normalities

Chapter 3: Hapless to Happiness

Trembling and fidgeting. These were both things Cassie was doing while trying to remember to put one foot in front of the other.

Kohaku could almost feel her as they walked and when he looked over, he saw Cassie walking with her hands near her chest. She rubbed her hands together and looked anywhere she could that wasn’t directly in front of her. When they started to hear the noise of the party, Cassie immediately started to breathe a bit louder and her hand rubbing went to her arms.

“Maybe I should just go to my dorm. This doesn’t seem right for me.” Cassie was stepping back as she said that, but Kohaku was able to grab her arm before she got to far away.

“You said you’d at least go here.” He pleaded.

“Yeah, but that was before I remembered there would actually be people here!” Cassie shook her head and covered her mouth and nose with her hands. Her voice was muffled behind her palms as she said, “I don’t think I can go.”

Kohaku looked at her and held her shoulders. He felt her trembling and could almost feel her heartbeat.

“Oh man, you’re really scared.” He sighed. “Would it help if we stayed here for a bit?”

Though he could only see her eyes, she slowly nodded. Her hands remained over her face and she was taking deep breaths through her hands, similar to breathing in a paper bag.

Kohaku helped her to sit down and sat beside her. He said nothing for a bit, but realized that probably wasn’t helping.

“Um, so were there any emails?” She nodded, but said nothing. “What’d they say?”

“Just the usual,” she said abruptly.

“What’s the usual?” Kohaku tried to carry the conversation in the hopes he could distract her.

“Buyers… someone even said they wanted to stop by sometime to check out something we had.” Cassie’s hands slowly went down. “Someone’s grandson is interested in finding some history about his family.”

“That’s amazing! You guys could really help someone out.”

“I guess…” She paused. “That just means more work for me though. I gotta come in tomorrow and see if we even have the book he told me about.”

“I wouldn’t mind keeping you company. That place was pretty quiet and it’d be a good place to study.”

Cassie’s breathing calmed and her trembling reduced. She was still shaking, but not as badly as she once was.

“Yeah, that sounds fun. I wouldn’t mind that.”

Kohaku got to his feet. “I’ll be there then… so, do you think you’re doing better now?”

She got up and shook her head. “No, but I don’t think I’ll be freaking out anymore. Just a little nervous.”

“Okay, I’ll be with you, so tell me if you feel scared again.”

Slowly, they started walking together again. Kohaku made sure to check up on her every so often as they approached the party that seemed lively despite it being a Monday night. Kohaku looked around and hoped he could find his friend, but he also made sure not to leave Cassie either.

“Who are you looking for?” She asked.

Kohaku looked to Cassie, hearing her voice being the softest it’s been in all their conversations. Even her demeanor was drastically different from what she showed him so far.

“Oh, just my friend who invited me.” Cassie gave a soft nod and occupied herself with her long nails. Kohaku returned to searching, and there he saw someone waving to him. “There he is… come on.”