"Good morning..."
My day had started as usual. The first thing I did after getting up was grab all the clothes I was going to need.
"Masculine or feminine...?"
Now that I had two types of uniforms, I had to choose, something I'd never been good at. To avoid wasting time, I flipped a coin and freed myself from any responsibility.
"Today I'll go with the skirt."
After choosing the uniform, I took it to the bathroom along with everything else and showered there. My showers always lasted nine minutes—in those nine minutes I made sure to clean every centimeter of my body and give my hair proper care. Once I finished, it took me about six to eight minutes to dry off, and finally, I dressed in under a minute.
"I'm hungry..."
After the shower came breakfast. Since my father worked at night, it wasn't uncommon for him to be asleep at this hour, so I took care of making my own breakfast, and some for him too, to keep him from eating poorly because of his work schedule.
"A few strawberries, a couple of oranges, and an apple... The toast should be ready in a bit."
Since the bread took a while to toast, I used that time to sweep my father's bar. He always cleaned up before going to sleep, so there wasn't much to do, but I knew this small gesture helped make his day a bit easier.
DING
"Toast's ready."
Once breakfast was ready, I ate at a normal pace, and after finishing, I brushed my teeth. With nothing else to do, I grabbed my bag with all my things and left the house.
"See you..."
The walk was short, very short. My dad told me one of the reasons he chose that school was how close it was, and he was right. It didn't take me more than ten or fifteen minutes to get there walking. At first, I walked without thinking about anything, but for several days now, one thought kept entering my mind every time I headed to school.
"(What does Lusia want to do?)"
Thinking about her had become almost as natural as breathing. She always greeted me, talked to me, I responded, and we let the day go on. At first, I always asked myself why someone would be so insistent on spending time with me. But now, the only thing I think about is what places are left for Lusia to discover and what things she wants to do with me.
BAAA
I pulled out my phone when I heard the notification sound. I admit I should probably change it, a sheep's bleat is louder than you'd think, but oh well. When I checked the messaging app, I saw that Lusia (the only person who uses the messaging app) had messaged me.
"Hiiii"
I carefully typed a reply while still walking. Somehow, we were already chatting even before seeing each other.
"Hey"
"How are you?"
"Walking"
"With both legs? :o"
"Yes"
"...At least react a little to my joke."
"That was a joke?"
"Anyway... I just wanted to let you know I'll be a little late to class today."
"Did something happen?"
"Nothing major, just a check-up. I'll get there by the end of second period, the teachers already know."
"Got it."
"Please take some notes for me."
"I will."
"Thank you nwn"
That was the end of our conversation. Lusia's request wasn't hard to fulfill, I just had to take the same notes as always and later I could give them to her or simply send a photo. No doubt, it was going to be a quiet morning.
"..."
When I got to the empty classroom, I sat at my desk. Since I was early, there wasn't much to do, so I just sat and stared forward, waiting for class to begin, but after a few minutes, I couldn't help but look back.
"Hey Lusi—"
I stopped mid-sentence, remembering that Lusia's seat was empty. Somehow, greeting her had become almost a reflex. Since I had no one to talk to, I turned back around, but that didn't help either.
"Hmm..."
When I looked down, I realized my finger was repeatedly tapping the desk. That struck me as odd. Was I... impatient? I didn't understand why. I was used to waiting in silence, I'd never had a problem with it. So, what was different this time?
"She'll be here soon..."
Instead of looking forward, I spent the time before class staring at the door. Every time I saw a classmate walk in, I felt something that could only be described as "disappointment." Even when the classroom was nearly full, it still felt incredibly empty.
"..."
I thought everything was going as always, but in truth, everything felt slower. Seconds dragged like minutes, minutes like hours. No matter how much I counted or tapped on my phone, I could only feel how time seemed to slow down. What was happening?
DING DING
When class started, I felt enormous relief. I just had to focus on taking notes and could ignore that strange sensation.
"Just focus..."
When the biology teacher arrived, I pulled out my notebook to take notes. He was good at explaining things, so it wasn't particularly hard to keep up, yet even then, I had trouble sometimes.
"Alright, Aisha, can you tell me the causes of type 1 diabetes?"
"..."
"Aisha?"
"..."
THUNK
I only started listening when the classmate in front of me knocked on my desk. I answered as quickly as I could, but I failed miserably.
"...Pancreas."
"...I suppose that's a general way to put it, but more specific answers would be better."
Class continued, but while my hands mechanically wrote down what the teacher said and wrote on the board, my mind was clouded.
DING DING
Break time had come. I was about to turn around, but I remembered again that I was alone. The best thing might be to stay still and wait, right?
"..."
Without a word, I got up from my seat and started walking. I didn't want to go anywhere in particular. I just felt like I needed to move.
"The courtyard..."
Lusia already knew the inside of the school well, but we had barely visited the outside except during PE. It was worth checking out.
"I accepted a while ago that I'd never feel like I belonged in the world, so why does being alone feel so strange?"
Fulfilling other people's requests had never made me feel anything, but being Lusia's friend was different. From the beginning, I knew she was something I'd never seen before. She got annoyed at me but also had fun, she made requests but forced me to make decisions, she kept secrets but her words felt sincere.
"...She fills me with doubts and now she's not here when I most want her answers... How unfair."
When I got to the courtyard, I sat under a tree near the entrance and checked my phone. Maybe I could message Lusia, but I didn't think she'd reply, she was probably busy with her check-up.
"Could it be a condition?"
