Alas, the second coming of Chri-I mean the second entry to my work of fiction. It indeed took way longer than it should to get this second part out, but the school year is ending and I will more than likely be writing at a more swift pace than before. "Why is it so short!?!?!?" Yolo. Well, I had originally planned on this to be a tad bit longer, but the ending seemed appropriate to stop there. (I'll add on as I go.) Enjoy!
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Act 1 - Part 2: Pawn to D4
The next morning I awake again to the sound of an overly obnoxious alarm clock. I think the staff purposely added an amplified bell or something in my clock just to piss me off. I'll have to look into that someday. The only energy I had at the moment was all used on attempting to force myself out of bed. Perhaps I could maybe get by without attending today's classes... Yea.. That sounds nice. I could spend the whole day in town; sightseeing, shopping, and-who am I kidding. I'm not normal. I couldn't even think of doing that, let alone have the balls to skip school.
Another topic pops into my head... Hanako is able to skip class whenever she wants, and we're basically similar in most aspects. I think a while back I figured out that she was given permission to do so. Why haven't I been given the same special treatment? Or maybe I have, and my mom has been keeping it from so I'll actually try to attend classes regularly.
Very sneaky, Mom. I'll make sure to bring it up at our next meeting.
...
Ah, Hanako.. I can't even go a day without her flashing her way into my brain. I mean, it's not like I dislike it, I just think it'd be nice to have some peace inside my head. No, no, no. Hanako is my peace, and my other thoughts are a burden on my mind.
What the heck am I doing? Almost a half an hour has gone by. I'm definitely late this time. There's no more catching a lucky break. Frick. Maybe staying in wouldn't be so bad?
...
No. I remember what happened last time, and I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened to put me on suicide watch. I'm not suicidal! ... I think... I'd rather not think about this right now.
Ok, I'll just face the embarrassment of being this late. It's only gonna be the whole class' eyes glaring at me, losing any positive perception they've had of me..
...
Umm, no. Nice try brain, but I'm not going to face that scene.
I'll just go in after lunch. That way, it'll never seem like I was gone. This even gives me an extra hour of sleep.
Nice work Gageyboy.
I set my alarm to go off ten minutes before lunch and close my eyes.
The distinct, annoying sound of my alarm wakes me up just in time to hear the lunch bell. With how quickly the relatively normal food is taken by the students, I know I won't be able to make it in time for anything edible. Autopilot takes over and soon I'm heading out of my dorm room, having eaten something lying around my room.
What did I just eat?
There's still a bit of time left in the lunch hour, so I'm left wandering around the campus aimlessly. I consider making a trip to the library, but that idea's shot down in an instant, knowing I haven't even started reading the book I got just yesterday. Oh yea, Hanako's probably at the library... Maybe I could go there to crack open that book that she recommended to me.
I make it to the library with as little as a glare given to me by passerby. As I cross the library, aiming for the table near the corner, I glance over to the spot where Hanako's usually at. Sure enough, she's there, and surprisingly, she.. She noticed me.. Our eyes met and I quickly advert them away. My heart starts racing. I know that nothing is noteworthy about that scene we shared, but it sure as hell startled me, seeing how very little communication we share. Maybe someday I'll be able to talk to her again. Again? Oh yea.. Those few times we did socialize with each other... Those were really freaking great. It may have seemed like a train wreck to outsiders, but to the few people who know Hanako and I, it was very progressive. It started when I was heading to check out a book that piqued my interest...
Hanako was there, checking out a book, standing in line before me. Her and Yuuko proceeded with the routine, while I couldn't help but eavesdrop. It turned out that Hanako is checking out the same book as I am. Of course in my mind, that's a huge thing. I started daydream about multiple fantasies and other dreams not appropriate to our current relationship, and I think she forgot another book she was going to check out in the back, so she began to scurry over to retrieve it. Yuuko, being one who doesn't want to waste time, proceeded to check out my book. She apparently was on the same page as me, thinking two people checking out the same book is a huge deal, especially since it's not a very popular book. Hanako returns just in time to have a front row seat to Yuuko's sermon on "fate". Calling the scene awkward would've been an understatement. Hanako stood there, more than likely wanting to run away. I couldn't blame her, I felt the same way. In the end, neither of us ran away, and apparently we were dragged into making the little book recommendation thingy. Throughout that whole scene only a few words were shared between us. "Us" as in Hanako and myself. The words were something like, "I-I wouldn't mind.." and "That sounds a-alright.."
