Behind The Mask

Chapter 7- Akari

I woke up the next morning to find a dry bed sheet, not a single drop of sweat on my skin, and feeling well rested. I tried to recall my dream but found that I couldn't. for the first time since in 12 years, I had a good night's sleep without being plagued by nightmares. And it felt good. Deep down I knew why it was that that had happened. But I knew at the surface that I would never be able to get what I wanted. I just wasn't the kind of person they'd want to be in a relationship with. They'd only ever see me as a friend. Kian would never love me back.

I had a shower and brushed my teeth before getting into my school uniform, which had been cleaned and dried after school the day beforehand. I then headed into the next room to complete what felt like a tradition at this point that I did every morning and grabbed my violin to begin playing Adagio, the same as I did yesterday, and the day before that, and every day before that for the last 3 years. Just with less memories assaulting me and without the breakdown. After doing that, I headed downstairs to have breakfast with Auntie Eliza and found out that my cousins had already left for their father's house.

I then left the house with my music plugged in, but as I got to the gate, I saw something different from normal. There, just outside the gate, was Akai waiting for me. When she saw me, she gave me a small smile. "Hey, how are you going?" she enquired.

"I think I'm going alright today, thanks." I replied. We started walking together to the bus stop.

"How are you holding up after yesterday?" She sounded worried for me.

"I honestly don't know; my feelings are just all over the place for it."

We then walked for about 100 meters in silence before I asked the question that was plaguing my mind. "Hey, Akai?"

"Hmm?"

"h-have you ever been in love with someone but not known how to tell them or known if they would love you back?"

Her eyes took a sheen as she blinked quickly. She must have been holding back tears.

"Yes..." she finally responded quietly, "Every day for the last 2 years. In my case I'm scared that it will end up like my last one- with somebody getting hurt. But yes, I have."

I couldn't help it; my instincts took over and I pulled her into a one-armed hug. "If you need any help with yours, tell me and I will do anything." We then get to the bus stop and sat there in silence for a minute or so, letting each other's company help solve our issues, until the bus pulled up. We hopped on and sat in what was becoming our usual seats, with me sitting next to Kian and Akai taking the spot next to Kio. I felt a bit nauseous, but I managed to give him a sort of smile. He must have thought I was feeling nervous because of him having seen my face, because he gave me a look that said, 'it's alright, I understand'. But there's no way he could have understood how I was feeling.

The first thing I heard was Kio: "where were you! We thought you'd missed the bus! You've always caught the bus with us to school!"

"I know, but I think I might start doing what I did today- walking to Akari's house and catching it with him, because that way he has someone with him as well."

"Fine, but I'm not entirely happy about it."

And it continued like that for the rest of the trip. When we got to school, we all walked into the school talking to each other. As we roamed through the hallways, I began to notice something I hadn't noticed before. There was a group of boys walking together in the same kind of red jumper that Kian wore, and even had the same hair style as him. I also noticed that there was a group of girls doing the same thing with Kio's style. I decided to point it out. "Hey, what's with those guys and girls that are dressed like you?" They followed my finger to where the boys and girls were, and their faces went hard.

"I thought I had told them to cut out with that stuff last year!" Kian exclaimed. "they've been doing that for a while, because me and the vertically challenged pixie are considered to be the most popular people in our year level. They keep trying to convince me to teach them how to be like me, it pisses me off. OI! YOU TWITS! KNOCK IT OFF WITH BEING WANNABES! Let's go."

We assumed our seats in homeroom with me sitting next to Kian, and Kio and Akai sitting next to each other on the other side of me. we had a double session of health next, and I was dreading what was in store for that class. Mr. Wood walked through the door and the instantly told us to follow him and that we were taking an excursion on the bus, and he would explain what we were doing on the way there.

When we had all piled onto the bus and it had started driving, he got up the front and told us what was happening: "So today we're going to the local primary school. As you all know, we've been studying sex ed, so you all know that you will probably have kids. I'm going to be... preparing you for that eventuality by letting you hang out with little kids for the day. I have permission from both schools, so you don't have to worry about missing much class." We all knew that this was also probably happening to fulfill his perverse desires.

When we got there, we all piled off the bus and lined up outside a classroom of 6–7-year-olds. When we walked into the room, we could all tell who were in what cliques of the class. Instantly, all of the 'eshays' went and crowded around Kian. He was definitely not happy with it. I think I heard him mention the terms "gremlin" and "leeches" to them ,which made me, and the others laugh.

It was around then that I noticed a little girl with black hair sitting in the corner with tears spilling out of her eyes quietly, and another little girl with pure white hair sitting next to her trying to comfort her. "Are you alright?" I questioned her, worried.

"I don't know." She replied.

"Well let's start with an introduction: what's your name?"

"Alexandra, but I prefer Alex."

"Hello, Alex, my name's Akari- it's nice to meet you!"