Second Composer

Chapter 7

It is the next day. Yesterday was such a long day that I thought I've been here for a month and not the first day.

I am checking myself in the mirror right now. I notice that there are quite a lot of students who modified their uniforms, so I decided to do the same.

Currently, I still have the same yellow checkered skirt with black leggings underneath and white buttoned-down shirt. The only differences I changed is the greenish-blue blazer which I replaced it with a blue zipper hoodie. I leave the hoodie unzipped. I purposefully got it in a bigger size, so the sleeves are long enough to hide my hands. I replace the red striped bow tie that the girls wear with the boy's tie which is loosely tied. My footwear is a pair of black and white tennis shoes.

I look down at myself before looking up. I can see my reflection staring back at me. My dark brown eyes show exhaustion and loneliness. It does not help with the heavy eye bags under them. At least it is being conceal behind my black glasses. My long black hair drapes over my right shoulder even though it is pulled back into a ponytail. Strands of hair escape from the hair tie and fall on the sides of my face. If it wasn't so obvious that I was a girl, I could passed as a boy.

A familiar face that I used to look at every day but not through the mirror. I can see my face twist into sorrow as the thought of my sister passes through my mind. I shake the thought out of my head and did a last-minute check on my clothes before heading out.

There are still 30 minutes left until class starts. So, I decide to go the library. Luckily for me, the library is near my classroom, so I can take my time there. I greet the student who was sitting behind the front desk and make my way to the back of the library. While my trip around the library yesterday, I found a perfect spot for me to read without people bothering me. My little hideaway when it gets too much for me.

The spot is right next to the fantasy sections, a genre that I like to read. There is a small table where is directly in front of the window. The window is in the perfect place where the sun shines during the afternoon and gives you the best view in my opinion. I can see the lake from here. There is a little gazebo places a little to the right of it. The trees surrounding the lake make it look like an oasis. Another spot for me to relax, although I haven't check there yet.

I go to the shelves nearby and carefully look at the title of the books. Each book is so interesting that I don't think I can read all of them. I have a hard time deciding which book to read. I eventually choose one and was about to grab it when something catches my eye. I turn my head to see what it is, and my breath caught in my throat.

A boy with dark hair stands in front of the shelve with a book in his hand. Because I was far away from him, I couldn't see his face well, but I know who this is. My heart pounds quickly. My breath is fast and shallow. My mind drifts back. Back to when I was just a young girl.

The boy is replaced by a younger version of himself, and he is much closer to me. His stormy blue eyes studies me as he holds a book out to me. His cheeks still has some baby fat and it looks even more chubbier when he smiles at me. I see his mouth move, but I can't hear what he said. He then leans towards me. I want to take a step back but couldn't. I couldn't move at all. I am frozen in place.

The boy in front of me shatters when I finally did move. The vision of him is completely vanished from my sight and I am back to the present. I take a deep breath, sucking in as much as air as possible.  My vision is blurry even though I have my glasses on. I feel something drip down my face and realize that my cheeks are wet. I quickly scrub the tears away, but they keep coming back. I hold back a sob as I slowly back away.

Somehow, he didn't notice me, so I take the chance to go back to my spot. I scramble to pull the chair out and collapse onto it. My tears get worse with every moment. My throat closes and my lungs are getting no air in them. I feel my body shaking as I try to hold my sob back even more.

I can't believe he is here. The one person I don't want here. The one person I don't want to face.

I don't know how long I sat there, but it was long enough for my phone to vibrate in my pocket. I brush the tears away, this time they stop. I grab my phone and see that there is 5 minutes before class starts. I get up from my seat and quickly make my way to the restroom. I slam my glasses on the counter and viciously scrub my face with water. I look at myself in the mirror to make sure that I don't look like I was crying act all. Once I was ready, I speed-walk to the class and sit in the same desk as I sat yesterday. I see that Syo was already sitting and give him a smile. I hope that my glasses at least hide the redness of my eyes. The last thing I need right now is him worrying about me.

I let out a breath when I realize how close it was when Hyuga-sensei walks in the room. I then see Ren-san walking right behind him.

"You're late." Hyuga-sensei said.

"No, I'm not." Ren-san argued. "I have a minute left."

I look at the clock on the wall and see that Ren-san was right. Hyuga-sensei sighs and tells Ren-san to go sit down. Ren-san gives him a casual salute and goes to sit next... to me? I didn't notice the empty seat to the right of me. I stare at him for a minute before putting my attention back to the front.

"Today, I'm going to pair you all for your first assignment. One composer and one idol for each pair. I'll be calling out names now." Our teacher said.

Hyuga-sensei reads through the list. I was disappointed when I heard that I wasn't paired with Syo for our first assignment. I wait in anticipation for my name.

"Kokoro Teresa." Hyuga-sensei called. "You are with Ichinose Tokiya."