Stormy Summer

A Change of Heart?

It's Saturday today. Bokuto had been distant for the last couple of days. We still talked and sat together during lunch breaks. We also still watched their practices. But aside from that, he's been keeping his distance. Even Rose noticed. She even asked me if Bokuto and I fought the last time we talked in front of the gym. It's almost as if he's avoiding me.

If it weren't for the fact that he told us so yesterday, I wouldn't even be sure whether he's still coming over to help us with studying anymore. I don't understand him lately. First, he's extremely clingy and now the distance seemingly couldn't be far enough for him... I'd be fine if he'd just tell me what's wrong... Or if there's any way I could help him. I could change if I did something to upset him...

Maybe he just needs time? He did say he has been thinking a lot lately...

Despite what I initially imagined, Bokuto is a good and focused teacher. Judging from his character, I would've imagined him to lose focus often while studying, but he seemed concentrated the whole study session. He even helped us whenever we wrote a Kanji wrong and told us how to remember the small differences about these Kanji. Overall, asking Bokuto for help was the best idea Rose ever had.

We sat at the dinner table. Bokuto sat up front, with Rose and me on the right side of him, and Anna and Charlie on the left. We asked Akaashi-kun whether he wants to join us, but he refused, saying that Bokuto would just disturb him with how loud he could be. Which is weird, since even Akaashi-kun must've noticed how quiet Bokuto had been lately.

And even today, Bokuto was surprisingly quiet.

Bokuto left his old history books with us before he left, saying that we could use them if we wanted to look up anything else. The Akaashis offered him to stay for dinner but he refused. After he went out, I went upstairs without another word, clutching the pendant of my necklace tightly. I know I kind of complained about him being clingy but... This is a hundred times worse... At least he was talking to me when he was still clingy like that...

Or am I just interpreting too much in this situation?

If it hadn't been for Akaashi-kun telling us one time during recess, I wouldn't even know that preliminaries for the Spring tournament would begin soon. Though I'm not even sure, whether we'd even be allowed to cheer for them since the matches were during school times. I know that students are allowed to go and watch the matches if they want to cheer for the team, but we're exchange students. So I'm not sure whether that would apply for us as well...

Golden Week started without another word from Bokuto and we were left studying on our own as the Volleyball team was practicing for the upcoming matches.

"Ugh... I'm bored! Let's go somewhere today! I can't even look at these books without feeling exhausted," Anna complained as her head hit the table. Rose let out a long sigh, "Fine. Come on, where do you want to go?" we had studied so much lately. This was a much-needed break.

"Tokyo!" Anna exclaimed excitedly, already going upstairs to get her stuff. I smiled, following after her to get my and Rose's stuff as well. And maybe remind Anna to take Charlie's stuff, too.

Downstairs Charlie and Rose were already waiting at the door, Bokuto's books were back inside the bookshelf. We just told Akaashi's mother that we'd be going into town before leaving for the train station.

"But if they'd suddenly die, then we wouldn't have this problem, would we?" Anna asked innocently, "You can't just do that, Anna!" Rose exclaimed sternly, almost exasperated with Anna's way of thinking. I would have been surprised, but she's always been like that. Maybe Rose is taking Anna too seriously.

Or I'm the one not taking her seriously enough. I don't think she'd actually murder someone. She's way too sweet to commit such a crime, judging from her looks that is. Though I guess anyone hearing her talk about murdering someone so casually would think otherwise. I mean, I had been on the receiving end of her wrath so many times that maybe, I should doubt her a little more.

"But why not? We still need to learn so much more just for a simple test? Why not just get rid of the cause of the problem?" Rose turned to me for help, as Charlie sided with Anna.

"You wouldn't even be able to touch them, Charlie," I remind her and as a result, she throws a pack of tissues at me, "Hey! I'd get someone else to do it! Or I'd just use a gun," she pouted slightly. She didn't seem offended though. Not much at least, "And where would you get that gun?" her pout grew in size as she looked to Rose, "Rose! Sally is being mean!" she whined. Rose looked troubled, she had been the one to silently ask me for help, after all.

In the end, she just pouted back.

"So... We're not gonna...?" Anna started asking, "No. We're not. We'll be fine without doing so," I answered so that Rose wouldn't freak out about having to go over the whole 'We don't kill' thing with Anna all over again. I feel like Anna was just doing this to irritate Rose. I mean. To her, it seems fun, at least.

Tokyo was quite packed today. As we walked down the sidewalk, Charlie held onto the strap of Rose's bag, walking slightly behind her. Anna and I walked behind them, Anna slightly in front of me. Rose was looking at her phone every so often to check whether we were still going in the right direction. She had looked up several stores while we were still on the train, and she wasn't busy with explaining to Anna why it would be wrong to murder our teachers.

"Ice cream!" Anna exclaimed, though had I not been right behind her, I might not have heard it, as her voice was usually quiet.

"Wait for a second," I said as I grasped Roses sleeve, "Anna's buying Ice cream. You want some too?" I asked and as Rose turned to look behind me, Anna was already ordering. She always had a habit of just walking off. Sometimes even without giving any notice. On former class trips, we would turn around, only to find out that we had lost Anna somewhere along the way. Which was significantly less fun when we were in foreign countries.

"You can't visit Tokyo without getting Ice Cream," Anna hummed happily as we all ate our Ice Creams the rest of the way to our first stop.