Against Time and the Universe

DAY: ZERO

The alarm rung by 7:00 AM. It was July 10, 2017. Hiro hurriedly scrambled to the bathroom, leaving his bed unmade. He took a 10-minute shower and he made sure he ate enough. His mom makes the best omelettes in the world anyway.  Plus, he needed enough energy since he slept late.  Images of last night, flashed into his mind making him c***k a smile.

7:25 AM. Drinking his morning coffee, he peered into his window to see if Hina’s already awake. He saw her walking across her room.

She woke up earlier than usual eh? She’s already in her uniform. Guess I have to change already too.

He finished his breakfast and brushed his teeth. By 7:45 am, Hiro was already on his way to school. He passed by post office and was greeted by Kei, the mailman.

“Good morning, Hiro. I’ve got two letters for you today.”

“Hi, Kei. Who are they from this time?”

“This one is from Stanford University, another scholarship offer I suppose,” said Kei as he handed him the letter, “And this one is from Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School.”

“I wish they’d stop asking me to switch schools. I like where I’m at right now.”

Kei chuckled and said, “You mean you like being close to Hina right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, I’ve got to go to school now. I’ll be seeing you”

 He went along the river enjoying the breeze and shade of the sakura trees along the sideawalk. Hiro stopped for a brief moment at the pedestrian to let a group of joggers pass.  Shortly, after passing over the ice cream place where Hina and him used to go hang out to when they were kids, he arrived at school at last.

Horikoshi Gakuen High. The most prestigious high school institution in Japan. To be admitted, you have to be atleast a genius at any given field or filthy rich.

Just 5 minutes before the bell rings, he walked casually along the halls and into room 11-A.

Hiro having an IQ of 220,  sure does have a spot in the school’s top elite section. Composed of the star students in his batch. His name never moved from being first in every exams.  Being exceptionally gifted, he didn’t even have to try.

As the lad entered the room, the class was in a complete disorder. Being the top elite section, none of them really cared about anything. Most of them are entitled sons and daughters of large company owners and professionals.

Just as he sat down, Hina entered the room. The class went into a complete feast. They all went swarming into her, greeting her and giving her gifts of all sorts. Hina was the kindest person and she was well-loved by everyone around her.

“Hina-san! Happy Birthday! The rest of your gifts will be delivered by my chauffer in your house later tonight.” Tadashi, the son of a well-known congressman told her.

“I got you plane tickets for two to Maldives and I even asked dad to have all your accomodations taken care of,” the famous Aiko, who was a rising pop star inserted.

“I bought you a laptop since I thought that you might need a new one. Your laptop always hangs up but you still use it eeeshh.” Daichi who was the youngest son of the best programming company in Japan, handed her the latest model available.

Emiko , who was holding a rectangular plastic card, stretched her hand to Hina, “Here, this is an unlimited cash card that you can use in shopping in any of our malls Hina-san.”

“You guys! You didn’t have to go through all the trouble of gving me these! Your presence in my birthday is enough. I can’t accept all that,”Hina said humbly, completely flushed by the efforts of her classmates.

“You have no choice but to accept this all. We’d feel really bad if you don’t. You’ve been such a good and kind friend to all of us Hina-san,”Tadashi retorted.

Rrrrrnggg! Rrrrnngg!

The bell rang as cue for the classes to start. Everyone went back to their seats and Yamada-sensei entered the room. Hiro’s gaze was fixed at Hina. As she went to her seat  beside him.

I should atleast greet her, right? I could just say “Happy Birthday Hina-san”, but why am I so nervous?, Hiro was quite bothered as to why he was hesitasting to greet her. They barely spoke to each other for years.Although having been childhood friends and neighbors, there has always been this unspoken tension between them. They both get weirdly nervous at the presence of the other and they have been so careful with each other being cautious at the fact that they may say something embarrasing so they end up not talking at all.

“Uhm Hiro-san do you happen to have an extra ballpen? I left my pencil case at home ‘cause I was in a hurry to get to school.” Hiro was taken back from his thoughts at Hina’s words.

“Sure, use this one, ” it took him a minute to reply. He didn’t mean to come off cold but then he was trying so hard to keep his cool.

Didn’t she wake up early today? She was ready for school by 7:25 am, meaning she had more than enough time to prepare her things. Did she intentionally leave it just so she can borrow one from me? He smirked at the thought. Hina, seeing him form half a smile, was flustered.

In between classes, he would steal glances at Hina. He barely listens to the teachers. His intelligence is enough for him to not attend classes at all. He just goes to school everyday just to see her.

The classes went by smoothly. By lunch, trucks of food were delivered to the school covered by the Shiroganes for Hina’s celebration. After the afternoon classes, Hiro was left alone in the classroom, still fixing his things.

Damn, I should’ve atleast greeted her. Clutching his birthday gift, the boy sat down in frustration. I guess this is going to be another addition to the “stupid ungiven gifts pile”. For every birthday, Hiro always prepares a gift for Hina but then he never got the courage to give even one to her.  They ended up piled in his bedroom drawer. He had hopes this year, that he would finally give atleast one to her, but seeing how the day ended, it didn’t went out as he imagined.

“Hiro-san?” her voice sparked a light in Hiro’s head. She stood infront of him with her delicate hands outstretched, handing him his pen. “I believe this  is yours?”

“Oh, yes. That pen is mine.” Hiro stared at her, she had bright smile painted on her face. When their hands touched, it was as if millions of lightning bolts ran course in his body. Hina must’ve felt it too, since the both of them found themselves blushing like crazy.

“I’ll get going then,” Hina said with a hint of nervousness. Two, three, four steps away, he made up his mind.

“Hina-san!” Hiro mustered all of the courage he had just to call her name. He knew damn well that he wouldn’t get another chance like this  for another long time. Hina, though alarmed, stopped at her tracks and looked back at the boy.

“Yes?”she replied in a small voice.

“Let’s spend the rest of the afternoon together,”and with those words, their fates were once more intertwined.