I'm awakened from my reverie by the bell. Dang. I didn't even get to read my book. I pack up the few things I have and head out to go to class, but instead of walking alone, I notice a familiar figure close behind me. I try not to make it obvious, but I attempt to steal a glance to make sure my assumption is correct. Yes, Hanako is indeed beside me, and for the second time today, our eyes met. My heart skips a beat as this happens.
Come on Gage, just say something to her!
"Oh, hey Hanako."
Oh look, I
can talk.
She nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of my voice.
Am I that creepy? Then again, this is Hanako we're talking about here.
A few seconds pass and not a word is spoken. I begin thinking of ways to back out of this and pretend it never hap-
"H-hey.."
...
What the hell do I do now? She fricking responded to me. I didn't really think this through much at all. Maybe I just thought a sudden burst of confidence would explode out of my brain and Hanako and I would become insta-best friends.
Well, stuff like that doesn't ever happen to me. I'll just have to get over it. Sometime.
I notice that my pace has slowed down to a near halt, as did my walking partner's.
Commence pointless small talk!
Uhhh... Books! Yes, that's a good conversation topic. Nice.
"I umm, I read that book that you recommended to me. I-I liked it quite a lot. Heh, maybe I should finish all the others that you told me about."
If I can pull myself together long enough to finish another book, that is.
Hanako just nods her head, ever-so-slightly, and barely noticeable. I wonder how Hisao communicates with her, because whatever he's doing, works. I've seen them hang out rarely, and he's doing better than I am in conquering Hanako.
Yet again, silence overcomes us, and any hopes of conversing is halted as we approach the door to our class. If I was anywhere near sociable, I'd probably say something to her. A goodbye maybe? Why doesn't school prepare you for situations like this? Why can't History class be replaced with "How to speak to the girl of your dreams" class. Yes, that'd be very helpful right now.
I'll leave the talking to the people who are good at it. I stop at the door and notice we've arrived later than the time I'd like to arrive. I'm trying to muster up enough courage, or as much courage as it takes to open a door to a classroom (Okay, for me, that's a lot of courage), when I feel a warm sensation on my back.
What is this sorcery? What is-
Oh my god it's Hanako's hand. My whole body tenses up, and I nearly have a heart attack when I realize that's she's using
me for protection. Or maybe she's trying to push me to enter? No. That's not romantic at all. Whatever courage I was searching for shot through my body and I slide open the door.
It turns out, we're running fashionably late.
Eat that, Hisao. The class watches us closely as we head to our seats. My hands become a new level of sweaty, and my face probably resembles a tomato right now. At least my legs are functioning partially. I mean, I probably look like a penguin right now, but at least I'm moving. I'm not alone though, as Hanako looks the same as I do.
I wonder if her hands are as sweaty as mine... Ahh... her hands... I nearly bump into my desk from my daydreaming. Luckily, I've bumped into my desk plenty of times before, so I'm prepared for this. I'm able to play it off rather nicely, or nicely, from my perspective. Oh yea, sometime between then and now, Hanako removed her hand from my back. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to be able to forget this feeling running through my body. I sit down in my desk and analyze the situation.
I feel as if we did something wrong. Maybe they're all just amazed that we're conversing, or that we're actually trying to improve ourselves. I can't tell if I'm holding back my blush or not, but Hanako is clearly failing at it. Wait... Hanako is blushing... For me?
The rest of the day flies by me, and not once was my mind adverted from that wonderful, blushing face...
of a friend...
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