The Apartment Park

Rubbing my eyes with my fist I boiled the milk and poured it into a glass. Taking the glass, I sat down at the table and started drinking it. Long yawns were escaping from my mouth from time to time.

I was still a bit sleepy. Yesterday I had stayed till 2'o clock reading light novels.

After finishing my drink, I stretched a bit. I brushed my teeth and washed my face which made me feel a bit better.

I went to the balcony and gazed outside. The sun was out there, shining brightly in the azure sky. After a while of sightseeing from the balcony, I decided to go back and continue my reading.

"Good morning."

Just when I turned around to head inside, a bell-like voice called me. When I looked in the direction of the voice, my neighbor was standing there clad in her pajamas.

"Morning. How are you feeling now?"

"I feel a lot better. All thanks to you."

She said with a smile on her face. This smile was different from the smile that was etched into my mind. But more importantly, she did look a bit better than yesterday.

"Is that so?"

I said that and prepared to leave when she again called out to me.

"Um….."

"Hmm?"

"Uh..."

"What?"

She didn't reply. She kept fidgeting and I could see her face turn a tad bit red. I kept waiting for a while but she said nothing. Exasperated I told her, "If you don't have anything to say, then I'm leaving."

And with that, I left the balcony. I did want to hear what she had to say, but since she showed no signs of saying anything I gave up and left.

"But why did I want to hear what she wanted to say anyway?"

I heaved a big sigh. I had said that I wouldn't involve myself with other people much. But whenever I interacted with this girl, I always end up contradicting myself.

"For now let's just read some books and relax."

I took out three books from my bookshelf and sat on the sofa. I had intended to spend my weekend reading books.

*

I closed the book and put it beside me on the sofa. I had read all three books.

After reading them, I stood up and stretched my body. I had spent about seven hours sitting on the sofa, reading the books.

Then I realized that I was hungry. This was a habit of mine. Whenever I was reading a book, I didn't care about other things, not even hunger and thirst.

I thought of having some noodles today. So, I prepared to go to the convenience store. When I checked my phone before leaving, it was already 6'o clock in the evening.

After returning from the store, I made the noodles and finished my dinner. After finishing dinner, I always went to the balcony. But today I wanted to go to the park outside.

I descended the stairs and made my way towards the park. The small park was a part of the apartment where I lived. As expected, there's no one around the park. I decided to sit at one of the benches.

I sat down and closed my eyes. The gentle night breeze felt really good. The night was tranquil and much to my liking.

"Oh. Hello there, Kobayashi-kun."

When I opened my eyes, my neighbor was standing there. She was wearing a U-neck, button-up blouse, and a chino skirt with a white ribbon belt giving her a clean and classy look.

She had a grocery bag clutched in her hands, probably ingredients for dinner.

"What are you doing here, all alone?"

"Just enjoying the night."

When I replied she didn't say anything. For a while, the sound of the night breeze was the only thing that could be heard.

"Um…"

"Yes?"

She said, breaking the silence.

"Do you have any dinner plans?"

"I have already had my dinner."

"Huh?!"

She seemed a bit disappointed. She was the one who lectured me that I should eat properly. And when I did have a decent dinner, she was disappointed. After a while, that expression turned into frustration. Maybe she thought that I again had those drinks as my dinner, that's why she seemed frustrated that I didn't take her advice to heart.

When I was about to tell her that I had a decent meal, I felt as if she just clicked her tongue.

"Is that so?"

She hung her head and swiftly headed towards the apartment, her steps pattering away.

"What the hell is up with this girl?" with that a yawn escaped from my mouth. I was a bit sleepy because I had stayed up till late at night yesterday and my eyes also felt a bit heavy.

I slightly tilted my head backward, resting my head on the top of the bench, and closed my eyes.

*

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids. Something soft was hitting my cheek. I remember resting my read on the top of the bench and no way was it supposed to be this soft.

When I lifted my head to see what it was, my eyes widened.

I reflexively jumped back and landed on my butt. It hurt a bit.

"Why the hell are you here?!"

I cried at my neighbor who was sitting on the bench with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Oye. Don't dodge the question. I'm asking why the hell are you here? And what were you thinking doing that, huh?!"

The reason that I felt a soft sensation earlier when I woke up was because my head was rested on her shoulders. This girl must have done that.

I shook my head from right to left and left to right in quick succession to see if anyone was around. Fortunately, there was no one else around.

When I looked at her, she played an innocent-looking face and replied.

"I was just loitering around the park when I saw you sleeping here with your head resting on the hard bench. Since I thought that your head will hurt if you continued resting your head at the hard surface, I lent you my shoulder."

After a slight pause, she raised her hand over her wide open mouth, and widened her eyes as if in surprise, and continued.

"Don't tell me that you wanted a lap pillow! I'm not that shameless, you know."

She acted as if embarrassed, but her mischievous grin never left her face.

"Tch."

Clicking my tongue I slowly stood up and patted my back to remove the dust.

I didn't even spare a glance at her and made my way towards the lobby.

When I reached my floor, I looked at the park. That girl was still sitting there hugging her knees.

That girl was probably enjoying that I was embarrassed.

I felt a bit annoyed at that fact. But I really was embarrassed. That's why I made a swift escape.

Sitting down on the sofa inside my living room I pressed my hand at my forehead.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

I heaved a sigh.

I had promised myself that I won't involve myself with others. I had been doing well in that regard. But, for some reason, I always tended to act normal around this girl. I was frustrated that I wasn't able to uphold my conviction. But at the same time, some part of me was happy that there was someone around whom I could act normal.

While thinking that, I didn't realize I was smiling.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me?"