HOME | DD

Description
On Monday, there are two classes out of four in Trainer’s School that are at least bearable. Too bad that those two are over today, and you’re sitting idly in a middle of a lecture with an hour before dismissal. Ah, the difference of Net Balls and Water Balls. It’s like rocket science.

There’s an empty seat next to you, just like you like it. You’re perfectly happy flipping through the pages of a book under your desk, the teacher’s shouts not bothering you at all.

Until metal creaks loudly, and more bright sun spills in, an addition to the light beaming through the shutters on the window. Then a silhouette, a few steps, and you could tell who it is before even seeing her face.

“Sapphire Birch,” the teacher says to her with false enthusiasm as she hauls her bag, a suitcase, onto his desk. He snarls with annoyance but keeps it cool.“How lovely it is to see you, twenty minutes after our scheduled start.”

She gives an exaggerated yawn, stretching her arms up high. “Oh, don’t worry, Professor. I’m just twenty-three hours and forty minutes early for tomorrow,” she murmurs as he turns back to the board, and the class gives a light chuckle.

His fist closes around the marker tight, that if it was chalk it’d be broken into a million pieces by now. “I heard that, Ms Birch.”

This time she’s fixing her shirt, paying him no mind. “Hmm? I didn’t know you had ears. What a shocking escalation!”

“Just,” he sighs, rubbing his temples. “Take a seat.” He nods to the desk next to you, and you mentally scream. What if he notices you’re reading in his class? But he looks over you and he says to Sapphire, “Why not sit next to Ms [Surname]? That can be your seat for the rest of the school year.”

You see her smile widen at the mention of your name, but she quickly pulls it back down for show.

Sapphire makes her way next to the desk next to you, immediately placing her bag in between. It’s a suitcase, for some reason. She was just like that.

Leaning back relaxed on her chair, she opened a half-lidded eye to you, complete with a half-smile. “Hey, [Name], how are you?”

You really don’t want to speak with her to pull attention to yourself, but you don’t want to come off as rude. “Oh, um—”

“Don’t speak to Sapphire,” the professor’s voice booms. “Unless you want to be put on hall escort duties for a week.”

It’s a pretty weird exchange he offered. There are no new students this school year, so hall escorts weren’t needed at all. But there’s a girl who’s undeniably bad at directions, be it left or right, west or east. Her brain was hardwired that way, and no one can change the way she thinks. That girl is sitting right next to you, holding out a hand as a greeting.

“You’ll get to skip Dex Tech,” she not-so-whispered to you. “Even I bet that you hate it too.”

You do hate it. You hate it with your entire gut. But you shake your head.

“[Name],” she groans, “Come on. What’s stopping you from that skipping that class? Hmm. Is it Ruby—”

“No!” you turn away from her, crossing your arms. “Sheesh, of course not.”

She ponders for a moment. “Hmm,” she wonders, tilting her head in such a stereotypical fashion. “If you say so—”

“Stop talking,” the professor interrupts, sighing loudly and looking at the desk in defeat. “Out of my class. Both of you.”

Sapphire just smirks at that, pushing the handles of her still packed suitcase up. You try not to grumble as you push your book under your table, heaving up your backpack as you walk through the maze of desks to the exit, all eyes on you.

Unlike Sapphire, you don’t like attention. She’s like the polar opposite of you, and despite not speaking at all last summer, you two are still bound tightly by the threads of friendship.

She stretches once she’s outside, like she just got out of the gym. “I missed you, [Name],” she exclaims.

“And I missed you always ruining the first day of school for me.”

She breaks out a laugh, rolling her head back. “It’s a tradition. You’ll miss it when we graduate this year.”

You sigh, shrugging your backpack into place uncomfortably.

“So,” Sapphire says. “Is this your last class too?” she asks, and you nod. “Alright. Let’s just get out of here.”

Is she suggesting what you think she is? “What?”

“Climb the tree and hop the wall. It’s easy, I’ve done it a lot of times.”

You sigh loudly. You have absolutely no idea why she’s your friend at all.

She starts walking away, the wheels of her suitcase rolling on the polished, cemented floor, echoing a dull sound in your ears. But she isn’t heading to the exit, she’s going in the opposite direction.

You have no choice but to follow her. Jogging up to her side, you ask her accusingly, “What are you doing?!”

