Respect: I Won't Be There

Chapter 4.5 – Coincidental Meetings

"Tezuka-san! I like you! Please go out with me."

I stuck to the wall and listened to the confession. The girl confessing to Tezuka-san was someone who recently joined the tennis team. She's my seat mate. She bowed down in front of Tezuka-san, handing him a letter of love. However...

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested to get into a relationship right now." He replied. The girl stood up properly and looked at him straight in the eye. From where I was hiding, I couldn't tell if she was crying or not.

"Alright." Then, she ran off.

Tezuka silently stayed behind. I waited for footsteps so that I could get out from my hiding place. When I finally heard them, I freaked out. They were going to my direction. I stood in place pretending that I just came from the staircase. He turned to the corner, where I was hiding. He looked surprised to see me and stopped walking for a second. After locking eyes with me, he began walking again. I turned my head to watch him walk down the stairs. Today, he looked a lot more respected the usual.

I was about to walk when I heard him speak. "Ah, Amasawa-san?"

I turned my head to look at him, staring straight at me. I started to get tense. I shouldn't look stupid, I respect this guy. If he thinks of me that I'm stupid and dumb, his impression of me will change.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Are you heading to the teachers' office?" He asked.

I wondered how he knew. I then realized that it was already past club time and there really was no one reason for me to be here. "Yeah. I just need to get something for our Nanami-Sensei."

He started walking up the stairs. "Then, I should join you. I need to ask her something."

As he started nearing me, I started to feel nervous. Ever since I became a first year, I always noticed how mature he looked. I knew then that I should become someone like him.

We started walking beside each other. We were almost of the same height, but I knew by the time we got into second year, I would be looking up at him, literally. Guys usually have a big growth spurt. I don't get why we, girls, have to stay short for a long time. Besides, we always hit puberty first.

Being beside him always makes me nervous, like right now. That is probably one reason why I'm silent. Or maybe, Tezuka-san just likes things silent. To break the silence I asked a question.

"What are you going to ask Nanami-sensei?"

He looked at me and then thought for a second, "I found a grammar mistake in the exam she gave us awhile ago."

I then recalled the test we took. "Oh yeah! That one. She interchanged 'is' and 'are'."

His innocent eyes widened, "You noticed it?"

I smiled gleefully and replied, "Yeah!"

Another long silence passed while we walked towards the room. It felt like we were walking for more than a mile. The pregnant silence was something I wasn't wishing for. I didn't like the idea that I was walking beside him and I wasn't saying anything. Here was my chance to impress myself but I couldn't possibly say nor do anything. Tezuka-san didn't seem to be interested if I said anything. He always looked unimpressed whenever girls did something for him. I respect him but I can't even tell him.

"We're here." His voice muttered. I looked at the door in front of us. He took a step forward and knock, after which he opened it. Walking slowly inside, we saw only one teacher. It was Nanami-sensei.

"Ah, Tezuka-kun and Amai-chan." She beamed while straightening up some papers on her table. "Here, Amai-chan." She handed out the papers, "this is what I promised to give you." I took the papers and looked at the English words sprawled all over it. I just returned the smile and replied.

"I promise to pass this to the class, first thing tomorrow."

"Of course you will." She said while patting my shoulder. "And what might Tezuka-kun be needing from me?"

Tezuka stood up straighter than usual and walked closer to Nanami-sensei. "Awhile ago, while taking the exam, I noticed a grammatical error."

Nanami-sensei looked surprised. Apparently, a lot of teachers who have been corrected by Tezuka-san are frightened. That's usually why professors don't like our class. Tezuka's too smart for them. She fumbled on the papers of her table and tried to make out sentences. "Uh, awhile ago... test... wait... error... I didn't notice... uh... wait..." She took out some paper from her already messy table. "Ah, I got lucky. It's Amai-chan's exam."

I started to blush. If Tezuka-san saw it, he would know my flaws. It would be better if she kept it to herself.

"Which... which part of the test is it?" She lowered the test paper to Tezuka-san eye-level.

This was the worst. Tezuka-san was staring straight at my exam. Scanning through the questions and answers that I placed. He'll know my mistakes.

"Ah, here it is, Sensei." He pointed at the paper and showed it to her.

"Alright then. I'll make sure I fix that mistake." She looked back at Tezuka-san. "Thank you."

The respected boy beside me pushed up his glasses. It was usually an amazing sight to see, but now, it didn't seem like it. Watching him only made me wonder what kind of person I looked in his eyes. Surprisingly, his face turned to mine before we both turned back to the Sensei.

"Oh, wait." Our sensei called to us. "You know, it's quite interesting to see both of you in school in such a late hour. It's rare to see both of you together." She smiled once more. It seemed as if she almost forgot the mistake that Tezuka corrected.

I tilted my head wondering why she said such a thing. "Is there something wrong with it?"

She shook her head, "No. Not at all. But seeing the top two freshman right in front of my eyes is something quite new. You know, a lot of professors wonder who's going to shine the more first before the other dims out. They've all placed their bets but I won't tell you who is winning." She started chuckling. "Besides, I know why Amai-chan is in school at such a late hour, but Tezuka-kun is something out of the ordinary. Did tennis practice last longer than usual?"

He once more pushed up his glasses. He looked so honest and kind. "I had some things to take care of. But it was only a coincidence for Amasawa and I to be looking for you at the same time."

