Tsubaki meeting

There I sat with my head down, cheeks flat on the maple wood desk. The heat of the sun beamed down on my face as I heard the mutters and whispers of my fellow classmates. It was a perfect day to take a nap before the brutal lecture that I didn't prepare for. Maybe a night of gaming and internet browsing wasn't the best way to spend my time. It made me lose my handkerchief that my mother had given me as I rushed to school.

The patter of feet danced around my desk and I opened one of my tired eyelids.

I saw a girl my age with unkempt scruffy hair brown hair, a khaki colored sweater, and a red bow around her white collared uniform. She had brown freckles on her face and a menacing gaze that instilled more fear than peace at first glance. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought she was a cleaner version of sadako from the ring. Although less horrifying. She still was not the most appealing to look at.

"Can I help you?" The words trickled from my lips like water from a faucet. I watched her squirm a little, her body quivered and jittered as she outstretched a finger towards me with mouth agape.

She looked down at me, saw my tired eyes from yesterday's expedition and blushed. Her face resembled cherry tomatoes that basked in the hot summer heat. As red as could be.

She let out a small gasp, salty tears formed in her eyes, turned faster than I could blink and walked the other way. An occasional glance or two came back my way filled with malice or at least that is what I assumed.

I closed my eyes and rested myself again until the clanging of the bell started first period.

The chatter the students filled the room when the teacher left for that period. I used that as my chance to take my leave and find an empty spot in the library. I reached for my bag and left the room. The laughter and words of my fellow classmates became an empty silence once I closed the door.

I walked down the vacant halls where various echoes of the distant conversations entered my ears one way and exited the other. Whistling a tune from one of my games, I stopped when I saw a pink scarf on the ground that had a white pattern sewn into it. The quality of it was impressive. Someone must have paid a pretty penny for something like that.

I picked it up, noticing the softness and texture of it. The material of it tickled my fingers and walked down to the sewing club. Perhaps they might have an idea of who it belonged to.

It was not even a minute before I found the club itself where various patterns and materials decorated the door.

I turned the doorknob and excused myself inside. I had hoped to just drop it off on the table and leave, but the girl inside caught my eye. She stopped using the sewing machine almost immediately and looked at me like a deer in headlights. Her expression was angry or was it fear? With her sanpaku eyes, it was hard to tell.

I broke the silence and introduced myself.

"Hi I'm MC kun. It's nice to meet you!" I said with a smile and looked at her, "That's a nice design you got there." The pattern design she had been working on was covered in tiny brown puppies. It looked like she was sewing a shirt for someone.

The girl froze and stiffened up so much that I'd thought she'd been frozen. Her face became even redder than our previous encounter. She looked down at her lap where her hands resided. They were molded into fists.

"T-thank you." The girl stuttered out awkwardly. I didn't want to be a bother to her. She must have been very busy with her current project. I decided to wrap this up quickly.

"Anyways, I have this scarf. I thought you might know who it belonged to." I said as I walked over to her table and placed the scarf down.

"T-Tha-" She stopped mid sentence and choked on her words. I waited for a moment to see if she'd finish but decided that she had better things to do. I began to make my exit when she called out to me.

"Wait!" She cried out towards me and I turned around confused by her outburst. Did she have any business with me? The girl ruffled into her bag and pulled out a handkerchief. It was the one I had lost days ago.

"I...I...uh...meant to give this to you in class but.." She stopped speaking as she saw me walking towards her with a smile.

"Thanks!" I said as I reached for it and felt the coldness of her hand. It was incredibly small. Boney even. If I didn't know any better, I thought she may not have eaten at all. The handkerchief was cleaned spotless and stitching was repaired as well with different colors although. She added her own personal touch to it, not that I minded. It looked brand new, bought fresh from the shelves.

"Nice work on the stitching. It looks cute!" I told her as I looked into her eyes. She blushed like a maiden that had fallen in love and covered her face.

"C-c-cute?!" The girl sputtered out with disbelief. I nodded my head at looked at the design.

"Yeah I love your handiwork to it!" I complimented her work more and placed the handkerchief into my back pocket. My phone rang and a notification popped up for my next class period. It was one of the subjects I wasn't doing the best in. I dreaded it even. I looked back at her and spoke.

"Thank you for the repairs, but I must take my leave!" I said walking towards the door and waved goodbye. I gripped the door handle and heard her say something as meekly as possible.

"M-my name is Tsubaki-chan." Tsubaki muttered out. I smiled at her.

"Thank you Tsubaki-chan, I'll be seeing you around." I opened the door slowly and saw tsubaki's gaze softened up while she showed a genuine smile. A thought entered the back of my mind. It burrowed its way into the deepest parts of my brain. Something told me that meeting this girl was going to be lead to a crazy semester.