Vol 3 Chapter 14 (1/2)

LEVEL 3: Even the Best Laid Plans go Awry, but Such is This World

Chapter 14: Words Unspoken, Left Unsaid

The vending machine was one, maybe two minutes from his house A little further up the road was a convenience store, but if he went there he would probably bump into someone he knew no matter what time it was He didn’t like that, so he took shelter in the refuge area—not that it was for refugees or anything—next to the vending machine

It wasn’t like he often wanted to run away, to get away or anything, butaway, or when he siet away, he would leave his house andot into this habit around the tirade? Probably

At home, he shared a rooet any privacy in there when he wanted to be alone Whenever he tried to get his brother out of the room when he did want to be alone, his brother would always tell hi and e what Haruhiro wanted

So he started to retreat to that vending machine Sometimes he would buy a drink, sometimes he wouldn’t Sometimes he’d drink the drink, soo ho home

The pattern repeated itself for a while until one su shelter next to the vendingbut there was nowhere to hide, and then he considered pretending not to know thehborhood Choco

Choco alore her hair in a short bob cut that made her look like a japanese kappa creature He had known her since she was sle tiht of the word “kappa” Choco would immediately come to mind

She wasn’t exactly the open, friendly type, and even now Haruhiro had no idea what to think of her Even at school, she was slightly distant and aloof Well, just a little bit because it wasn’t like she didn’t have any friends However, rather than having any close friends, she was the sort that was roup

Haruhiro didn’t understand why, but he had been interested in her since he was in preschool Maybe because she was… different from all the other kids Actually, it wasn’t really a conscious thing on his part, it was a sort of subconscious interest that bordered on being a real liking of her

Ever since he was born, Choco was the first girl he had ever liked and his feelings hadn’t changed since They were in preschool together and were in the same class several times in elementary school, too They lived closed to each other and often talked about this and that Haruhiro supposed that wouldabout his like of her

Not that he dared to, anyway

When they were both in third grade, there was a ru that Choco liked a boy na hoether, he asked her offhandedly if the ru about it in silence for a couple of moments, she told him yes

Traus then Kaas a slender kid who didn’t exactly excel at sports, but he was learning the piano and seemed like he came from a refined household And apparently, he was the type that Choco was into

Really Really now Was she really serious? No way…

Kaas the polar opposite of Haruhiro, possessing all the qualities that Haruhiro lacked, but he and Haruhiro were friendly enough that they played together frouy who didn’t have anything unlikeable about hi list In fact, Haruhiro rather liked him

So Choco likes hiht I need to help her out even if I don’t kno Yeah

Or so Haruhiro thought and began to take steps towards it Did Choco want him to deliver a note to Kawabe? Kawabe’s family was pretty strict so he didn’t have a cell phone, but if Choco wrote him a note Haruhiro was sure Kaould read it He would probably even write a response back to her because he was a nice guy like that

Haruhiro asked Choco if she wanted to do that, but she declined, telling hi of the sort When Haruhiro responded noncommittally, she went on to say that it was a casual kind of like

A casual kind of like…? Well, it wasn’t like Haruhiro didn’t try He did Stuff like atte things up so that they would be alone, etc When he thought about it now, it all seemed rather silly, but it was serious business back then Kaas a good guy and Choco… well, Haruhiro liked her

At any rate, it was that su , but she told hi, I’m just here Then she went on to say that it was hot so she wanted a soda but there were no sodas in the fridge at ho machine They talked for maybe another ten or fifteen minutes after that and from that day on, they would bu machine now and then

Choco favored carbonated drinks, but during the winter she would buy canned corn soup When she drank soda, she would make comments like, “Ow, my throat hurts,” and when she drank the corn soup, she would yelp, “Wah, hot” and blow on the contents to cool it down Yes, this was the Choco he liked However, it wasn’t some sort of desperate, intense like… more of a natural, s about her and that continued for a long, long time

For her part, Choco was the type as naturally attracted to boys It didn’t show on the surface, but she had a history of casually saying how nice X or Y boy was and for the tiht of no one else but that person She would only realize that she liked the person after she admitted to herself that she actually liked hirew ht about how much she liked him

Haruhiro would ask if she wanted to go out with the person, and Choco would reply by saying that she didn’t not want to go out with him, but she didn’t really like him that much No, not that much…

And it wasn’t as if Haruhiro didn’t not want to go out with her, if he could, but Choco was always in love with so her about who she currently liked Even if he wasn’t truly interested in knowing, she always answered hi to hook the two of theet to know each other better, even though he never really intended to Choco, of course, never asked him to; Haruhiro did it all on his own

He often wondered why he did such things and couldn’t find an answer Probably because he was an idiot, he thought on more than one occasion

Choco was always impassive and expressionless, but when she talked about the boys she liked, she all of a sudden became animated and lively At the end of their conversations, her cheeks would be a little rosy,Haruhiro believe that she enjoyed such conversations, whichti to think of ways to make her happy He didn’t even understand why himself

Choco was a real mystery She didn’t like to read books, never listened to music, didn’t watch TV, and even if she picked up a hobby now and then, she would soon lose interest and drop it When he asked her if there was anything she absolutely loved doing, she answered hi that pleased her, which made hi he said or did ever worked

That night, he was squatting next to the vendingout into space when Choco ca that Choco would cos like that in the past, she never did Tonight though, she did, and he thought to hiht there and then but he resisted the urge, forcing himself to calm down

“Hey,” he greeted casually

Choco waved a hand at him “Hey”

Her wave and return greeting was adorable and he was reh, Choco’s crush of the as one of her classmates, a boy with a rare na too, which made Haruhiro wonder if Choco went for the attractive ones

Hideuy’s perspective, he was one of those people you had to admit was cool even if you didn’t want to, so it irls couldn’t see that in hiirls secretly in love with hiht to like a person like that And Haruhiro couldn’t blame her

In fact, he supported her and wished her well There was no way Haruhiro could win against co teruy like him

Choco bought a soda Some sort of fruity soda She pulled back the pull-top to pop the can open and took a sip Then her face scrunched up as a sh escaped her lips

“Ow My throat hurts,” said Choco

“Does it?” asked Haruhiro

“Yeah, it does”

“If it hurts, why do you drink it then?”

“Because I feel like it”

“Okay”

“I heard soda isn’t really healthy,” Choco said

“It’s not,” Haruhiro confirmed “That’s why sports stars don’t drink it Soda”

“I don’t play sports”