Near the Horizon [A YLIA AU]

6: Confession

On Fridays, Sumiya Junior High School Band does not hold after-school rehearsals. School has let out for the weekends after normal schedule, and band members depart with the next day parade competition in their minds. 

"Hey Asa!", May waves at her.

Asa turns. "Hi May! What's up?", She asks, swinging her kendo bag over her shoulder.

"Ah not much... what about you?", May puffs out her cheeks the slightest.

"Ahh... not much. Just kendo and piano", She says, looking up at the sky.

"Aw. Wanna hangout?"

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do", She says. "But let's stop at my house so I can put away my equipment."

"Okayy, so you and Ray huh?", May wiggles her eyebrow.

"Heh, yeah. Not yet", She said, flushing a little. "It's nothing."

"Yet"

Asa rubbed the back of her neck, stopping at her house. "Yet." She went to her mailbox and grabbed her mail, seeing a bill for her cancer treatment.

"What's that?", May asks.

Asa quickly stuck it behind her back. "Uhh it's nothing!", She lied. "Nothing at all..."

"Asa, don't lie", May pouts.

"Fine", She sighed. "It's a bill for my... cancer treatment."

Asa sighed, heading to walk into her house to set the mail on the table just when Ray came into view of her house, serpentine around the maze of traffic with a bike, dodging vehicles. He was carrying a book on the bike's basket.

She realized she dropped the bill she was hiding from May. She put her kendo bag down and stepped outside again, only to see Ray lift it up and inspects it. Inevitably, Ray's eye caught sight of the Totsuhara University Hospital logo.

Asa stayed silent and just stood there, her face turning red.

Ray turned to see Asa by the doorway. "... sorry", those words escaped Ray's mouth, but inaudibly.

Asa closed her eyes and walked up to Ray. She opened them and her eyes were a little teary. "U-umm hi."

"h-hey", Ray hesitates. Ray glance at the errant hospital bill that was leaning next to the book on the basket. "I think you dropped this", he gives Asa the missing piece of the bill.

"Y-yeah", She said, her face still red from embarrassment. She grabs the bill and outs it behind her back.

"Asa?", Ray asks, needing confirmation that there wasn't something wrong. "You all right?"

May stays silent.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine", Asa said, quickly turning on her heel.

"You're not", May answers for her.

"I said I'm fine!", Asa snapped.

Ray shook, squealing. Not being used to this kind of situation, Ray stays morbidly silent.

"Sorry...", May whispers.

"Asa sighs. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just..."

It's okay", May reaches out for a hug, letting out a smile.

"I'm just stressed and in a lot of pain. I'm sorry", She said, looking down with a tear falling to the ground.

Asa quickly runs inside her house, slamming the front door and leaning against it, throwing the bill on the floor. "Dammit...", she said and started crying.