people pleaser | nishimura riki

2. morning

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Nishimura.

The infamous Riki Nishimura was both good and bad news.

He was like a shot of espresso wherever he went for his visuals were beyond compare and his vibe was as fresh as air. However, unapproachable as can be, he was like a dangerous weapon unattended; no one dared to lay their hands on him.

He could do whatever he wants without being judged. Or, when people did judge him, he couldn't care less.

Completely contrasting Aira herself.

"I feel so bad for Aira." The minor statement was enough to catch her attention. 

"No way, I'm so jealous of her." Another whisper contrasted the previous opinion as her eyes finally landed on the owners of the voice. "She gets to sit beside literal human art."

As she finally arrived at her seat, she was greeted by a hooded boy with his eyes glued to the phone in his hand. This was the first time he had attended class and for the other time, his presence was nowhere to be seen. Nonetheless, what struck her the most was the fact he was sitting right beside her seat. It didn't bother her at all as the seat was not taken, though she wondered whether it was a coincidence or not.

Who knew she would end up becoming his seat mate?

After cautiously pulling her chair out, quietly sitting down, gently taking out her materials, and cautiously again tucking her chair in, she had used that time to muster up her courage.

"Good morning...Nishimura." She whispered his name as it tasted too foreign to her lips. No matter how many times she had heard people talking about him, she had rarely mentioned him as she was behind on his news.

Not expecting a reply based on his intimidating rumour and evident nature, she was perhaps lucky that day.

"Morning Aira." He responded, though his eyes never left his phone.

Hold on. How did he know her name?

"How did you know..." She spoke her thoughts.

"We met last week. When you almost fell down the stairs." He replied monotonously.

She knew that for sure.  Of course, she did. That moment was practically engraved in her brain every time his name was brought up.

"Right..." She nodded, wondering if she should just leave him alone and wait until the teacher comes. Fortunately, to cure her boredom, one of her classmates approached her.

"Aira," Sota greeted her. "Can I see your homework sheet."

With no questions asked, she flipped through her neatly organised folder before pulling the maths paper out. "Here." She handed the neat sheet of paper to the boy who smiled in response as he scurried back to his group of friends. They were all waiting in anticipation.

"Do you always give them your homework?" The boy beside her who was so immersed in his phone finally looked in her direction.

"Ah...only sometimes."
Lies. It happens all the time whenever homework is given. It has happened so many times that whenever they approached her, she knew what was up. It wasn't like they had any other reason to talk to her. 

New people were hard to fit in.

"Hm." He hummed in reply before he spoke again. "So not only do you run their errands, but you also do their homework."

It did sound bad the way he put it but Aira never viewed it as a bad thing. They needed her and she was more than happy to help.

Perhaps this was her chance to finally make a friend her in her class. 

However, as she figured another ice-breaker in hopes for a conversation, she was met with the male back on his phone. 

Never mind.

Fine by her. Her expectations weren't that high to begin with.

Though it was still a little disappointing.

Suddenly, Sato from across the room was calling her over. She assumed they were finished copying her answers to which was summoned to collect the paper. 

Fine by her. It's just a small distant.

However, just as she was leaving her seat, she heard a sigh following with a subtle murmur. 

Though she wasn't sure whether he was really referring to her, his words replayed in her head for the entire period.

"What am I going to do with you."