Hello faithful readers

Here is chapter number 4. Thank you very much for your previous reviews and responses, they were all received gratefully. I'm afraid that the characters really are becoming too OOC in this chapter... I will try to keep them in character in future. As always, reviews are welcome.

Machi woke up early even though she hadn't gone to sleep until around 11pm last night. She quickly washed, got dressed and left the house after eating breakfast. She needed to get to school before any of the other student council members so that she could collect her belongings from the council room without being disturbed.

When she reached the Student Council room at school, she went straight to her desk. It usually would have been covered with sheets of paper and other random artefacts, but strangely it was now cleared of everything. She looked under the desk – there was a cardboard box filled with her possessions. The top was still open, so she looked inside. On top of all her things, there was a letter similar to the one she had given Yuki yesterday.

Dear Machi,

She paused. He had used 'dear'! But that was just so…

The letter was only short.

We were all very sorry to hear that you will be leaving the Student Council. We thank you for the hard work you put in whilst you were a member, and wish you good luck in the future. We would also like to tell you that should you ever want to return to the student council, you would be welcome.

Yours,

Student Council President and Members

The signatures of Naohito, Kimi, Kakeru and finally Yuki followed.

When did he put this here? She wondered, assuming that Yuki had placed it there. It looked like his handwriting, but she didn't know of any distinguishing features she could use to tell if it was his. Yesterday afternoon? This morning?

It was, she concluded, a mystery.

Whilst Machi was carrying the box back to her own classroom, Kakeru and Yuki were in the photocopying room. After signing the letter, Kimi had gone back to her room and Naohito had simply disappeared, so it was just the two of them left.

"Well, I'm going now, Yun-Yun." Said Kakeru, getting up.

"Oh. I'd better go as well."

They both walked out of the door and then went their separate ways, Kakeru going down the corridor to the right and Yuki to the left.

As he walked to room 12B, where his first lesson was that day, he passed by Machi's classroom. The door was closed but there was a window in it. He looked through and saw her sitting alone at a desk in the third row, unpacking her things. He thought for a minute or two about going in, but decided against it. It had seemed, yesterday, that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

However, before Yuki had walked very far down the corridor, the classroom door opened of its own accord.

"President."

"Machi?" he asked, before turning round.

Did he recognise my voice? Or is just because I'm the only one who actually calls him 'President?

"Why did you keep those bits of paper?"

"Well... sort of, memories, I suppose."

"Memories?"

He nodded from down the hallway.

"You don't talk much, do you, Machi?"

I suppose not.

"You rarely participate in school events, so I don't have photographs of you like I do of Kakeru, Kimi and Nao..."

"Oh."

She turned and went back to the classroom. That answer was good enough, I suppose. But this was a lot to process, and it made her feel strangely emotional. Why would he need memories of me? Machi found herself asking a lot of questions that she didn't have the answers to.

Only he did.