A Quiet Time

With her fist pressed against her cheek, and her elbow against her desk, Tomoko stared listlessly off into space. She couldn't help but feel a tad melancholy. Maybe it was a little silly since she'd finally made so many friends, but she longed for her loner days, just a bit.

Yeah, those times really sucked. She knew that. But having a lot of friends had drawbacks too. Lately, she couldn't slink off to a corner and visit weird sites on her phone, or just read manga all day. Having friends meant… well, it meant having to spend time with those friends. Sacrificing time for those friends. Katou was always trying to do her makeup, Nemo wanted to talk about anime stuff, and all the others needed attention too. It was disheartening to see her free time eaten up by each impromptu invitation. Tomoko supposed that was just what friends do, but for an ex-loner like herself, it was exhausting. She never had any time for herself. Tomoko exhaled a long sigh.

The quiet sigh gained the attention of one of her classmates, unbeknownst to Tomoko. Yuri heard the slight, dejected exhalation of air, and watched Tomoko for a while. Yuri felt as though she understood Tomoko, and just by studying the other girl's expression, she got an idea of what was wrong. Nemoto and Akane had been dragging Tomoko to the cafeteria too often, Katou was always talking to her, and Tomoko's kouhai always needed advice. It all had to be taking its toll. Yuri wondered if she could help.

When lunch break came around, Yuri stuck her hands in her sweater pockets and strolled over to Tomoko's desk.

"Tomoko-chan…"

"Yeah?" Tomoko looked up at the gloomy girl.

"You're getting tired, right? Of hanging out with everyone."

"Huh?!" Tomoko's eyes widened from shock. How did Yuri know that? And why was she saying it out loud?

Blushing a little, Tomoko stammered out a reply: "W-Why do you think that?"

"Well, you're actually bad with people. And it's getting to you. I know because we're the same." Yuri averted her gaze, though her stoic expression didn't change much.

What was Yuri saying? They weren't really the same. Wasn't she just guessing because she'd be tired in the same situation? Still…

"W-Well, I guess it is a little tiring…" Tomoko admitted.

Yuri nodded. "Want to go somewhere quiet to eat our lunches? Just the two of us?"

Tomoko thought, "The hell? Isn't this sort of asocial behavior the reason you had no friends?"

But then again, it did sound nice. She'd be able to get away from Katou, who always made her feel flustered, and Nemo, who was always acting psycho and getting on her nerves. Unlike the others, with Yuri, Tomoko wouldn't have to try too hard. And come to think of it…

Tomoko smiled. "Alright. Actually, I know a nice spot."

"Mm…" Yuri gave a nod.

Tomoko grabbed her lunch and stood, getting ready to leave. But a thought came to her. "Oh yeah… I guess we should ask Mako to come too—"

"Tomoko!" Yuri said sharply.

"Wha-?!" Tomoko paled. Yuri looked angry. But why?! Tomoko hadn't said anything weird!

"Just us," Yuri said. "Alright?"

Tomoko started sweating. What was all this about? Tomoko didn't understand gloomy girl at all. What'd she want to be alone for? Probably something like this or that… Or maybe some kind of confession? Well, her name was Yuri, after all… And she'd wanted to go somewhere with Tomoko that was quiet and secluded, away from prying eyes… Urk! No, no, no! Tomoko pushed away all those thoughts. Anyway, with Yuri being so angry, Tomoko didn't feel like she had much of a choice.

"A-Alright…" Tomoko said in a subdued tone.

For a long time, Yuri just stood there, staring at Tomoko. Tomoko started sweating even more.

"Huh?" Tomoko uttered.

"What?" Yuri said, a tad confused. "You said you knew a spot, right?"

Tomoko was astonished. Gloomy girl was waiting for her to lead the way?! "Say something next time!"

Yuri glanced over her shoulder. "We should probably hurry before Nemoto-san comes looking for you…"

Tomoko sighed. Her heart was still beating fast, but there was no time to take a breather and calm down. She took the lead and slinked out of the classroom. Once they were outside, she headed for her favorite nook. It was a nice place to get away from everyone, and hardly anyone knew about it. It was Tomoko's spot.

They got there, but there was only problem: someone was already there: a gloomy someone who looked depressed as he sat with his hands folded.

"Isn't that your brother?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah…" Tomoko frowned.

Tomoki looked up. He did not look happy to see his sister. But he wasn't an instigator. He didn't say anything.

"Get outta here, Little Bro!" Tomoko said.

Tomoki's eye twitched. "The hell?! You get out of here!"

"This is my spot," Tomoko said.

"I was here first! Anyway, it's your fault that…" Tomoki really didn't want to finish that sentence. His sister didn't need to know about his life. With a "tsk!" he averted his gaze.

"Huuuuh?!" Tomoko was starting to get annoyed. "Well, we're not leaving. And we're going to be having some serious girl talk. You sure you want to be around for that?"

Looking furious, Tomoki simmered in silence.

"Hey…" Yuri put a hand on Tomoko's shoulder. "Really, I don't mind, Tomoko-chan."

