(Kenta walks through the hallway, textbook in hand as usual. He turns a corner.)
Sui Makoto: "WAH—!"
(CRASH. Papers fly everywhere. Kenta stumbles back as Sui tumbles to the floor.)
Kenta: (blinking) "...What—"
Sui: (looking up) "Ow ow ow..."
(Kenta looks at her. She's from Class 1-B—he recognizes the uniform. But more importantly, she's holding a pen in her left hand. And another pen in her right hand.)
Kenta: (thinking) "Two pens? Both hands?"
Sui: (rubbing her head) "Woah! Sorry for crashing into you! I was just running to pass my time, and—" (she stops, staring at him) "Wait. You're..."
Kenta: "Kenta Morik."
Sui: (eyes widening) "THE Kenta Morik?! From Class A?!"
Kenta: "The only one."
Sui: (jumping up) "Oh my gosh! I've heard about you! Everyone talks about you! They say you're a genius! They say you never talk to anyone! They say you're—" (she stops herself, blushing) "I mean—uh—sorry. I'm rambling."
Kenta: (calmly) "You're ambidextrous."
Sui: (freezing) "What?"
Kenta: "Two pens. One in each hand. You're the other one, aren't you? The second holder."
Sui: (shocked) "How did you—I mean—yes. I am."
(She looks at him differently now. Studying him.)
Sui: "So... Kenta-kun, right? Can I call you Kenta-kun?"
Kenta: "That's fine."
Sui: (grinning brightly) "Kenta-kun it is! And what's my name? You didn't ask!"
Kenta: "I was about to. What's your name?"
Sui: (pause) "...Nope."
Kenta: "Nope?"
Sui: "You don't need to know my name!"
Kenta: (blinking) "What?"
Sui: (crossing arms) "I said what I said! You don't need to know my name!"
Kenta: "But you know mine."
Sui: "That's different! Everyone knows yours!"
Kenta: "That doesn't make sense."
Sui: "Doesn't have to!"
(She grins triumphantly.)
Kenta: (staring at her) "...You're weird."
Sui: "I know!"
(She gathers her papers and stands up.)
Sui: "Well, thanks for not yelling at me! See you around, hand twin!"
(She dashes off before Kenta can respond.)
Kenta: (watching her go) "...Hand twin?"
(He looks down at his own hands. Then back at where she disappeared.)
Kenta: (muttering) "She didn't tell me her name."
---
[Scene: Class 1-A - Later]
Takahashi Kenji: (leaning over) "Hey, Kenta. You look different today."
Kenta: (not looking up) "I'm the same."
Takahashi Kenji: "No, there's something... I don't know. You seem less... dead inside?"
Kenta: "That's rude."
Takahashi Kenji: "It's also true! Did something happen?"
Kenta: (pausing) "...I met the other ambidextrous student."
Takahashi Kenji: (eyes widening) "WHAT?! The girl from 1-B?! What's she like?!"
Kenta: (thinking) "...Loud."
Takahashi Kenji: "Loud?"
Kenta: "And bright. Like... too bright."
Takahashi Kenji: (grinning) "Too bright? Kenta, are you saying she's—"
Kenta: "I'm saying nothing. Go away."
Takahashi Kenji: "What's her name?"
Kenta: (pause) "...I don't know."
Takahashi Kenji: "You didn't ask?!"
Kenta: "I did. She refused to tell me."
Takahashi Kenji: (staring) "She... refused?"
Kenta: "Said I don't need to know."
Takahashi Kenji: (bursting out laughing) "OH MY GOD! A girl finally met you and she WON'T tell you her name?! This is the best thing that's ever happened!"
Kenta: "It's not funny."
Takahashi Kenji: "IT'S HILARIOUS!"
---
[Scene: School Library - After School]
(Kenta sits alone at a table, surrounded by books. The library is quiet except for the occasional turning of pages.)
(Footsteps. Someone approaches.)
Sui: (whispering) "Um... is this seat taken?"
(Kenta looks up. It's her. The loud one. The bright one. The one who refused to give her name.)
Kenta: "...You."
Sui: (grinning) "Me!"
Kenta: "You didn't tell me your name."
Sui: (sitting down across from him) "Nope! Still not telling you!"
Kenta: "Then why are you here?"
Sui: "Library's for everyone, isn't it?"
Kenta: "...Fine."
(He goes back to reading. Sui pulls out her own books, stealing glances at him.)
Sui: (thinking) "Okay Sui. Be cool. Be mysterious. Don't be weird."
(She opens her book. Steals another glance.)
Kenta: (without looking up) "You're staring again."
Sui: (jumping) "I—I wasn't—I was just—THINKING! I was thinking!"
