Monday would come for Lenny and that meant the beginning of the exam week. Exam week was going to go on for the next three days and then it took until the Saturday after this week. Sunday would be the day that they would leave so for the next ten days, the students had all the time to themselves to get their activities done. Whatever they needed to get the steam out of their systems before the summer break.
Lenny arrived at the track that day as he was a bit exhausted from his two exams. He thought a little running was going to help him out. He got to the track while he was looking around for Emi. She was nowhere to be seen. Lenny sighed as he thought she was held up by exams. Might as well get some fresh air. Unaware to Lenny was the fact that Emi was waiting for him in the shadows. She then popped out behind him, giving him a little fright. Lenny jumped a bit as Emi was laughing.
"Hi Lenny." Emi would greet him. Lenny was trying to laugh along but he was more nervous as he had been scared.
"Hello Emi." Lenny greeted her. Emi hugged Lenny in her usual vigor before planting a kiss on his lips.
"I wasn't expecting you to be on the track today. Nice day, isn't it?" Lenny asked as this was a good day to be outside. Emi quickly nodded before she began speaking again.
"Excellent day I might add. I'm not the smartest student in the school but I will say that I've been looking forward to getting out onto the track with you." Emi sweetly replied. "I hope I did okay on the exams."
"I hope so too. So, anything about Meiko and me?" Lenny asked Emi if she knew anything about what Lenny will be doing during the summer. He had no one to go to if his mother continued to be absent with his life.
"Meiko tried to talk to her to see how she was doing but she didn't respond. She actually spoke to the nurse and Mutou as of yesterday about you and wondering if she could take you in to live with me. If this goes through and Meiko's wish is fulfilled, I will be very happy." Emi told Lenny what exactly was happening. If they said yes. Meiko could have custody over Lenny.
"That's great. I haven't seen your house yet. I wondered what it would look like." Lenny told Emi that he was excited to see what house Emi lived in and if they had spare rooms.
"There is a spare room we have for guests, but we haven't used the room in years, and we've been wondering if we can use it for you?" Emi gleefully told Lenny about the fact that he was going to move in with her.
"Ready for the run?" Lenny asked as he was going to spend his time on the track. Emi nodded yes. Lenny and Emi walked off to where they were going to start as they continued to chat with each other.
"I heard you were talking to Rin yesterday and she told me about the art work she was making and then she kissed you in a strange twist of events." Emi began. She and Lenny got down onto the track, ready to run.
"Yeah. We definitely chatted for a good portion of it before it happened. We also learned the sketch book she had on her has gone missing and she couldn't find it." Lenny added on. Emi nodded as she was worried about what was going to happen to her.
"Where did she leave it last?" Emi asked Lenny.
"In her dorm possibly when we went out that Saturday night. Don't know if someone snuck into her dorm and took it but that's what I'm guessing. I guess she feels upset without it." Lenny made his guess of when the sketch book was possibly stolen. Emi nodded.
"That's a possibility." Emi replied. Lenny took off first while Emi was going to allow him to get some distance. Lenny was steadily getting faster and faster as the daily runs were proving. Emi knew that once Lenny had gotten his ten second head start, she would run. Emi quietly counted down in her head before sensing the opportunity to run was now. She got up and began running after Lenny. Lenny was already rounding the first bend when Emi took off. She had been preparing this moment for the longest time and now it was one last run to prove it. She was in her element. Emi at her Emiest.
Lenny looked back as Emi was steadily catching up to him. She was rounding the first bend while Lenny was going to complete his first lap around the track. If he was just starting, he would have been exhausted already but the pulse monitor was flashing in rhythm, Lenny was okay for now. He knew he couldn't go faster without risking him toppling over and blacking out. He continued to sprint onward as Emi was gaining on him. He began to round the second bend as Emi was finished with her first lap and getting the ground on him. She didn't want to go too fast or risk tiring herself out. She kept up with her pace. The other students watched as they were getting surpassed by Lenny and eventually Emi.
"Look at him go. Lenny might be the one with the most enjoyment." The Track Captain said to himself. He continued to run to only get surpassed by Emi who was trying to play catch up with him.
"Go on! Sprint to the end!" Miki shouted while waving her one hand to Lenny. Emi passed her a couple moments later.
Emi was chewing up the distance between them as Lenny completed the second lap. He looked behind to see Emi was still gaining on him. He continued to run as every step he took would be another one to prevent Emi from catching up. How true would that end up being would be something that Emi would destroy. Emi continued to catch up as Lenny was going around the bend while enjoying the fresh air. He noticed Emi was still sprinting after him but he didn't know if he should speed up or not. He was just enjoying the time he had. Emi was on his tail while they began to complete the third lap. Lenny looked back to see Emi was neck and neck with him. She had chewed the distance between them while the fourth lap was being run. It was this last lap they were going to complete before they were going to see the School Nurse.
