First Love

Chapter 10

"We need to talk." Kei's voice came really close as he leaned on my desk.

"I don't feel like talking right now." The words came out before I even thought about them. "Plus, didn't you hear Mr. Matsumoto telling me to go to the office after school?"

"I'll wait for you then."

"You don't have to, Kei." I sigh. "Let's just talk at home." He paused for a moment, contemplating my suggestion.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait for you?"

"Right now, I don't even want to see you, can't you understand that." Kei's face hardened.

'Maybe I went too far... No I didn't.'

He stomped away, snatching his bag from his desk and stormed out of the classroom.

"Are you alright?" Yoko asked me with her sweetness.

"I'm really nervous about Mr. Matsumoto."

"Yeah, he can be a jerk." Yoko nodded in understanding. "Well, I have a student council meeting, maybe we will be done at the same time, we could leave together."

"That would be great. I could use some company today." A flash of all that has happened in the previous two days crossed my mind. My chest tightened, but I shook my head right away.

'One thing at a time. Let's go see Mr. Matsumoto first.'

I walked to the office and immediately spotted the old and ragged English teacher. He was engulfed in some papers he was correcting. I cleared my throat and entered the room.

"Mr. Matsumoto, I have come like you asked." He looked up from the paper he was painting in red and took off his reading glasses.

"Well hello, Miss Martin, I was waiting for you," he said, breaking into an evil grin. I knew he had something in mind. I swallowed hard. "It's good that you are here, I have just the task that will give you enough time to think about how important my class is, and how you need to come on time to it."

'Damn, he is still mad.'

"You know where the trash incinerator is?" He pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his drawer.

"Yes." 'I just had the worse conversation of my life next to it.'

"Great, you will need to burn all of today's school trash." My eyes widened.

"But that's like... so much trash," I exclaimed.

"Yes, I know." He shot me a look daring me to say another word. I was sure if I had added any other comment, he would have prolonged the punishment for a week or something. So, I took the gloves and walked to the back of the school.

I thought that life was cruelly funny. Just a few hours before, I was standing there in front of the guy I loved as he broke my heart with his nonchalant apology. Maybe I should have listened to what he had to say. Maybe I misunderstood something.

"No! What is there to misunderstand. He even apologized, damn it!" I tried to reason with my mind.

I walked to the incinerator to fond dozens of trash bags. I opened the first one and dumped it inside. Then a second one. It was so hot and there was only room for two bags inside the machine.

"Shit, this is going to take forever."

The day was already hot but being in front of the incinerator made it feel like hell. I felt my skin crack dry and I was so thirsty. I thought about getting a water bottle, but I had to walk so far for the closest vending machine. I decided to just finish the trash and then think about water.