That Blonde Guy

Chapter 28

The sound of the bell rang in the four corners of the classroom, indicating the end of the class.

Baji heaved a sigh of relief, throwing himself back to his chair. He closed the Kanji book on his desk, stuffed it inside his bag, and left the room along with everyone else. With his sleepy eyes and tired shoulders, he walked in the noisy and crowded hallway, ignoring the gazes that his presence would catch. There was nothing on his mind at that moment but his bed, and he couldn't wait to fall asleep. If only he knew that the English summative test would be cancelled, he wouldn't have bothered going to school that day.

Stupid school. Why does he need to study English, anyway? Why don't just the rest of the world study Japanese so he doesn't need to suffer?

He breathed a sigh. What a stupid life it was.

He was subconciously jiggling the keys of his bike as he walked out the school gate on his own, but he stopped when he saw the familiar face of Chifuyu. The lad was standing by the lamp post in his casual clothes. His arm was still suspended in a blue arm sling, a faint healing bruise barely visible on his face.

He waved and smiled. "Baji-san."

Baji was nothing but a bit surprised to see him. The two found themselves sitting on a pile of logs in the empty lot beside the school where they always parked their bikes.

"You should be resting at your house."

"You stopped coming, so I came to see if you're doing fine."

Baji's lips twitched. He was just about to visit him this afternoon. "You shouldn't have. You're still not in a good state."

Chifuyu didn't speak.

"And I'm fine, dumbass. Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I'm sick," Baji added. "You should be worrying about yourself."

"I heard about what happened in the meeting three days ago. Takemichi told me."

"Ah, yeah." He cleared his throat. "I left early, I wasn't feeling well."

Chifuyu just looked at him. "About Nika and Mikey."

Baji paused. His gaze stopped at the grass on his shoes, the inside of his throat suddenly tightening. He found himself searching for something to say, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Chifuyu looked at the long-haired guy, immediately regretting what he said. Baji may not be showing it, but Chifuyu knew his captain had been really into Nika since the beginning. This was the very first time he witnessed Baji taking a serious liking to a girl, but now, that girl had been taken.

And of all people, by Mikey.

Chifuyu didn't know what to say. Baji was obviously affected by it. Chifuyu wanted to do something to make his friend feel better, but he didn't know how.

"They look good together," Baji said, forcing a smile. "Good for them."

"Baji-san--"

"Glad that Mikey finally got himself a girlfriend." He gave a chuckle. "Just when I thought girls don't interest him."

Baji stood up, heaving a deep sigh. Chifuyu just stared at him, to that smile on his face that was obviously fake. He was trying to look happy, but his eyes were telling the opposite.

"I still have some yakisoba back in the house," Baji said, mounting his bike. "Get on, let's have some."

Spending the afternoon with Chifuyu brought a sense of small joy to Baji, specially after realizing that he hadn't done it in a long time. As the both of them sat there in the kitchen munching on newly-cooked peyoung yakisoba, he felt somewhat alive again. He noticed it, though. The way how Chifuyu initiated a conversation about bikes and some other random stuff and tried not to bring up about what happened in the meeting. Baji knew Chifuyu was trying to drift his thoughts away from Nika. He knew Chifuyu was thinking that he'd be hurt about it, but Baji didn't need him to think that way and so he spoke to make it clear,