Post by MissChurro on Feb 19, 2016 13:50:01 GMT -5
This is a short story I did for a slice of life challenge, a few months ago. I hope you enjoy! 
The dying sun shone bright orange rays from behind a nearby hill, casting deep shadows behind the passersby. The cicada cries in the distance had become quieter as summer said its goodbyes, welcoming a new crispness in the air. Footsteps crunched on the grass below, their creator letting out a sigh of contentment. The gentle breeze blew through his ashen brown hair, and he swiped his hand to push the blown strands out of his onyx eyes. He took a deep breath, promising to savor every moment of this evening. He was so lost in thought that it took him a second to notice the sudden force against his chest followed by a thud and a grunt. He looked to the figure on the ground beneath him, quickly rushing to her aid as he realized what happened.
“I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed as a flush ran over his freckled face and he quickly started gathering the books she had spilt. The girl swiftly stood up, tucked her black hair behind her ear, and accepted the books he gathered back into her arms. She quickly bowed and before he could say another word, rushed away down the schoolyard. The boy let out an exasperated sigh, still processing what just happened. He shrugged and shook his head, continuing on his way.
He arrived at the bike rack, and began to unravel the lock and chain on his own red bike. Once it was undone, he mounted it and began his journey home. The wind picked up as he pedaled, filling his ears with the gusting sound. He liked it when this happened, the sound of the wind blocked out the rest of the world so he could focus on his own thoughts. His own thoughts… his own thoughts kept flashing back to ebony hair and deep honey-colored eyes. “What’s her name?” was the only thing he could ponder.
The next morning was a slow one, but an average one. After snoozing his alarm twice, the boy finally forced himself from his warm bed. He slumped across the hall to the bathroom, sighing in the mirror at the bags beneath his eyes as he brushed his teeth and hair. He wandered down the stairs to the sound of sizzling pans and the smell of his breakfast, and sat himself at the table. He yawned and lazily glanced up at the clock, his eyes immediately widening at the realization he should’ve left the house five minutes ago. He shoveled the contents of his plate into his mouth and threw himself out of his chair, running to grab his backpack.
“I gotta leave, mom! Bye!”
“Wait, don’t forget your-!”
The door slammed shut.
“…lunch.”
He pedaled up and down the deep slopes of hills, panting as he rushed to make it to class on time. He quickly locked his bike down and made a run for it as he heard the school bell begin to chime. His footsteps reverberated loudly through the empty hallways, everyone else already in their classes. By the time he reached the door of his own classroom, he was a panting, sweaty mess. He pushed the door open, only to be greeted with a scolding glare from beneath his teacher’s glasses and a chorus of giggles from his classmates. He gave a bow in apology, and made his way to his own seat. As class drew on, he was having a harder and harder time focusing. His notebook lay untouched as he drummed his fingers on his desk, occasionally stretching or squirming in boredom. His stomach gave a loud growl, and as if fate were answering, the lunch bell gave a loud ring. He gathered his things back into his bag and lifted himself with a bit more enthusiasm than he intended, causing his chair to fall behind him with a loud thud, earning him yet another round of giggles. He awkwardly lifted the chair back into place and scurried out of the classroom, only to plunge face first into an unknown obstacle in front of him.
“Oi, Aki-kun. You need to break this habit of running into people. What is this, the third time this week?” The obstacle spoke, and Aki took a few steps back, peering up at the much taller boy in front of him and rubbing his pained nose as it had collided with the taller boy’s chest.
“Sorry, Satoshi-kun. Fourth, actually. I ran into a girl yesterday.”
“You’re hopeless.” Satoshi let out a sigh and gave Aki a firm pat on the back as they began to walk down the hall together.
The cafeteria was quiet, as it normally was on nice days like today, since most students chose to eat outside. Aki and Satoshi sat at a table near a window, and Aki let out a “Not again!” as he frantically dug through his backpack.
“Don’t tell me…” Satoshi rolled his eyes, knowing too well what his friend was going to say.
“I left it at home again…” Aki’s head met the table and his hand clutched around his angry stomach. Satoshi pushed his large bento to the middle of the table, and motioned his hand towards it.
“Let’s share it.”
“No, it’s my fault I forgot my lunch… you should get to eat all yours…”
“My dad always fills it too much. I can’t finish it off anyway. Either we share, or some of this gets thrown out…” Satoshi didn’t need to do much more convincing than that, as Aki had already split a pair of wooden chopsticks from the cafeteria.
“A few bites wouldn’t hurt, I guess…”
---
“Ahh, thanks for the food!” Aki rubbed his stomach in delight as Satoshi stared in an expression that looked like a mix of disgust and astonishment.
