Alone In The Infirmary

Ayumi waited patiently in the classroom for her friends. She had told them during lunch to meet her after school for an announcement. She didn't give any major details, but told them that it was really important and not to be late. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and immediately sat up. Those footsteps belonged to one of her fellow classmates, Kishinuma Yoshiki.

Ayumi sighed in disappointment. She had hoped Satoshi would be first.

"Ne Shinozaki, what's the big emergency?" Yoshiki asked, sounding a bit out of breath.

"Kishinuma-kun, did you run here?" Ayumi asked. "The others aren't here yet, so you could have taken your time."

After Yoshiki regained his breath, he approached Ayumi.

"I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything..." Yoshiki said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Actually the real reason he came so quickly was because he wanted to be the first one alone with Ayumi. However, if he told her that, she would think he was some kind of weirdo.

"Ah I see." Ayumi responded.

The two stood in silence as they waited for the others. As time passed, Yoshiki would occasionally glance at Ayumi secretly, seeing her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, move her foot against the floor or sigh impatiently through her lips. Yoshiki would feel a faint blush come to his cheeks every time he would admire Ayumi.

"Ne Kishinuma-kun, does it feel a bit breezy in here to you?" Ayumi asked.

Yoshiki quickly snapped out of his daze and scratched his cheek gently.

"Does it? I didn't really notice!" Yoshiki said, giving a nervous laugh.

Ayumi scanned the room, searching for the cause of the breeze and saw that one of the windows was opened.

"Over there!" Ayumi exclaimed, running towards the window.

Yoshiki stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the open window.

"Looks like someone forgot to close it."

Ayumi tried to reach for the window's frame, but it was a bit too high up. Even standing on the tips of her toes didn't seem to help.

"They raised it up too high." Ayumi sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I can't reach it..."

Ayumi looked to Yoshiki, who was standing near to her.

"Kishinuma-kun, do you think you can reach it?"

"I think so. I am taller than you after all." Yoshiki responded.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ayumi said, folding her arms against her chest.

"I didn't mean anything bad, Shinozaki! It's just... I am taller than you..." Yoshiki rubbed the back of his neck, giving a nervous smile. He moved back slightly when Ayumi leaned towards him, giving him an angry look.

"I can close the window! Just you watch!"

Ayumi moved away from Yoshiki and pushed one of the desks near the window. She climbed on top, standing up slowly. The desk was old, so it wobbled a bit, frightening Yoshiki.

"Shinozaki, I don't think that desk is safe to stand on..." "I'll close the window for you. Just please get down." Yoshiki said in a worried tone.

"Stop being such a worry-wart. I can close it without your help!"

Ayumi reached for the window's bottom frame and tried to push it down, but it didn't budge. No matter how much force Ayumi used, it stayed it place.