soul of akio

・2・

     I heard my phone ring loudly across my room. I got up lazily and turned the screen over to see who was calling me.

Saya

     I froze for a few moments. What the heck should I do? Wait, she doesn't know what I've been thinking. I'm so dumb... I really need to stop thinking so hard. I'll get a headache.
     I answered the call and put the phone to my ear.
     "What's up?" I answered, trying to sound casual.
     "I need encouragement." She said like it wasn't out of the ordinary.
     I laughed. "Um... okay. Encouragement for what?" I decided to play along.
     "To study!" She groaned. "Remember the math quiz we have Monday? That's my worst subject." I could practically feel her rolling her eyes.
     I got a cocky grin. "Well guess what? You're in luck! 'Cause I'm amazing at math!"
     "Can you come over? I can't do this over the phone."
      I could barely believe my ears. We study together all the time... this is never a big deal.
"Be right there." I said, hanging up.
     I looked into the mirror. I had messy hair, a shirt with holes, and some ugly pants. There's no way I can see her like this.
     I changed into a white t-shirt and sweatpants, grabbed my phone and ran out the door. I ran the whole way to her house. About half-way there I realized that I didn't put on shoes.
     When I got there, I knocked on the door a few times. Saya opened it. She had her hair in a ponytail. She wore an oversized purple sweater and some short white shorts. She looked cute. ...I never paid attention to what she wore before...
     She put her arms in front of her chest. "You gonna stare at me all night? Get in!" She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me inside.
     She closed the door behind me. "Take off your shoes and follow me." She looked down at my feet. She held back a burst of laughter and turned it into a crazy smile on her face. "O-oh okay then just follow me."
      I sat on the floor next to the kotatsu. I looked at the mess of the papers and laughed a little. "What?" She pouted.
     "N-nothing." I held back a laugh. "Let's get started."
    
     We studied for a while. Whenever I would point out her mistakes, she would get a face as red as a strawberry and pout a little. I would laugh and continue.

     We started to get tired. "Hey, it's getting pretty late. I should probably go home..." I started getting up.
     She grabbed my arm. "No. Not until I master this."
     "All right." I laughed nervously. My moms probably getting mad that I'm not home yet.
    She got up and walked to the kitchen. "Want something to drink?"
     "Nope." I shook my head.
     "Kay." She said.
Saya soon returned with two glasses of water in her hands. "I told you I didn't need anything."
     "Well, I can't have you dying of thirst before we're even done." She said simply as she sat the glasses down and sat back down.
     "Thanks." I muttered, picking up a glass of water and bringing it to my lips.

We began to continue studying, but when she reached for a paper across the table, she knocked over my water.
     Yep, right onto my shirt. My white shirt.
     The wet, thin fabric became nearly see-through as it clung to my skin. Saya's face turned red, once again. "I'm so sorry, Akio! I'll get you another shirt right away!" She got up and ran into the other room.
     I laughed. "You know, it isn't as embarrassing for guys as it is for girls." She came back from the other room, holding a pink sweater, similar to hers.
     "Regardless," She shoved the sweater in my face. "I wanna see you wearing pink." She winked.
     I pouted. "You're evil."
     "Love ya too, buddy!" She stuck her tongue out before leaving the room.
     I peeled off the white shirt. My skin touched the cold air. A shiver went up my spine. I quickly pulled the sweater over my head.
She walked back in, her hands over her eyes even though she was peeking through her fingers. "You done yet?"
     I nodded, inwardly laughing at the fact that she was peeking. Saya sat back down and we continued studying.