The Sound of Snow

Chapter Seven: "Dumb Blonde"

Monday morning finally came. The Boy held his head high standing as tall as possible stepping into the nearly empty entrance hall of his elementary school, floors radiating the white sunlight flooding in behind him. As the door swung loudly closed, the eyes of two younger girls fell on him and as he passed they covered their mouths and chortled at his gauche attempt to strut like Ushio-kun. Reddening up to his ears, he slumped again to his normal height and stride. His steps sped the length of the hall, turning the nearest corner and running up a flight of stairs leading to his class' lockers.

"I can't believe Ushio-kun thought I could pull off a strut. If he's wrong about this, I'll never show my face here again!"

Not only was he risking making a fool of himself if anyone found out, what if she herself was annoyed? What if Ushio-kun was wrong and someone did already ask her? What if she only said yes to save his feelings? Maybe she wouldn't be able to go to the dance at all. Besides, he only talked to her one time, why the heck would she go with him instead of one of the cooler, taller boys? Head hung thoughtfully he mumbled over and over Ushio-kun's advice: "Relax, be confident, stand tall, compliment her, smile, look her in the eye, and whatever you do don't ramble or stutter like you always do."

He reached the top step and scanned the walls. Ushio-kun and one of his friends leaned on their lockers, uniforms unbuttoned indolently as they animatedly mocked each other's report cards. Ryuuji-san and another girl stood in front of their own lockers at the end of the hall to his right. Mind racing, his nerves went numb when she spotted him out of the corner of her eye. Noticing the intensity of his stare, she awkwardly lifted a polite wave and small grin. He startled into action and took that as his cue.

"Ryuuji-san!" The Boy's uniform felt constricting and clammy as he tentatively approached. Drawing closer he locked a hasty glance with Ushio-kun who watched with first a look of astonishment, then an ear to ear smile.

"Good morning." Ryuuji-san turned to him as her friend headed off to their first class.

"Yeah! I, uh..." The Boy sweated bullets, hearing but unable to process the sounds of snickers and whispers coming from the boys behind him on the other wall. "I-I was just wondering if you...er, I mean... Your hair is really pretty today!" His neck and ears burned as he pinched his eyes shut in a cringe.

Ryuuji-san's mouth formed a small 'o' and she fingered her ponytail awkwardly. "Oh... thank you."

"Yeah, anyway!" The Boy swallowed hard and threw caution to the wind, ready to get it over with. "Are you going to the dance on Friday??"

She cocked her head to the side and wrinkled her brow. "The... what?"

Ushio-kun and the other boy burst out laughing.

"The dance... this Friday?" The Boy repeated. At the sound of his friend guffawing behind him, the dots started to connect.

Ryuuji-san looked from the other boy's to him with pitiable confusion. "What are they laughing at?" the girl muttered to him, scowling at Ushio-kun and the other.

If The Boy could have melted into the ground right then, he would have. His mouth went dry. His eyes fixed on her shoes, he took a deep breath as the laughter burned into his shattered ego. His brain kicked him senseless with the same words over and over.

"Moron...Idiot...Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"So, um," Ryuuji-san's tone was quick and concerned by the despondence on The Boy's face. "I didn't know there was going to be a dance this Friday... who told you that?"

The Boy folded his lips, brows knitted. His back was to the laughing boys, and he wanted nothing more than to keep hiding his face. He blinked hard and gave a curt nod in their direction behind him.