Chapter 1.3

Like a moon in the sky that was strangely captivating, he sat beside me in silence. He was just there, extremely observant, or so I thought.

Almost mimicking my habit, he was staring off into the distance.

It solidified my strange image of him.

But it makes me wonder what he is even doing at this school… To the point of not listening to the teacher, nor writing down notes.. is he just here to burn time?

Strange.. very strange.

“What page were we on again, Hayashi?” a sudden question startling even me. The subject teacher had caught on, and this guy wasn’t paying attention—clearly.

“Page 101.” he replied.

I glanced at him in surprise, he actually guessed the page.. Or was he actually listening?

..Even the teacher was caught off guard.

I thought he’d snap out of it; but looking at him now, he's back into his own world.. like nothing ever happened.

Maybe it's his way of focusing..?

No.. no way he's listening and acting like that.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” he suddenly asked.

“...” I stared—my brows furrowed. “I wasn’t.”

“Ah, is that so? How convincing.” he sarcastically replied.

Sir.. this guy really isn’t listening to you.

Just when I thought I found someone decent, he turns out to be a sarcastic bastard. “I just thought you were weird, that’s all there is to it.” I scoffed.

“Am I any weirder than someone who stares for no reason?”

There I shut my mouth… and really wanted to shut his.

With such commotion occurring in the back, the subject teacher noticed our exchange, and glared daggers at the both of us. Even our classmates noticed too, but they simply brushed it off as the two weirdos acting strange.

This time I glared at him.

He glanced at my direction and just went back to staring off into the distance. What are you even doing at this point Hayashi?

For that moment, I was glaring at someone I barely knew. Is he truly that annoying… or was I just frustrated?

What was I even doing to glare at him like that?

Though my thoughts kept piling onto one another, the bells soon chimed and I walked around the campus, disregarding my empty stomach, disregarding everything else.

The sky is nice today too… the flowers in the garden.. they’re ever blooming.

No one’s bothering me that much..

None at all… nothing..

...

But why can’t I forget about it..?

I’m really… really going crazy over that letter.

I would’ve tossed it in the trash as I have done without a second thought—but I couldn’t.. I’m stuck… frustratingly curious as to what those previous letters contained..

This feeling of frustration.. I must’ve redirected it to Hayashi earlier.

Well, he deserved it.

Hah…

..I already told myself to forget about it last night.

But I guess such things don’t leave easily when you ask nicely.