She waved her left hand, "of course it is. If both of you were looking for me at the same time, that would mean both of you aren't competing. This must all be a coincidence, right?"

We left her after we said our goodbyes. I didn't like the last part of the conversation. Is it really that wrong for me to be standing beside Tezuka-san? If you think about it, I am his number two. I'm just trailing behind him by tiny points. Do only coincidences make things possible for me to be walking beside Tezuka-san? Can't I just talk to him without making other people think we're competing?"

"Ah, Amasawa-san" Tezuka's voice stopped my thoughts. Right now is real. We may look like we're competing, but right now, we're just talking. We're talking like two normal friends, or classmates.

"Yeah!" I said hurriedly and a little excited. We were walking down the stairs and almost ready to leave the school.

"Awhile ago, as I was scanning your test, you completely didn't surprise me." He uttered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I questioned. Surprise him. Did that mean that he noticed my mistakes and that he expecting some? Was he going to lecture me about my mistakes and teach me some English?

He stopped walking and locked his eye on my mine. "Our answers are alike. I've never seen your test results before, and today was a first time. I knew you were good, but after seeing that test, I've found out that you're better than I expected."

I couldn't reply. I didn't know how to reply. The Tezuka Kunimitsu was praising me. It was something extraordinary and overwhelming. I tried to wake up and instantly replied, "Thank you."

He just nodded. We started walking again but this time, I wasn't nervous. My heart was filled with glee. What he just said made this day one of the best days of my life. It's amazing.

"Ah, one more thing." He said.

"hm?" I wondered what his follow up was.

"You have a really nice handwriting. It's out of the ordinary."

Two praises in one time. I've hit the goal. This is extremely awesome.

"Thank you!" I said while blushing. We were nearing the gate when I thought of something. If he was praising me this much, shouldn't I praise him back, too? I was getting fidgety. I hammered my brain into words that could come out as a praise. Something that was different. Not something like "You're genius" or "You're tennis playing is awesome."

But I was too late. We were already parting ways and I still couldn't get any idea of what to say. He was turning left and I was turning right.

"I'm heading this way. Thanks for accompanying me to Sensei." I said and walked to my right.

He just nodded and turned left.

I felt weird inside but I wanted to stop him. I wanted to learn more about him. He's the guy I've always wanted to know about. I finally had the chance but I didn't get it.

This is crazy.

I stopped walking and thought of a witty sentence. If I would turn around I'd still find in at least yelling distance. I should think of something to say, now. I held on tight to my bag which hung on my shoulder. The wind seemed to have stopped moving. Everything stopped except for my brain. It was ticking and thinking. However, my brain stopped, too, when I heard someone call out to me.

"Amasawa-san, is there something wrong?"

After hearing his voice, I immediately turned around. "Tezuka-san" It seemed like he didn't move an inch. He waited for an answer, "Uh, nothing." I tilted my head, "I just started thinking of something."

He looked down. "Same here."

"Really?"

"Yes." He gazed back at me. "Are we really both competing?"

I was taken by surprise. I didn't move at all. I didn't know how to answer. It seemed as if Tezuka-san was the only one who didn't notice the competing air between us. I was competing with him but he wasn't. I was losing so badly but he wasn't. How come he wasn't seeing this?"

"You never noticed?" I just asked with all honesty intact.

He shook his head.

"Why?" I questioned. How can he not notice it?

"Why?" he asked himself. "I don't know. I never thought that both of us were competing. I knew you were always behind me but I never thought you had wanted to get better than me. Besides, shouldn't we all be competing with ourselves, so that we could all get better?"

I was shocked by his words. A fellow first year was sharing his advices for me. I always made Tezuka a goal for me to pass so that I could get better. But after hearing what he just said, I don't know what to do?

I suddenly thought of a question to ask. "Tezuka-san, can't I just make you a mountain for me to challenge myself with?"

He pushed up his glasses. "I guess..."

"Alright." I waved my hand. "Thanks a lot for today again!"

He nodded once more and then turned around. Once I looked at his back, I realized that he seemed so much greater than me. His birthday is probably only just a few months earlier than mine, but from my view he looked so much older than that. At that moment, he was someone I respected more and more.

Before I could turn around and go back home, I woke up from my dream. "A weird flashback dream, huh." I told myself. I found myself in the cafeteria of the hospital I worked in. I looked at my watch and noticed that I only had a thirty minute sleep. What happened after that meeting? I asked myself. Ah, I went back home and wrote a story about it. I grinned and got off the chair. The television in the cafeteria was boosted up in a loud volume. Everyone around me had their eyes set on it.

"Wow! Tezuka made another nice drop shot!" One man shouted.

"Yeah! And his opponent couldn't even catch up to it." An intern yelled.

"That was awesome. Plus, he's fast." Another one commented.

"And hot, too." Some girl said.

I just smiled and listened to their compliments. I looked away from the screen, trying to miss Tezuka's back as he tried to hit the balls.

"How long has it been since you broke up with him?" Oishi's voice ringed behind me. "He wished that you would be there to watch him when he debuted."

"There's nothing I can do, Oishi." I simply replied while walking further away from him.

A/n: I was halfway through the last chapter when I wanted to make a flashback scene. And thus, a .5 chapter was made. I promise, the last chapter is coming up next. Who loved the cliffhanger? I did!

Don't forget to send me some love (or, in other words, a review)