Tsukiko-chan & Taiyou-kun

Chapter 9

The awkward silence filled the room, sometimes broken when someone scratched down a note on their notebook or coughed to clear their throat. Tsukiko tried to ignore it and focus on the book she was supposed to be reading, but she couldn't keep herself from glancing around the table.

How can so many people gather and be this quiet? I know we're studying, but still... She forced her eyes back to the book again, but she hadn't finished reading the first line when she peeked at the boy on her right.

Taiyou-kun did what she was supposed to be doing; reading. He never noticed the girl looking at him as he moved on to the next page. Despite his calm expression, there was something in his eyes bothering Tsukiko.

Is he mad? He must be... Even the girl couldn't tell by the boy's face. He's mad, she decided, pressing her lips. I mean, who wouldn't be after that... Wait, it's not my fault, right? I thought it was a good idea... Argh, damn it! How did things turn this way?

Tsukiko eyed the boy on her left. Though Kobayashi-kun seemed to read the book, he looked just as bored as he did during school. The girl knew the boy was a few moments from dozing off. Are you feeling guilty for the way you treated Taiyou-kun, Kobayashi-kun? Are you ready to apologize? Tsukiko wanted to say, wanted to vent out her anger... but she quelled down her feelings. This would probably bother Taiyou-kun even more, she knew. The last thing she wanted was to make the boy even unhappier.

With a heavy sigh, Tsukiko forced her eyes back to the book, though no matter how long the stared at the page, she never moved past the first sentence.

"Thanks for this, Aozora," Kobayashi-kun said after a while. In few seconds, he closed his book and gathered all his material, ready to leave. "It helped a lot, but we gotta go."

"Yeah, we go practice," Kenichi-kun added with a heavy voice.

"Even with midterms coming up?" Tsukiko blurted out.

Kenichi-kun scratched his cheek and showed an awkward smile. "Yeah, actually—"

"The coach doesn't know," Kobayashi-kun interrupted his friend. Tsukiko had hung out with the boy long enough to know he felt pride for that. "I'm the one who set up this. Even if we have tests coming, the matches are more important. I mean, there're a lot of expectations if we make it to nationals or not."

You mean expectations on you? Tsukiko held her initial words. Lashing out at him like this won't help at all. Instead, she tried to treat him as normal as she could. "Is that so? Then good practice."

"Thanks. I'll promise my next goal will be for you." Kobayashi-kun flashed his smile before heading towards the front door of Tsukiko's apartment.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Aozora. Believe it or not, this will help our stupid captain improve his grades to the bare minimum," Kenichi-kun said, standing up and gathering his materials.

"Hey, I heard that!" came Kobayashi-kun' voice from the entrance and Tsukiko, Yui and Rika-chan laughed. All but Taiyou-kun, who remained in silence while staring the book. Tsukiko noticed his eyes weren't moving.

"And sorry for our captain, Fuyuzora," Kenichi-kun added in a low voice to keep Kobayashi-kun from hearing. "I know he seems like an idiot, and to be honest, he is, but he's not a bad person. Hope you can help us again in the future."

Tsukiko didn't notice, but she held her breath as she waited for Taiyou-kun' reaction. She looked between her classmate and her friend, the seconds going by slowly. The boy turned his head Kenichi-kun and made a small reverence without a word. The vice-captain showed an apologetic smile and then went after Kobayashi-kun.