Unknown Love (Discontinued)

Chapter 7

Shiro's POV:

"First, we have... Airi Fuse!"

A short, brunette girl with braids on both sides of her hair shows up on the big projector screen on the wall. I've seen her enter the 6th-grade classes before, so I'm assuming that she's a 6th grader. Any student from 6th-8th grade is allowed into any of the electives. Airi's holding what looks like a fake microphone. She starts talking about how her cat runs away and is reported missing. Honestly, she does a pretty good job, and Yua, on my right, looks like she agrees. The editing is done nicely, too. 

The presentation continues for about another 2-3 minutes, then ends. It'sd probably because there are around 20-25 students. If each of them takes about 5 minutes, just like this one, then we should be done in another... 100 - 125 minutes. Basically, we have to sit here for 2 more hours. I sigh. Yua notices the concerned look on my face and whispers, "Did you just figure it out?

"Huh?" I reply.

"Did you just figure out that we have to sit here for 2 hours?" 

"Oh... yeah," I tell her.

"I feel like I'm more impatient because I want to know what Koike-chan's— sorry, Hitomi's— presentation will be," She says while sighing.

"Mm," I respond while slightly nodding, 'Yes.' When I check my watch, I realize that it's already been 7 minutes since Airi's presentation. I hope I didn't miss Hitomi's. 

Yua's POV:

I gaze over at Shiro, only to see him lost in his thoughts. Classic Shiro. He's always in his head, which I guess is what makes him so level-headed and logical, yet at the same time, creative.

He catches me staring at him, and I immediately pretend to pay attention to the projector screen, blushing. He smirks at me.

"You don't need to be so nervous to look at me. Jeez. It's like we're strangers or something. I've known you pretty much your whole life," He tells me.

"Oi, stop calling me out like that!" I whisper-yell. Sure enough, this situation is sort of awkward, but Shiro's right. I should be myself around him. Why have I been acting so different so recently?

"What a wonderful report! Coming up next is... Kaori Eto!" Principal Yanagi announces loudly on the microphone. Shiro covers his ears and closes his eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder to indicate that it'll be over soon. Except, it won't.

Kaori's full name is Kaoruko, but nobody calls her that. The blonde wearing pink, glittery lip gloss shows up on the screen wearing a deep blue velvet dress with sleeves that end just inches after touching her elbow. She's wearing a pink headband that matches the color of her lips. I can tell she's put on makeup, but it's been put on pretty well. I'm not an expert on makeup or anything, but I'm sure that whoever did it is a professional. Maybe her mom did it and she's a professional? 

Her topic is about how their family rescued a puppy. Not exactly a stray, but a lost one. They put up posters for the owner to come and find him, and of course, the owners saw the posters and immediately called them. Or at least that's what Eto-chan said. I've noticed that none of the 8th graders, including Hitomi, have gone yet. The 6th graders went, and now the 7th graders are starting to. This is going to be a long wait.

I lean on my left arm, which is leaning on my thigh. After about a few seconds, I get pulled in a side hug by my best friend, making me put my head on his shoulder. He starts humming the song, "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka. I cringe. A lot.

"Shiro!" I whisper-yell at him. "Stop it! That song is for lovers. Gross!" 

He only chuckles, a little bit of pink dust covering his face.

"Well, it can be for best friends, too." I mentally slap my forehead. Does he not know the lyrics?

"Put your head on my shoulder, hold me in your arms, baby, squeeze me oh so tight, show me, that you love me too," I start softly singing. Shiro immediately turns red.

"Hey! I-I didn't— What are you— Stop that!" He stutters. I only keep singing, little giggles forming in the process. He pouts while looking away, me still leaning in on his right. I finally end the song, bursting out in suppressed laughter that I tried to tame by putting my hands around my closed mouth. 

"Jeez. You're mean," He tells me.

"And you're dumb," I reply back. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Aww, poor thing. 

After a few minutes of calming down, the next person is up. 

"That presentation was beautiful! Who's ready for the next performance? I know I am! Give it up for... Nina Nishinoya!"

~1hr 40mins later~

Everyone in the auditorium is drowsy and can't stay still in their seats for any longer. Being the balls of energetic teenagers that we are, we need a comfortable place if we're going to settle down for a while, and we need to move at least once an hour. If we're just going to sit on the floor, at least get us some comfy cushions or let us bring our own. 

The atmosphere is gloomy and tired. Even some of the teachers were bored and started messing with their phones. Hitomi still hasn't gone yet. Some of the students started whispering, but the teachers immediately hushed them. Some students were messing with their hair, some were drawing invisible stuff on the floor with their fingers, while the rest were spacing out, looking around the whole auditorium. Very few students were paying attention. I, myself, started spacing out. I look over at one corner of the usually spacious auditorium, also a gymnasium, and notice a dodgeball stuck between the pipes on the ceiling. It's red. I've never noticed it before. I guess it's times like this when you start paying attention to little things like this more.

Shiro, eyes half-closed, just leans on his right hand, making circles with his finger on the floor. I don't do anything, just stare at the motion of his index spinning counterclockwise. I hear Principal Yanagi's voice, but decide to ignore it. She says something that sounds vague, but as she ends her sentence, I hear the words, "Koike Hitomi." Or at least I think so. Wait, Hitomi?! I immediately spring up and see Hitomi on the projector screen. 

Aggressively, I tap Shiro on the shoulder, stirring him awake from his thoughts. I gesture my hand towards the screen. His eyes widen.

"Finally, it's her turn! I'm pretty sure she's the last one," Shiro whisper-says. I nod. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm excited. Hitomi sure has a way of making people excited for no reason.

"Yeah!" I whisper-yell back. "I'm excited! Not exactly sure why, though. Heh."

"I know, right? It's such a weird feeling."

(1182 words)

A/N: Hello to the very few people that are reading my story. I know, this chapter was pretty boring (and short). I also apologize for updating late. Like, really late. I have had school going on. Plus,
✨p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n✨ lol. Let me know if there are any mistakes, and I will try to get them fixed. Thank you!

—Mido-chan ♡