Read The Girl Behind the Perfect Smile :: Chapter 13 : After School

When the final bell rang, Hiro packed his bag slower than usual.He still wasn’t sure why Waguri had asked to meet him. Her message from earlier kept repeating in his head.Meet me at the usual place.He walked out of the classroom and headed toward the back of the school. The afternoon sun was warm, and the wind moved the leaves gently across the ground.Waguri was already there.She was standing near the wall, looking at her phone. When she noticed him, she quickly locked the screen and put it away.— You’re late, she said.— Only by two minutes.Waguri looked away and crossed her arms.— …Whatever.A short silence settled between them. Hiro could hear the distant voices of other students leaving the school.— Why did you want to meet? he finally asked.Waguri’s fingers tightened slightly on her bag strap. Her cheeks were a little pink.— It’s nothing important.— You still asked me to come.She stayed quiet for a few seconds, then spoke in a lower voice.— About yesterday… I told you to forget it.— I know.— Then why do you keep looking at me like that during class?Hiro was surprised. He didn’t think she had noticed.— I wasn’t…— You were, she cut him off.Her voice wasn’t angry. It was more embarrassed than anything. She turned her face further away, hiding her expression.— Don’t get the wrong idea, she added quickly. It’s not like I care or anything.Hiro watched her for a moment. Even though she was trying to sound cold, the tips of her ears were red.— Alright, he said simply.Waguri glanced at him from the corner of her eye, as if she expected a different answer. When he didn’t say anything more, she looked a little unsure.— …That’s it?— What else do you want me to say?She opened her mouth, then closed it again. After a moment, she let out a small sigh.— You’re really strange.— You’ve said that before.For a very short second, the corner of her lips lifted before she forced her expression back to normal.The wind blew softly between them. Waguri fixed a strand of hair behind her ear, still not looking directly at him.— Just… don’t act weird in front of the others, she said.— I won’t.— Good.She took a step back, then another.— I’m going home.— Okay.Waguri started walking away, but after a few steps she stopped. Without turning around, she spoke one last time.— …Thanks for coming.Before Hiro could answer, she walked off quickly toward the school gate.Hiro stayed there for a moment, watching her figure get smaller in the distance.Her words and her attitude didn’t always match.And that contradiction was starting to occupy more and more of his thoughts.