Tomoko was dumbfounded. "You don't mind if he hears our girl talk?"

Yuri blushed. "No, uh… I don't really want to have any girl talk anyway… And your brother seems kind of down, so…"

Tomoko glanced over her shoulder at her brother. "You know he can hear us talking about him, right?" That made Tomoki grit his teeth. Tomoko grinned at him. "Well, whatever. I guess it's alright if you say it is." It wasn't like Yuri was into little brothers, and she was pretty plain, so it wasn't like anything was going to happen between the two. "You can stay, Little Bro, but keep quiet and don't bother us."

"Fine," Tomoki replied.

Yuri and Tomoko sat down, giving Tomoki his space, and opened their boxed lunches. That was alright for a little while, but once she had eaten half of her lunch…

Tomoko freaked out when she realized Yuri wasn't saying anything. "What'd she even invite me out here for? If Mako's not here, she's got zero conversation skill! Or am I the one who's supposed to say something?" Tomoko glanced at her lunch. All that was left was her rice. "Well, whatever… I may as well just finish eating first."

Tomoko and Yuri both finished their lunches, but silence still hung in the air. It got Tomoko feeling nervous.

"Uh… Heh heh heh…" Tomoko donned an awkward smile.

"Hmm?" Yuri had been staring off into space, but now she appraised Tomoko. She seemed to be remembering something. "Huh… Just the two of us. No more distractions, right?"

Tomoko paled. "What the hell? Is she flirting with me in front of Little Bro?" She glanced over at her little brother. He was sweating and looked freaked-out. "Urk!" Tomoko swallowed. "How do I get out of this?"

"Um… Heh heh… B-But Little Bro is here too, so we probably shouldn't…"

Yuri cheeks burned red. "N-No, I was just joking. From the class trip, remember? You said something like that…"

Seriously? From the class trip? Why would she repeat a joke that fell so flat last time? "That really freaked me out," Tomoko thought. She glanced at Tomoki. He still looked freaked-out, but now his expression also held a dose of confusion. "I warned ya, Little Bro…"

After that awkward exchange, another silence fell upon the nook.

"Damn…" Tomoko thought. "She really can't function as a regular human being without Mako…" Before she'd even thought about it too much, Tomoko blurted out, "I guess we really should invite the Lezzie next time… Urk!" Tomoko clamped her hands over her mouth once she realized what she'd said. She couldn't believe she'd slipped up and called Mako that out loud. Well, maybe it was okay. Maybe Yuri wouldn't notice, or she wouldn't know who she was talking about.

"What…?" Yuri's eyes darkened. "Who? Do you mean Mako? She's not a… lezzie. Stop being weird."

Tomoko turned scarlet. She tried to think of an excuse, but couldn't. She wasn't sure what she was thinking when she said, "Oh? R-Right… But are you sure? I mean, you wouldn't want to disrespect her orientation if she was."

"She's not," Yuri said with finality. Then in a strange tone, she just had to add on, "I know, alright?"

Tomoko's eyes widened. Why was Yuri—Holy crap! Yuri was the real lezzie! She glanced over at her little Bro, and… yep, he was freaking out again too. "H-How do you know? Y-You tried to…"

Yuri's cheeks flushed. She struck Tomoko with a shoulder-crushing blow.

"Urk!"

"Geeze, Tomoko-chan… Stop thinking weird things…"

After that, they all just sat in silence for the rest of the lunch period. At some point, Emoji Girl, Ucchi, joined them, sitting between Tomoki and Tomoko. After everything that had been said, it felt really awkward for Tomoko. But Yuri didn't seem too perturbed. She had a peaceful look on her face. Seeing that, Tomoko decided to just go with the flow too, and enjoy the quiet. Little Bro looked like he wanted to escape though, but getting up would have been too awkward at that point. Ucchi wore a blank expression, and Tomoko couldn't help but wonder why she was there. Still, somehow… her presence didn't bother Tomoko?

As their time drew to a close and they needed to get back to class, Yuri stood up, a slight grin on her lips. "This was nice, huh?"

Tomoko gaped at the girl. "Like hell it was!" she thought. "You were acting so weird, I couldn't properly enjoy my solitude! And you freaked out Little Bro so much! He's probably going to ask me a bunch of weird questions when we get home!"

Tomoko exhaled. Still, it hadn't been too bad at the end. And maybe it was a little corny thinking it, but… Since this experience had been with Yuri, even if it had gotten kind of weird, it had been fun. Tomoko smiled at Yuri and said, "Yeah."

Seeing she had succeeded in cheering up Tomoko, Yuri felt a warm feeling in her chest. She wondered if, with the current atmosphere, she might be able to get away with kissing the top of her head, if she said it was just a joke… But she couldn't do it. Things had gotten too awkward, and Ucchi and Tomoko's brother were still there. Yuri blushed from thinking it. Maybe next time.

"Hey, come on, Kuroki. We've got to get back to class," said Ucchi.

"Y-Yeah…"

As they walked back together, Yuri was confused. "But Ucchi-san, you're not even in our class anymore…?"

"Urhm…"