A Firefly's Glow

Chapter Nineteen: Part Five

Keita walked into the theatre room, searching the room for that head of auburn hair that no one else he knew had.

He felt this strange, guilty feeling in his stomach. Should he have escorted her to her classroom that morning? He kept questioning this to himself, and it made his head hurt.

He wanted to find the girl to see if she was with Amanatsu Mashiro. If that guy could make her smile when Keita couldn’t, Keita felt that it’s better if the girl stayed with Amanatsu rather than Keita.

Keita didn’t exactly know what to do to make that girl smile.

 

When he saw the girl sitting against the wall, leaning her head of ruffled hair against the wall with her eyes focused towards the ceiling, his walking pace slowed.

She wasn’t sitting with Amanatsu. She was sitting alone, by herself.

He hesitated before approaching her. Should he take his place by her side?

Before he could choose, the girl glanced towards Keita and quickly motioned for him to come. She waved her hands across the air, looking similar to an octopus.

Keita didn’t exactly know what to do, since no one had ever ushered towards him in that sort of way before. He started approaching her, walking slowly and steadily.

“Keita!” she whispered, giving him a cheerful, greeting smile. “Could you walk any faster?”

“Of course not,” Keita answered as he stepped before her. He glanced down at her with his mask-like face. “Why are you sitting alone?”

“Amanatsu and Mikan aren’t here yet. Mikan said that she forgot something in her classroom, and she dragged Amanatsu along with her. I’m just waiting.”

Keita kept eying her. He didn’t shift or move from where he stood.

“Um,” the girl began, glancing between Keita and the space beside her. “Would you like to sit down?”

“I guess.” Keita lowered himself down beside the girl, telling himself that he didn’t particularly like to do anything.

After a few minutes of utter silence, Keita had spoken first.

“Do you like that guy?”

“What guy?” the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mashiro.”

“Amanatsu?” the girl suggested.

Keita wished the girl would just understand that he couldn’t pronounce that guy’s name. Amanatsu. What a weird name.

“So what if I did?”

“You do?” Keita was speaking in his slow, monotonous voice, but he probably sounded more curious than he wanted to sound.

“No,” she shook her head from shoulder to shoulder. “But so what if I did? You asked me that same question a couple of days ago. Does it matter?”

It shouldn’t matter to Keita. However, if it didn’t matter, Keita probably wouldn’t have asked her about it, especially since this was his second time asking.

“I’m just wondering,” he paused, glancing downwards as he spoke. “If you’ve fallen yet.”

She slowly shook her head, keeping her eyes focused on him. “No.” she murmured so quietly that he needed to read her lips to figure out what she was saying.