Kenta: "About what?"
Sui: (panicking) "About... about... why you're always alone!"
Kenta: (finally looking up) "What?"
Sui: "I mean—don't you have friends? People to hang out with?"
Kenta: "I have Takahashi."
Sui: "That's one person."
Kenta: "That's enough."
Sui: (frowning) "No it's not. Everyone needs people. You can't just... exist alone."
Kenta: "I'm not alone. I have books."
Sui: "Books don't talk back!"
Kenta: "That's why I like them."
Sui: (staring) "You're impossible."
Kenta: "I know."
(A small smile appears on Sui's face.)
Sui: "You know what? I'm gonna be your friend."
Kenta: (blinking) "What?"
Sui: "You heard me! I'm gonna be your friend whether you like it or not! Someone needs to drag you out of your shell!"
Kenta: "I don't have a shell."
Sui: "You're literally inside a library right now, alone, reading on a Friday afternoon. That's a shell."
Kenta: "...It's called studying."
Sui: "It's called avoiding people!"
(They stare at each other.)
Kenta: "You're really loud for a library."
Sui: (clapping hand over mouth) "Oh no. I forgot. Sorry sorry sorry—"
(She whispers the rest.)
Sui: (whispering) "But I'm serious! I'm gonna be your friend! Just wait and see!"
Kenta: (sighing) "Fine. Do what you want."
Sui: (grinning) "I WILL!"
(She opens her book, a triumphant look on her face.)
Kenta: (after a moment) "...Can you at least tell me your name?"
Sui: (smugly) "Nope!"
Kenta: "Why not?"
Sui: "Mystery builds character!"
Kenta: "That doesn't make sense."
Sui: "Doesn't have to!"
(Kenta shakes his head and looks back down. But for the first time...)
(He doesn't mind the company.)
---
[Scene: Library - An Hour Later]
(The sun is setting. Kenta closes his last book.)
Kenta: "I'm leaving."
Sui: (looking up) "Oh! Me too! Let's walk together!"
Kenta: "I walk alone."
Sui: "Not anymore!"
(She packs her things quickly and follows him out.)
(They walk through the empty school hallway, side by side.)
Sui: "So... same time tomorrow?"
Kenta: "What?"
Sui: "Library! Same time! I'll be there!"
Kenta: "I didn't agree to that."
Sui: "You didn't disagree either!"
Kenta: "..."
Sui: "See? Silence means yes!"
Kenta: "That's not how that works."
Sui: "It is now!"
(They reach the school gate.)
Sui: "Well, this is me! See you tomorrow, Kenta-kun!"
Kenta: "You still haven't told me your name."
Sui: (grinning) "And I won't! Not tomorrow! Not the day after! Maybe never!"
Kenta: "That's frustrating."
Sui: "Good! Now you'll remember me!"
(She waves and runs off.)
(Kenta watches her go. For a long moment, he doesn't move.)
Kenta: (muttering) "...She's impossible."
(He almost smiles. Almost.)
---
[Scene: School Hallway - Next Day]
(Kenta walks through the hallway. He spots Sui walking ahead of him.)
Kenta: (thinking) "There she is. The name-refuser."
(He quickens his pace.)
Kenta: "Hey—wait!"
(Sui turns around, surprised.)
Sui: "Kenta-kun! You're following me now?!"
Kenta: (reaching her) "We need to talk."
Sui: (nervous) "Talk? About what?"
Kenta: "Not here. Follow me."
(He grabs her wrist and starts walking.)
Sui: (stumbling after him) "Wha—where are we going?!"
Kenta: "Somewhere quiet."
Sui: (heart racing) (thinking) "HE'S HOLDING MY WRIST! KENTA MORIK IS HOLDING MY WRIST!"
---
[Scene: Empty Classroom 3C - A Few Minutes Later]
(Kenta closes the door behind them. The room is silent. Late afternoon sunlight streams through the windows.)
Sui: (nervously) "So... um... this is... very classroomy."
Kenta: "Sit down."
Sui: (sitting on a desk) "Okay I'm sitting! Please don't murder me!"
Kenta: (staring at her) "I'm not going to murder you."
Sui: "Then why are we in an empty classroom?!"
Kenta: (taking a deep breath) "I need to apologize."
Sui: (confused) "Apologize? For what? You didn't do anything."
Kenta: (looking away, ears red) "Yesterday... when we crashed... my hand..."
Sui: (tilting her head) "Your hand?"
Kenta: (mumbling) "It touched somewhere it shouldn't have."
Sui: (blinking) "What? Where?"
Kenta: (even quieter) "...Your chest."
Sui: (freezing) "..."
