That Summer

Chapter 10

When I woke up, I heard the chimes quietly making noise and the sun filled the room. I felt my hand around the bed and didn't find a white chrysanthemum anywhere. I sat up slowly a little disappointed about not receiving a flower. But, then I looked on the floor by my bed and the flower was laying there. I picked it up and made sure every petal wasn't crushed. Instead of putting it on my nightstand as usual, I decided to carry it around the apartment. I went downstairs and there was no one there to greet me. I made my own breakfast of fruits, toast, and eggs. But, it didn't taste as good without him. I couldn't continue to act so boring. I decided to get dressed and go back to campus even though I didn't have any classes.

I walked to school and was exhausted by the time I reached the main entrance. I was so used to flying there, I didn't realize how far away the campus was from the apartment. I wasn't sure what I was going to do on campus but I knew I wasn't going back to the apartment until later because I would just lay around and do nothing. So, I sat on a bench near a fountain and watched people walk by. I saw a professor carrying his briefcase and a coffee mug while walking to his lecture. Then, I remembered that I wanted to see Hiro again. So, I stood up and ran to the science building.

I took the elevator to the floor where his lab was. I walked down the long hallway and found his lab. I didn't know the passcode to enter the lab so my determination to see Hiro was short sighted. I decided to sit on the floor across from the door to see if Hiro would come in or out. I felt like a stalker waiting for my prey to come. But, I wanted to talk to him more. After talking to that teenage boy, I wondered if Hiro had deep wounds that made it hard for him to interact with others. He seemed too shy and invested in his own world to care about the people around him. But he was very intelligent so maybe his brain was just thinking about a hundred things at once.

After sitting around for twenty minutes getting lost in my thoughts without a single person on this floor, I was tempted to leave and explore some other part of campus. I stood up and dusted off my skirt and stretched my legs. When I turned my head, a huge box fell to the ground and I jumped up from shock. I walked over and picked up the surprisingly light box and intended to give it to the person who dropped it. But the person was carrying two other big boxes that blocked their view. This situation felt familiar.

"You seem to be carrying a lot. Let me help you." I smiled.

"Oh, thank you." A familiar voice said.

I followed the person to his lab and put the box on the ground. This person didn't seem to notice I was still helping them. I took the other box he was carrying and put it on the ground. Our eyes met and the person immediately dropped the box he was carrying. He looked shocked with wide eyes. He rubbed the back of his ear and turned around so his back was facing me. I could see his ears turning red.

"Why are you here all of a sudden, Mirai?" He stuttered.

"What do you mean? I haven't seen you for a couple of weeks since the first time we met. Were you hoping that I would visit sooner? A lot of things happened so I couldn't come earlier. I'm sorry, Hiro." I felt bad realizing how long it had been.

"I just didn't think that you would show up." His back was still facing me.

"Well, I did say that I would find you again. I thought you would have forgotten me by now." I walked in front of him and realized that he was smiling and blushing.

"Don't look at me. I told you I wouldn't make that mistake again."He couldn't make eye contact with me.

"Such a cute expression." I laughed.

"Um, I have research to do." Hiro quickly put a box on the table and opened it.

"You seem to be engrossed in your research. Don't mind me. I'll just watch you." I was curious to know what he was researching.