Emi made sure to slow herself down a bit as she didn't want to tire Lenny out too much but something was on her mind.
Hey Lenny, can I speak to you while we run?" Emi asked. This was the last lap so they might as well make it count.
"Sure thing, what is it?" Lenny asked while they continued to run.
"I've been having nightmares as of lately." Emi began. Lenny's pulse monitor was starting to behave a little strangely, but he was curious about this.
"About?" Lenny asked. He wasn't sure about how far he was willing to push Emi and more importantly, himself.
"It's… about my dad. Something's coming up and I can't stop thinking about it. I've been having trouble sleeping and… I always imagined you being there to cuddle up with." Emi began. Lenny began slowing down as well but the pulse monitor was picking up its pace as it was flashing irregularly. "The unhappy day with me and him is coming up."
"I've been thinking the same thing as well, but this happened recently." Lenny began. He knew he had to stop to catch his breath. His chest was beginning to cramp up and his legs were turning into rubber without the electricity required to move them. "I wish you were there to cuddle up as well." Lenny sighed. He then stopped as he was gasping for air. Emi looked back before she walked up to him.
"Lenny, are you okay?" Emi asked with concern. Lenny regained himself before pulling himself up.
"Yeah, I think when you were talking about someone, it was bringing back bad memories of my own." Lenny panted with exhaustion. He walked over and picked up his water container and began to drink it.
"I didn't know that you had something similar to me." Emi admitted. She hugged Lenny thinking he was about to black out and it was a way to bring him back to normal.
"I never tell anyone about it as there is no one to talk to about it. I don't know if we can be together if we can't figure out if we have problems. Similar problems." Lenny looked back before Emi decided to speak again.
"Like I said before, I won't let anything happen to you. If we have a setback, don't let that affect you… as much as it affects me." Emi tried her best to be cheerful about it, but she was having trouble finding out what the right word would be to say.
"Okay. You're still my friend?" Lenny asked Emi if this was going to be true.
"Yes, you are. We might be doing something on Wednesday, so we might be heading out to the park for something fun. I don't know all the details as of yet, but I wanted to make sure that you will get to enjoy the park before we head away for vacation." Emi decided to take Lenny to see the School Nurse to make sure he was in order.
Lenny was getting examined by the School Nurse while Emi was waiting for her friend's condition. Once the examination was done. He began to speak.
"Lenny is doing a lot better compared to last week. I guess someone being by his side is paying off." The School Nurse began. Emi smiled as her friend was doing well. "His ankle has healed nicely and I think I spotted you two running again but something isn't right. I think some things Lenny isn't capable of telling you as of yet. I think something is going to happen and Lenny is going to have to face it though I can't tell you as of yet." The School Nurse was making a prediction of what was going to happen.
"Thanks, I'll do everything to make sure he is doing well." Emi promised to the School Nurse to continue helping him out. She got up along with Lenny and they began to walk out the door. "Take care."
"You are too." The School Nurse told them while they walked away. Emi and Lenny were walking hand and hand together while Emi began speaking.
"Great job on the track today, you managed to run up to a mile before we had to stop. I am proud of you." Emi began as she really liked the distance, they were able to run in order to achieve their goals.
"Thanks. I didn't know if I was able to run that far but there was the ending that we have to work on." Lenny sighed as Emi stayed close to him.
"We're still here for each-other are we?" Emi asked, she was trying to lighten up the situation with being by his side. Lenny nodded before he looked down to her. Emi then pecked his cheek while they walked off together.
Tuesday and Wednesday morning went without a hitch, Emi wasn't running but instead decided to head out with Hisao, Lilly and Hanako though they were waiting for a certain someone. Shizune meanwhile was with Misha and Rin who were doing the art festival before the year would come to a close. Shizune was signing with Misha while Rin was standing in the center, staring into space. Misha walked over to Rin as she was very bored about it.
"Is there something that bothers you Rin?" Misha asked Rin if she had any issues.
"Yes. I think you've taken all of the art, but none seem to be given to a friend of mine, it feels unfulfilling to see what you worked on get taken. When Lenny showed up, I actually made three canvases, but they all got taken away by Shizune for the festival. I think I want to take some time off and the fact that the sketch book I had went missing when we went to hang out with Akira that weekend and I still haven't gotten it back." Rin told Misha that some stuff in life felt like they hadn't been filled to form a smooth surface in a landscape of craters.
"Do you want to leave the festival if its bothering you that you feel like you have nothing to look up to?" Misha asked Rin if she wanted to head out and not participate. Rin turned and she nodded.
