Chapter 12

Akito formally ended his friendship with Nick. Nick still waited for him at the corner, and every time Akito passed by, he could see Nick standing there like a sunflower, his face always turned towards the direction Akito usually came from.

Nick still liked to find him, shouting at the entrance, "Akito, Akito." Each shout didn't get a response, and the volume didn't increase or decrease. He just kept shouting, from the end of class to the beginning, from the beginning to the end. There was never an echo. Akito paid him no mind; he didn't see him as a person. In his eyes, a gust of air might receive more attention than Nick.

Nick wanted to talk to him, but when he finally caught him, he didn't know what to say. Akito started studying hard, striving for improvement every day. He asked questions from Ryohei, listened carefully to every detail the teachers explained, and his exercise books were always filled to the brim.

Nick still waited, shouted, and grabbed him day after day, unrelenting. Accumulated frustration would eventually erupt. On a Saturday, with school ending early and only two classes in the afternoon, Akito packed his bag and looked at Ryohei, who sat motionless. "Why haven't you left?" Akito asked.

Ryohei replied, "I have something to do." Akito said, "Oh." Passing the corner, there was no sign of Nick. Akito found it strange; he waited at the school gate for a while, but neither Ryohei nor Nick showed up. He chuckled at his own paranoia.

After returning home, he waited for a long time before calling Ryohei. His mother answered, saying Ryohei hadn't come back yet. Akito grabbed his jacket and ran outside. Arriving at the classroom, intentionally softening his footsteps, Akito hid outside the door. He watched two people holding down Ryohei while Nick struck him repeatedly.

Ryohei remained silent, and Nick said nothing. It was a silent war. Akito widened his eyes. When he saw Ryohei move his mouth, as if saying something, Nick angrily picked up a bamboo skewer from the ground and stabbed it towards Ryohei's right eye.

The school sold skewers for sausages, and they were all made of these thin bamboo sticks. Ryohei's scream seemed to shake the entire building. Akito's world collapsed.

Akito didn't go in; he stopped at the door, turned around, and ran straight out. Every drop and trickle on his face gathered into a river. Akito's mother said Akito had always been the most timid and cautious since he was a child,he would never approach anything big. The sense of shame in Akito's heart was tearing him apart, but he still didn't turn back.