Not faltered at all by your tone, she just keeps walking. “Three makes a crew, hmm?”

Oh. She’s going to get Ruby.

She slows to a stop outside the class he’s in, pulling a paper and pen out of her case, using the wall as a table. “I need you to hand this to the professor,” she says, scribbling away.

You cross your arms and shake your head. “No.”

“What?” she stops writing, capping the pen and throwing it back in her bag. “Come on, it has to be you. If it’s me, they’ll obviously know it’s a joke.”

“Sapphire, no. I might get in trouble.”

She doesn’t care at all, putting the note in the crook of your arms where they’re crossed. You frown, trying to look away from her convincing smile.

Well, if it’s so Ruby can come with us, it’s not so bad… You give another sigh, taking the paper in your hand. “Fine. For Ruby.”

“I know you’d do it,” she smiles. “I’ll hold your bag for you?”

A minute later, you push the door to Understanding Type Match Ups 93, a forced dull expression on your face, a note addressed to the professor in hand. “Sir,” you say in your best monotone, sick of being a teacher messenger voice. “Request for Ruby to be excused by Professor Birch,” you hand it to him.

He pushes his glasses up with pale, wrinkly fingers, studying the note with squinting eyes. Even without Sapphire’s perfect replication of her father’s handwriting, you’d be successful either way.

After two painful minutes of the professor signing his signature in the slowest way possible, he hands the note back to you and you shrug to Ruby to come outside.

You three rush to the field as soon as he steps out of the classroom. Sapphire is laughing, throwing her suitcase over the fence, climbing over a few branches like she’s done a thousand times before.

Ruby is much more careful, as well as you are; he’s done this before, but you haven’t. He climbs up to the edge of the wall and sits on it as support, pulling your wrists up.

Soon you’re on the ground again, shuffling leaves out of your hair. Sapphire jumps in excitement, pulling the both of you in her arms.

“Three of us, together, after a season apart!” she exclaims, burying her nose in your hair. She takes her tone down the usual loud one she’s famous for, whispering to you and Ruby, “I really missed you guys.”

“I missed you too,” Ruby says, and tugs you closer to him. “But mostly just [Name].”

Sapphire feigns surprise. “What? You’re kicking me out of the group?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ruby jokes, tugging his arm around your waist. “So [Name] and I can be alone together. Three’s makes a crowd.”

You can’t help but give a laugh, putting your arm around Ruby’s shoulder for comedic effect too, walking away from Sapphire. But it isn’t real, despite the growing blush on your face.

Sapphire jogs up to you soon enough, once you’re far away from school, unable to see it anymore. “Ice cream? My treat, since I could get both of you suspended with what I just did.”

“Sure,” Ruby says, finally letting you go. You feel a dull coldness after he does, and you rub your arms automatically, unconsciously.

But he realises. “Are you cold, [Name]?” he asks, holding out his hand. “I don’t wear a blazer all the time to offer to you, but I think my hand would do. Would it?”

Oh, all the blood in your face right now can heat you for a century. “Of course,” you reply, taking it shakily.

Sapphire smirks, pushing the two of you closer together, holding your faces inches away from each other. “I’m pretty sure there’s a more effective way to warm someone up, Ruby.”

He flushes, pushing both of you away. “Unless you want me to flamethrower your face, stop it.”

Laughing at his lame remark, Sapphire dashes up the path, beating you by the usual one second. to spare. Such an active person she is, and despite all her fall outs in school you know she’ll be an ace trainer one day.

“Same for both of you?” she asks, hands on her hips at the end of the table. You and Ruby nod at the same time, and she smiles and heads to the counter.

Then he sighs, leaning back into the cushion. “She’s hard work sometimes,” he admits, and you feel the same. But you don’t make any motion to agree with him. He clears his throat and asks, “So what do you think?” The right corner of his lips tip up slightly.

It snaps you out of gazing at him for a bit too long. “Hmm? What is it?”

“What do you think? I got a haircut yesterday.”

You feel a tint of blush ride to your cheeks. “Oh,” you mutter. “Um, you look as nice as you always do.”

Soon, you’re not the only blushing one seated at the table. You stare at the table mat but Ruby nudges you with his shoe, and you look up to immediately see his eyes. They’re much beautifuler than they were before—

“Here you go!” Sapphire puts two glasses of ice cream down, two scoops of yours and Ruby’s favourite flavour. She sits on the bench you’re on, making you scoot. Ruby moves too, just to stay opposite of you.

