Stop It Shinnosuke!

Chapter 14

Thr ringing of the alarm in the morning was almost immediately shut closed by Kazama. He didn't need to wake up for it, because he was already awake.

After a night filled with lots of tossing and turning around, he knew that he wasn't going to get a wink of sleep no matter how hard he tried. He knew because he understood that his anxiety would never let him sleep.

During the night, he stared at the ceiling wide awake, thinking about how he could be such an idiot. He clearly wasn't ready to tell Shinnosuke anything, and yet here he was, sleepless and anxious after having told him that he would talk about it in school.
Really stupid.

When he finally rose up from his bed, he felt absolutely terrible. He winced after moving his stiff body, not understanding how in the world could one night of sleeplessness could cause such a big impact on his overall mood.

Even the bright morning sun felt...

dull.

Nevertheless, he moved around and got ready for school. It was still a Friday after all, and since he most definitely was going enroll in extra classes at school, he would have to wait two days before he would finally get a day off, on Sunday.

"Mom, I'll be going." He said finishing his breakfast, his voice not the usual energetic tone that his mom was used to hearing.

"Are you sure you are alright, Toru-kun?" She asked, careful with her tone because she remembered what had happened last night.

"I'm really fine!" Kazama managed a laugh, "I am just really tired from all the travelling to school everyday. Walking is a tough job." He said as smoothly as he possibly could. He wasn't technically lying to his mom, but the last thing he wanted was to worry her by ranting out his dilemma regarding Shinnosuke.

"You should cheer up.", she announced grabbing his attention, "Papa is coming soon!" She grinned. Kazama's eyes immediately lit up at the mention of his dad.

Just like the old times, his dad's eventual returns back home were a thing to celebrate. Kazama did get a bit upset from time to time, not liking the fact that his dad was still abroad for work, still after all these years. He would have liked to spend some time with him during his prime teenage years, because after all, there were only so many days left before Kazama would set off for college which would make it even harder for him to see his dad.

"Really?! When will he be back?" He asked excitedly, standing up at the door step, tapping his shoes in place.

"He was saying he would be back as soon as he would be able to get off from work, so I think he would be back by ...Sunday." She informed, trying to be as direct as possible with the facts. There had been too many a times when Kazama's expectations had been shattered as a kid when his dad couldn't make it back home as he had promised to. And she didn't want to let those days repeat themselves.

"I'm so excited. I actually have a to do list for all the things we will do this time." He grinned, making his mother smile from relief. To-do lists were such a 'Kazama' thing.

"Sure. You can do anything you want to." She assured, "Have a great day at school, Toru-kun!"

"Yeah!" He replied back, "See you later, Mom."

He shut the door and went ahead towards the building's lift. As he waited for the lift, he smiled, thinking about how he finally had something he could look forward to.

But his smile quickly faded away, remembering what he was supposed to do at school today.

.

"Good morning, Kazama-kun." Bo greeted Kazama in a cheerful tone, both of them being early to school as usual.