“A couple bites, my foot… you ate practically all of it…”
Aki scoffed, “I’m a growing teen! I need proper nutrition!” He argued defensively, “Besides, I’ll pay you back…”
“Yeah, you said you’d pay me back the last six times, remember? If you’re getting that proper nutrition, then why is none of it aiding your memory?!”
“Hey-!”
They were interrupted by a gentle cough beside them and they turned to face the source. It was the girl from yesterday evening, holding something out in Aki’s direction. He grabbed it gently, his fingers brushing against hers for a split second, and he took note of the pleasant softness of her milky skin.
“Oh, um, what’s thi-?” Before Aki could continue the question, the girl had run off once again. He processed his thoughts, and then looked down at the item in his hands. It was a couple of cookies wrapped up in a napkin, with a note reading: “Sorry for running into you yesterday!”
“Hey, Satoshi-kun?”
“Mm?”
“Do you know who that girl is?”
“Yeah, she’s in my class. I think her name is Michiko-san. I’ve never spoken to her though, I can’t. She’s deaf.”
“…Oh.”
“How do you know her?”
“I don’t, really. She’s the girl I ran into yesterday.”
“Hm.”
Aki began to absentmindedly chew on a cookie, staring out the window beside them.
“…May I have one?”
“No.”
“Wha- why?! After I so generously shared my food with you?! It’s the least you could do in return!”
“This is different! This is from a girl!”
After a heated debate and a karate chop onto Aki’s head, he ended up surrendering one cookie to Satoshi.
Aki and Satoshi parted ways in the hall, Satoshi heading to his next class and Aki venturing over to the library. He returned the books from his bag and began to skim the shelves for the new ones he needed.
“What’s next? Ugh, more Shakespeare. That’d be under S. S… S… Ah, here it is!” As he grabbed his book, another caught his eye. “Sign Language” the title read, and he stared at it for what felt like several minutes before he finally grabbed it and put it in his stack. He sat at a table amongst the many shelves and set his pile of books onto it. He sat down and his hand went straight to the book about sign language, and he flipped through the pages intently, occasionally moving his own hands to try to match the pictures.
He had gotten halfway through the book when the school bell rang again, signaling it was time to go to class. He quickly stuffed his books into his bag and started on his way back to the classroom. He halted abruptly at the sight in the hall… it was Michiko again. This girl I’ve never seen before… how am I suddenly seeing her everywhere now? Then again, maybe I’ve always seen her everywhere, just never noticed her. He pondered these thoughts for a minute before continuing his way down the hall. She was the only other one in the hall, this would be the perfect chance…
He tapped her on the shoulder, and she whipped around to face him, startled. It was in this moment Aki realized he had formulated no sort of plan. His face was redder than their uniform neckties, “Um… um…!”
He quickly began to move his hands. It was sloppy and much too fast, but Michiko’s lit up and she watched attentively.
My name is Aki.
He had signed, or at least attempted to, and he was relieved when she nodded in understanding. She began to move her own hands, her movements much more graceful and well timed compared to Aki’s.
My name is Michiko.
Aki repeated her name out loud with a smile, then giggled sheepishly as he realized the awkwardness of the situation. He’d only started reading a sign language book a half hour ago, what was he thinking?! He then got an idea, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He typed something into the notepad, and handed it to her.
Sorry, I don’t know how to sign this… would you like to hang out after school?
Michiko smiled and tapped a reply into the phone, returning it to Aki.
Okay. Where?
He typed out his next response a little too excitedly, having to go back and edit the many typos he’d made.
The spot where we ran into each other yesterday.
Michiko nodded, and then waved her goodbyes before turning to walk down the hall. Aki stood dazed, his own arm still raised up waving goodbye even though she had long since left, and he took deep breaths to calm his beating heart. He couldn’t believe he’d worked up the courage to do that, but he sure was glad. He gazed up at the clock above the lockers and he snapped back to reality.
“I’m going to be late to class again!”
After such a hectic day, that evening was one of the nicest ones he’d had in a long time. He and Michiko sat on the grass, typing each other messages on their phones. Michiko helped Aki continue in the sign language book, and then their time together with a long moment of comfortable silence between them. Aki let out a contented sigh, I could definitely get used to this. And he did.