“So?” she asks, a smirk playing on her lips. “What’s going on between you two?”

“Sapphire, no,” Ruby says automatically.

She ignores him. “I think you’d look good together.”

“Sapphire.”

This time, she presses her lips to a thin line, turning her head away from him. After a few spoonfuls of silence, she mumbles, “I hate it when you do that.”

Ruby’s face goes grim as well, and the rest of the stolen time is quiet.

The next day, Sapphire skips school all together. Ruby and you don’t share any classes on Tuesdays, so the conversation about her suffaces in the hallway on an empty period.

Ruby leans against his backpack, arms crossed, expression sullen. “I don’t know what’s up with her,” he says to you. “I just…don’t know.”

You want to hug him, comfort him, but you stay put. “It’s okay. She’s a generally confusing person.”

He shakes his head. “But I should know. I really should.”

“Ruby, it’s really okay. I’ve been her best friend for countless years and even I don’t know what’s up with her,” you admit. “She’ll calm down soon. I promise. And it’s not your fault.”

He gives a heavy sigh, flattening his hat in frustration. “Alright.”

“It’s true, Ruby. It is.”

“If you say so,” he sighs. “Thank you for always being there for me.” He pulls his hat back in place, straightening his posture, ready to walk away.

“Um,” you blurt out. “I’ll always be here for you, Ruby. Any and all the time. Just,”—you take a deep breath—“call me if you need me.”

Ruby stands there with his mouth wide open for a moment, but then it slowly creeps info a smile. “Me too. I’ll be here for you too, [Name],” he pats your shoulder, starting to walk off. But before he does, you hear him say: “I really do like you.”

Maybe you’re assuming, but you thought you’ve saw him tear up in happiness.

Your Wednesday schedule is two classes only, both without her. But at the end of the day, as you pass by Ruby and his downcast face in the hall, you know he was without her too.

She’s gone Thursday and Friday as well. As you walk through the street, someone grabs your arm from behind. You whip your head around to see Ruby, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Let me come with you,” he says, letting you go and walking to your side. “You live next to her, correct?”

Rubbing your arm, you answer. “Yes. For eight years.”

The quarter mile there is silent, wordless, except for the bit of stretch where Ruby holds your hand. But as soon as you see her house, you let him go, feeling a bit giddy.

After you deposit your bag in your room, you head right over to her house, Ruby trailing behind. You press the doorbell a couple of times. No answer.

“Maybe they’re on vacation?” you suggest, turning around to see Ruby looking downcast again. Oh, I’d do anything to help you feel happy, you think.

He shakes his head slowly. “She would have told me—she would have told us.”

Looking to the ground, you feel awkward and guilty, wanting to cheer him up but having no idea how. The silence goes on and on until he breaks it.

“Do you think she’s leaving me?” Ruby pleads with his eyes. And you know how by his use of me instead of us, that he’s taking it on a much personal level.

It’s uncalled for what you do next. You’re not even a couple and you don’t even know if he’s dating someone or not, but you bring your hand up and rub his cheek. “Of course she wouldn’t.”

“But, she’d never—”

“Hello!” The door slides right open, and you almost stumble over Ruby. Sapphire is there, beaming like a warm summer day.

As soon as she spots how close you too are, her smile widens. “Oh? A welcoming gift, for me? And that was such a sudden busniess trip, I didn’t get to tell you two.”

You blush, pushing yourself up and away from Ruby. “I, um, I’m glad to see you—”

“Sapphire!” Ruby launches himself into her arms, wrapping his own around her waist. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Ruby,” she pats his head slowly, in a soft manner, something very un-Sapphire like.

And you feel a wave of bad vibes wash over you. Is this jealousy? You close your hands and open them again, trying to focus on something else. But it’s not working. So you say, “I really need to get home now, or my mom will worry,” and you dash to your door, locking it as you hear Sapphire shout—“But I missed you too!”

On Saturday, you wake up to tapping on your window. You get up grogily, drawing the blinds and opening it before you can bring back the thought that you don’t ever want to see her again.

She seats herself in the middle of your bed right away, arms crossed. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what yesterday was about.”

