The Enduring Libero

Chapter 10

The Long Day: Part 2

I watched him go, smiling to myself as he disappeared. Something that could be mistaken for a giggle wanted to make its way out of my throat, but I refused to let it. I had never giggled like a girl ever in my life, and wasn't about to start now. Still, the good mood that created that laugh carried me into my classroom with more confidence than I had on the walk there. Of course, as soon as I entered, my smile fell away. I had spent a good portion of my morning, worrying about spending the day between two uncomfortable friends, but apparently that had all been needless.

Yuki sat in his usual spot, staring in the direction opposite from me, and Kimiko looked very uncomfortable. She must have seen my smile fall away as I entered, but she didn't make a move to speak to me. I stared at my spot, now taken by Kimiko. Her usual seat was occupied by another girl, which left me the only open desk at the front of the classroom. I stared at it in disbelief, shocked and frozen. My mind seemed to slow to a crawl as it comprehended that I had been purposefully cut from my nice, hidden spot at the back of the class—by my two closest friends.

No, that can't be right...

I stood, trying to wrap my brain around what was happening, and some of the other students started whispering in front of me. Their eyes flicked to me and then back to their friends. An embarrassed blush pulled across my cheeks as I hurried to the open desk, sliding my bag down next to my leg. I tried hard to keep my breath steady as I pulled my books out of my bag one at a time. Jumping to conclusions could get me into more trouble than was actually necessary, and this might just be one of those situations. I could imagine that, while unlikely, the girl at Kimiko's desk had decided to sit there before my friend had arrived, and thus taking my seat hadn't been intentional. There was also the possibility that Kimiko had seated herself by Yuki in order to give me space, and then her original seat was taken when the other girl saw that seats were being exchanged.

Again, unlikely, but it was possible. With that being the case, I couldn't just get mad or hurt. Even if I felt fairly embarrassed, and even if it certainly seemed like what had happened was not well intended.

The teacher came in soon and began his lecture, eyeing my new seat only once at the beginning. I tried to pay attention as he began writing things on the whiteboard, but I was struggling to think straight. My heart wanted to go over every possible reason for why my two friends would abandon me to the front row, while my mind insisted that I wait to hear what they said. The two approaches battled for dominance, leaving me with a confused sense of discomfort, rather than an understanding of the class's lecture. Eventually my mouth went dry, and my heart rate sped up from all the worrying. Subconsciously my left hand went to my right forearm, rubbing it slowly. I was trying to calm down enough to focus, but there was nothing I could do.

Thoughts like that swirled in my head for the hours spent in class before lunch. I could feel my emotions coiling into a tightly wound spring, working themselves into a storm of unhappy dismay. By the time lunch finally arrived, I was practically ready to burst from unanswered questions and fearful dismay. I needed to talk to Kimiko at least, otherwise the rest of my day would be miserable.

Twisting around to get a view of the class, I saw Yuki leading Kimiko to the back of the crowd, where students were trying to exit the room. Quickly as I could, I grabbed my books and sprang out of my chair, careful to put them back in my bag so nothing would happen to them. The two were just exiting the room when I managed to grab Kimiko's shoulder.

"Hey, wait!" I called. "Kimiko, what-"

She swatted my hand off her shoulder, effectively bringing my question to a crashing halt. I gaped at her, now more shocked than at the beginning of class.