The seasons came and went, and the two sat in the crunchy leaves, the snow, and the cherry blossom petals. Rain or shine, they met up in that same spot, at the same time, every day. Over a year had already passed since that fateful evening, and now Aki was fluent enough in sign language that he no longer needed to type out his messages on a phone. He’d learnt every gesture he needed… and he was saving the one he wanted to use most for today. As he, Michiko, Satoshi, and the rest of the third years left that school for the last time, he knew he was ready. He took Michiko’s hand in his own and lead her to their usual meeting spot. He took a deep breath. He raised his hand, put his middle two fingers down, and left his index finger, pinky, and thumb outstretched.
I love you.
“I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed as a flush ran over his freckled face and he quickly started gathering the books she had spilt. The girl swiftly stood up, tucked her black hair behind her ear, and accepted the books he gathered back into her arms. She quickly bowed and before he could say another word, rushed away down the schoolyard. The boy let out an exasperated sigh, still processing what just happened. He shrugged and shook his head, continuing on his way.
He arrived at the bike rack, and began to unravel the lock and chain on his own red bike. Once it was undone, he mounted it and began his journey home. The wind picked up as he pedaled, filling his ears with the gusting sound. He liked it when this happened, the sound of the wind blocked out the rest of the world so he could focus on his own thoughts. His own thoughts… his own thoughts kept flashing back to ebony hair and deep honey-colored eyes. “What’s her name?” was the only thing he could ponder.
The next morning was a slow one, but an average one. After snoozing his alarm twice, the boy finally forced himself from his warm bed. He slumped across the hall to the bathroom, sighing in the mirror at the bags beneath his eyes as he brushed his teeth and hair. He wandered down the stairs to the sound of sizzling pans and the smell of his breakfast, and sat himself at the table. He yawned and lazily glanced up at the clock, his eyes immediately widening at the realization he should’ve left the house five minutes ago. He shoveled the contents of his plate into his mouth and threw himself out of his chair, running to grab his backpack.
“I gotta leave, mom! Bye!”
“Wait, don’t forget your-!”
The door slammed shut.
“…lunch.”
He pedaled up and down the deep slopes of hills, panting as he rushed to make it to class on time. He quickly locked his bike down and made a run for it as he heard the school bell begin to chime. His footsteps reverberated loudly through the empty hallways, everyone else already in their classes. By the time he reached the door of his own classroom, he was a panting, sweaty mess. He pushed the door open, only to be greeted with a scolding glare from beneath his teacher’s glasses and a chorus of giggles from his classmates. He gave a bow in apology, and made his way to his own seat. As class drew on, he was having a harder and harder time focusing. His notebook lay untouched as he drummed his fingers on his desk, occasionally stretching or squirming in boredom. His stomach gave a loud growl, and as if fate were answering, the lunch bell gave a loud ring. He gathered his things back into his bag and lifted himself with a bit more enthusiasm than he intended, causing his chair to fall behind him with a loud thud, earning him yet another round of giggles. He awkwardly lifted the chair back into place and scurried out of the classroom, only to plunge face first into an unknown obstacle in front of him.
“Oi, Aki-kun. You need to break this habit of running into people. What is this, the third time this week?” The obstacle spoke, and Aki took a few steps back, peering up at the much taller boy in front of him and rubbing his pained nose as it had collided with the taller boy’s chest.
“Sorry, Satoshi-kun. Fourth, actually. I ran into a girl yesterday.”
“You’re hopeless.” Satoshi let out a sigh and gave Aki a firm pat on the back as they began to walk down the hall together.
The cafeteria was quiet, as it normally was on nice days like today, since most students chose to eat outside. Aki and Satoshi sat at a table near a window, and Aki let out a “Not again!” as he frantically dug through his backpack.
“Don’t tell me…” Satoshi rolled his eyes, knowing too well what his friend was going to say.
“I left it at home again…” Aki’s head met the table and his hand clutched around his angry stomach. Satoshi pushed his large bento to the middle of the table, and motioned his hand towards it.
“Let’s share it.”
“No, it’s my fault I forgot my lunch… you should get to eat all yours…”
“My dad always fills it too much. I can’t finish it off anyway. Either we share, or some of this gets thrown out…” Satoshi didn’t need to do much more convincing than that, as Aki had already split a pair of wooden chopsticks from the cafeteria.
“A few bites wouldn’t hurt, I guess…”
---
“Ahh, thanks for the food!” Aki rubbed his stomach in delight as Satoshi stared in an expression that looked like a mix of disgust and astonishment.
“A couple bites, my foot… you ate practically all of it…”
Aki scoffed, “I’m a growing teen! I need proper nutrition!” He argued defensively, “Besides, I’ll pay you back…”
“Yeah, you said you’d pay me back the last six times, remember? If you’re getting that proper nutrition, then why is none of it aiding your memory?!”
