Holding on to the hand,
flustered,
the girl helped herself up,
but her apologies
continued on.
"I'm so sorry..
I'm so sorry..."
"Shush,"
Masao gently placed his finger on her lips.
She blushed.
Beetroot red.
"Apologise no more, beautiful one.
It was my fault too.
I didn't notice you.
You clearly needed help with all those books."
And right on cue,
Akari appeared,
holding the stack of books.
Passing half a stack to Masao, she said
"Show us where these are supposed to go."