Rumours

Zayd stood up and answered the phone call. It was Minoru.

"Zayd-san?" Her voice came through clearly.

"Hi, I'm here."

"Um, Zayd-san, there's a video I've just seen. It was of a person beating up another guy. Was it you?" She inquired. Zayd could hear the burning curiosity in her tone.

"Yeah. That's right. It was me. It was me so long as the last hit was a kick in the video." There was no point in denying it. As he thought about it, he remembered that his other classmates would recognise the outfit. It would linger in their mind for longer due to the teasing of his and Minoru's outfits matching.

Zayd could hear the sound of her breathing.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Her concern was genuine. It was a strange feeling for Zayd. Unknowingly he smiled ever so slightly.

"Yeah! All my body parts are intact. I feel perfect apart from my exhaustion. Thanks for asking, Minoru-san.

"You're welcome. Okay, I've got to go now. Remember to study too! Midterms are very soon. You can text me or call me if you need any help with anything."

"Alright, goodbye," Zayd said as he returned to where he was previously sat with his Aunt Naomi looking at him with curiosity.

"Who was that? Minoru was the name, so I'm assuming a girl. You seem a little familiar, but you are not that close, not yet, anyway. Judging from the tone of your voice, she expressed concern for you. She saw the video and was asking if you were okay? Adding onto the other information, I believe you were at a study meeting earlier today. You had contact with this girl. Someone in your class? Quite possibly. She knew it was you, meaning she saw things in the video which 'Minoru' recognised, meaning she pays attention to you. Perhaps a girl with the gall to desire my handsome nephew's attention?" Aunt Naomi rambled: her mind had always worked rather peculiarly. At least, Zayd believed that was the case. Since he was young, she seemed to have random bursts of 200 IQ moments.

"Ugh. I'm so tired. Aunt Naomi, I'm going to eat and then go to bed."

"Alright, good night."

"Good night."

---

In a flash, the weekend had ended.

Zayd woke up on Monday morning hoping for a chance that no rumours had spread about him.

As he went through his daily routine, he checked the weather and more on his phone. It was a rainy day today.

Zayd's mind was blank momentarily as he put his shirt, tie, and trousers on.

He went downstairs. Aunt Naomi had prepared his lunch for him in a box were some rice balls stuffed with meat.

Zayd gave his Aunt a long hug and a kiss on the cheek as a token of his appreciation. In return, she smiled and ruffled his hair which he had just combed.

"Good morning." He said, attempting to return his hair to its normal appearance.

Breakfast was just some bananas as Zayd was not feeling too hungry.

Filling a glass with some water, Zayd slowly satisfied his thirst before he had to leave.

---

Once Zayd got to school, he prepared himself mentally but kept low expectations. Keeping your expectations low was a great way to avoid being disappointed.

Surely enough, he was right.

The instant his foot stepped into the classroom, his peers turned their heads to face him if they weren't already. They were looking at him, and then some began to whisper.

Walking to his seat as though nothing had happened, Zayd sat down and waited for homeroom to begin. Taking a book out of his bag, he attempted to make time go quicker.

The gazes seemed to leave his body for only a moment. They always returned.

Luckily, the rumours had not spread as far as he had thought possible.

However, time would tell what would occur. For now, Zayd's peers just talked amongst themselves and gazed upon him.

Zayd put his head down on his desk to ignore his surroundings.

It was fortunate that Zayd sat next to the window. He sat in the middle of the classroom.

Zayd rested his head on his fist. Zayd's chin held up by the knuckles. His eyes glanced outside as his gaze became unfocused.

Falling quickly: the rain created a tune to which Zayd's ears listened in on.

Minoru entered the classroom. The hushed whispers grew in frequency as the people within the room were the same people who witnessed the couple-like interaction between their class monitor and Zayd.

Her eyes fell upon Zayd, and she saw him staring outside at nothing in particular. His calmness was unperturbed by the whispers of those around him.

Before Zayd knew it, the whispers stopped. His classmates regained their normality. Loud chatting commenced until the bell rang.

Zayd woke out of his reverie when he heard his name during the register.

"Zayd." Himari, as Zayd knew her, or Miss Hazukashi as the class called her, called out. Upon not seeing nor hearing a response, she called out once more, louder this time.

"Zayd!" It worked. Zayd's eyes came back to reality as his mind settled back into the conscious realm.

"I'm here." Zayd did not perceive it, but a coldness was around him. It seemed to repel anyone's thoughts of asking questions or getting close. It was as though he was unapproachable.

The day went by as time felt like it was slipping through his fingers.

A day like this felt like back then when he first came over.

Himari herself had seen the video of Zayd. She was unaware of the person who was in the video, but rumours, being rumours, spread at a rate that exponentially increased with time.

Words entered her ears that told her why the classroom seemed a little off around Zayd.

The first period had not even begun, yet school temporarily felt unbearable for Minoru.

Meanwhile, Zayd appeared as though he was separate from the rest of the class. He stood out.

Himari saw this and felt it reminded her of the time in Middle School when Zayd had enough of the bullies in his class. They'd left him alone until he stood up for someone else.

Zayd being Zayd, got very angry. He took matters into his own hands and closed the bullys' mouths while also knocking out a few teeth