The bell rang at last, a metallic cry of freedom.
Chairs scraped, students flooded the hallway, laughter bouncing off the walls.
Paulo moved slower, as if his body had forgotten how to keep up with the rhythm of normal people.
He was halfway through packing his things when Kazumi's voice caught him again, "Hey, Paulo!"
He looked up.
She was standing by his desk, her phone in her hand, smiling that careless, sun-bright smile she always had.
"I added you to our group chat! It is called Rikako Rascals," Kazumi said while smirking.
She tilted her screen toward him, a flashing notification on his old phone confirmed it, "You've been added to: Rikako Rascals"
His chest tightened. A group chat. With her. And with them.
He hesitated then asked, "Uh… who's in it?"
Kazumi laughed, "Just me, Takeo, Ozawa, some of our classmates… do not worry, we mostly just joke around and share memes. You will fit right in!"
Her tone was genuine, hopeful, she meant it as kindness.
She did not see how his smile faltered for a split second before he caught it, "Yeah. Sure… thanks."
He left the classroom, clutching his phone like it was something fragile and dangerous.
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as he walked down the hall.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Takeo then asked in the group chat, "Why'd you add zombie-boy here? "
Ozawa replied in the group chat saying, "Hey, chill bro, maybe he can teach us how to nap 24/7."
Kazumi then snapped and texted in the group chat, "Shut up, idiots. Be nice."
Takeo then replied to her message with, "We're just kidding, right Paulo? You can take a joke?"
Paulo stopped walking. The words blurred in his vision. His hands started to shake, and the hallway felt too narrow, too bright, like the walls were pressing in.
He wanted to respond, Yes, sure, I can take a joke, but his fingers hovered over the keyboard, frozen.
Paulo then thought to himself, "If I say nothing, they'll think I'm weak. If I joke back, I will feel like I am lying to myself. If I leave… Kazumi will notice."
He typed, "Haha yeah, I can take a joke."
His thumb hesitated over the "send" button.
He stared at those words, hollow, fake, then pressed it anyway.
The message sent. The chat exploded with laughing emojis.
Kazumi then saw the text and announced to Takeo and Ozawa, "See? He is cool. Told you."
Ozawa then replied to Paulo's text saying. "Welcome to the chaos, Paulo."
Takeo then commented saying, "Yeah, welcome… just don't fall asleep while we talk lol."
Another vibration.
More laughing emojis.
His phone screen burned against his palm like a hot coal.
He forced himself to type one more thing, "Thanks for adding me, Kazumi."
And she replied instantly, "Of course! You are one of us now!"
That message stayed pinned in his mind, one of us now.
He wished it felt true.
But as he walked out the school gate, the laughter of the others echoing behind him, Paulo realized something cold and heavy.
The group chat was not a door into belonging. It was a window, one he could only look through, never step inside.
And still, part of him clung to it.
Because even a cruel kind of connection felt better than being completely invisible.
***
The next morning, Rikako's air was damp with early rain.
The kind that made the world feel slow and colourless.
The pavement shimmered faintly, and Paulo's shoes splashed in shallow puddles as he trudged toward the school gates.
His backpack hung low on one shoulder, heavy with the same notebooks, the same weight in his chest.
He had not slept much.
The group chat had kept buzzing late into the night, jokes, memes, teasing, pictures from people's dinners.
He watched it all quietly, typing nothing.
Each message felt like a reminder of how far away everyone still was.
He thought about muting the chat.
He did not.
When he reached the corner near the school, a voice called out behind him, "Paulo! Wait up!"
He turned, and there she was, jogging up the street, her umbrella tilted sideways, hair sticking to her cheek in the light drizzle.
She was smiling, as always.
She always smiled.
"Oh… morning, Kazumi," Paulo said while greeting her.
Kazumi then smiled as she replied with, "Morning! You walk alone every day?"
Paulo nodded, "Yeah. I usually just… walk."
She grinned, playfully bumping her shoulder against his, "Well, not today. You have got company."
They started walking together, their footsteps splashing in rhythm.
Paulo actually looked rather happier with Kazumi than he ever been with Lily Hanamori because she did not betray him like she did with max.
The rain had quieted to a mist, and the morning felt strangely fragile, like if he spoke too loudly, it would shatter.
Kazumi was talking about something, how Takeo got in trouble yesterday for throwing chalk, how Ozawa tried to draw the teacher as a mem, and Paulo nodded, smiling faintly at all the right moments.
But beneath the smile, his chest ached.
Paulo while thinking, "She doesn't know how much this means. How every word she says feels like sunlight through a crack."
He wanted to say thank you.
He wanted to say you are the only reason I am still coming here. But the words would not leave his throat.
Kazumi then questions paulo saying, "You were quiet in the chat last night. Did not see you reply much."
Paulo nodded, "Yeah… I did not know what to say."
Kazumi then pouted saying, "You can say whatever you want! We are all just messing around."
Paulo then scratched the back of his neck when he replied with, "Yeah. I know."
She smiled again, not noticing how his gaze dropped to the wet sidewalk, "You will get used to us. You will fit right in."
Paulo quietly, "You really think so?"
Kazumi nodded, "Of course! I mean… I like having you around."
He looked at her then, really looked.
The rain had stopped, sunlight pushing through the clouds, catching in her eyes.
And for a moment, he almost felt normal, "Thanks, Kazumi."
She tilted her head, "For what?" Paulo smiled and said, "For… walking with me."
She laughed softly, "You say that like it's a big deal."
But to him, it was. More than she could ever guess.
They reached the school gates.
Takeo and Ozawa were already there, leaning against the wall.
Takeo's expression shifted the second he saw them walking together, his smile tightening, eyes narrowing.
Takeo scoffed, "Oh, look who it is. Early morning date, huh?"
Kazumi rolled her eyes, "We just walked here together. Relax."
Takeo rolled his eyes, "Sure, sure. Paulo, you really move fast for a guy who barely talks."
Ozawa snorted, "Guess silence is a strategy."
Paulo froze for a moment, the warmth he had felt seconds ago shrivelling into dread.
Kazumi sighed and tugged on his sleeve, "Come on. Do not mind them."
As they walked past, Paulo could feel Takeo's eyes burning into his back.
The laughter behind him echoed like ghosts.
Still, as Kazumi led the way up the steps, Paulo felt something flicker inside him, small, fleeting, but real.
A little hope.
Even if it hurt, even if it was fragile.
This moment, walking beside her while hearing her voice and feeling like someone saw him was worth every bruise inside his heart.