I pulled my phone out of my pocket and cursed loudly when I read the
message.
"Throw in some fruit," I repeated the words aloud. "Well, I think he's joking."
I spent the afternoon wondering what Konya was up to. I had to admit that I did take too long to thank him. However, since I could extricate myself from this
situation with a cake, I decided to take a chance. He didn't specify what kind of cheesecake he wanted, and
even if he suddenly remembered, I would ignore him. I was already halfway through the whole process and I
wasn't going to start anything from scratch.
The cold version seemed to me easier to implement, so I bet on it and
almost begged the fridge to set the pastry properly. When I realized I couldn't do anything more than that, I
set about learning. I had to stop
when Alice called unexpectedly. We'd gotten
closer over the last few days, and I felt quite at ease with her, though I
still resented her for keeping certain things a secret.
Daisuke took his mission seriously and was often in our company, trying to
get Alice's attention. I didn't know if
his interest stemmed from pure curiosity, or if there were some heart impulses
behind it. I haven't heard of a girl turning his head in
a long time, so it would be a change from our boring love high school life.
"Look," Alice began hesitantly. "How well do you know the
boy who helped us then?"
"I don't really know him," I replied, honestly. "I should
thank him, but I'll take care of that."
"I just wanted to ask you to stay away from him, okay." I was
surprised by this sudden request, especially since she didn't know him. But her
voice sounded too serious for me to ignore.
"Alice, is something wrong? Did he tell you something? Did he do
something? " I asked with concern.
"No, none of that, just a feeling that we shouldn't associate with
him."
"If you say so," was all I said, not wanting to admit that I
completely agreed with her.
The next day I felt distrustful eyes on me, I wondered if it was so
obvious that I was hiding something. In fact, Daisuke didn't care much as long
as I didn't do something stupid, but he did care why Alice and Hamada were
staring at me. A woman's intuition scared me sometimes, and it really did.
I got dizzy, and those lines appeared in front
of me again, because it was always accompanied by pain, I never looked at them.
Even if I wanted to, they would only appear for a few seconds, but in the last
few days, they have been visible for a bit longer.
I tried to focus my attention on them despite
the discomfort, I had already noticed that they were of different colours, and
numbers would appear above each. I looked at my friend, who watched me
doubtfully, I made sure that many lines diverged from him as well, followed one
of them as a test, and found the end at Hamada. She smiled at me, and suddenly
it was all gone, I was relieved because the pain had subsided at the same time,
but I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a little more information.
I headed straight to the art studio after class,
although Alice insisted that I walk her home. I knew it was the result of her
concern and trying to make sure that I wouldn't have to deal with Konya in any
way, but for that to happen, I had to meet him. However, I remembered that we
have an English test next week, and I suggested that Daisuke accompany her home so she could help him out a bit. At least he won't be asking me for help the
day before, leaving everything to the last minute as usual.
I unveiled the painting I had been working on
the day before, but I had no desire to continue working. I was nervous, and my
hand wouldn't be steady enough, so I decided to let it go. Still, I thought
about talking to Alice and how uneasy she sounded about Konya, maybe I
shouldn't have believed her that nothing had happened.
At least he didn't keep me waiting long that day
and gladly crossed the threshold of the room. He looked around as if expecting
a table and service from the best restaurant.
"Is it done?" he asked, taking a seat on the nearest empty
chair.
"Of course not," I grumbled. "I had to come home early to
make you a stupid cake." I placed the container in front of him, and he
looked at it appraisingly.
"The cake isn't to blame, so don't insult it," he replied in a
serious tone, which made me roll my eyes.
"Thanks again for your help, I'm glad we're even," I said as I
gathered my things.
I wanted to leave, I didn't care what he was going to do next, but he
blocked my way. Although he was not much taller, he could create an unpleasant
aura when he wanted to, but being in his presence was far from comfortable. I
swallowed nervously, but I wasn't going to be intimidated.
"You're not going until I try, are you?" he asked, feigning
politeness. "Aren't you curious about my opinion?"
"Not a bit," I replied.
"If the cake turns out to be a dud, you'll have to bring another
one."
"Forget it," I muttered, shooting him an angry glare. "As
we agreed, I thanked you, you got the cake, we're even, and we don't want
anything more to do with each other."
"I don't recall agreeing to that last condition," he said,
still not losing his humour. "I wish you'd stay with me a little
longer."
I left furious without even glancing at him. What a strange remark
at the end, of course, I didn't want to spend any more time with him. Who did he
think he was? He got away with anything because he always sounded like he had a
catch for everyone. The rebel found himself with those blonde highlights in his
brown hair. I tried to remember what colour his eyes were, since he had stood
so close to me several times, and then mentally chastised myself for even
thinking about it. But then it dawned on me that they were dark brown, even
though I wasn't supposed to think about it, and so my brain searched for a
solution to the riddle on its own.
I cursed as there were still plenty of people at the lockers, the pain
and coloured lines in front of my eyes returned. I was knocked off my feet for
a moment and had to hold on to the nearest sill. Right, I realized that due to
nerves I hadn't drunk herbs for several hours, so the ailment, which had become
somewhat bearable, now attacked with triple strength as revenge for the
blunting of its powers. I was out of breath, and people were looking at me
anxiously, but no one approached me, I tried to reach my own locker, figuring
that going outside would help me.
With the next step, however, I felt that I was flying, but I did not
meet the floor, but someone's shoulder. I looked at my saviour and said it
couldn't get any worse. Konya helped me up and rummaged through my bag for a bottle
of herbal infusion.
"How did you know I needed this? " I asked between sips of my
drink, glad that the pain was slowly subsiding.
"I've noticed that you don't part with it, and you don't look so
tragic when you drink it," he said and looked at the other students who
were possibly interested in the scene, but not necessarily in a desire to help.
"You must be reminded that you are helping others," he said
reprovingly.
But the lines still didn't disappear, and I had the impression that
there were more of those coming from Konya than others, but I didn't have the
strength to think about it. He looked at me, and something was unsettling
in his eyes as if he was waiting for something, and at the same time, he
enjoyed the situation. It was hard to read, but every second I spent with it
convinced me that he should stay away from it, as Alice advised.
"I'll let you know how you can say thank you for today," he
said, still saying goodbye.
I sighed heavily, wondering when I was finally going to get out of this,
and started shuffling towards the locker. I just wanted to get home and lie
down.
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