KiriDeku: Smile for Me

Chapter 7

The sky blazed, streaked in yellow and orange. The clouds were gathered into one array, pursuing the setting sun. The birds were in the air, gliding on the final winds whirled up for the day. It was almost 6 o'clock. In another 30 minutes the clubs would be wrapping up soon.
Kirishima and I sat on the roof, watching them from a distance. Neither of us had said a word since the library. I still needed to compile my thoughts and I'm sure he did as well.

As the whistle blew, he finally spoke up.

"So what's your plan?"

"Huh?"

"About Shindo. You don't wanna be stuck like this for the rest of middle school right?"

"Yeah.... I just don't know what though."

We were both silent again for a bit. Could there have been a way to resolve all of this? It seemed hopeless. I felt Kirishima's hand clench my shoulder.

"We'll figure something out. Don't worry. Do you know why he hates you so much?"

"I don't know. It's complicated you could say."

Complicated was an understatement.

*****

My dad left to America when I was in my second year of elementary school. He had gotten a really good job over there. And because of it, my mom and I were able to live in a nice complex. All of this meant that I had to move schools as well. At the time I didn't mind it. I didn't have many friends at my old school. This was a chance for me to start over. I had been so hyped. The idea of it made me happy. Yet the reality proved to be disappointing. A year had went by and I still had no friends. I didn't know what I was doing wrong.

In the next school year, that's when I met Yo Shindo. When I first saw him, I realized that he looked like me, except he was the cooler version. Yo was able to make friends quickly. By the end of the first week, the entire class loved him. He had all these amazing qualities. He was sociable, kind, spontaneous, and gave off charismatic energy. Even I thought he was amazing.

During our free time in class, he approached me one day as I was drawing.

"What are you making?" He asked.

"I'm trying to make Batman..."

"I've heard of him, but I've never seen him. Is that what he's supposed to look like?"

"In a way. He looks a hundred times better than this though."

He laughed a bit. At once my heart had dropped, making me feel like a loser.

"That's cool!" He exclaimed.

I paused, staring at him in disbelief.

"You don't think it's weird?"

"Of course not! Who doesn't like superheroes?!"

That had been our first encounter with each other. After that he would occasionally talk to me from time to time. I didn't want to get my hopes up about him, so I kept my distance and continued to respect his space. To him it didn't matter if I made the first move or not, he'd always come around and say hi. His persistence lingered. Until he finally diminished my doubts. It happened during lunch break.

Yo came up to me after we had finished eating.

"Hey Mido-kun! Do you wanna play baseball with me and the others?"

"Mido-kun?"

"Yeah! Is it okay if I call you that? We're friends aren't we?"

I was confused. I had never been called that before. But he considered us friends. My heart welled up with happiness. It was a lot too process, yet I rolled along with it.