"I think that will be in my best interest." Rin replied before she got up. She began to walk away as she finished speaking to Misha. "Off to play Trainz." Shizune walked over and they began signing. They were signing something about Rin, but Shizune brought up something else. Rin was missing out on an opportunity as she had her sketch book in Shizune's hands.
"Oh, you still have Rin's sketch book." Misha began. Shizune handed it to her, and Misha began to look through it. Misha looked at all of Rin's sketches. "I didn't know Rin was so much into these trainz. Her drawings are pretty good, and she has done this with her feet which is impressive." Misha flipped through the pages before she recognized the one picture with the number 8926 on it. Shizune walked over and asked Misha what this meant. Misha began to think about it for a moment. "I think I know what the number means. 8926 means Lenny." Misha told Shizune.
Hisao was leading the way with Emi, Lilly and Hanako behind. They were visiting the park that was adjacent to the school. They were climbing up the hill to the best spot in the park, the largest hill of them all. They were walking along the winding path in order to reach the top. For those running the whole route from the school, through the park and back, this hill posed a challenge. The average runner will get tired and stall on the hill in their attempt to climb it. Even the experienced runners like Emi will stall on the hill as was the case with Hisao and his group, they were barely up the hill when they began to slow down and stall on the hill. Once they stalled, the group began to speak.
"Ugh. I hate Galveston Hill. What now?" Hisao began as the hill had tired them out. Emi began speaking.
"We'll have to wait for help to arrive and then we'll be able to get going again." Emi told them that they needed help to climb their way up the rest of the hill.
"Going up the hill along the path is very tiring." Hanako began. "It's the only plan we got." Hanako and her group didn't have to wait for very long as Lenny was enjoying his walk around the park on a nice day like this. He spotted Hisao and his group and walked up to them. He then picked up the picnic basket and began to help them up the hill. Hanako was very confused on why they were able to begin walking. "Wait, I thought help wasn't supposed to come for another five minutes?"
"I… I think I know who it is." Emi told Hanako. Lenny looked at them and pointed out that they should head straight up the hill instead of taking the path. He carried the basket while getting the others to follow him. It was a lot faster to climb straight up the hill as it didn't follow the winding path that would tire them all out. Once they reached the top. They settled down and began unpacking the basket. Emi then turned to Lenny once she sat down in the grass. "Was it you that came to help us up the hill?" Emi asked.
"Yes… I wanted to help my friends." Lenny nervously told Emi that he wanted to help them out. Emi smiled with approval, and she began speaking.
"You did a fine job with helping us. Come join us in the picnic. You earned it." Emi invited Lenny to join them in this event.
"Okay." Lenny happily replied. He settled down as Emi hugged him a bit. They were laying in the grass to enjoy themselves a bit.
"Last day wasn't too hard?" Lilly asked while Hanako was getting out her chess board so they could enjoy a game of chess together.
"Yeah, I was surprised it went by quickly." Lenny told Lilly while he was laying around in the grass. Emi was busy texting somebody.
"You've come a long way since you first came here a couple of weeks ago. And those two weeks seemed to feel like they were nothing." Lilly added. She then turned to Hisao while Lenny turned to Emi who was in the grass. "What do you think this means, Hisao?" Lilly asked Hisao about Lenny. Lenny and Emi were cuddled up to each other while they were resting under a birch tree.
"I think it means Lenny is feeling comfortable around us, Lilly." Hisao responded. He turned over and began to play chess with Hanako to keep her company.
"I guess you came out here to see the park as you managed to find yourself while being alone." Emi was following up the conversation.
"I didn't show up to track, something felt… off. I pretty much decided to take a run through the park instead as I had the shortest day out of the bunch." Lenny admitted. Emi nodded while keeping him in her arms.
"Good thing we texted you about the picnic and the fact that we tried out on the hill. You were the closest one to us." Emi added she tickled his nose while Lenny seemed to laugh.
"Yeah, I'm ticklish around there. I actually like getting us to head out here to relax. What do you have planned for the vacation?" Lenny asked as he wanted to spend his time with Emi. Emi began to think about it.
"Don't go taking a few steps ahead of us. We want to make sure you make yourself at home with me and Meiko. We're trying to get you to move in with us." Emi added. Lenny just hugged Emi while resting his head on her. The two of them began to drift off to sleep while Lilly, Hisao and Hanako continued to socialize, it seemed to be a good time for a nap. Several minutes would pass as the tufts of floating dandelions seem to hit Lenny and Emi. They both woke up to see what the tickling of their noses were. Lenny leaned up to spot Rin was blowing some dandelion tufts at them with her mouth and feet.
"Rin what are you doing here? I thought you were at the art show?" Lenny asked as he seemed puzzled. Rin looked ahead before she began speaking.
