Sugar and Pepper X (16.5)
SIXTEEN
* SIXTEEN.FIVE *
01.
Four months ago, they faced each other on the crowded street. He stood slumped and defeated. She stood with her hands clasped in front and refused to meet his eyes.
"Are we really breaking up?" he asked her.
Miyuki continued to look at her toes and refrained from speaking. No, she didn't want to break up. She couldn't think of it. But she had been the one to bring it up while angry and she was too stubborn to take back her words.
Her boyfriend stared at her and she stared at the ground and to both of them at that moment, the end was inevitable.
02.
The first time Miyuki saw Matsumoto Jun, he didn’t see her.
He stood by the exit of the senior’s building (though the color of his tie indicated he was from their junior high) and scuffed the ground with his shoes. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. His neck craned forward while his eyes wandered across the ground, as if the other eyes looking at him curiously did not bother him.
Miyuki thought he was the coolest, most handsome boy she had ever seen.
03.
She told her ex-boyfriend over the phone as soon as she could get a hold of him that she had found someone new she like, that this new person was perfect.
He answered in a monotone, "Oh..."
Because he didn't seem to care, Miyuki pretended that she didn't care either.
But she cried into her pillows that night and wished for the ideal.
04.
"It's okay, you know," she told her friends at culinary club. “I knew it wouldn’t last.”
They gave her the equivalent of a raised brow and made faces when she left to share her cookies with their club president. Her back, turned to them, told them much more than her lie.
05.
The letter had been stuffed into the back of her shoe locker. Miyuki held it with trembling hands and read the note asking to meet behind the school during lunch. She didn't want to rush, but she couldn't stop her feet from hurrying. She had not seen him for more than a week.
When she finally saw him standing parallel to the wall, trying not to fidget, Miyuki feared her heart would leap out of her chest.
He saw her and faced her, and he gripped the edges of his sleeves as he said in a mumble, "I thought about it and I still like you."
Miyuki didn't cry easily, but she burst into tears and sobbed into her hands for the next five minutes. When she could finally speak, she told him she still like him as much too.
06.
Smiling, Miyuki had told him, "I think Matsumoto Jun is cool."
He asked, "Who?"
"He's different, you know,” she said. “He's not you."
He didn't understand, not right away, but eventually he got used to the idea of a different kind of like.
* *
SEVENTEEN
* SIXTEEN.FIVE *
01.
Four months ago, they faced each other on the crowded street. He stood slumped and defeated. She stood with her hands clasped in front and refused to meet his eyes.
"Are we really breaking up?" he asked her.
Miyuki continued to look at her toes and refrained from speaking. No, she didn't want to break up. She couldn't think of it. But she had been the one to bring it up while angry and she was too stubborn to take back her words.
Her boyfriend stared at her and she stared at the ground and to both of them at that moment, the end was inevitable.
02.
The first time Miyuki saw Matsumoto Jun, he didn’t see her.
He stood by the exit of the senior’s building (though the color of his tie indicated he was from their junior high) and scuffed the ground with his shoes. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. His neck craned forward while his eyes wandered across the ground, as if the other eyes looking at him curiously did not bother him.
Miyuki thought he was the coolest, most handsome boy she had ever seen.
03.
She told her ex-boyfriend over the phone as soon as she could get a hold of him that she had found someone new she like, that this new person was perfect.
He answered in a monotone, "Oh..."
Because he didn't seem to care, Miyuki pretended that she didn't care either.
But she cried into her pillows that night and wished for the ideal.
04.
"It's okay, you know," she told her friends at culinary club. “I knew it wouldn’t last.”
They gave her the equivalent of a raised brow and made faces when she left to share her cookies with their club president. Her back, turned to them, told them much more than her lie.
05.
The letter had been stuffed into the back of her shoe locker. Miyuki held it with trembling hands and read the note asking to meet behind the school during lunch. She didn't want to rush, but she couldn't stop her feet from hurrying. She had not seen him for more than a week.
When she finally saw him standing parallel to the wall, trying not to fidget, Miyuki feared her heart would leap out of her chest.
He saw her and faced her, and he gripped the edges of his sleeves as he said in a mumble, "I thought about it and I still like you."
Miyuki didn't cry easily, but she burst into tears and sobbed into her hands for the next five minutes. When she could finally speak, she told him she still like him as much too.
06.
Smiling, Miyuki had told him, "I think Matsumoto Jun is cool."
He asked, "Who?"
"He's different, you know,” she said. “He's not you."
He didn't understand, not right away, but eventually he got used to the idea of a different kind of like.
* *
SEVENTEEN