Speak

"Is it okay? Skipping your cram class like that," A rather familiar voice rang from behind her. sat upright as soon as the owner of the voice registered on her mind. She slowly turned around. The tall figure of Chitose Senri came into focus, a towel hanging on his left shoulder, and his hand holding a big bottle of water.

"I can catch up with the work they're giving me." answered, lazily tearing away her gaze from the boy. "I just want to stay here."

"You're taking this too easily. You're so relaxed." He smiled.

"Mmmm… yeah. It would be boring, spending another afternoon there for a long time." said (but still not answering Chitose's question properly). She returned to lying down on the grass. It was a nice and quiet afternoon, why waste a perfect sky inside a crowded classroom? She would be sleeping if she was there, anyway.

Well, that's one reason why she was outside. shrugged. Today was also the boys' tennis team practice and she had to admit to herself, the main reason she was outside might just be that she wanted to see Chitose.

Chitose was chuckling at her reply. "I don't understand you, . I probably never will." Chitose said. He then waved his hand as a sign of dismissal and walked away.

closed her eyes, listening to the cadence of Chitose's fading footsteps. When she couldn't hear them anymore, she opened her eyelids once more, and looked wistfully at the sunlight peeping through the canopy of the tree she was resting on.

Chitose, I don't really understand myself, either. muttered under her breath.

**********

Chitose Senri was never a neighborhood friend, nor an elementary or middle school classmate. In fact, and Chitose never really shared any associations that one could write in a slum book or a work resume. Their first meeting had been more of a coincidence. Surreal.

It was Friday, lunchtime, and the classrooms and cafeteria were crowded as usual. was used to eating a very heavy breakfast, and was not used to eating lunch. She usually spent her afternoon lunch break on the rooftop, lying down and enjoying the soft breeze. When it rained, she would often stay inside the library, sitting beside a huge glass window, quietly watching the raindrops. It was at the rooftop where she first met him.

"Oh. Someone's in here already," she muttered upon seeing a tall guy with messy hair leaning against the railing. The boy turned around and saw her standing behind the door.

"Ah," was the first sound he made. He looked at her curiously, and then smiled.

"You can come out now."

That was it.

Except for that time when had sat close to the tennis court, she and Chitose rarely talked to each other unless they were on the rooftop. And even then, they would sit or stand quietly and apart, lying on their respective nooks, leaning against their respective rails, shooting back random questions back and forth as they gazed at the blue expanse above them. Chitose Senri was never really her friend, thought. He was a schoolmate, a sometime rooftop companion, another puzzle she never really bothered to crack. She knew he looked at her that same way. It was enough.

They didn't know much about each other, and she had wanted to leave it that way.

Until now.

**********

"I heard you got a high score on your English mock exam," Chitose said as soon as she opened the door to the rooftop. Chitose's back was leaning against the railing. walked and stood a few meters away from him.

"Mmm. Where did you get that information?" She asked, cupping her chin against her palm, her arm leaning against a railing.

"Heard it from some people in my class who attend cram school with you."

"I see."

"Do you have a boyfriend, ?"

"Just when did you become interested in such things?" She was surprised but asked, nonchalantly. Her gaze never wavered at the tall buildings that dominated the Osaka skyline.

From her peripheral vision, she could see Chitose scratching his head a bit, as if thinking of the right answer. "We've been seeing each other here for almost three months, and still, you've always been so abrupt. It's as if you don't want me to know anything more revealing about you."

There was a hurt tone in his voice, or did she imagine it? I'm not interested, anyway, she told herself. "You could ask me." She said, her brown eyes now looking straight at him.

"But you're giving away different vibes." Chitose asked, frustrated. "How am I supposed to know if it's alright?"

remained quiet. She knew he was right. She was never a talkative person. The cram school never complained even if she missed classes because her exam results were always pretty great. She was just like that – quiet, observant, careful. A lot of people have commented that she had some sort of cool, mysterious air surrounding her. She realized, with a bit of dismay, that Chitose also thought of her in that way. Maybe more than that; it was expected. Probably to him, she was not only cool, but cold, as ice.

