Kohaku spotted me from his locker as i entered the school

and waved expressively.

i awkwardly returned the gesture and approached my own locker

which was opposite his.

i realised that i recognised him from many mornings passing each other

as we attended our lockers.

"i'll see you in art," he called

i nodded but neglected to mention that we have english together before that.

i shrugged and continued to my register class.

i'd always enjoyed art -

painting and drawing made more sense to me

than numbers on a page

or words filling a space that i'd rather

fill with paint.

i wanted to become an artist

but i knew it wasn't the best choice

especially if i wanted to make papa happy by pursuing a career in europe.

the next best thing was animation

i'd have a higher chance of landing a stable job

and at least i'd still be drawing.

that's why when our art teacher decided to spend the lesson

teaching art history

i found myself drawing in my notebook.

"cute drawing," said Kohaku leaning over

and interrupting my thoughts.

"who is it?"

i glanced at the page,

"my friend."