On his way home, he had decided to grab dinner. When he walked into the convenience store without a word, he could hear the employees talking to each other.
"UGH! That guy again…"
"Wait, do you know him?"
"No, but he is a jerk!"
"What did he do to you?"
"He walked in yesterday, I said hi, then he completely ignored me… Like how much RUDER can you get!"
"You're so dramatic Kiyomi … you should really grow up"
"Says you!"
Shizuo picked up his usual items and walked towards the counter, acting like he never heard all the comments the cashier made about him. As soon as she realized he was standing at the counter, she fumbled to put on a smile and asked "Is this all?" "
Yes" Shizuo replied with a cold voice.
"OK then… that will be 350 yen please" Shizuo put the exact amount on the counter and left without a word again. Just as he was about to put his earphones on, he heard the cashier again. "Please tell me he didn't hear all off that… now he's going to think I'm a bad—" the automatic doors closed behind him, cutting off her voice.
Shizuo clenched his jaw. "Even people I don't know think I'm a loser" he scoffed. "The world is just kicking me while I'm down… how pitiful" He felt the disappointment grow even more.
The comment from the cashier felt like a punch to the gut. His hand tightened around the plastic bag and he started walking faster, as if he was trying to outrun their words.
Shizuo made it back to his empty apartment. He threw his bag by the door, but the thud it made today felt louder. Like the walls were echoing every vibration. He didn't even bother taking off his shoes this time.
He locked the front door and walked straight into the kitchen. He turned on the water boiler and stood there. The water boiler sounded like an old TV with static. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating the noodles.
He realized he had unintentionally picked up the spicy ones. "This is disgusting," he looked at the cup in his hand with a revolted look. He placed the uneaten cup on the counter.
Then he picked up the can of diet coke from the counter and tried to open it. But when he was unable to do so, he opened the empty fridge and just placed it there along with the uneaten cup of noodles.
He managed to get up from the table and walk to his bedroom. When he saw the huge pile of clothes, he was disgusted. "I have to do laundry soon or I won't have any clothes to wear." He took his shoes off one by one and threw them to opposite sides of the room before changing out of his uniform and throwing it in the pile.
When he got under the sheets, his mind couldn't help but wander. He stared at the ceiling with a blank expression, replaying the harsh words of the cashier and the walk with Nomura.
It felt like he wanted to run away to a faraway place away from everything and everyone. But he couldn't get up from his bed so he decided to close his eyes, hoping he would forget about everything in the morning.
Shizuo woke up groggy before his alarm had time to go off. He picked it up and skipped the alarm for today before getting up to brush his teeth.
In the corner of his eye, he caught the huge mountain of laundry waiting. "UGH … I have to do that too." When he finished preparing, he walked towards the door to leave.
"This is so stupid … why do I even bother going," he complained, as he left the apartment and locked it from the outside. It was very early and he could feel the cold breeze against face. His hands were trembling from the cold. "This sucks! … I'm never leaving early ever again."
He sat down on a nearby park bench, earphones still blasting music. He sat there for a moment, hands still in his pocket, just watching people from his school walk by.
Some were having fun laughing and talking, while others looked barely awake. After a while, he decided to get up and finish his walk to school. He quietly walked up the tap and rinsed his face with the cold water.
Finally, he climbed up to the third floor, opened the door to his empty class room and took a seat in his chair. He stared at the ceiling, with nothing particularly on his mind.
As the hours passed by, Shizuo felt the classes blur together. He couldn't tell where one started and ended. But what he could never forget was the lunch time bell.
While he was digging in his bag, he saw a tall figure walk towards him; it was Dai. "Yo Shizuo, I'm totally starving right now… you wanna grab lunch?" "Sure, why not," replied Shizuo, zipping up his bag.
When they finally got their food after waiting in the long cafeteria line, Dai looked like he was about to pass out.
As soon as they got a table, Dai didn't even bother waiting to start with Shizuo. He started shoving food in his mouth. "You might choke if you don't slow down," said Shizuo, with a concerned look on his face. "I missed breakfast this morning because I was late," replied Dia, mouth full of rice. "I warned you… don't come crawling to me when you're choking," replied Shizuo.
Shizuo was eating peacefully before he heard a voice calling out a name behind him. "DAIIII!" Before he could turn to look, the person was already by Dai's side.
"Hey Manami, are you ok?" asked Dai.
"BABE! Why wouldn't you answer your phone?" said Manami.
"Ohh, I forgot my phone at home cause I rushed out this morning," replied Dai.
"You could have at least told me in person," pouted Manami.
"I'm sorry babe, I was planning to tell you after I finished eating," Dai nervously smiling.
"Alright then, but I want you to tell me ASAP next time," said Manami, ruffling Dai's black hair.
Shizuo felt out of place. He felt like he had shrunk to the size of an ant. He decided to eat his food silently. He couldn't help stealing curious glances, until he saw Manami turning to him.