I froze, as if struck by lightning.

She was sitting alone on the fire escape.

“S-Sora!”

I don’t know which of us was more surprised.

“W-What are you doing here?”

She quickly wiped her eyes.

“Well… um…”

What should I do?

I should say something to her.

“I…”

I looked around, searching for an excuse.

“I was thirsty!”

I showed her the bottle.

It wasn’t a lie per se, but believe me, I didn’t know how to approach her.

Silence.

My face began to heat up.

“Listen…”

I might as well give it a try!

“Are you okay?”

I looked at her, waiting for her answer.

I was expecting anything… but not for her to start crying again.

“My knee…”

She whispered, but I didn’t catch it right away.

“Your knee?”

I looked down at her leg.

Her knee was really red, as if she’d fallen.

Wait...

You’ve probably already figured it out...

When I ran into her with my bike!

I felt guilty and embarrassed.

“Akari, I’m sorry!”

I bowed.

“I hit you this morning… and…”

Admitting it didn’t make me feel any better.

“D-don’t worry about it.”

“You didn’t do it on purpose.”

Normally, those words would have reassured me…

But seeing her hold back her tears didn’t help.

“It’s okay,” she insisted.

Obviously that’s not true!

“Akari, I’ll walk you to the infirmary.”

I tried to at least make myself useful.

“Absolutely not!”

I was stunned.

Do I really disgust her that much!?

“Well… If you don’t want me to walk you, at least go by yourself.”

“It’s not necessary, it’s over.”

She kept pretending it didn’t hurt.

“But you’re holding back tears!”

It slipped out before I could think.

“What are you talking about!”

She stood up from the step as if to prove something.

However, as soon as she stood up, she staggered forward.

“Watch out!”

I caught her just in time.

We stood there in silence.

“Maybe…”

She looked down.

“I think we should go to the infirmary,”

she admitted, blushing.

“Sure.”

I gave her a nervous smile.

I took her by the arm and walked her inside the school.

Luckily, there was no one around.

Well, it was class time.

If anyone had seen us like that, who knows what they would have thought.

I pushed that thought out of my mind.

“Listen… Sora.”

Her voice made me jump…

She probably noticed it too.

“Thanks for helping me.”

She hesitated, then...

“I need to ask you for another favor.”

She looked at me.

“Could you go get what I need from the nurse’s office?”

I looked at her, puzzled.

It didn’t seem like the right time to ask her why.

“Y-yeah… Sure…”

After making an obvious excuse for the nurse, I went back to Akari.

“Here, everything should be here.”

I gave it a quick glance.

“Band-Aids, disinfectant…”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

I handed her everything she needed.

“How did you convince her?” she asked, taking the bottle.

“The nurse, you mean?”

She nodded.

“I told her I’d hurt myself, but that I was too embarrassed to get it treated.”

I scratched my head.

“R-really?”

She stifled a laugh.

She tried to hide it with her hand.

“Well…”

DRING.

The bell interrupted us.

“The bell rang.”

“Wait… We missed gym class!”

“The teacher is going to kill us.”

This time, she was the one looking at me in bewilderment.

“What’s wrong?” 

I asked her. 

“I didn’t have class today,”

she revealed.

I stared at her in disbelief.

“Today I was supposed to work on the plan for the next field trip.”

“I was near the gym because that’s the only place with a green tea vending machine,”

she explained.

She seemed to be salivating just talking about it.

“Wait, that means... the only one who skipped class...”

I started running.

“Akari! I’m going!”

I wonder what kind of face she made when she saw me running off like that.

I dodged the math teacher’s scolding—I can’t let him tell me off!

I ran like crazy toward the gym. 

My class was already heading out. 

“Hey, Sora! The teacher is furious!” 

I didn’t stop. 

But I admit those words spurred me on to hurry. 

I returned to the central area.

The teacher was there...

“Sir.... Pant... Here I am.... pant” 

My shortness of breath made me take a while.

“Sora”

His restrained tone scared me quite a bit. 

I only noticed Haru behind him afterward. 

He gestured to me.

Cut?

Is he telling me to shut up?

“So, where have you been all this time?”

He put a hand on my shoulder. 

It felt like a sack of cement. 

“Well… You see… I went to get some water and…”

“Haruto” 

Haru jumped when he called his name. 

“Y-yes, sir?”

“Go ahead, I want to talk to Sora alone.” 

That could only mean one thing...

I gave Haru a desperate look. 

“Sora, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” 

He gave me a thumbs-up as he slowly walked away. 

Traitor!

“Fifty push-ups.” 

When Mr. Kenji told you to do something, you didn’t have much of a choice. 

It took me five minutes, but it was still hell. 

I collapsed onto the ground. 

“I’m done.” 

I was gasping for breath. 

“Sora…” 

His tone softened.

“Are you okay?”

“I mean… about what happened.”

He asked me.

“Yeah, don’t worry, we’re moving on.”

I smiled, trying not to worry him. 

“If you need anything, just ask.” 

He placed a hand on my head. 

This time it didn’t feel heavy.

“Thanks...”

“Come on, get moving, you slacker!”

He gave a little smirk.

“Okay, okay.”

I don’t know why, but I laughed a little.

However, the only thing I thought about for the rest of the day was...

I wonder what Akari is doing?

I walked out the gate. 

“Forget it, heading home!”

Just to give you an idea, I didn’t ride the bike; I walked it. 

“Damn!”

“Haru was supposed to tell me why I messed up.” 

“Well, he’ll tell me in a text.” 

I walked past a Konbini.

Well, I’m just in the mood for a snack.

I parked my bike and went inside. 

“Let’s see… Potato chips? No…” 

“Or maybe yes.”

As I was trying to make up my mind…

I stopped at a stack of magazines.

“There are quite a few...” 

“Wait, but the one on the cover...” 

“Akari!” 

I couldn’t resist. 

“Hey, kid, what did you get?” 

“Yeah, well, I got these chips and...”

“T-this magazine.”

I’ll read it at home.