Kuwabara couldn't bring himself to follow up on Urameshi's dare all week; each time he walked into the classroom, he had to face Urameshi's mocking smile. His brown eyes taunted Kuwabara, calling him a coward for refusing to skip class the way Urameshi had done.
Urameshi's mockery burned, and every day Kuwabara would think, Tomorrow. I'll definitely do it tomorrow. But then his dad would come home from work, and his resolve would disappear. He knew without asking that his father would never approve of him skipping school. But he didn't know how much more of Uramehsi's sneers he could take.
One morning his father said, "I'm going to be working late today, so you two will have to eat supper by yourselves."
Kuwabara's heart began to beat faster. His dad was going to be gone late; that meant this was the best chance he'd get to go along with Urameshi's dare if he was going to do it.
I have to. I can't let him get away with calling me a coward.
That meant the only person he had to fool was Shizuru. That shouldn't be too hard. They split ways before either of them arrived to their respective schools; he'd just have to walk with her until then, and be sure to meet her at the usual time after school let out.
Kuwabara's nerves left him feeling queasy as he walked with Shizuru that morning, and of course she noticed. "Something wrong, Kazuma?" she asked.
"No, nothing's wrong," Kuwabara said.
She eyed him suspiciously. "Spill."
"I have a test today, and I guess I'm nervous, that's all," Kuwabara lied. He had to stop himself from cringing as he did so; he'd never lied to Shizuru before.
She didn't seem convinced, but all she said was, "You'll do fine."
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