[ON HOLD] Leaves From The Same Tree 「同じ木から葉」

New Chapter, New Beginnings, New Friendships [28, 29]

{28}

I was interrupted by Fujita-sensei,
who came strolling into the classroom
along with another teacher.

He retrieved his material and retreated back to the teacher's office,
while our math teacher,
a small woman with a sharp glare through her glasses,
took his place at the podium.

"Open your textbooks to page 65."

She commanded.

And then she started to scribble on the blackboard.

I had to- reluctantly- return to my own seat
(which was on the other side of Jun).

Kame and Shuu both gave me looks of condolence and sympathy
before turning to focus their attention on the blackboard.

No worries...
I guess I'll just talk to Ichihara Kazuo during lunch.

{29}

-Lunchtime-

When the lunch break approached,
I tidied up my desk and readied myself for the upcoming task.

It was a good thing that I waited until lunch,
because there was hardly enough time between classes.
There was no telling how mortified I would have felt
if I had been interrupted again...

Presently,
Ichihara Kazuo seemed to be a bit occupied,
looking over notes from the previous lesson.

...But if I want to talk to him,
now would be the perfect chance!

I took a deep breath.

Then,
slowly,
I made my way to his seat again.

"Ichihara-kun!"

I said his name aloud in as clear a voice as possible,
mustering every ounce of courage into this one action.