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“Hey, wait just a …” I called out to Dora who had gotten all ready and was heading out the door.
I quickly grabbed my books and went to follow her.

“Ahhh!” Dora let out a scream as she fell backwards after opening the door to leave.

It was a satisfying scene, but I had no time to revel in it.

Wondering what the hell that was all about, I turned my head over to look out the door and let out a scream just as loud as Dora had made.

“Wahhh!”

We both were completely taken by surprise.

Standing just outside our door was none other than Noah.

Oh no, wait! Do I look out of sorts?

My hands instinctively went up to tidy my hair.

“Oh my.
Dora, are you okay?” I said as I intentionally put on a friendly smile and reached out my hand to help Dora up.

Despite the sour expression on her face, I helped her up off the floor and wiped the dust off her skirt.

Having helped Dora to her feet, I then turned my head to look outside the doorway with a forced sense of being unaware that Noah had been standing there the entire time.

“Noah? Uh, what brings you here?”

“Hi,” Noah said with a calm and serene look on his face.

“Let’s go,” he added.

“Huh?”

I looked around for a brief moment and pointed a finger at myself.

“Me?”

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“Yeah, you,” Noah said while nodding his head.

Before I could ask where we were going, Noah had already turned around to go.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going…?” Dora said, still standing just inside the doorway.
I turned to look back at her with sympathetic eyes and went on to follow Noah.

Sorry, my friend, but this is just too good.

***

Now that I got to thinking about it, I was starting to have my doubts about this whole situation.

I followed behind Noah with a vacant expression on my face from having woken up not too long ago.

“N-Noah.
Noah.”

Oh, so tired.

Noah’s legs were quite long, making it difficult for me to keep up with him.

Noah, as if sensing my difficulty, came to an abrupt stop when I called out his name.

“Sorry.
Are you tired?”

“… N-Not really.”

“Oh, you’re wearing glasses.”

“Huh? Oh… Yes.”

I quickly readjusted the glasses that were slipping off my face.

I had put them in my dresser and had forgotten about them, so they were covered in a layer of dust.
I should have at least wiped them down a little bit before leaving the room.

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I was thinking about where I put the lens cleaning cloth when Noah came over and suddenly brushed aside some of my hair that was hanging down over my glasses.

“You look pretty.”

Tremble, tremble.

I placed a hand over my heart that had begun pounding wildly and looked up into Noah’s warm and tender eyes.

W-What was that?! What did he just say?! Pr-Pretty?! He thinks I’m pretty?!

Am I dreaming? Is this real-life?

Just to prove if that really was the case or not, I pinched my cheek quite hard, but rather than waking me up from a dream, it just hurt and probably left a red mark.

“Let’s go?”

These words brought me back down to earth as I was all wrapped up in the shock of his “pretty” comment.

Oh, yeah… We were going somewhere.

I realized we were standing right in the middle of the hallway.

I nodded my head yes and began following behind Noah once again.

Noah was being more considerate of me as his pace was noticeably slower this time around.

However, now that I think about it, it was probably nothing but my wishful thinking.

Where are we going anyway?

I maintained a straight face, trying not to get my hopes up.

I’ll need to secretly slip into class after this, but the longer we take the more difficult that will be.
I was about to ask where we were going just then when a surprising sight came into view in front of me.

“Noah, this is the sophomore building.”

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I looked up at Noah with an uneasy look on my face and he just slightly nodded his head in response.

“Yeah, I know.”

“What is it? You have something you want to show me here?” I said, tilting my head at Noah’s nonchalant answer.
Nonetheless, I stepped closer.

“…!”

It was still really early, so there were not many people out and about.
Yet, those few who were walking around seemed to look at Noah with rigid faces.
Indeed, what business did Noah have hanging around a building for underclassmen?

“Have a good class.”

He raised his hand to pat my head, but again, withdrew his hand once more.

A faint smile spread across his face.
This was truly a rare moment.

This was the Noah I always wanted to see, but for some reason, I had a heavy heart.

“Bye,” Noah said in a soft voice and then turned around to leave.
The sound of his footsteps faded off into the distance.

What…

…was…

…that?

With a dumbstruck expression on my face, I watched Noah as he disappeared from view.

That’s all? Are you kidding me? He really just brought me all the way here?

Noah? Is it that you…? I mumbled, standing in the middle of the hallway with a vacant look in my eyes.

“… Why?”

***

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“So, he just came to walk you to your class?” Dora asked with a suspicious-looking face after I explained what had happened.
As it were, he just took me as far as the building, so I had to walk to class by myself.
That very thought seemed to pull my mood down.

“Why’d he do that?”

“I don’t know either, so don’t ask me.”

I avoided Dora’s eyes as I grabbed a chocolate candy and began to chomp down on it.

“Are you serious?”

I chewed on the candy for a few moments before raising my eyebrows and opening my mouth at her.
Dora’s indigo eyes locked with mine.

“Eyy.”

“Eyy.”

We mumbled at almost the same time.

What kind of nonsense is this? Noah liking me – what an absurd thought.
When I confessed how I felt to him, he didn’t even really say anything and I just stood there, frozen.
There’s no doubt he rejected my feelings.

I automatically scoffed at the thought and shook my head in resignation.

“Do you think it was because he felt sorry for turning me down?” I asked, raising my head.

“Oh, that could be the reason,” Dora replied, slowly nodding her head.
She then pointed at me with her index finger as she continued, “You didn’t cry in front of him, did you?”

“No… I don’t think so,” I answered, tilting my head.

I wasn’t entirely sure about that and tried to think back to that moment I opened up to Noah.

I tried very hard not to cry at that time and I was pretty sure I didn’t.

Oh, did I cry? If I did, did he see? If so, I’d rather just die right here and now.