Kenta: "I'm sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean to—"
Sui: (face turning bright red) "WAIT—THAT WAS YOU?!"
Kenta: (flinching) "Yes."
Sui: (standing up) "I THOUGHT THAT WAS MY BAG!"
Kenta: "It wasn't your bag."
Sui: (sputtering) "I—YOU—THAT—"
Kenta: "I'm really sorry. I should have apologized immediately but I panicked and then you ran off and—"
Sui: (pointing at him) "YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING!"
Kenta: "I know! I'm bad with people! I didn't know how to bring it up!"
Sui: "YOU BRING IT UP BY SAYING 'SORRY I TOUCHED YOUR—'" (she stops, covering her face) "I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT!"
Kenta: "I'm sorry."
Sui: (pacing) "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! MY FIRST INTERACTION WITH THE FAMOUS KENTA MORIK AND HE—AND I—AND—"
Kenta: "I'll do whatever it takes to make it right."
Sui: (stopping) "Make it right?! How do you make something like that right?!"
Kenta: (thinking) "...I don't know. But I'll figure it out."
Sui: (staring at him) (thinking) "He looks genuinely guilty. Like he's been thinking about this all day."
Sui: (taking a deep breath) "...Okay."
Kenta: "Okay?"
Sui: (crossing arms) "Fine. You got lucky. This time."
Kenta: (confused) "Lucky?"
Sui: "Lucky that I'm not the type to make a big deal out of accidents! Lucky that you actually apologized! Lucky that—" (she looks at his worried face and softens) "—that you seem like you actually feel bad about it."
Kenta: "I do."
Sui: (sighing) "Yeah. I can tell."
(She sits back down on the desk.)
Sui: "Most guys would just pretend it didn't happen. But you dragged me to an empty classroom just to say sorry. That's... actually kind of sweet."
Kenta: "Sweet?"
Sui: (grinning slightly) "Don't let it go to your head."
Kenta: "I won't."
Sui: "And for the record... apology accepted. Just... don't let it happen again."
Kenta: "I'll be more careful."
Sui: (laughing) "You better!"
(They sit in silence for a moment.)
Sui: "You know... this is the weirdest friendship I've ever started."
Kenta: "Friendship?"
Sui: "Yeah! You apologized, I forgave you, now we're friends! That's how it works!"
Kenta: "That's not how it works."
Sui: "It is today!"
(Kenta almost smiles.)
Sui: (standing up) "Okay! Apology done! Let's go to the library!"
Kenta: "You still want to study with me?"
Sui: "Of course! You think one awkward moment is gonna scare me off? Please. I'm made of stronger stuff!"
(She grabs his wrist this time and starts pulling him toward the door.)
Sui: "Come on, Kenta-kun! Books await!"
Kenta: (stumbling after her) "You're dragging me now?"
Sui: "Fair is fair! You dragged me here!"
---
[Scene: School Library - Later]
(They walk into the library together and sit at their usual table.)
Sui: (opening her book) "So... we're good, right?"
Kenta: "We're good."
Sui: (grinning) "Good! Now teach me something smart!"
Kenta: "That's not how studying works."
Sui: "It is in my world!"
Kenta: "Your world?"
Sui: (nodding proudly) "My world! Where mysterious girls with no names make the rules!"
Kenta: "You're still not going to tell me your name, are you?"
Sui: "Nope! And after today? Definitely not! You need to earn that knowledge now!"
Kenta: "Earn it?"
Sui: "Yep! Through friendship! And studying! And maybe snacks!"
Kenta: (sighing) "You're impossible."
Sui: (beaming) "I know!"
(She opens her book. He opens his.)
For the first time, studying doesn't feel like studying.
It feels like... something else.
---
[Scene: School Gate - Evening]
(They walk out together. Sui is practically bouncing.)
Sui: "This was a good day! A really good day!"
Kenta: "You're weird."
Sui: "You said that already!"
Kenta: "It's still true."
Sui: (grinning) "And yet... here you are. Walking with me. Being my friend."
Kenta: (looking away) "...Don't read into it."
Sui: "Too late! I'm reading ALL the way into it!"
(She laughs and runs ahead.)
Sui: (turning back) "SEE YOU TOMORROW, KENTA-KUN! SAME BAT TIME! SAME BAT LIBRARY!"
Kenta: (watching her go) "It's not a bat library."
Sui: (yelling from down the street) "IT IS NOW!"
(Kenta stands there for a long moment. Then, finally...)
(He smiles. Just a little.)
Kenta: (muttering) "...I still don't know her name."
(But he doesn't seem to mind as much anymore.)
End of Chapter 2
Ready for Chapter 3?