I sat in the same seat positioning as I always chose in a classroom, the leftmost aisle, two seats ahead of the furthest desk in the back, to not give the impression I was attempting to dodge any untoward questions about the curriculum I was supposed to study.

And somehow, by chance, I was still seated in front of the same girl who managed to develop quite a reputation herself. I managed to catch her in the act of scrawling something in one of her notebooks when I turned around to get a glimpse of her.

We locked eyes for a single instant, her icy-mechanical eyes immediately dipping their focus again to her notebook, her silver-blue hair obscured by the hoodie she’d wear over her face she’d always wear as part of her writing ritual.

Usually, this would be the point I’d turn back around and wait for class to start, leaving Kotonoha to her own bizarre machinations.

But this time, she lifted her head again and peered at me curiously before gently tugging at my shoulder. Her demure delicacy took me off guard.

“Yes, hello, Yamamoto-san? Since it’d be weird to continue to observe you like this, would it be alright if I asked you a personal favor?”

“Umm, sure, I guess. But what for, Kotonoha-San?”

“I’d like to get to know you a bit more, but the way I do it might be a little different than you’re used to,” Kotonoha said, peering at the scribbles in her notebook.

“Okay, but I don’t think it’ll be a satisfying interview for you. Classes will start in a few minutes.”

“You’re right. Then I’ll meet you back here at the end of classes today, okay?”

She asked me as if I’ve already agreed to the arrangement, an unassuming smile spreading across her face.

For nothing more than what I could describe as morbid curiosity, I accepted.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll see you then, Yamamoto-San.”

I reluctantly smiled before I returned my focus to the teacher fumbling to pass out school fliers to the students row by row.

Wait. This wasn’t how the beginning of the school year was supposed to go. I’ve already expended energy in a completely unneeded social interaction. I already had enough friends. It must’ve been Kotonoha’s looks that threw me off guard. As unusual as she was, I couldn’t deny that the combination of her silver-blue hair and her light-blue eyes were rather arresting.

But as I already told myself, effort leads to exhausting negative emotions, and negative emotions mess with the mental peace I’ve so carefully cultivated.

And a romantic relationship with Kotonoha wasn’t something I was interested in initiating.