A Ghostly Love
Her dark hazel eyes followed the silhouette of a person that had held her heart almost half a year ago. Her left hand tapping a pencil against the wrapped counter, she removed a strand of hair that fell into her eyes.
The person emerged from the shadows of the book racks in the reference room. Sweat beading on his forehead, he pulled off his cap and started to fan himself with it, his curly ebony locks wet with the same substance. His eyes caught her's and he flashed his infamous goofy grin. Yellow stained his fingers as he tried to wipe the dried paint on his shirt.
Half a year ago, if she had seen the smile, she would've swooned and her heart would've melted. However, instead of the respect and the awe that she had, the only thing she felt for this person is anger and disappointment. Coldly, she returned the smile with a small one of her own and stood up.
"Are you done?" she asked, her eyes evading as she packed her things.
"Yeah. You locking up?" came the question as he placed the cap backwards on his head.
"Yeah, now get out, " with that, the short raven haired girl ushered him out as she switched off the switch to the lights and fans.
Outside, just as she locked the front door, he leaned on the wall beside her, his expression unreadable.
"You know...you've changed."
The evening shadows shielded her smile. "Thanks," was the only thing she said as she walked off, leaving the latter pondering on her answer.
"Whose fault do you think it is?"
-
"Thanks for your hard work," her friend's voice reached her ears.
The librarian turned around and smiled, before leaving and closing the Editorial Room door. Sighing, she drew her fringe back and clipped, only for it to be drawn back down again.
Another sigh escaped her lips as she finally gave up fixing her hair. Walking along the corridor, she suddenly stopped in front of a locked door. As if the locked knob wasn't enough, another padlock was placed at it's designated place between the door and the wall. The padlock was new, as if it was replaced frequently to avoid delinquents from going into the forbidden room.
Staring at the door that became the main idea for the comic that has just submitted for the annual school magazine, she started to wonder. Was there really a ghost in there? If not, why would they lock the door?
Still wondering, suddenly she felt a slight chill at the back of her neck. Despite her interest in ghost stories, she was still deathly afraid of them. Trying to calm her over active imagination, the girl almost yelped when she felt someone touch her shoulder. Quickly turning around, she came face to face with a friend that stayed back with her.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she just smiled when she saw her friend said that the library teacher wanted to see her. Walking away from the room, none of the girls noticed the pair of eyes watching them.
-
"Hey," she heard someone call out.
She turned from the Biology reference book she was reading. She was standing there, at the foot of the bench facing basketball court, the evening wind picking up his ebony locks at it did with hers. She was sitting on the middle seat, her back resting on the seat behind.
"Hey," she replied back. She noticed his smile and flashed a small one of her own.
He slowly walked up and sat beside her. He was wearing their school uniform. Facing her, his smile widened. "I'm Kyo," were the words that left his lips.
Taken aback, she told him her name. Inside, she was wondering whether it was his real name or not. She was sceptical. People know about her interest in Japanese related things and some might just want to take advantage of that.
"Is that your real name?" she announced her suspicions.
"Yes."
"How long have you been here? I mean, in this school?"
He laughed, his eyes squinting. When she looked closely, she could see some Japanese features on his face. "A half?"
"I've been here for a long time..."
That sentence made her figure that he was in the same year as her. A senior. She knew that there was a half somewhere in the lower classes but she didn't know the existence of another. However, she knew that one of the reasons were because she just transferred to the school herself no less than a year ago.
Finally dismissing the topic in her mind, she smiled at him, accepting his as a possible friend.
He smiled again and leaned back, resting the palm of his hands at the back of his head. His features faced the sky and the obsidian eyes closed.
A small smile was on her lips as she returned her focus to the open book.
-
He called out her name. She turned and saw the smiling face of a friend. A friend that she would always meet in the evenings.
Daily, she would go out after the afternoon recess time to sit at the basketball bench, studying or reading until her sisters' classes finishes.
Daily, he would go to the same bench and sit beside her, the usual smile on his Japanese-like features. He would just sit and stare or take a short nap.
When they first became friends, only silence was between them as they minded their own business. However, as days passed, slowly they started to open up to one another. Laughter was heard, interests were shared and secrets were kept.
Day by day, as she spent more time with him, a feeling was growing inside of her. She started to notice the little features of his face and his almost unnoticeable quirks. She kept track of them, hoping to find out more about her new friend.
Day by day, the thoughts on that one person she honestly thought she couldn't forget half a year ago started to diminish until it was nothing more than another neuron in her cerebrum.
However, she had always wondered about one thing. That particular thing was why hadn't she ever saw him during her school hours.
-
(TBC)
