After lunch, Haruna and I headed our separate ways. She to her class, and me to mine. Time seemed to pass faster when I was away from Haruna, and it was slower when I was with her, which is good because I like spending time with her. When I heard the bell signalling classes were finally over, I quickly gathered my things and stuffed them in my bag. A couple of girls from my class managed to surround me early, asking me to go home with them. I politely refused them before dashing out of the classroom and speed walking towards Haruna’s. I was excited to see her. When their classroom door finally opened, I was greeted with a crying Haruna.
I felt a sinking feeling in my gut when I saw her teary eyes. My chest felt tight and I just wanted to hold her, tell her everything was gonna be okay. I felt… protective, something I’ve never felt before, and hold her I did when she came barrelling towards me. I swore to myself I would never forgive whoever made her cry.
“It’s terrible Hokuto.” She sniffled.
“What’s terrible? Who did this?” I ask her, caressing her back in an attempt to calm her down.
I’m gonna rip whoever did this to shreds.
“My math test. My score. It’s horrible!” she cried, more tears were running down her puffy cheeks.
“Your what?” I ask, dumbfounded.
And I thought I was gonna have to beat the crap out of someone.
After calming Haruna down with some ice cream, she told me all about how she was having trouble with her maths and that no matter how hard she studied, she just couldn’t get it right.
“I just really hate math…” She said when she finished.
“Then how about I tutor you?” I offer with a smile.
“You would do that?” She asked me, wiping her tears with her orange handkerchief.
“Yeah! Why wouldn’t I? I promise I’ll help you.” I tell her.
She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and said, “Thank you so much Hokuto! I’m so lucky to have you as my friend!”
I hugged her back, but all that was running in my mind was the word ‘friend’.
What if I don’t want to be just your friend Haruna?
The next day, Haruna and I decided to meet up after classes in the school library for the tutoring.
“Sorry I’m late Hokuto. I had to take care of the flowers.” She apologized while bowing her head.
I smile at her and say, “It’s okay. Shall we start?”
She nods her head with a look of determination on her face that I found cute. She took out her math book and notebook as well as some pencils, an eraser and a sharpener.
We spent almost 3 hours in the library. It was getting quite late, but we managed to tackle more than half of Haruna’s lessons.
“Whew! Good work!” She said, leaning back in her chair, and stretching her arms.
“Good work.” I tell her, smiling.
“Oh right!” She reached down to her bag and pulled out a thermos and two cups.
“What’s that?” I ask her, eyeing the stainless container.
“I made us some tea. I just love drinking tea after studying. It’s very calming.” She answered, pouring some on a disposable cup, and handing it to me.
I suddenly felt very rigid at the mention of the word ‘tea’. Haruna seemed to notice this.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like tea?” She asked me, concern lacing her voice.
“No. Not at all.” I managed to say.
She put the cups and thermos away and looked me straight in the eye.
“What’s wrong Hokuto?” She asked me seriously.
“Nothing.” I tell her, looking away from her grey eyes.
“Don’t lie to me.” I heard her say the way a mother would to their child.
I hear her sigh.
“Hokuto, look at me.” It wasn’t a statement. It was an order.
I turn my eyes towards her, managing to look her in the eye.
I see her serious eyes soften. It was very… calming.
“You can always tell me if there’s something bothering you.” The way she said it was like she was lulling me to sleep.
I took a deep breath. I’ve never actually told anyone except my childhood friends about my problems regarding my overbearing family. It was something I didn’t share with just anyone, but looking at Haruna’s eyes that show nothing but sincere concern for me, I felt like I just wanted to tell her everything, to not hide anything from her. I’ve always hated feeling vulnerable but this time, I felt like I wanted to share something of mine because she’s done nothing but share her everything with me, protecting me. I’ve never had anyone do that for me, and I felt like Haruna was just the person I want doing just that. I trust her.
So I told her everything. She was a very good listener and didn’t speak until I finished the whole story. She was genuinely interested in what I was saying and not at all bored. When I finished, she didn’t offer any empty reassurances. She kept quiet as if processing everything I said. Frankly, I found her silence about the topic to be the most comforting gesture I could ever ask for. There was nothing to be said. I just wanted her to listen to me, to everything I had to say, and she did. Finally, she looked at me with strong eyes that didn’t show any signs of pity. She reached for my hands and held it tight in her small ones.
The only words she said were, “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask.
“For telling me.” She answered.
“I wanted to tell you.” I tell her, smiling.
“I wanted to hear it.” She said quietly.
I squeezed her hands in mine. “I trust you Haruna.”
“I trust you too…” She whispered.
