No longer amused by the new student,
the crowd dispersed and headed back to their own seats.
--But not without their fair share of remarks.

                     "What an unsociable guy."

                          "And I got excited for nothing."

"He's too cold for my tastes. It's a shame though...

since he looked so cool...Well, whatever."

It's strange how quickly people can lose interest.

Just like that,

Ichihara Kazuo went from being 

the most anticipated, interesting person in school

to being deemed the most unsociable and undesired person in our class.

Part of me sympathized with Ichihara Kazuo.

To me,
it seemed like he was being misunderstood.

Even now,
he's still sitting there in complete silence,
perhaps not even aware of the words being said about him.

               Is he really so clueless...or does he not care?

Observing him, 

I found myself fascinated by the unreadable expression on his face.

I wonder...what could he be thinking of right now?

Maybe he had a reason for being so closed off.

There must be more to him behind that indifferent facade-- 

It's just that no one really wants to take the time to see through that mask.

               After all, 

               people are quick to judge what they don't understand.