That morning, I went to school wearing my school uniform. It was the first time I wore it again since the semester break. At first, I was reluctant to go to school, but the beautiful morning atmosphere, the cool fresh air, the sound of footsteps stepping on fallen leaves, and the rustling sound of the trees created a peaceful mood that slowly replaced my laziness with excitement to start the first day of the second semester.
On my way to school, I talked to myself.
"My initial purpose in coming to this school was to learn new things so I could develop my drawing skills. But this school only teaches the basic techniques, and I already know some shortcut tricks."
Just as I was standing in front of the school gate, deep in my thoughts, I was suddenly startled by someone calling my name from behind.
"RENN!!!"
The voice was soft, yet loud and enthusiastic.
"I think I've heard that voice before," I thought to myself. I turned around and saw that it was my old friend who had recently transferred to this school. I forgot her name, but I tried to remember.
"What was her name again?" I wondered while staring at her intently as she waved her hand at me.
"How have you been, Ren?" she asked.
"I'm good. It's unusual for you to ask me that," I replied, pretending as if I remembered her name.
"I asked because you usually stay at home during the holidays. Are you still like that now?" she said with a slight smile, as if teasing me.
"I'm still the same. I just don't know what to do outside the house anyway," I replied, stuttering a bit.
Then I asked her, "What about you? Where did you go during the holidays?"
"I went out with my friends. Unlike you, who just stayed at home like a bird trapped in a cage," she said confidently, smiling as if she was teasing me again.
Before I could reply to her teasing, I heard someone calling her name from behind.
"Kayla!!!"
I was surprised and thought to myself, So her name is Kayla!
I quickly said to her, "I'll go to class first, someone is looking for you behind you."
At that time, the school was still quiet since it was still very early. Even the sound of footsteps in the corridor echoed. I started drawing in class because the school atmosphere was still calm and peaceful.
As I was drawing, my classmates began to arrive one by one. Among them was my friend Yanto, who always made me laugh with his silliness. He always brought joy and laughter to the class.
The class atmosphere gradually changed from quiet and calm to lively with chatter and laughter from the students. As the class got noisier, I didn't realize that the first period was about to begin until the teacher walked in while the class was still buzzing.
As soon as the teacher entered, the class instantly fell silent. The teacher then announced, "We have a new transfer student today. I hope you can all be friendly and get along with her."
The teacher then called the new student to enter the class. All eyes turned to the front, focusing on the new student. She introduced herself—her name was Kayla.
I wasn't looking to the front at first because I was still busy drawing, but when I heard her voice—the same voice I heard earlier at the school gate—I quickly turned to look.
The teacher assigned her to sit in the empty seat right behind me since the first lesson was about to start.
She sat behind me. I thought she wouldn't pay any attention to me, but she kept reporting me to the teacher whenever I wasn't paying attention and was drawing instead.
The soft afternoon light and the moving clouds made the atmosphere feel cool and calm. After school, Kayla asked me to walk home together, but I declined.
While everyone else went home, I went to the usual place I often visited during the first semester, where I used to daydream and think about story concepts and drawings I wanted to create.
But that day, I saw a girl sitting under the tree, just like I used to. She wasn't drawing, though—she was secretly crying under the tree. I became curious and slowly approached her.
*Ren approached and stood beside her, then asked, "Why are you here? Are you crying?" I asked softly, my voice filled with curiosity.
But the girl remained silent, wiping her tears without saying a word. I then asked if I could sit next to her. She simply nodded while wiping her tears again.
"You don't have to stop crying, just let it out. I won't look, I promise. Besides, whatever happens here will be our secret." I said while leaning back against the tree, looking up at the evening sky.
"Y-you really will k-keep it a secret, right? P-promise?" she asked, trying to hold back her sobbing voice.
"I promise. I cry here sometimes too." I said confidently, even though I was lying just to make her trust me.
"R-really?" she asked, her teary eyes now staring at me with curiosity.
"Yeah, really. But when someone comes close, I pretend I'm just drawing so no one knows I've been crying." I lied again with confidence.
"But you're not carrying a sketchbook now," she said, questioning me.
"It's in my bag. Do you want to see my drawings?"
She stopped crying, now curious. I took my sketchbook out of my bag and showed her my drawings.
"Wow, you like anime too?" she said enthusiastically while flipping through my drawings.
"He also likes anime..." she said softly, her mood turning down again as she looked at the ground.
"He? Who's he?" I asked, turning to her with curiosity.
But when I looked into her eyes, I was stunned by her beauty, making my heart race.
"It's nothing, not anyone special," she said, turning her face away from me.
I chuckled a little and spoke to myself in my heart, So she already has a boyfriend... but why was she crying earlier? I thought, puzzled.
"Someday, tell me who he is, if you're ready to talk. I'll be here every day anyway." I said while packing up my things and standing up, ready to go home as the sun was about to set.
"I'll head home first, I don't want your boyfriend to misunderstand." I said, about to walk away with my back to her.
"W-wait, let's go home together. I'm scared to walk alone." she said softly while catching up to me.
"If your boyfriend misunderstands, you'll have to explain it, okay?" I said, turning to her as she walked toward me from behind.
She just nodded.
We kept talking until it was quite late in the evening, and on the way home, I was still worried about her.
"Do you want me to walk you all the way home?"
"It's okay, my house is near here," she said as we awkwardly continued walking.
Then she said, "My house is this way. See you tomorrow," as she hurried off toward her house.
I pretended to go home, but I secretly followed her from a distance to make sure she got home safely.
After she safely entered her house, I finally went home and laid down on my bed, but I suddenly realized something.
"I didn't even ask her name!!!" I shouted in my room.