The Reason Why

Chapter 1 - Push and Pull

I'll never forget the day I met Asakura Jo.

It was summer and the last day of school functions. Our school had allowed us to bring a friend to the end of the year festival. It was like the official marking of summer, signifying a temporary end to academic stress.

His friend Yuma, also my seat mate, had brought him along. He wasn't from our school and was a year below me.

Yuma, of course, had gone off to collect the last of the year's worth of numbers from the ladies, and Jo was stuck standing by himself.

Jo had a distinctive look. His eyes that would gaze the floor a little too long and a glare that appeared like a lost puppy. To top it off, he had been abandoned by Yuma and had a painful, peeling sunburn. It was nothing short of social suicide.

Finally noticing his careless actions, Yuma had steered away from the mobs of girls. He eyed my friend Yuika and I, walking at a relaxed pace towards us with Jo.

"Ladies," he began and Yuika giggled. "This is Jo. Jo, this is Haruna and Yuika."

I remember the look on Jo's face, completely poker faced and reluctant to glance up. It was endearing and amusing at the same time.

Yuika went first. "I'm Yuika! I'm a year above Yuma and Haruna, but we're close friends."

My phone rang abruptly before I was able to go, so I never got to hear Jo's introduction. But it didn't matter, because the rest of summer eventually became it's replacement.

Yuma was always keen on "living in the moment" and he bugged Yuika and me to go camping with him and Jo. It was 98 degrees that year, but no one could say no to Yuma. Not even Jo.

I practically had to beg my mom to let me off for two days, promising I'd spend the rest of summer studying for the entrance exam. She agreed under the condition that Yuma's older sister chaperoned us. I didn't refuse.

When the day arrived, Yuika called me coughing. She said she had a fever and was scared she'd infect everyone else. I contemplated going, but Yuma's whining voice over the phone pierced my ear with phrases that guilt tripped.

The weather that day was hot and muggy, and I had gotten at least ten mosquito bites before even setting foot on the recreational soil. Jo arrived earlier than everyone. He was leaning against a log fence, dressed in a dark blue windbreaker and black basket ball shorts with white leggings.

The sound of my approaching footsteps caught his attention and he looked up. I waved but his face remained nonchalant and he looked elsewhere.

Suddenly, I wished I was sick at home too.

"Sorry for taking so long, guys!" Yuma's bright voice filled the atmosphere, and Jo finally showed some life.

A loud thud could heard from a nearby car. It was Yuma's sister, and she waved toward us with a warm smile. "Are you kids ready for the weekend of your lives?"

I nodded, feeling immediate relief that another girl had tagged along. Her hair was a sharp dark, black; cut right above her shoulder line. She had a chic style to her strut and was everything anyone would have imagined Yuma's sister to be.

Too in awe, I forgot that Yuma was struggling to carry the camping equipment and realized how rude I must have looked. Jo probably had formed the same thought, because we both ended up grabbing the sleeping bags simultaneously.

"Oh," is all he said and then proceeded with what he was doing.

Still no eye contact.

After the supplies were unpacked from the car, we looked for a spacious spot to settle. Yuma and Jo worked to set up the tents, while his sister and I prepared lunch.