⌠ 1 ⌡
"I'm back."
The emptiness of home greets me
like thick smoke.
When I'm alone,
I turn on all the lights.
The living room TV.
My father's record player.
Maybe the noise helps.
Dinner, plastic wrap,
a handwritten note
on our small dining table.
Keichi,
We'll be late at work again.
Don't wait for us and eat.
- Mom.
Late as always.
Not that I can complain.
They're working
because of me.
⌠ 2 ⌡
When I transferred to Hoshizora High,
the classroom buzzed
for a while.
But time moves on.
The rainy season ends,
chalk marks fade,
curiosity slips away.
The lull of routine.
I become
background noise again.
I try to join them,
but small talk slips through my fingers.
I try to match their rhythm,
but my steps are clumsy.
You realize that people move on.
No one waits for you.
And
slowly
slowly
slowly
being alone becomes normal.
⌠ 3 ⌡
They must have realized what I already knew.
Those hushed voices
echoing across the lockers.
Always following me.
"You'll always be alone."
I roll over on the couch.
The ceiling blurs.
"Why... am I thinking about that again?"
Tightness in my chest.
Forget it.
Forget it.
It's been 3 years since then.
It doesn't mean anything.
Why am I still letting it get to me?
You'll always be alone.
⌠ 4 ⌡
But.
They're wrong.
Akiyama...
Will she be there tomorrow?
I catch myself smiling.
YOU ARE READING
wingman | Cell Phone Novel
RomanceSakai Keichi has always been the wingman, the shadow helping his best friend chase girls in an empty cycle of double dates and practiced smiles. He lets himself fade into the background. Until he meets a girl who smells of rain, and for the first t...