This early in the morning, you can’t hide your irritation. “What? Which one? Being so close together or me leaving?”

She flinches as you snap at her, and you’re guilted into feeling a bit of sympathy for her. “Both, if that’s alright.”

You sigh, sitting next to her on the blanket. “Sorry. I just woke up.”

“It’s okay.”

You cross your arms, lying back on the matress, and she follows your lead. “My mom expects me home at four sharp everyday,” you lie to her. “So that’s why I left so suddenly.”

She stares at the ceiling, saying nothing.

So you continue. “Ruby and I really bonded over your mysterious disappearance,” you tell her. “He was really frantic, he thought that you were leaving him, and I had to comfort him through it.”

She stares into blank space for a long moment. “I’m sorry. Tell him that.”

“Huh? Why can’t you tell him that yourself?”

She shrugs. “He and I are kind of in the middle of a fight.”

“Oh,” you mutter. You can’t help but get the feeling it's your fault.

But as usual, her intuition wins over. “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault at all. This is something between he and I only.”

You yawn, nodding, lidding your eyes a bit.

“Tired?” she sits up, giving a smile for the first time today. “I should really leave you be.”

“That’s probably the best idea,” you agree. You close your eyes a bit, and when you open them, you see her half out of your room.

“Let’s finish this talk,” she smiles at your sleepy face, swinging her other leg over the window frame. “Tomorrow.” And then she’s gone.

Sunday brings cold weather, but that doesn’t stop you and Sapphire from meeting. She’s lying on an edge of a wall, you sitting right next, kicking the air.

“It’s so dreary and gloomy and a bunch of synonyms of that,” she mutters loudly. “Come on, [Name], tell me what you did last summer.”

“I slept.”

“That’s it?”

“I also snored sometimes.”

She gives a laugh, and it sounds foreign. It’s been awhile since you’ve heard her happy. “Exciting.”

And then silence sits upon you again, the only noise present is the wail of the wind.

It’s unnerving.

“Actually, I do have something interesting,” you blurt out, going red by the minute.

Sapphire perks up, interested. “Hmm? Do tell. I’m listening.”

“Can I trust you with this?”

“Of course you can,” she leans over and wraps you in a hug. “Who do I have to tell, other than you, my only friend?”

“Alright then,” you say, laughing. “I, um, might’ve gotten unnecessary feelings to a certain person.” More like all my life, and only now he’s returning it back.

Sapphire doesn’t yell oooouuh or shake your shoulders, like you think the usual Sapphire would do. She just nods silently, asking you to go on.

“Um, you know very well I’m not the romantic type, but I really do like him—”

Sapphire leans even more forward in her place, a smirk imminent on her face. “Let me guess. Ruby?”

Your breath freezes up and it takes a second for you to reply, but it feels like a century to you. Your most secret secret, out after all these years. “Yes.”

She traces the outline of the wall’s edge, looking up to the sky. “I understand you, don’t worry. I see kids gaze at him like he’s Champion Steven all the time. I just guess that makes me lucky.”

What? You have no idea what she’s talking about. Well, that’s a lie. You do have a slight idea, but you’re denying it until the truth comes crystal clear in front of you. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“You don’t know? Ruby and I have been dating for two months.”

A feeling engulfs you. Is this betrayal? Yet, you have no right to feel this way. She doesn’t have to tell you all the details of her life. You don’t. You’re not even that close to her, on an emotional level.

But those words were enough to fill you with dread that could last for a lifetime. So you do the only logical thing you could think of then: You hop off the wall, telling Sapphire that you aren’t feeling well, and head home. She smiles and waves at you, not knowing what she caused to turn rapidly inside you.

You skip dinner that night, opting to go to sleep early instead. Although, you don’t. You lie there staring at the dark ceiling. It feels empty inside you, devoid of any emotion.

For the next two days, you feign illness to avoid going to school and seeing Sapphire and Ruby. It works for a while, and you’re starting to feel better when the door rings as the sky fades to blue.

“[Name], can you get that, please?” your mother calls from the kitchen. You sigh and push yourself off the couch in the living room, tip-toeing to peer through the peephole to see if it’s not anyone from school.

Just as you catch a glimpse of her, you push down to your knees, trying to hide yourself from her gaze. No way you’re letting her know you’re here.

