Chapter Five: Forming Friendship
Kairess POV
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Sitting under the shade of a Sakura tree, I find myself isolated from stress and exhaustion. I've been aching for a rest and since it's my vacant time, this is the perfect moment to take a nap. As I lean back on the tree, I plug in my earphones and play the shuffled playlist on my phone.
You're the boy who murdered love
Cold hands and a heart of stone
You're a midas in reverse
You're the king of pain and hurt
My favorite song starts playing first. I shut my eyes as the pristine breeze of September caresses my skin with its icy fingertips. Everything settles me into a good mood and I wish I could stay like this for a while.
It started a year ago. Red courted Miki, a beautiful girl in our class. Since he seemed to be a keeper, the two of them started dating after a month. Everybody in our class adored how perfect their chemistry was, not until three more months passed.
Whenever Miki would like to see him, Red would always make excuses that he's doing a lot of stuffs. She understood that at first, but the situation became bothersome when Red was actually losing his time for her.
That's when she started investigating his action and tadaaa! He was cheating on her already. They got in a long fight after that, but they gave in back to love eventually.
After two more months, exactly at the school foundation day Red unbelievably cut off all his ties to Miki. He shamed her in front of us and his classmates, saying how boring and lame she was as a girlfriend.
It was after quite some time when Miki told us about everything. The truth is they've made love once, but then Red would always ask for it. She didn't submit herself when she noticed the change in his behavior after their first. And that's when his bullshit interfered in their relationship.
The whole tragic story of Mitsuki (Miki) and Red flashes back to my head. I can see where Harumi's hatred is coming from, and I think I'm way past the issue of seeing her on top of Red that night.
He must be thinking that he has the last laugh, but the story doesn't actually favor him. Through the collective detestation of Miki's classmates, he has become the anathema of Class A. He seduced his own bad karma, and now it's craving for him.
"There you are," someone suddenly pulls out my earphone, surprising the hell out of me. I jolt and awkwardly roll over the grass to keep a safe distance. Upon facing this person, an air of relief unchokes my chest from anxiety.
"Oh, it's you." I mutter under my breath as I fix my composure.
It's just Harumi, looking usually pretty even in a messy bun hair. With a cute coiffure like that, she appears younger and that beautiful sharp-looking eyes do stand out. A sable pair of iris that captivates me with a single glance. Just by looking at her, my confidence drastically falls on a declivity.
She draws near to help me up. Her warm hand and long fingers touch my hand with familiarity. As I stand in front of her, I realize how I lack in drinking milk when I was a child. I slightly motion my head upwards to meet her smiling face like the way my elementary classmates would look up to me when I was the tallest girl in class.
It's okay, Kairess, it's okay. The progress of your hormones towards your height is just slow but never missing in action.
I want to applaud at myself for such a brilliant conjecture and at the same time laugh, because I'm so freakin' supporting my own jokes.
"Anyway, what brings you here? Aren't class A doing a lot of stuffs?" I ask, logging off from my side thoughts.
"Didn't I tell you that I'll hunt you down? I deserve a treat, Kairess." Harumi declares sternly while pointing at herself. Fudge, she sounds like Kaelyn when really hungry.
"Treating you in a broad daylight with a lot of students around, don't you think we're inviting issue here?" I doubt, acknowledging the negative possibility of others misunderstanding us.
"What exactly are you saying?"
"I mean, ugh, it's hard to put it into words but I think your class and my class aren't actually in good terms. And if one of your or one of my classmates sees us talking so casually, this might start an uproar."
Harumi stays silent for a while. It appears that the thought hasn't bumped in her mind before. Her eyes, now focusing on me, are trying to penetrate my thoughts.
"You know, Kairess. You're a negative thinker. You create problems that don't even exists. This is annoying," she blurts then rolls her eyes at me. My jaw slightly falls open in surprise.
Gosh, is she really this straightforward?
The last time she's done this to me, I uncontrollably cried in front of her. Now, even though her words are less fiery than before, it still hits my heart as a criticism. A destructive criticism.
Dayuuum, things are disheartening me so easily. Oh my poor kokoro!
"It's not actually being pessimistic, Harumi. I'm just taking precautions," I explain my side in a flat tone, my voice faintly echoing in the air. Looking down at my feet, a moue of annoyance marks my face .
"I'm sorry, are you mad?" Harumi stoops down a little to take a gander at my face. She's switching to her tender side again.
"No. We're okay," I whisper, almost inaudible for her to hear. Slowly, I start pulling myself away from her until my feet themselves decide to turn around and walk out.
"Hey where are you going?" She asks, astonished.
"Hmm, to class- I'm going back to class. I'll catch up with you later," I wave my hand and then fake a smile. After that, all I know is I'm running towards our classroom.
English is about to start when I reach our class. Lazily marching towards my desk, I unconsciously hit Kaelyn's desk which is beside mine.
"Good grief! Watch where you're going, Kai!" She whimpers, scowling at me through her lashes.
"I'm sorry, you're in the way." I sound rather vapid than apologetic. Quietly sitting, I place my head on top of my hand and stare blankly at the teacher who's starting another one of her jejune discussions.
Nothing interesting happens in the whole period. It's all about grammar lesson and few activities. And I'm glad when the bell signals the end of this boredom. Everybody scatters around the room, having a little chitchat before PE starts.
"What's with the unpicturesque face, Kai?" Mio, the class artist, approaches me with a worried look. She pulls out a vacant chair and have herself comfortably sitting in front of me.
