𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚕 - 𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚜𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Two - Outside Pants

Chapter Two

Sakusa's ritual led him back to Jump Start the following Sunday morning. When he noticed a familiar slob was missing from the seat she had consistently occupied every day for as long as he could remember, Sakusa wondered if she ended up completing the chapter the man berating her yesterday was asking for. Not that he cared.

Sakusa retrieved his drink from the barista before sitting beside the window...at the table Sajima usually inhabited. It was the best seat in the cafe, bright, but the sun didn't get in your eyes, and it was more secluded with no one behind you or on your right side due to the window. Sakusa flipped through a complimentary newspaper while he enjoyed his red-eye coffee in the warmth of the morning sun. Well, he did until a tornado of a woman hurried over and presumptuously pulled up a chair to sit across from him.

On the receiving end of Sakusa's stare, Sajima flashed him a friendly smile and set her navy blue messenger bag on her lap, not bothering to greet him before speaking. "I wanted to show you something."

Sakusa raised an eyebrow. "Most people start with good morning or hello."

"I'm just a little excited that you're here. Although you always are around this time on the weekends, so I don't know why I'm so relieved," she laughed. "But who needs those anyway? Isn't it just better to get to the point?"

He couldn't argue with that, she was right, but it wasn't exactly polite with someone you haven't even exchanged names with. However, considering the first time they spoke, it didn't particularly surprise him. Sajima seemed much too scatterbrained for any of that to cross her mind. "What did you want to show me?"

Sajima smacked a printed-out photo of one page of her latest chapter onto the table proudly and pushed it toward him. "This!"

Sakusa surveyed the panels curiously but wasn't exactly sure what was happening within them. The art style was good, with sharp lines and expressive features that looked to have been honed over many years of practice, but the page he was looking at didn't make sense within the limited context. "...and this is...?"

"A centaur! You know, half human half mythical beast? Yusuke is trying to hide from him."

"And why did you want to show me this exactly?"

Sajima reached over and tapped on the center left of the page. "Take a closer look, my friend."

Sakusa blinked. "We're not friends."

"Not with that attitude, we aren't," she chuckled, tightening her high ponytail. "But look, I don't even look like a bum today! I'm wearing real pants, and my hair isn't messy. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"Real pants?" He questioned, looking closer at her hair since she mentioned it. It was much more agreeable than yesterday, but rogue onyx wisps of hair framed her face in a way that still seemed a little messy to him.

Sajima lifted her leg from under the table to show off her acid-wash mom jeans. "Yeah, you know, like ones you wouldn't just wear around the house 'cause they aren't as comfy. Maybe outside pants would be a better description."

With a shake of his head, Sakusa returned to the page before him, focusing on the spot she had pointed out. Sajima swore she saw his lips twitch at the corners, but it happened so quickly that she couldn't be sure. The panel showed her main character Yusuke with his face shielded by a Volleyball Monthly magazine in a convenience store, his wild hair poking out from the top of it. "So that's why you wanted to know what I was reading."

"Yep! Sometimes the simplest thing can seem like climbing a mountain." Sajima's smile looked more sincere as she added, "I know it seems silly, but you helped me. So thanks."