"Is that so..." She said, her voice trailing off, and wondering if she was hurt by what he said. But she was not to be bothered with such details. Their peculiar setup had always been enough, wasn't it? She glanced at him briefly, and then sat on the floor. She took out her mp3 player. Her ears were flooded by music, but she knew that a different kind of silence was now eating both of them.

**********

"Ah," was the first thing that came out of her mouth when she saw that the rooftop was empty the next day. No sign of Chitose. Usually, it was him who reached the place first, waiting for her. She thought that it was a temporary setback from the usual thing that they did, so she did not mind at all.

But days passed by, and then a week. His absence sank in when she noted that it had already been a week and two days since they saw each other last. Another Friday. She sat on the floor and listened to her mp3 player. After a few minutes, she pulled one of her earpieces and sighed.

"Boring," she said to herself. She knew there was something missing.

Or rather, someone.

She stood up and left the place.

**********

"Still boring." said as she was walking home from cram school. She heard from a classmate that Chitose quit the tennis team so she had no excuse to skip school and hang around by the tennis courts. She didn't even want to stay at the rooftop anymore. She ambled leisurely, kicking a pebble as she walked along.

She stopped when she heard a clicked sound.

"Is that your new hobby?" Chitose Senri asked, from behind her. She turned around.

"Yo."

"It's been a while," said, not knowing what else to say.

Chitose bent down and picked the pebble she was playing with. He started tossing it lightly in the air. It still did not explain the sound she heard. She looked down. Chitose was wearing a geta.

She had to bother now. She had to talk.

"It's noisy, your geta.^[1]"

"Why, thank you. It feels good on my feet, though."

looked at him and she saw an unfamiliar glow on his face. Something she had never seen before. She was also caught off-guard when he went towards her, closer than they had ever been. He patted her on the head.

"I'm going to see you tomorrow at the rooftop." He smiled, and then looked away for a bit, avoiding her gaze.

"It's funny, you know." Chitose said. He fixed his gaze on the houses they passed by. "We never really talked for really long; we just stay there, doing nothing. I tried staying away. But I guess it seems that I won't be able to erase you out of my system soon."

looked at him, intently. Chitose's face had a slight tinge of pink on it, but he didn't seem to mind. He continued. "To some people, they probably think it's senseless, but now that I got the chance to think things over, I realize that I can't throw what we have away."

blinked. She wanted to open her mouth. Say something, say something.

Chitose was not the only one hesitant about something.

"I mean," Chitose rushed on, "Whatever it is we have. I don't know you a lot, but you know what?"

thought she knew, she knew things like this but never bothered. Now that he was saying something that she could remotely interpreted as something close to what she might be feeling, her mind wasn't as sure. She could only hope.

"You know what?" Chitose continued. "Even if you don't know me after all this time, even if I don't know you a lot. I will never exchange those times on the rooftop with anything else." He said. He then laughed heartily. "Maa, that's really cheesy. I surprised myself there."

was surprised as well. Not because of him, but of herself.

Chitose took another step. His hands were tucked in his pockets. His fingers gently tipped her chin upward so he could see her face clearly. "You may never talk a lot, but that's fine. I'll try to cherish every moment that we have together."

He gave her a smile – the same simple smile that she saw that first time on the rooftop – and then left. As the sound of the geta started to die away, she managed to cast any apprehensions she had. This was not a time to keep silent. She finally cared, actually bothered about something.

shouted with all her might. "Chitose-kun!!!"

The clicking sound ceased and Chitose looked back at her, surprised upon hearing her say his name for the first time.

smiled. There were no separate areas in their rooftop from now on. And she was going to enunciate every word.

"I have things to ask you tomorrow, so, at the rooftop, Chitose… I'll be waiting."

##########

January 1, 2007
Written by: Megane-ko (with a smattering of linchpin)
Edited by: linchpin

^[1] - A form of Japanese footwear made of wood, which is similar to clogs.