“Hey-!”
They were interrupted by a gentle cough beside them and they turned to face the source. It was the girl from yesterday evening, holding something out in Aki’s direction. He grabbed it gently, his fingers brushing against hers for a split second, and he took note of the pleasant softness of her milky skin.
“Oh, um, what’s thi-?” Before Aki could continue the question, the girl had run off once again. He processed his thoughts, and then looked down at the item in his hands. It was a couple of cookies wrapped up in a napkin, with a note reading: “Sorry for running into you yesterday!”
“Hey, Satoshi-kun?”
“Mm?”
“Do you know who that girl is?”
“Yeah, she’s in my class. I think her name is Michiko-san. I’ve never spoken to her though, I can’t. She’s deaf.”
“…Oh.”
“How do you know her?”
“I don’t, really. She’s the girl I ran into yesterday.”
“Hm.”
Aki began to absentmindedly chew on a cookie, staring out the window beside them.
“…May I have one?”
“No.”
“Wha- why?! After I so generously shared my food with you?! It’s the least you could do in return!”
“This is different! This is from a girl!”
After a heated debate and a karate chop onto Aki’s head, he ended up surrendering one cookie to Satoshi.
Aki and Satoshi parted ways in the hall, Satoshi heading to his next class and Aki venturing over to the library. He returned the books from his bag and began to skim the shelves for the new ones he needed.
“What’s next? Ugh, more Shakespeare. That’d be under S. S… S… Ah, here it is!” As he grabbed his book, another caught his eye. “Sign Language” the title read, and he stared at it for what felt like several minutes before he finally grabbed it and put it in his stack. He sat at a table amongst the many shelves and set his pile of books onto it. He sat down and his hand went straight to the book about sign language, and he flipped through the pages intently, occasionally moving his own hands to try to match the pictures.
He had gotten halfway through the book when the school bell rang again, signaling it was time to go to class. He quickly stuffed his books into his bag and started on his way back to the classroom. He halted abruptly at the sight in the hall… it was Michiko again. This girl I’ve never seen before… how am I suddenly seeing her everywhere now? Then again, maybe I’ve always seen her everywhere, just never noticed her. He pondered these thoughts for a minute before continuing his way down the hall. She was the only other one in the hall, this would be the perfect chance…
He tapped her on the shoulder, and she whipped around to face him, startled. It was in this moment Aki realized he had formulated no sort of plan. His face was redder than their uniform neckties, “Um… um…!”
He quickly began to move his hands. It was sloppy and much too fast, but Michiko’s lit up and she watched attentively.
My name is Aki.
He had signed, or at least attempted to, and he was relieved when she nodded in understanding. She began to move her own hands, her movements much more graceful and well timed compared to Aki’s.
My name is Michiko.
Aki repeated her name out loud with a smile, then giggled sheepishly as he realized the awkwardness of the situation. He’d only started reading a sign language book a half hour ago, what was he thinking?! He then got an idea, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He typed something into the notepad, and handed it to her.
Sorry, I don’t know how to sign this… would you like to hang out after school?
Michiko smiled and tapped a reply into the phone, returning it to Aki.
Okay. Where?
He typed out his next response a little too excitedly, having to go back and edit the many typos he’d made.
The spot where we ran into each other yesterday.
Michiko nodded, and then waved her goodbyes before turning to walk down the hall. Aki stood dazed, his own arm still raised up waving goodbye even though she had long since left, and he took deep breaths to calm his beating heart. He couldn’t believe he’d worked up the courage to do that, but he sure was glad. He gazed up at the clock above the lockers and he snapped back to reality.
“I’m going to be late to class again!”
After such a hectic day, that evening was one of the nicest ones he’d had in a long time. He and Michiko sat on the grass, typing each other messages on their phones. Michiko helped Aki continue in the sign language book, and then their time together with a long moment of comfortable silence between them. Aki let out a contented sigh, I could definitely get used to this. And he did.
The seasons came and went, and the two sat in the crunchy leaves, the snow, and the cherry blossom petals. Rain or shine, they met up in that same spot, at the same time, every day. Over a year had already passed since that fateful evening, and now Aki was fluent enough in sign language that he no longer needed to type out his messages on a phone. He’d learnt every gesture he needed… and he was saving the one he wanted to use most for today. As he, Michiko, Satoshi, and the rest of the third years left that school for the last time, he knew he was ready. He took Michiko’s hand in his own and lead her to their usual meeting spot. He took a deep breath. He raised his hand, put his middle two fingers down, and left his index finger, pinky, and thumb outstretched.
I love you.
