As he slid the keys to his apartment and opened the door, he was greeted by nothing but a quiet void. He sighed and thought, "Same old apartment," as if he was expecting something different this time around. He dropped his bag by the door—as he had done countless times now—and sank into the couch in front of the TV.
He was now engulfed by his thoughts; thoughts that had been clawing at this heart for quite a while now. The faint smell of stale air and cold wall pressing in on him even more now. He got up slowly and walked to his bedroom. He took off his uniform, tossing it onto the pile of unwashed laundry, and pulled out an old shirt. "This shirt… it was Her's" he thought, his face contorting in rage and his dark brown eyes welling up with tears.
Against all urges to put it on, he resisted and pulled out a different shirt. "I'm pathetic… why do I still have it?" he thought while walking out of his apartment and locking the door behind him.
It was a cool evening. Shizuo could feel the soft breeze brushing against his skin. "Damn it! I should have worn a jacket," he thought, looking mildly annoyed.
Shizuo wandered the neighborhood aimlessly. With his hands in his slightly oversized sweatpants, he took slow, unhurried steps, no destination in mind. He crushed and kicked away pink petals every time they crossed his path.
He finally decided to check his clock; it was 8 pm. He gave his phone an annoyed look before deciding to buy dinner. When the automatic doors of the convenience store slid open, a cheerful cashier greeted him, but he ignored her and went to an aisle and grabbed instant noodles and a diet coke.
At the checkout, Shizuo's feet tapped restlessly, almost like he was itching to leave. When the cashier tried to make small talk, he didn't reply. Once she told him the price, he counted the money, placed it on the register and walked out without letting out a word.
When he got back to his cold apartment, he turned on the stove and started boiling water. When he felt that it had been boiled enough, he grabbed the noodles cup and poured the water in and started eating.
The noodles tasted stale and soggy, but Shizuo never really cared about their taste. When he was finished, he left the cup with the countless others cups on his counter, and walked to his bed.
He had a thought that lingered longer than usual. "Why did she feel so different from the others?" before correcting himself almost immediately, "I'm reading way too much into it." But a smile flashed across his face one last time, before he fell asleep.
When Shizuo woke up the next day, he was drenched in sweat and his head was spinning. He extended his hand and felt around for his phone. When he finally found it and took a look, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"SH*T! I'm going to be late for school" he thought, scrambling to do his morning routine. He sprinted out of his apartment almost forgetting to lock the door. He blitzed through the streets, bag in hand. His sprint came to a halt when he bumped into something at an intersection and went tumbling.
"Come on, man, look where you're—"
"Shizuo?" questioned a soft voice.
"Wait, Nomura?" he asked confused. "What are you doing here?"
"My alarm didn't go off and I over slept," she answered, her cheeks turning red.
"Same," he replied, lending a hand to Nomura, who was on the floor.
"Thanks," she said, dusting off her uniform.
"We can still make it if we run," Shizuo announced.
When they got to school, both of them were panting and sweating, like they had been in a marathon. "W-We finally m-made it," said Nomura, trying to catch her breath.
Shizuo was hunched over, trying to catch his breath; he didn't even give Nomura an answer. When they got to the shoe lockers of the third years, they saw some teachers chatting and having a laugh.
One of them noticed the two trying to sneak by. "HEY! YOU TWO—STOP THERE," the teacher said with a stern voice. The two stopped dead in their tracks. They turned to face him very slowly.
"What are you kids doing, you're 20 minutes late," announced the teacher. Shizuo was staring at the floor, trying not to look the teacher in the eyes. "We're really sorry—we promise it won't happen again," replied Nomura, gesturing Shizuo to follow her lead. "Alright, alright, I'll let you off the hook this time, but if I catch you guys again, I won't be so lenient, UNDERSTOOD?" he said, crossing his arms. "YES, SIR!" they replied in unison.
When the teacher left, they looked at each other for a second longer, before bursting into laughter. "I thought it was totally over for us," said Nomura, holding her stomach and laughing. "Same," he replied while still laughing. "But seriously, thanks for standing up for us," he said, avoiding her gaze. "It was the least I could do," she replied. "Come on, we're going to be even more late if we stand around here," she said, walking towards their class.
As soon as they opened the sliding doors to the class, all eyes turned to them. "Look who decided to join us," said Koyama sarcastically. "Take your seats kids, it's fine for today."
To Shizuo, the walk to his seat felt so distant. He stared at the floor and tried to hide his flustered face. When he got to his seat, he let out a sigh of relief. "I'm never doing that ever again," he thought.
He felt a slight tap on his shoulder, and when he turned to look, Nomura whispered, "That was fun… let's do it again someday," flashing him a mischievous smile. He smiled and replied, "I don't think so."
"Come on, buzzkill" she teased and pouted.