"She had a quarrel with my desk a while ago," Kaelyn chimes in then they laugh in unison.
"But seriously Kai, something seems to put you off the mood."
"No it's nothing, just a small--- Ugh, I don't even know."
"You're being taciturn, really." Kaelyn comments.
"I can't even put it into words," I snap.
"If that small thing is affecting you like that then it's not actually just a small thing and particularly not just a nothing."
Mio sums up my whole situation in one sentence. I look away guiltily, but never let go of a single word anymore. I myself can't even explain how my mood suddenly becomes different. Perhaps the conversation with Harumi has literally killed my vibe. Again.
"Geez, don't tell me it's a guy." Mio starts guessing. I turn to her then look at Kaelyn. Kaelyn is wondering too.
Actually it's a girl. A very straightforward girl.
"Probably this is about Hiro," Kaelyn blurts, mentioning a taboo name all of a sudden. I motion to her with a what-the-fudge-are-you-blabbering look.
"Hiro? Who's Hiro?" Curiosity is written all over Mio's face. I smile at her, deliberately shrugging off her question.
The next period starts in a blink of an eye so we proceed to the field. In general, my day is pretty gloomy but with Kaelyn by my side I'm able to set aside my anxieties.
"Good job, guys! We're finally finished with our entry for the contest! Thank you all for working hard!" The class president announces happily. Everyone literally jumps out for joy upon seeing the fruit of our hardwork.
The one we called as "Class C's Chef D'oeuvre" stands before our eyes, awing us in its unique form and beauty, making each one of us proud and blissful.
"Good thing our invention came out pretty excellent. I'm having high hopes for the contest tomorrow," Kaelyn says as she starts packing up her things. I nod while pulling out my phone from my pocket to update Cookie about our creation. She's really intrigued with it that she even promised to visit us and take a look at it tomorrow.
"Oh it's past 5. Do you want to come with me to the food bazaar? I'll treat you, Kai."
My fingers freeze. Treat. Oh fudge I forgot about Harumi! I feel an adrenaline rush, causing me to panic and gather my stuffs in a haste.
"I'm sorry Kae, I have something else to do. Next time will do!" I tell her then surge out of the room. I've become too occupied that the thought about the treat has been completely pushed out of my mind.
Running towards the school's main gate, I spot someone standing at the corner. It's Harumi. She's beneath the shadow of the walls, making her look like she has the deepest, darkest and naughtiest secret ever untold.
Oh wait, she really has one.
She smiles, "I thought you'll ditch me."
This makes me blush. I stop in front of her and scratch my nape as I try to explain my behavior a while ago. Harumi listens to me intently likewise a child being told of a bed time story. She keeps on nodding, understanding me word by word.
"So yeah, I'm feeling kinda awkward about myself should we go now?"
We take the train to the Complex station where an underrated yet remarkable café resides. This place is not the the type that'll give customers a good first impression. It's all evident in Harumi's mien.
But once we step in, a cozy and impressionistic ambience will make anyone unconsciously stand on the entrance in awe. The cold tiles are hidden under the galaxy patterned carpet, this is a complementary design for the two layered wall. The outer layer has carving of hazy lines, concealing the galactic ombré lights implanted at the inner layer. The interstices of the carvings are illuminated by the lights' reflections.
"Wow. You've got an impressive taste in choosing a place, Kairess."
I giggle, "Ethereal café proves to me that the true beauty of something can only be seen by people who overlook what's on the outside."
"Interesting," she comments with a grin.
"Yeah I know. This place is really interesting," I agree while scanning at the menu filled with sweets, coffee, fraps, donuts and pasta.
"I mean you are interesting."
I hear a faint voice. When I look at Harumi she's checking out the menu, and seems to be fascinated by it. Suddenly I'm filled with curiosity and I'm not in the best mood to ask her.
"Why would you say that?" A female voice distracts me from my thoughts. When I turn a little to glance at her, she's with her boyfriend and they're enjoying their quality time.
"I said that because you really are," the guy in his mid-20's replies, smirking at his girl alluringly.
Perhaps I just misheard things.
I shrug it off and decide to try the Milky Way, a vanilla flavored frap and the fettuccine carbonara. Harumi orders the Galactic donut, it is literally a big donut with a bunch of crushed cookies on top of it, and the same frap as mine.
Going back with the orders, I lead her to a vacant chair near a big abstract portrait. There we settle our stuffs and start with a casual conversation, ranging from the preparation for the foundation day down to a further leakage of personal information.
It's pretty ambivalent how she has me telling a lot about myself, yet she hasn't really shared anything much about herself. This is not the likes of me. There's something about her hypnotic eyes that got me under an unexplainable charm.
But one thing that makes things even is she's able to be friends with someone who's socially awkward like me. Somehow.
"Oh by the way, we have a surprise for Red tomorrow."
Tomorrow will be the celebration of the school's foundation and it involves many activities including the highlight which is what we've mostly prepared for. But now our conversation is way past the contest.
"Really? Does it mean you failed your task?" I ask, feeling quite bothered about that night. It feels like I'm the one responsible for interrupting the set up.
"No. Actually you came in the right time. It made him think that rumors about him doing it in the school will spread, it's a good scare for him."
Thank goodness. Now I can assure that I'm not guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
"Tomorrow will be a blast for him. You should look forward to it," she says with a bitchy look in her face. Her aura suddenly turns cold and menacing as if she has planned a murder.
Going along with the atmosphere, I say, "Okay. I'll be looking forward for a surprise tomorrow."
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