(FEATURED)
It's been months since the unceremonious fall of Kimie Sato's older sister. The whole of Ridgerock High knows it, and by now, the majority have moved on. But Kimie still watches those who had a hand in it continue to walk free, and the mo...
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There was something I'd learned during all my months of careful people-watching: You notice everything.
When you constantly study a person, you pick up some things. How they look when they're down, how they smile when amused, how their eyes light up when they're mad.
This wasn't different when it came to Axel, and as he stopped just a few inches away from me, glaring down at me like I was the worst person in the world, I couldn't help but cower. It was a sign of weakness, I knew, but I let myself show it.
"I believe that doesn't belong to you." His voice was low with repressed anger, and the way his eyes burned made me not want to be on the receiving end of his emotions.
"I'm s-sorry," I whispered. "It flew over to me." When I gave the piece of paper to him, he didn't take it. Instead, he continued to look at me, and I saw the reflective look in his eyes. He was trying to remember who I was.
I held his gaze, feeling a fluttering in my chest at the several conflicting emotions running around his face. Anger, sadness, regret, disappointment. Then he took the paper from me, glancing down at my hand.
"Thanks," he mumbled, meeting my eyes with his head a little lowered in submission this time, before walking away, not giving me the chance to say anything.
Staring at his retreating figure while breathing in slowly through my nose and letting the air out through my mouth, I was sure about one thing: I was no longer interested in talking to West.
Despite the silent confession I made to myself, I still remained glued to the spot. I watched Axel get the rest of his things, then, just as he was about to stand up from his crouched position, I saw him glance over his shoulder at me.
And I promise something—something lovely, something beautiful—passed between us.
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Possible suspension, the paper said. Dismissed from Ridgerock's basketball team, the paper said. Further action will be taken, the paper said. Those three sentences, the same ones finely printed in sans serif on that paper that flew over to me like it was sent, were what ran through my head during English on Thursday morning, and, to my dismay, they were bothering me more than I wanted.
