School is bore. It is. They keep you in a box against your own will and you are forced to listen to whatever it is they tell you. It was no different to kidnapping, the box could fit in thirty-six people without a hassle and it was perforated with holes at the side that lets you see out. If you were lucky, you could see the field that was yet enclosed with other boxes such as your own. But if you weren't, you would see the real world beyond the school boundaries with people such as yourself roam free in the streets like little ants out to harvest food. The temptation to dictate your own destination, the calling of adulthood and the sweet air of freedom. Naive as it is, those were his thoughts as he was ploughing through high school, fumbling through his textbooks and barely surviving sessions of mathematics.
But school was heaven for one thing, or rather, one person. One girl. And he knew he wasn't the only one thinking that for the back of his neck would burn from the same hunger filled gazes of boys just like him, their eyes transfixed towards the girl who sat just a few tables in front of him. He retains his conviction that he was different from the rest of them, that his intentions and feelings were pure and sincere. That he was not the savage wolves his classmates were and that he wasn't fueled by this primal hunger every boy in the school seemed to live on. He was special, he pressed. Just like she was.
She sat near the window, her table just below it. She would opened it to the smallest of cracks, just to let the wind creep in and relieve her of the warmth. Or in the winter, she would do the same just to feel the icy air, challenging her delicate skin like it was some sort of a pleasure to feel the little threats of nature. A peculiar thing she was. Absolutely unreadable and a mystery to everyone around her. And this was not only his fascination of her talking, everybody else thinks the same too. Be it the boys or the girls or even the teachers. But of course, fascination can take many forms and can initiate a variety of conclusions. Some see her as an endless mystery that shouldn't be questioned, some see her as cold and calculated, some see her distance as a social anxiety, making her into this bit of a weirdo. She wasn't all that and they knew it. The rare times she does talk, she was kind and compassionate. She was always ready to offer a helping hand and she was considerate too, often never forgetting and sometimes the one telling the class who's birthday it was that day. It's just that she often keeps to herself most of the time, which made her a terrific listener for the troubled mind.
She had long straight hair that passed her shoulders that she sometimes put into a neat ponytail but most of the time she lets it loose with minimal styling. She never seemed to have a bad hair day, which became one of the subject of envy among her female friends. And she was of adequate height, could be considered above average but not too tall as to scare the boys away. She was a thing of beauty, if that wasn't obvious already. Her face was a gift from god himself, his finest creation. Deep, mysterious cat like eyes that shines when light is present but radiates a sense of sadness whenever you gaze into them. Her brows were perfectly sculptured and her nose was definitely a thing of envy to the average Japanese nose, high and petite at the bottom with a prominent bridge that wasn't too strong. Her cheekbones were out of this world though, he could wonder about them for days as to where they came from. They were high and perfectly positioned to give her face this defined look that made her instantly recognizable from meters away. And her lips! Well her lips were thin but luscious in their own right, she would give the brightest of smiles but on usual days they remained in their natural form which was a bit of a slight frown that contributes to her cold appearance. A long neck and sharp jaw that would cut the world in half, oh how he could go on for an eternity about the beauty that she holds.
The school bell rang and it was time to start the lesson for the day. While he was busy daydreaming, his other friends of either sides of him were doing their revisions, making sure they were ready for Mr. Hito's quiz, which he entirely forgot was happening that day. He scrambled to pull out his notes but looked up to find that several tables in front, she was doing the same. She had been doodling this whole time, a habit the whole class was familiar with. She indeed possessed a creative streak in her as it was her that won last year's (and the year before) art contest. But unlike him, she could doodle all she wanted, she was one of the smartest girls in class and true to fact, she just answered Mr. Hito's question flawlessly. He could hear the obvious awe of the class as she expanded the problem on the chalkboard. And he could also hear the faint sighs of jealousy as she returns to her seat. What can't she do? He wonders.
He was sure multiple talent agencies have already made their move to make her the next successful idol, and modeling scouts have tried their luck in persuading her to "just come in for a simple headshot". She ignored all of that, he heard. The fast money was tempting to other girls, and boys too, but she wasn't the least bit interested. Everybody had a target university that they hoped to go to, and he had found out that she was aiming for medical school. Wow.
It was his turn to answer and fortunately the question wasn't that hard. His friend on his left gave him a teasing snicker and Mr. Hito seemed not at all enthusiastic about his 'mistake-to-be' answer. But as his eyes darted, he caught her sights and she looked at him with kind eyes and mouthed to him in silence "Gambate". She does that sometimes, not just to him. It's those little gestures that makes the whole class treasure her like she was to be protected at any cost.
He successfully answered the question and the class went on as usual. Another victim was called out and this time it was the class clown whose face was white with unpreparedness. Mr. Hito chided him for his attitude and the whole class erupted in muffled laughter. Except for her who was engrossed in some drawing she was doing, her head jolting up at attention, clearly curious to this joke that she had missed. It was cute and she smiled when she knew what it was. But that was the thing about her. She was constantly lost in her own world, in which she had total control over. It was as if she would voluntarily slip in and out of this alternate world she had in her mind to escape something that nobody knew what. He just couldn't understand as to why a beautiful, smart, privileged girl would ever want to escape anything. He couldn't understand this unknown sadness and longing that seemed to hover over this girl he deeply admired like some grey cloud of moisture that would never blow away or would never fall as rain. Perhaps he may never know.
Mr. Hito was handing out their results for this month's test. He called their names one by one in order of worse to best, which was a nightmare for half of the class. Surprisingly the class clown got called third, which meant that there were two people who scored worse that he had, which made him very happy and the class equally amused. Several names were called. He prayed that his name would emerge after half of the class had been called, and it did as he scored better than he did the month before and Mr. Hito gave him a smile to boot. The whole class was buzzing now, speculating who and in what order the top scorers were. To be honest, he wasn't that interested, he had a clear estimation of who the top ten were and in what order. He looked at his paper and thought of his mother's smile that would grace him when he would tell her of this small achievement at home later. The names were rolling and his estimations were so far accurate, cheers and claps accompanied them as they walked up to take their papers. And just as he thought, which was no surprise to anybody, but still an occurrence to applause on, the most beautiful girl in class was the last one without a paper in hand. The girl with the mesmerizing cat like eyes pursed a shy smile to her classmates who gave her a warm congratulatory applause.
"Shiraishi Nana." Mr. Hito called. "First in class."
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Taking The Long Way Home
FanfictionInspired by Nanase's solo mv Tsuzuku. A Nanamai heavily centered drama. Written mostly from Nanase's prespective, narating events which alternates between flashbacks and the present time. A lot of angst and sadness, frankly speaking this story is...