"I got bored as it didn't suit my interest. I left before I got a text from Emi telling me to come join her. I guess life has its moments where it's pulling you by the leg like: Stay outside, today is a beautiful day out." Rin explained why she left the art show despite art being her hobby.
"So, you came all the way here to hang out with us?" Lenny asked while he tried her best to keep Emi asleep.
"Yeah, I did. Emi brought me here and you're keeping her asleep which I do like." Rin began. "I probably want to lay out here and look at the clouds and there aren't many in the sky. I guess today is a nice day. Hopefully I can see if one of them is a turtle or a rabbit." Rin laid in the grass as Lenny began to doze off again. Emi was helping him fall asleep. He fell asleep once more as Rin was looking at the sky. Lilly looked over to see Emi and Lenny were fast asleep, Rin was looking at the sky and Hisao and Hanako were playing chess.
"They're so precious as they sleep." Lilly commented about Lenny and Emi.
"Let them sleep, I just want to listen to my favorite music while we get to enjoy ourselves." Rin added onto what Lilly had said. She then passed her phone to Hanako as she had no hands to play what she wanted. "Hey Hanako, please put the music on?" She asked. Hanako nodded and she decided to follow Rin's wishes. She then puts on the music that Rin seemed to enjoy while painting. It began to drift through the air of the hill and into the rest of the park. This will surely slowly put people to sleep to only jolt them awake again. Lenny felt Emi's head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Lenny seemed to be comfortable until he began to turn unexpectedly. Emi felt his heart begin to race as the pulse monitor of his was picking up speed. Lenny just seemed to hold Emi in his arms as she was a source of comfort for him. He seemed to calm down just a bit as Emi's eyes opened.
"It's okay, I'm here for you." Emi promised Lenny while she sensed that he was having nightmares. Emi knew that she had problems, but they didn't affect her as much as they affected Lenny. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"I know you are." Lenny sighed. They were going to enjoy themselves on the hill while it was going to last. Rin picked up another dandelion with her toes and began to blow into the white flower, the seeds began to fly about in the air while they were tickling their noses.
"This is so nice to see." Emi admitted as Rin was blowing the dandelions at them, the tiny white parachutes holding the seeds together if they were weather balloons blowing in the wind, drifted around them.
"I know. You and Lenny have it sweet together. With the tests now done, we should try socializing before we go home for the summer. I don't think we will be seeing each other as much. If we do, we need to figure out if we can still make each other happy as we move on with our lives. Even if some of us confess to each other. I bet Lenny will be happy if he's staying with the girl that is making his life good. I think Meiko will be more than pleased to see him." Rin looked above to the sky and continued to speak: "Sometimes the sky could be nice, and the sun gets to show its face. Sometimes the sun could be shy or bashful and would hide behind the clouds. Other times the sun doesn't want to come out at all and the clouds act like a curtain as the sun can be shy. Whatever it is, the clouds are there to show their shapes to us." Rin explained how the sky, sun and clouds could mean different things. Emi nodded while still cuddled up to Lenny.
it's relaxing under the sun." Emi sighed. She didn't want to leave Lenny to his devices for too long and wished to stay by his side.
"Don't worry, we still have another week." Hisao added. They shouldn't worry about this that much but every minute that ticked onward was a minute they weren't going to get back. A gentle breeze began to blow them over as Emi was making sure Lenny's heartbeat was under control.
After a few hours of hanging out, the sun was beginning to set and everyone else returned to their dorms to clean themselves up and call it a night. Emi was walking with Lenny as she began to speak to him.
"First trip on the Galveston Lenny?" Emi asked him.
"Yes, that was the first trip. Nice day to add." Lenny sighed as he really enjoyed the day he had outside. Emi laughed while walking beside him.
"Well with exams done and out of the way, we still have a week to spend it with our friends. I wonder if Rin is willing to give you the paintings, she made for you or we get to have another big event before our grades come back and the year ends?" Emi asked as she remained cheerful about her plans.
"I don't know actually." Lenny nervously told Emi that he didn't know what they were going to be doing. Emi looked at him, still smiling at her friend.
"That we'll have to wait and see. I have to get back to my dorm and we'll go running again tomorrow morning. I'll see you until then." Emi told Lenny. She leaned up and pecked his cheek before running off.
"Take care." Lenny waved Emi goodbye before he walked off to his dorm. After showering, he took his medicine and headed off to bed. He had fun with Emi on the hill and Friday was going to be another exciting day.
[A/N]: Another chapter for you all, viewer count went up by fifty percent which I wasn't expecting and sensing how everyone is getting out of school, we can get more viewers in. Let's see how well we can do in our recess.