She pulled her hands away and put the cup of tea in my hands.
“Drink. It’ll calm you down.” She said, taking a sip from her cup.
I smile at her and raise the cup to my lips, drinking the sweet tea.
It was delicious and like Haruna said, calming.
But Haruna managed to calm me down first.
I felt a sinking feeling in my gut when I saw her teary eyes. My chest felt tight and I just wanted to hold her, tell her everything was gonna be okay. I felt… protective, something I’ve never felt before, and hold her I did when she came barrelling towards me. I swore to myself I would never forgive whoever made her cry.
“It’s terrible Hokuto.” She sniffled.
“What’s terrible? Who did this?” I ask her, caressing her back in an attempt to calm her down.
I’m gonna rip whoever did this to shreds.
“My math test. My score. It’s horrible!” she cried, more tears were running down her puffy cheeks.
“Your what?” I ask, dumbfounded.
And I thought I was gonna have to beat the crap out of someone.
After calming Haruna down with some ice cream, she told me all about how she was having trouble with her maths and that no matter how hard she studied, she just couldn’t get it right.
“I just really hate math…” She said when she finished.
“Then how about I tutor you?” I offer with a smile.
“You would do that?” She asked me, wiping her tears with her orange handkerchief.
“Yeah! Why wouldn’t I? I promise I’ll help you.” I tell her.
She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and said, “Thank you so much Hokuto! I’m so lucky to have you as my friend!”
I hugged her back, but all that was running in my mind was the word ‘friend’.
What if I don’t want to be just your friend Haruna?
The next day, Haruna and I decided to meet up after classes in the school library for the tutoring.
“Sorry I’m late Hokuto. I had to take care of the flowers.” She apologized while bowing her head.
I smile at her and say, “It’s okay. Shall we start?”
She nods her head with a look of determination on her face that I found cute. She took out her math book and notebook as well as some pencils, an eraser and a sharpener.
We spent almost 3 hours in the library. It was getting quite late, but we managed to tackle more than half of Haruna’s lessons.
“Whew! Good work!” She said, leaning back in her chair, and stretching her arms.
“Good work.” I tell her, smiling.
“Oh right!” She reached down to her bag and pulled out a thermos and two cups.
“What’s that?” I ask her, eyeing the stainless container.
“I made us some tea. I just love drinking tea after studying. It’s very calming.” She answered, pouring some on a disposable cup, and handing it to me.
I suddenly felt very rigid at the mention of the word ‘tea’. Haruna seemed to notice this.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like tea?” She asked me, concern lacing her voice.
“No. Not at all.” I managed to say.
She put the cups and thermos away and looked me straight in the eye.
“What’s wrong Hokuto?” She asked me seriously.
“Nothing.” I tell her, looking away from her grey eyes.
“Don’t lie to me.” I heard her say the way a mother would to their child.
I hear her sigh.
“Hokuto, look at me.” It wasn’t a statement. It was an order.
I turn my eyes towards her, managing to look her in the eye.
I see her serious eyes soften. It was very… calming.
“You can always tell me if there’s something bothering you.” The way she said it was like she was lulling me to sleep.
I took a deep breath. I’ve never actually told anyone except my childhood friends about my problems regarding my overbearing family. It was something I didn’t share with just anyone, but looking at Haruna’s eyes that show nothing but sincere concern for me, I felt like I just wanted to tell her everything, to not hide anything from her. I’ve always hated feeling vulnerable but this time, I felt like I wanted to share something of mine because she’s done nothing but share her everything with me, protecting me. I’ve never had anyone do that for me, and I felt like Haruna was just the person I want doing just that. I trust her.
So I told her everything. She was a very good listener and didn’t speak until I finished the whole story. She was genuinely interested in what I was saying and not at all bored. When I finished, she didn’t offer any empty reassurances. She kept quiet as if processing everything I said. Frankly, I found her silence about the topic to be the most comforting gesture I could ever ask for. There was nothing to be said. I just wanted her to listen to me, to everything I had to say, and she did. Finally, she looked at me with strong eyes that didn’t show any signs of pity. She reached for my hands and held it tight in her small ones.
The only words she said were, “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask.
“For telling me.” She answered.
“I wanted to tell you.” I tell her, smiling.
“I wanted to hear it.” She said quietly.
I squeezed her hands in mine. “I trust you Haruna.”
“I trust you too…” She whispered.
She pulled her hands away and put the cup of tea in my hands.
“Drink. It’ll calm you down.” She said, taking a sip from her cup.
I smile at her and raise the cup to my lips, drinking the sweet tea.
It was delicious and like Haruna said, calming.
But Haruna managed to calm me down first.