Revelation Of An Ordinary Life

Penultimate Actions

I looked over at the girl sitting across from me. Her expression was very calm, almost tranquil. Like she had reached enlightenment. Nirvana.

Then, slowly, she closed the book she was reading. She gently placed it on top of the pile that she had already read.

And then she leaned downward and rested her head on the table and looked over at me with a disappointed expression.

"Ayanokouji, you're smart. How do you deal with grief?" Hiyori asked me with a downcast expression.

Did she lose a loved one?

"Oh... Uh, this is putting me on the spot a little. But I guess it depends on who you are and what that person meant to you," I began.

Hiyori straightened her body and shook her head.

"It isn't a person."

What?

"I... don't follow."

Hiyori took the book she was reading and showed it to me with the back page opened. Her index finger was pointed at a line in the middle that read 'Thank you for reading my story. Please look out for my future works'.

"So you're feeling grief because a story you liked ended?" I asked speculatively.

Hiyori shook her head, "It didn't end."

"If the writer is still writing it, then why are you so disappointed?"

Does she need to go to the doctor?

"The writer isn't writing it, but the story is still continuing. Stories never end, the storytellers just don't keep using the pen," Hiyori explained.

So in other words...

"I think you're just in the denial phase."

"I like to think of it in a more nice way, like that I'm keeping the memory alive," Hiyori retorted.

The bell began to ring and that meant lunch was over. Today was the last day, and thus at midnight, all of this would be over.

"Well, Ayanokouji, I'll see you later. Or maybe in the past, who knows?" Hiyori giggled as she stood up and walked away from the library.

I should do the same as well, I suppose.

I strode into the classroom and took my seat, and soon, when the class was full, Chabashira walked in and began her regular lecture. We have 20 minutes at the end of the day, but before then, regular classes still take place.

Of course, not a single person could care. These lectures were practically pointless.

Even Chabashira looked even more dead and bored than she usually does. At first thought, you'd think she was drunk, but no, she just couldn't even spend the effort to speak her sentences properly. By the end of the lecture, every student was just prepared to go home and sleep.

"Now that we're finished with that, I want you all to do something. Think of it like a grading system for your classmates," Chabashira began.

Not a single person cared enough to even ask a question.

"I'll hand out a sheet to all of you which has your classmates on it. The question at the top is what you'll be answering. Your anonymity will remain, so feel free to be honest. This won't have any future effect at all. It's merely a progress check of sorts for each of the students to get an idea of each other," Chabashira continued while taking a tentative glance towards me.

Anonymity just makes things easier for me. If it wasn't anonymous, people would be inclined to please others. And considering my position, I'm sure there would be no difference.