(RUN) TO THE UNKNOWN | SAIDA

what's on your mind, nerd?

The day could not go by any slower. As the end of the school year arrived, the more unbearable it was for students to attend. All clubs had stopped holding meetings after-school hours, giving the seniors the chance to leave earlier and study for their upcoming exams. The place was boring and quiet, the teachers were harsher than ever and even though students were supposed to be happy and careless around that time, anxiety poured on them copiously, almost drowning them.

Usually, the only breather seniors would get was the four-day school trip outside of Tokyo; taking the ferry to Okinawa was the school's tradition. Every student looked forward to this trip since the begging of the year, impatient to get some time away from their parents and have fun with their friends. However, this year's trip was cancelled. The principal had given no clear explanation as to why, but word went around that it was because this year's seniors were troublemakers and would most likely get in trouble. And of course, the principle did not want to have to do with angry parents, not now nor ever, leaving students disappointed and overworked.

One of those students was the brunette sitting by the window of her empty classroom, but her disappointment had nothing to do with the canceled trip to Okinawa. The bell for lunch break had already rang a while ago and since the weather was warm and sunny, all of her classmates opted on spending their break outside, yet she was still there, head resting on her right hand.

Dahyun, the short brunette by the window, was the typical nerd you would meet in school; the one on the top of her classes, that studied all day long, the one that was a part of a small friend group with two other girls — Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. Usually, the brunette would spend lunch break with them, but the heavy feeling lingering deep inside her stomach all day today took all the fun away from her. So, she sat by the window, looking at the slowly blooming cherry blossoms as she sighed.

You would expect a girl like Dahyun to be already planning her future, studying  for her university entrance exams — like every other student was doing by now — and not wasting her time, miserably sighing by the window. And she did, her mother and father-in-law had talked about universities and how important getting in was months ago, yet there was this odd, unbearable sense of disappointment that was torturing the young brunette. It was almost like she felt urged to grow up, like society, her parents, and her school all liked to see her childhood, the best years of her life, being stripped away from her before she could even fully experience them.

“What's on your mind, nerd?”

Dahyun's thoughts were interrupted by a slightly taller blonde that stood by the door of the classroom, hands threading her long hair.

“Minatozaki-san...” the brunette greeted, half-heartedly, without turning to look at the girl.

Minatozaki Sana, the blonde, was the complete opposite of Dahyun. Despite doing good in school and being one of the best in her class — she was Chaeyoung's classmate — she did not seem to be studying nor trying to maintain her scores and prepare for the exams. She was naturally good at it, Dahyun would think every time she would see her outside of school, smoking and drinking carelessly with a group of twenty-year olds until midnight.

The blonde did not seem to care about school or what she would do after she graduated. Looking at her, you could track no sense of anxiety, like you would do with any other student, despite not having plans whatsoever. And partly, Dahyun was envious. She wished she could be like Sana for a while, not caring about the future. Not being forced to care about the future.

“What are you doing here, smarty pants? Your friends are looking for you.” she laughed, leaning her back against the door frame.

Dahyun sighed again, not replying to the blonde who reached down on her knee-high socks, pulling out a hidden cigarette and lighter. Soon, she was by shorter's side, taking a seat on the edge of the open window, lighting her cigarette and putting it between her lips after offering it to Dahyun - who declined by aggressively shaking her head.