Running On Empty

Chapter 26~Jaylin~

No one bothered me. A lot of the girls would look at me and giggle. What was up with that? Maybe in their culture, the way I moved or what I said was funny. There were many girls who waved to me when they saw my face, but then stopped once they saw my crutches. Was it only my face that they were after? Most of the girls were short, slim and had long black hair that reminded me of Silya.

It's lonely without you here.

I glanced out of the window from the second floor and realized that the sakura tree was popular today, so my next escape would be the rooftop today. I make my way slowly up the steep stairway, holding onto the railing as if it were my lifesaver. Being at a school that had no elevator like the places I see in America, challenged me to learn to adapt in using the stairs. My legs were always shaking when I first started out. I felt my whole body shake as if I was an elderly person. Over a year, I had learned to shift my weight on the left side of my body because that was my strongest side.

Would I have to struggle even more physically as I grew older? Would I still be able to use crutches as the years went on? I don't want that. I want to be able to get stronger as I matured. If I was weak, no one would be able to depend on me.

I managed to get up a flight of ten steps in about four minutes, feeling some people stare at me in silence. I knew that most of them were just curious about me, about the way I moved compared to them.

Someone who was in my class, today, comes up the stairs and offers me help. He tries his best to speak to me in English. I do not know what his name is, only the fact that he is a classmate. When he is asking me if I would like help with my bag, I can only stare at him in confusion. Why had waited until now to talk to me?

"My name is Sota Kosuke." He has dark brown hair with bangs that blocks his eyes. He is one of the taller guys in our class, fairly popular with everyone in our class. I saw him many times before this moment, laughing with my other classmates. They spoke in a language I could hardly get a grasp on.

"Right, I'm Jaylin Hennery." I grip the railing on my left side tightly with my fingertips. Sota-san grasps my right hand eagerly, seeing my surprised reaction and shakes it as if I was a baby rattle.

"Call me Sota. Kosuke is my first name. "

"So, do you need a hand with your bag? Honestly, the school should consider people like you who have a harder time with doing things physically." He laughs uneasily, wondering if I felt offended by his words.

"No worries, I'm fine. Arigato Sempi." I smiled at him, wondering if I had thanked him correctly.

"You're welcome." He takes the bag that I had in my left hand and swings it over his back effortlessly.

I hear a couple of girls squeal in delight. Hope I can become friends with him.

"Let's go, I brought my bento box as well." He laughs lightly and makes his way slowly up the steps beside me.

On the rooftop, there was no one except the two of us, looking at each other awkwardly. Why was this guy with me now? Did he do this to take pity on me? I didn't want that. Then again, I don't really understand how to make friends with anyone in the first place.

I started falling down to my knees slowly just to find a comfortable way for me to sit. Sota looks at me for a long time, nervously keeping quiet. I'm sure that this person had a lot of questions. The thing I was most afraid of was not knowing the answers myself. There was something in my mind that told me to stay away from this person. Something made me shiver at the sight of him. I experienced fear and excitement at the same time.