Chapter Two
For breakfast, I had the delight of feeling her gaze linger over me. She watched me like a hawk. Every move I made was perceived by her. If she could focus so wholly on me, of all things, she surely could have focused on paying attention to homework and school. Yet, I didn't think that would happen any time soon. She was obviously much too absent-minded and distracted by all that went on around her.
In the attempt to shut her out, I read the newspaper and blocked my face from view. But her eyes continued to pour over me. When I couldn't take another second of it, I made the decision to leave for school early.
"I'm leaving." I said as I stood and folded the newspaper.
"Already?" My mother said, "Kotoko, why don't you go with him? You go to the same school after all." Was I really not going to be able to have a moment of peace? Couldn't my mother spare me the walk to school at least?
I footed it out the front door down the driveway, hopeful to lose Aihara on the way to school. Arriving with her would be awful, especially if she insisted on talking during the walk.
She ushered to catch up to me, that grin plastered on her face. Quickly, I thought up some boundaries.
"Do you mind-" I said and tensed when she interrupted me.
"Yes?"
"Walk back there." The grin didn't disappear. Her enjoyment over this annoyed me.
"Why?"
"I don't want to walk with you." The grin vanished. She stopped for a second. I turned around to face her.
"Stay at least two meters back. Follow me and remember the path to school. And don't tell anyone that we live in the same house. Got it?" I said, my words cold, "Don't talk to me at school, either."
"You don't have to be that mean." Aihara said. What she didn't understand in that useless brain of hers was that, yes, I did. Otherwise, she would never leave me alone.
"I don't want to be involved in any more worthless rumors."
"But…"
"I hate girls who don't have a brain, so you should just stop this now." I said. My words seemed to cut through her and her eyes fell. Dejectedly and without another word, she followed me to school.
Once or twice during the trip, I checked behind me to be sure she wasn't gradually coming closer. She didn't. Instead, she stayed as far back as she could. Rather than being upset, she seemed frustrated and angry, a good thing. Maybe if she hated me, she would stop with this stupid crush of hers.
At the entrance, I took quicker steps to be away from her, because it wouldn't take more than arriving with her to ignite fallacies.
In a second, I didn't have to worry about her at all, because Kinnosuke took it from there, taking his claim to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. It was too bad Aihara hadn't taken to him instead of me since they were so alike, both from Class F. She shouldn't have been aiming as high as she was, so it was her fault if she got hurt when she fell back down to her level where she should have been in the first place.
"I've never seen a real life love triangle before." I heard a girl whisper to her friend. If it wasn't for having common sense, I'd have corrected her that there was no "love triangle" if there was no love involved. But I was above that.
I walked to Class A, not caring to pay any more attention to Aihara, though perturbed at the latest piece of gossip I'd just heard. No matter what I did, I was going to be involved in this. God only knew what would happen if the school found out we were living together.
The rest of Class A and I studied without hindrance until lunch, diligently finishing homework as we did every school day.
As we ate, Kinnosuke partook in his routine loudness out in the hall, Aihara probably nearby. But I didn't hear her once. Was it possible she was studying?
"What's wrong with her, anyway?" Kinnosuke whined, "I tell you, there's something weird going on in that house she moved into! What if they're using her as a servant?"
I sighed at his words… so, so dense. People didn't do that kind of thing these days.
"I wonder where the house is…" Kinnosuke began saying, but it became hard of hearing as he travelled farther away from Class A. I was thankful for that. His voice was nauseating and childish. But he wouldn't be learning where my house was. Aihara had to be careful or she would unwittingly lead those idiots there. It was enough to have one idiot in the house, but to have Kinnosuke and his friends visiting or spying was way more than unappealing.
After lunch and for the rest of the day, I didn't hear a word from Aihara. It was almost as though she'd left school. She talked so often that to not have heard her was a shock.
The school bells rang and I gathered together my materials, slinging my bag over my shoulder to leave. I was the last out of the classroom and the halls were filled with students, though particularly the higher-classified ones. The lower-classified students like Classes E, D, and F always evacuated the school in a swarm. It was their least favorite place to be any day.
One unusual voice did catch my attention, however. Aihara recited formulas over and over, a math book open in one hand while the other carried her bag. She fumed over the book, biting her lip and lines forming on her forehead. She headed toward the center of Tonan instead of the doors to leave… headed toward the library.
In her own little focused zone, she shuffled right by me. Whatever her problem was, I was happy not to be a part of it. The house would be almost like normal when I got home. I would have some peace.
...
Even more suspiciously, Aihara was noiseless for hours after coming home, in the same state she had been in when making her way to the library after school. She secluded herself off in "her" bedroom and studied. And judging from how many times I heard her slam a book shut or sigh, it wasn't going too well.
Not my problem. I thought as I remembered that all of my homework was finished. Even if she wasn't getting very far, she was staying away from me and I liked that. The longer it took her to study, the more time I had to myself.
When dinner came, I dragged myself out of my bedroom to face Aihara while eating. When she emerged at the table, her hair was a mess as though she'd been physically pulling it from its roots in frustration. This showed me another aspect about her I couldn't stand. She didn't know her limits.
Everyone started eating.
"Mrs. Irie, this is so good!" Aihara commented straight away, "I wish I knew how to cook like this." She took another bite, closing her eyes to enjoy it. But I couldn't imagine what her cooking would taste like… maybe something a weird and disgusting mix of burned and undercooked with either too much salt or too little.
"I'll have to teach you sometime! I'll take you on as an apprentice." My mother said. I let out a defeated breath, closing my eyes for a moment. That would mean inedible dinners some nights. I didn't want to be here to witness it on those nights. I didn't even want to be here now, listening to Aihara's high-pitched, child-like voice.
Aihara seemed to be in an overall refreshed mood, at least until she spotted me. Her expression distorted into something fierce.
She ate her food quickly.
"Thanks for the food," She said, standing, "Exams are coming up and I have to study for them. Excuse me."
"She's so dedicated." My mother said in awe once Aihara had left the table. The only thing that came to my mind was that there had to be a reason for her sudden studying. Maybe she'd gotten the message that she was slow and needed to work harder because of it… or maybe she was working harder to catch my attention. If that was the case, it wasn't going to work. It was not only that she was dumb that I harbored animosity toward her. She was loud, much too pushy and out there, and she was annoyingly happy. I couldn't deal with those kinds of people, whether they were Class F or not. But the fact that she was made it worse. She was also a huge distraction and pain.
With her studying so soundly, I was able to get some rest. I went to bed for the night.