A few minutes after the second doorbell, you slide back up, giving the slightest bit of vision through the glass. But she isn’t there. You sigh in relief and return back to the kitchen, sitting next to your mother on the island counter.

“Who was that?” she asks, peeking up from her mug of coffee as you’re settling in your seat.

You brush the dust off your knees nervously, not wanting to meet her eyes. “Some random kids.”

Sighing, you take a sip of your drink. But as you do, your eyes widen, remembering the front door isn’t her only way to enter your house.

You put the glass back on the table, rushing up the stairs, away from your mom with a frantic “I’ll be back soon!”

And you slam open your bedroom door, and there she is, struggling. You feel a bit of relief for not unlocking it this morning.

But she still smacks on the glass. “[Name]!” she yells. “Please–please just tell me what’s wrong!”

You close the blinds, blocking out her view, lying on your bed until she stops. She does, ten minutes later. Then it’s silent, and something hits you—if you don’t have her or him, you’re all alone in this world.

The next day, you’re forced to go to school. Your Wednesday schedule is fortunately Sapphire-less, although you see her once in the hall.

She was lounging around the entrance, idly looking around. Luckily, you spot her before she spots you, and you rush to an empty classroom, breath and heart heavy.

The loneliness hits you again. There is absolutely no one in your life that you could talk your feelings out to anymore. It’s the start of the last school year, and there is no one to race by your side.

You sit at a desk at the very end in the dim classroom, vision blurry from your tears. And then you just let it go, crying like your life depended on it.

But a few minutes later, the door unclicks. You immediately hold your sobs in and hide your head on your arms, pretending to be sleeping.

There’s silence for a minute that you think whoever it was has left, but then you hear a creaking of a chair, being dragged towards you.

“Hey,” Sapphire pulls a chair from a nearby desk and sits next to you. You don’t look at her, refusing to say anything. So she calls out again: “Hey.”

And you just snap. “What do you want?” you say, still not returning her gaze. It’s useless, though. She’s already seen your tears. You lower your head on your arms again, mumbling, “This is all your fault.”

She says the unexpected. “I know it is. That’s why I’m here to apologise.”

Slowly, you lift your head up to face her, and she doesn’t have smugness on her face like you believed so. She’s genuine.

You don’t say anything, so she continues. “So—I apologise,” she looks down at her fingers clasped together, nervous. “Ruby told me. I had no idea at all, and I feel stupid for not getting the idea when you asked me about him. I can’t imagine what you felt that day, when I told you we were dating.”

Of course you can’t imagine it, you think, you have everything you want, but it’s harsh, it’s childish, you press your lips and nod for her to go on.

“I knew it was coming,” she says, and for a moment you’re confused. It must show on your face, because she quickly adds, “The break–up on Sunday.”

You know you should feel happy, that you should be jumping up with joy. But all you feel is a slight falter, and it’s soon gone. “Oh.”

“Yeah. We stopped talking regularly a few months ago, just exchanging tips about school or the weather. Like, the way you’d usually treat a classmate you weren’t friends with. I don’t know why.”

She looks at you for recognition, and you nod for her to go on.

“Actually, we spoke a lot this past weekend. But it was mostly about you.”

It takes one moment for you to react. “What?”

“Mhm. All you,” she twirls the end of her hair, still trying to run away from your gaze. “I’m pretty sure his affection is in concrete.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, [Name]. He likes you too.” Your face flushes up and you open your mouth to tell her to stop lying, but she holds out a hand. “First day of school. When we were skipping classes. He held your hand the whole way there, even though neither of you were cold.”

“Okay, but—”

“That’s not all,” she interrupts. “What about the fact that he knows you’re distraught about this matter alone? I mean, I knew you longer. I’ve been your neighbour for all these years yet he’s just intuitive about your feelings. Now, I’m not the one to believe in invisible strings and such, but I do think what you have between you is real.”

Sapphire pushes her chair back with her heels, the sound of it creaking not even bothering you. Pulling her suitcase close to her, she makes her way out.

But she turns around before leaving the doorway, pausing to a stop. “I’m sure that this’ll cause a few cracks in his heart,” she says in a soft voice, “but I know you’ll be able to mend it back to one piece again.”

She flashes a smile to you, wide and bright like the Sapphire you know. “After all, you’re the one who has the most guts out of the three of us best friends.”