Katawa Shoujo - Akira Satou Route

Act 5-4 That's life

The classroom bustles with activity as Mutou gives instructions to pair up for an assignment, each of the students flying to their usual partners. Seeing as how Misha and Shizune have already chosen each other, I receive an idle goodbye as I go to search for someone else, even though it's clear that they contemplate asking the teacher if they could allow a third person.

Deciding to try my other option, I shoot a glance to the back row and wait for the dark-haired girl to notice me. Upon silently agreeing to partner up, she begins shuffling her materials around as I take my seat in the desk beside her. We both nod and share a nervous chuckle, waiting for the assignment to be passed out.

There isn't much to say about the relationship between Hanako and myself. We're able to talk with a bit of freedom now that she's warmed up, but at the same time, most topics either create awkward pauses or total silence, or are totally forbidden for one reason or another. Getting to know Hanako has been more a continual exercise in how to interact with her, rather than actually learning more about her.

"H-Hello." She fidgets, twirling a pen between two fingers and trying to avoid eye contact.

At least I'm learning, though. I never believed that social interaction was a skill until I met the girl sitting beside me. "Hey."

All that remains after greetings is silence, which I may have thought to be awkward before but has now become commonplace between us. It doesn't have the chance to last very long either, as Mutou deposits our assignments on our desks a moment later.

Ten calorimetry problems -- not necessarily anything difficult, but it would seem that Mutou's trying to let us study as groups, rather than spending yet another day lecturing on the same thing despite no one understanding it. It's Thursday, we've been going over this for nearly a week, and yet half the students here are still left scratching their heads just looking at the problems, including my own partner.

It almost makes me feel singled out, since all of the material we're going over today feels simple; I might just be the only person in the room enjoying any of this. It's a comforting thought that helps to push away the aggravating fact that I have to go in for work tomorrow, at least.

Although she doesn't make it a point to speak up, it's very clear that Hanako doesn't even know where to begin, her eyes flickering back and forth across the page with more than a hint of worry. She begins shifting through one of her notebooks, hand shaking as she tries to pinpoint where exactly we talked about the material.

It takes all of my resolve to even speak up in her current state. "Uh, Hanako... would you like some help?"

She freezes in place, as if snapping out of her world of panic and realizing that she's still in the classroom with us. The only motions from her body stemming from the light quivering of a pen in her hand. No words form on her lips as she opens her mouth, regaining a bit of sense from the surprise.

"I-I would... I-I mean if you w-wanted to... i-if you could..." She stammers out, cutting herself short each time before finally giving a flat "yes."

Without a word, I pull away from my seat and go back to my own bookbag, digging out a small notebook. Having accomplished that, I'm already flipping to the page I need by the time I get back to my seat.

I sift through pages and pages of diagrams for a bit before pointing one out for Hanako, "is that what you're stuck on?"

Her eyes analyze each line and label for a few moments before she shakes her head. "N-No, I'm stuck on..." Hanako trails off, looking at her own page of notes and then over at the worksheet, trying to figure out how to answer. "I-I don't know what to do w-when you have a n-negative temperature..."