Love in the Times of the Crescent Moon

Chapter 14

All morning, Kit's thoughts drifted – to Asano and his strange attempt to get close to her. It remained a mystery to her what might be going through his head and whether he would just leave it at that.
"Do you know what's up with him?" Okuda asked quietly, pointing at Karma, who was staring grimly at the board in front of him.
Kit hadn't even noticed that he'd come into class. Karma had been conspicuously absent for the first two hours. Now that she thought about it, it struck her as odd. He hadn't skipped school in a long time. She shook her head in response to Okuda's question and tried to make eye contact with him, but he didn't look her way. Something was wrong.
"Is everything okay with you?" she asked him during the break.
"What's it to you?" he shot back, and without waiting for an answer, he disappeared out to the sports field.
Kit felt thrown off. She didn't know if she should be angry at his rude behavior, but she was certainly worried. Even Nagisa beside her just shrugged, shaking his head. Apparently, he didn't know any more than she did. Maybe she'd better leave him alone for a bit.
Still, Kit couldn't shake the feeling that he was targeting her specifically, as everyone else clearly noticed the tension in the air but were treated politely if they spoke to him. She mentally reviewed their last encounters but found no clues as to why he seemed so furious with her. She was at a loss, and the only way she knew out of this confusion was to talk it out. Kit solved everything by talking.
"Karmakun," she tried to catch him after school, but he made no attempt to stop.
Feeling ignored, she felt like a puppy chasing him, begging for attention. A mix of anger and embarrassment slowly rose in her, especially since she felt watched by all her classmates.
"Would you finally tell me what's wrong with you?"
To her surprise, he stopped and turned to her with a carefully controlled calm.
"Nothing." A quick, joyless courtesy smile flashed across his face. "I don't know what you mean."
"What's with this? I thought we were friends!"
"Oh, really?" he asked, feigning surprise. "And I thought you didn't need us anymore. You've got new, better friends now." He paused for a moment, and Kit tried to follow his line of thinking, but he went on. "No losers, no outcasts. Congratulations, you're part of the elite now. I'm sure your mommy would be proud of..."
Kit swung and slapped him with all her strength, leaving a red mark on his cheek immediately. That had landed. The sound of her palm hitting his face was loud enough that even the last of their classmates turned around, startled. Nobody said anything. There was nothing left to say. Kit felt tears well up in her eyes. Wordlessly, she walked past him, wanting only to go home.

Curled up on her father's lap, Kit watched a movie on TV. She could tell he wanted to question her, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it just yet.
"If you'd tell me what's going on, maybe I could help."
"Oh, Dad," Kit sighed, trying not to sound as bitter as she felt.
"That's sweet, but I have to handle it myself. You know, I'm practically an adult and all that." She saw him smirk and had to smile herself. "Really, Dad. Don't worry."
"I'm your father. I'll always worry – especially when it's about boys."
"Who says it's about boys?" she asked innocently, but his knowing look made her fall silent.
What Karma had been about to say before she'd interrupted him so harshly was the most hurtful, tactless, and cruel thing she could imagine. Nothing in the world gave him the right to say that, no matter how angry he might have been. You just don't do that to someone you like. Kit must have been wrong; they weren't friends. And even if she were willing to forgive him a lot, this time she couldn't.