eyes never lie. I was—as my eyes screamed—flabbergasted. Not only did she remember such a trivial detail that was said over a month ago, it’s also a question that brings her a step closer to the answer to her Keito question.

“Aw don’t leave me hanging here, I’m super curious!”

Is it mere curiosity, or is she some sort of junior detective?

After thinking I couldn’t possibly feel any more drained than as is, I’m faced with this. But perhaps I’m looking too much into it, she’s a fellow fisher after all, so surely she’d be interested in knowing.

“My dad, you’ve met him on the boat, right? He is a fisher, and I was looking for a hobby that’d put my mind at ease.”

She crossed her arms, seeming only partly satisfied with my answer. “Your clever answer makes me even more super curious…”

At the end of the street where I took a right turn, she went left. After a couple of seconds, she realised I was no longer walking alongside her.

“The train station is this way,” she said.

I turned away from the stop light at the crosswalk. “I go on foot.”

She clicked her tongue and took big, angry steps towards me. “So you’re just gonna leave me hanging like that, again?”

“Isn’t the train station about twenty minutes away from here? Even my house is closer than that.”

“I see. You’re the type of guy who leaves a girl all by herself.”

I want to go home…

“You came to school on your own didn’t you? Go back on your own—”

Before my sentence ended, she already walked away. “See you, Ryota-foe.”

What’s it with her?