THE BOY [ EDITING ]

iii. rain & books

005

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Walking home isn't her thing and well, just walking in general.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎even though belvie is pretty
good at running ── especially from
teachers ── it seriously all depends
on her mindset.

it was supposed to be raining
today. keyword, supposed. to
say that belvie was conflicted
would be an understatement.
she loved the rain and every
single thing about it. the calm
sound of the raindrops hitting
the concrete. the comfort of
your blanket during the cold
night. the sound of the rain.
heavy, alive, happening. every
single thing.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎when her mom warned her
about it and told her to bring an
umbrella, she seemed a bit too
happy to do so for the adult who
would blow kisses at her everyday.

but here she was now, with her
umbrella tight in her hold and
leaning onto a random locker
that she thought was hers.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎everyone was outside by now,
everyone but her and the staff.
( maybe the student council were
still inside too. who knows? )

she had detention again and
belvie wouldn't want to lie, she
was disappointed in herself for
that. ‎maybe she really was a
troublemaker or the school just
── hated her.

turning around and putting her
locker combination, she grew very
frustrated at the fact that it didn't
seem to work even after trying at
least three times.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎had she really not pay that
much attention to forget her
own combination?

"tha ── that's my locker." a
voice said. ‎ ‎ ‎

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎belvie didn't feel like turning
around and meeting their eyes,
slightly embarrassed, but just
remembering that something
isn't embarrassing unless you
think it is and to her, it's fake it
until you make it or die. so she
does what she's best at. faking
her feelings about the situation.

she decided to just shrug it off
with a flat "sorry" and hoping
that the person won't think
anything of it. then, there's a few
seconds of silence for no reason
at all.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"so, are you gonna move out
of the way? i have a meeting to
return to." ‎

okay, she wasn't good at recognizing people, but this voice was familiar.
maybe it was this one annoying girl
from her p.e class or her biology one.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎now thinking about it, she hated biology. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

"oh. sorry, again." ‎ ‎ ‎

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎smelling the strong perfume
which made her feel as if her nose
was on fire, she turned around
with a confused expression, slightly questioning what brand the person
got the perfume from.

belvie was was met with the eyes
of a girl she would bump into in
the halls quite often. a girl that
was in the band club last year and
one that seemed to irritate her a
bit too much.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎what was her name again? it
started with an m or a k.

"hi, um, kahori?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"kanako, actually."

nodding and not caring about
saying a name entirely different
from the girl's, "okay."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎belvie decided to walk away
pretty slowly and avoid the girl
who's eyes she could feel on her
back, but remembering her pink
umbrella that she wasn't holding
anymore which made her turn
around and walk, or more like,
run back to kanako.

bending down and grabbing her
item, she decided to leave a little
advice to the brunette or words
that she'd consider an advice.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"this is me being nice. get a
new perfume. the one you have
could literally kill someone."

a side eye was all she got and let's
not ignore the fake smile. a pretty
one too.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"good day," she muttered but
loud enough for kanako to hear
her.

the girl was thankful that belvie
wasn't able to hear all the profanities
she muttered while digging in her
bag for another perfume she must
brought to school.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎── belvie jones really wasn't that
much of a sweetheart.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

006

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎He needed to focus on school.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Shinichiro also hates school ──
well, hating is a strong word so maybe just disliked the place and ── a lot.

his grades aren't exactly bad and
he always manages to pass which
he'd proudly give himself a high
five for but there was a test coming
up.‎ ‎ ‎

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎whatsover, shinichiro didn't
want to fail because ‎for a good
future and one away from his
gang, he had to work hard. and
of course he loved the black
dragon, they were his treasure.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎there is still one problem.
shinichiro can't think of a place
where he could study because all
the ones he'd instantly thought
of where impossible for him to
keep focus. for example; he
couldn't exactly go to his room
since he'd get distracted by all the
bikes poster nor his shop.

he also couldn't go to the living
room because he would end up
playing some card games all
night with his grandpa and that'd
be a huge distraction for him. ‎

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"maybe try the diner that just
opened up like two weeks ago?
i don't know," takeomi told him
out of the blue.

that's right. there was this diner
that opened up and maybe it'd be
a good place for him, especially
at night when it's deserted and
the presence of any life hard to
detect.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎── "oh yeah! i've been wanting
to check it out too! good idea keo."