Morning classrooms always sound the same.
Chairs scraping against the floor.
Bags dropping onto desks.
Someone laughing too loudly for eight in the morning.
Someone else already complaining about homework that definitely existed three days ago.
It's a strange kind of chaos.
Predictable chaos.
Which is exactly why I like arriving early.
Right now the classroom is only half full.
Sunlight enters through the windows and stretches across the desks like the room is slowly waking up.
My notebook is already open.
My pencil is already moving.
Numbers.
Formulas.
Small arrows connecting ideas together.
Some people say studying early is stressful.
Personally I think it's relaxing.
Problems are nice.
Problems follow rules.
If you understand the rules, you eventually reach the correct answer.
Life would be very convenient if it worked the same way.
Footsteps stop beside my desk.
"Morning, Gabu."
I glance up.
Aoi drops her bag onto the desk beside mine like it personally offended her.
Her hair is slightly messy.
Her expression is already dramatic.
Everything is normal.
"You're studying again?" she says, leaning over my notebook.
"Yes."
"Why."
"Because class starts in ten minutes."
"That is NOT a reason."
"It is a very reasonable reason."
She squints at the page.
Then her eyes widen.
"…we haven't even learned this chapter yet."
"I know."
"Then why are you doing it?"
"I wanted to understand it earlier."
Aoi slowly shakes her head.
"You're terrifying."
"I prefer the word efficient."
"You're a robot."
"That seems unlikely."
She leans closer, staring at the formulas like they personally insulted her.
"These letters look evil."
"They're just variables."
"They're mocking me."
"They are literally symbols."
"They're evil symbols."
I consider explaining again.
But the emotional investment in her argument appears very high.
So I simply nod politely.
More students start entering the classroom.
Voices get louder.
Someone drops a pen.
Someone else is loudly explaining a video game strategy nobody asked for.
The normal ecosystem of high school has begun.
A few classmates notice me.
"Morning, Gabu."
"Did you finish the assignment?"
"Can you check something later?"
I nod.
Answer quick questions.
Show someone the right step for a problem.
This routine happens almost every morning.
People react to me in predictable ways.
Some admire me.
Some respect me.
Some look slightly intimidated.
Which still confuses me a little.
I'm just… doing homework.
But apparently doing homework early makes people suspicious.
Aoi taps my notebook again.
"You know people think you're some kind of genius, right?"
"They exaggerate."
"They absolutely do not."
"They definitely do."
"You finished next week's homework yesterday."
"I was bored."
She stares at me.
"You are the most suspicious human being I know."
"I'll add that to my list of achievements."
She sighs dramatically and leans back in her chair.
Then the classroom door slides open again.
Someone walks in slightly late.
Basketball bag over one shoulder.
Hair messy like he ran here.
Haruto Kanzaki.
Basketball team.
Tall enough that people usually notice when he enters a room.
Several students greet him immediately.
"Morning."
"Yo Haruto."
"How was practice?"
He answers casually while walking between desks.
Easy conversation.
Relaxed energy.
The kind of person who fits naturally into any group.
Aoi suddenly elbows me.
Hard.
"Ow."
"Look."
"What."
"Haruto."
"…yes."
"That's Haruto."
"I gathered that information."
"That's your reaction?"
"What reaction should I have?"
"He's popular."
"Congratulations to him."
"You are impossible."
Meanwhile Haruto walks down the aisle.
Then stops beside my desk.
Specifically the desk next to mine.
His desk.
He drops his bag there casually.
The sound makes me glance up.
For a brief moment our eyes meet.
Then his attention shifts to my notebook.
He leans slightly closer to see the page.
"You're already studying this?"
His voice sounds curious.
Not impressed.
Not intimidated.
Just curious.
"We haven't even started this chapter."
I answer calmly.
"I wanted to understand it earlier."
He studies the page for a second.
Then nods once.
"Good to know someone understands this stuff."
And that's it.
He straightens up.
Turns around.
And immediately starts talking with his friends about basketball practice.
Conversation finished.
Interaction complete.
Total duration:
Maybe eight seconds.
Ten seconds if we're generous.
Which logically means the moment should disappear from memory immediately.
I look back down at my notebook.
The formulas are still there.
Exactly the same as before.
My pencil moves again.
But something strange happens.
My brain repeats the conversation.
Just once.
Then again.
…why.
That was a completely normal interaction.
People talk to each other every day.
Nothing important happened.
Aoi leans toward me again.
"Did you just talk to him?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He asked about studying."
"And?"
"And I answered."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
She stares at me like I've personally ruined a romantic movie.
"You are the least dramatic person alive."
"I try."
She collapses onto her desk dramatically.
"Tragic."
I return to my notebook.
But focusing suddenly feels slightly harder.
Behind me Haruto laughs at something his friend says.
It's an easy laugh.
Relaxed.
Uncomplicated.
For some reason I notice it.
Which is strange.
Normally background noise disappears when I concentrate.
But today my brain keeps noticing small things.
The sound of a basketball spinning on his finger.
The rhythm of his pen tapping the desk.
Another laugh.
…why am I noticing this.
Focus.
Numbers are reliable.
Numbers behave.
People are unpredictable variables.
Better to ignore unnecessary variables.
Yes.
That is the logical approach.
Still…
A small thought appears quietly in my mind.
Usually when people look at my notes they react in predictable ways.
"Wow."
"You're already done?"
"Can I copy later?"
Sometimes they sound impressed.
Sometimes intimidated.
But his reaction was different.
He didn't treat me like "the smart student."
He didn't treat me like someone special.
He simply treated me like a normal classmate sitting beside him.
No pedestal.
No expectations.
Just curiosity.
The conversation lasted less than ten seconds.
Ten seconds should not matter.
And yet…
It stays in my thoughts longer than it should.
Which is confusing.
Because I usually understand my thoughts very well.
But this one feels different.
Small.
Quiet.
Like a question that hasn't decided what it wants to ask yet.
It isn't attraction.
Definitely not that.
Just curiosity.
Interest.
And logically speaking that shouldn't be dangerous.
But sometimes the smallest questions grow into the most complicated answers.
Of course…
I didn't know that yet.
Back then I was still someone who believed life followed simple logic.
And that ten seconds meant nothing.
:)