Lusia looked pretty healthy. Her stamina could be better, but she wasn't in bad shape. I also thought maybe she got sick—but if that were the case, she'd have told me she was staying home to rest, not that she'd be late. What if she lied so I wouldn't worry? ...No, she wouldn't do that... I think. I mean, she knows I wouldn't really care that much if something happened to her. She doesn't need to lie... right?
"..."
For no particular reason, I looked up what kinds of sweets are good for sick people.
"Honey candies for sore throat, yogurt, puddings..."
The school store should have all that. Without wasting time, I stood up and headed there. At first, I walked slowly, but if recess ended, I wouldn't be able to buy anything—so without thinking, I started running.
"Huff... Puff..."
Since I ran at full speed, I got tired quickly. In PE, I made sure to go at a manageable pace, but now I prioritized speed. It didn't help that none of my exercises focused on cardio and that I hadn't controlled my breathing properly.
"(And I was criticizing Lusia's stamina...)"
I ran like my life depended on it until I finally reached the store. The first thing I did was lean against the wall and fight off the nausea.
"(Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke...)"
I closed my eyes a bit and took deep breaths until I recovered. A few people turned to look at me, but most just kept shopping.
"(Focus, get the sweets.)"
I rarely went to the store, so I was surprised to see how crowded it was. It made sense—many students wanted something to eat—but still, it was a bit intimidating.
"(I'll have to wait.)"
Carefully, I slipped into the crowd that was supposed to be a line and waited. People kept pushing, making noise, and more. I guess many get aggressive when they're hungry.
"(I should get something to drink too.)"
Despite the pushing, I always managed to bump into someone else and avoid falling. The flow of the crowd continued until I finally reached the counter, where two vendors were.
"Do you have honey candies, yogurt, and pudding?"
"We're out of pudding, but we have the rest."
"Alright... Please give me that and some water."
I was at the counter but still felt like a bunch of people were crushing me. In fact, it felt worse now that I had a piece of wood in front of me—but I just had to endure a little longer.
The seconds it took for the vendor to gather what I asked for felt eternal—but when she handed me the bag, I finally grabbed it, left a couple of bills, and got out.
"Excuse me..."
Somehow, I managed to escape that biological prison. My original plan was to return to the courtyard, but a familiar sound stopped me.
DING DING
"Was I in there that long?"
With my loot in hand, I returned to the classroom and placed everything inside my bag while taking out my math notebook.
"At least I got distracted for a bit..."
Eventually, class started, and luckily I was able to focus on understanding the math problems. In a way, I was grateful that our second subject of the day was a difficult one.
"And then you multiply both values. Don't forget that when multiplying a negative and a positive number, the result is negative. A lot of people mark the wrong answer because of that."
"..."
The minutes passed slowly and quietly. The explanations were easy to follow, and my notes had everything I'd need to review later. With little time left before class ended, I looked out the window. When I looked toward the school entrance, I saw a woman I didn't know walking with a certain person.
"...Lusia..."
When I saw her arrive, I felt like my whole body wanted to move at once. I would've done it if we weren't still in class. There wasn't much time left before class ended, so I started thinking about what to do. I could wait for her to give her what I'd bought—but maybe she was feeling too sick and preferred I brought it to her. I thought a lot about which option to choose, but deep down, I had already made up my mind.
DING DING
"Alright, don't forget to—"
I quickly grabbed the bag with what I'd bought and left the classroom.
"...At least pretend you care about what I say."
Completely ignoring what the teacher said, I ran downstairs to the first floor. Although I'd gone pretty fast, I didn't know where Lusia was. I'd never come in the middle of the day before, so I had no idea what the procedure was.
"...The teachers' lounge."
Since that seemed the most logical place, I headed there. Standing in front of the door, I thought about what to do—after all, I had no reason to go in except wanting to see if Lusia was there.
"Maybe I could—"
Just as I was about to do something, the door opened, and standing right in front of me... was Lusia.
"Lusia."
"..."
Her expression was completely different from usual. She looked tired and a bit upset. She didn't look sick—just... worn down.
"Do you want to—"
My words stopped when Lusia, without hesitation, rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't know what to do, but I got an idea when she took my free hand and placed it on her head.
"Lusia?"
"I want to rest for a bit..."
Fulfilling her request, I gently stroked her head like I would a cat. She seemed to like it, so I didn't stop for a while. I only stopped when Lusia suddenly lifted her head.
"I feel alive again!"
"Was the check-up that bad?"
"It was awful, I don't want to think about it."
"Well, I got some sweets to help you take your mind off it..."
"Really?! Thanks!"
When I handed the bag to Lusia, I felt like that strange feeling that had been haunting me all day finally disappeared. Seeing her eat the sweets I'd bought made the wait feel worth it.
"Have one too!"
"I bought them for you..."
"Consider it my thanks."
Obediently, I took a honey candy and popped it into my mouth. It wasn't anything special, but it was comforting to eat it.
"Shall we go to class...?"
"Let me say goodbye to my aunt first."
"Alright."
While I waited for her to finish, I started thinking about everything I'd felt throughout the day. How could a feeling like that disappear just from Lusia showing up? Why did it feel so bad? What made her so special? Deep down, I knew the answers to those questions—but that didn't bring me peace. On the contrary, it gave me a new question I probably shouldn't have asked myself:
"When our bet is over... will every day still be like this?"
The day went on as usual—but that thought never left me. It didn't leave me after a few hours, it didn't leave me no matter how much Lusia talked to me... and it wouldn't leave me during the three days left in the month.