By Monday evening, almost closing time, Renji could feel it in the air.
Something was off.
It wasn't the kind of "bad" off....like when exams sneak up or when someone tries a new haircut and pretends it's not a disaster.
No, this was the quiet kind of strange.
The kind that made you feel like the universe was whispering behind your back.
Rika was smiling too much in class.
Reina had suddenly stopped texting him "good morning."
And Mayumi, the one person who never hid anything, couldn't even hold eye contact for more than three seconds.
I was kinda surprised saki wasn't in on whatever was going on.
Renji leaned against the open window after school, watching them through the courtyard. Rika and Reina were talking under the shade of the big camphor tree, laughing like conspirators. Mayumi joined them halfway through, pretending to stretch but clearly checking if he was looking.
He was.
"Yeah…" Renji muttered. "Definitely something's up."
