I stepped into the library, determined to just relax for a while. I wandered into the fiction section, trying to pick out a book. As I made my selection and sat down, I looked at the only other person in the area, sitting on a beanbag chair beside me. I recognized with a start that she was one of the girls in my class. Only now did I really get a look at her.

She had long, dark violet hair, reaching all the way down her back. She had a light, but feminine frame, from what I could tell in her uniform. She had two hairclips keeping her long bangs out of her face, both of which adorned pendants shaped like violets themselves. What was most striking was that half of her face was severely scarred, a pattern of rugged, darkened skin- it was kind of hard to make out from my position in the class, but now I could see it more than ever.

“You know, it’s not polite to stare.”

Only when she said that did I realize I was. The scarring covered a good portion of her otherwise cute face, so it was hard not to. She seemed to be used to it, though, because her tone was gentle and kind. She was looking back at me from across our beanbags, regarding me with dark, intelligent eyes.
I tried to look away. “Uhh, sorry about that.” Man that was a lame response.

She gave me a small giggle as she closed her book, seemingly intent on conversation. “It’s alright. I’m Hanako. Hanako Ikezawa. I believe that we attend the same class.”

She extended her right hand in greeting, which I shook gently. Her skin was warm, and I couldn’t help but notice the pattern-like scarring on her face was also on her hand, ending at her knuckles. Could her entire body be like that? I had to wonder. “Hisao Nakai. Yeah, I just moved in.”

“Getting your bearings right, I hope?”

“To the best of my ability, yeah.”

She retracted her hand from mine, leaving both of them to rest on the book on her lap. “Good. I was kind of concerned when you seemed to retract from introducing yourself to the class. You didn’t even come to say hi to me.” Her smile twisted into a pout as her cheeks filled with air, causing my heart to flutter a bit from its cuteness. In a good way.

“S- sorry about that. Shizune and Misha kind of roped me before I could go anywhere.”

She laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, Hisao. I’m just teasing you. They’re not giving you too much trouble, I hope?”

“Nah, they’re alright, if a bit pushy.”

“Good. Good. Sometimes, they can be a bit… how should I put this…” Her expression became puzzled as she tried to find the right words. Did she and Shizune have some kind of history? I would have to ask her about it later. “Let’s just say they have a bit of a reputation for being slave drivers, to put it lightly.”

I nodded in understanding, although ‘slave driver’ isn’t the lightest thing to call someone.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Uhh… so…” Dammit, I was always bad at smalltalk. Spending months locked away from the outside world in the hospital didn’t help either. “What book are you reading?”

“The life of Pi.” She responded, showing the book’s cover to me. “To not spoil anything, it’s about a boy and a tiger on a raft. At least so far.”

“Is it good?”

She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Kind of boring though. I like the fantasy and action-packed books more.”

She didn’t seem overly happy with the book, but I haven’t read it yet so I couldn’t really comment. “Same here. You like reading?”

She beamed at me. “Oh, tons. Reading’s one of the few escapes I have nowadays. What, with all the work for the newspaper club, and caring for Lilly, and all my other friends… it’s nice to just be able to retreat into the pages of another world every once in a while. My parents used to have a huge collection, before…” her voice seemed to trail off, her warm expression fading. She looked down like she regretted saying that. She almost subconsciously started rubbing the scarred side of her cheek, as if reliving a painful memory.

I was taken somewhat by surprise with this reaction. “Hanako? What is it?”

“I-it’s nothing.” She replied hastily. Usually when someone says ‘nothing’ like that it means ‘something’, but my common sense screamed at me to drop the subject now. She lifted her hand further up and readjusted the clip keeping the hair from falling in front of her eyes before looking at me again. “Anyways, I have to go. It’s getting late now.”

“But we still have some time, I thi-"  I was interrupted by the sound of ringing bells and moving chairs. The librarian was also beginning to stock books and shut down the computers.

She gave me a cute giggle as she saw the surprise on my face. “Still new, huh?”

I groaned, stretching my legs as I stood up from the beanbag. “Yeah, I guess I am. One last thing before we part ways…” She tilts her head. “Who is Lilly?”

“Oh, Lilly is one of my closest friends. She’s blind, so I tend to help her around campus and whatnot. She has blonde hair and is always wearing a black ribbon. I should introduce you two sometime.” Fair enough, I guess. Most blind students around here seem to always be with someone else as it is.

“Alright then, I’m off. Bye, Hanako.”

She gave me another warm smile. “See you, Hisao. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

I waved back as she went for the library doors. She seemed to walk with such confidence- most people I know would hide themselves for eternity if they had scarring like that, but she doesn’t even seem to care.

I found myself smiling as I exited the library as well, thinking about the conversation we had.