Rendered in Code and Color

Chapter 4: Shadows and Silhouettes

The sun was still shinning bright when classes completed for the day. It wasn't high in the sky, but still had a couple hours before orange and red hues would flood the atmosphere. Kazuki and Hiroshi were waiting just outside the college's main entrance, chatting about the parts of each class they are most excited for.

Kazuki, however, wasn't fully present. The day was a bit more draining than he expected, though oddly galvanizing. He began his day resolved to sit at the back of each class. Quietly observing and learning. College was only a stepping stone for him, and in some ways, more of a formality than anything.

Strictly speaking, he could learn everything he needed to through online classes, books, ThouTube videos, and hands on practice. He had chosen college for two reasons; Formal lessons at a proper institute would look better on his resume, and it was more convenient to be fed the information than it was to dig through the internet. He figured he would have to interact with people, especially since he chose the collaborative course, but he wasn't counting on much socializing.

Yet, here he was. Meeting with some classmates to go celebrate new-formed friendships that aren't even half a day old. He thought back to his high school days. He wouldn't have said he had any regrets. His grades were good enough— slightly above average. And while he didn't have any friends, he hadn't made any enemies.

After meeting everyone today, though, he wondered. Maybe it was always something he felt, but just suppressed. Or maybe it was something that he was incapable of feeling until now. Whatever it was, he had this feeling growing within himself. If he listened to it closely, he could hear a faint wish that he'd met this group of people sooner.

Friends. Not something Kazuki was unfamiliar with, at least he didn't think. In middle school he met a few people you might call friends. They ate lunch together, talked at school, and shared the same classes. And they 'hung out' by playing games at night— a tradition they kept to this day. But no matter how he looked at it, something was different with this new group.

Did he even know what a friend was? Perhaps his elementary and middle school years put him at a disadvantage when it came to friends. Afterall, when you are backed into a corner it's all you can do to just blend in— Ah. That must be it. blending in, like a random NPC that's just there to make the world seem more lively. That's what was different.

His old group of friends were, not trying to insult them here, also NPC characters. Just blending in so the main characters don't bother them. It was a comfortable existence, if not a little boring.

Ayaka and Hiroshi on the other hand, they wouldn't let Kazuki be the NPC character in the background. They treated him like he was the main character. That, was something entirely new to him. Lucky I'm not a computer program, he mused to himself. If I were, I'd probably be racking up the 'null reference errors.'

Kazuki was brough out of his internal thought when he noticed Kaori, Ayaka, and Miyuki approaching them.

"Heya! Sorry to keep you guys waiting." Ayaka said.

"You're the one that took so long. Did you really have to re-apply your makeup? It looked fine." Kaori quipped.

"Oh don't worry, we werent out here that long. So what's the plan?" Hiroshi redirected the conversation back to the reason they were all meeting after class.

"Hm. We could go to the mall! It'd be fun if we all went shopping, right?" Ayaka suggested.

"Though that does sound fun, I wonder if a more casual setting might be better?" Miyuki offered, after a sideways look at Kazuki.

"We could go to a cafe. They might be a little busy around now though." Hiroshi added.

"That's actually what I was thinking, too. I know of the perfect spot too! It's this new cafe that I've been dying to visit." Kaori quickly pulled out her phone and started searching the map.