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Being the first person in the O’hare Lounge was a relief to Yasu Kudō, it meant he could enjoy the quieter moments for a little while before it became filled with students, most of whom would be eager to encounter their friends after the summer in a likely very loud fashion. Yasu didn’t know how long he’d have the lounge for himself, so he chose to act quickly. He left his carry-on next to a chair and began stretching, as comfortable as the flight was, his body still resented the fact that he had remained still for the best part of the ten hour flight. After stretching, he mentally listed the things he had to do once he arrived at Kalopsia, and remembered to shoot his parents a quick text informing them that he had landed. As if on cue, students began entering the lounge as soon as Yasu pressed ‘send’ and pocketed his phone again.
He was probably never going to get used to being around people, much less to the buzz and frantic activity once more and more people arrived to the lounge. It was… too much. Too much noise, too much activity, too many things to pay attention to. Yasu put on his noise-cancelling headphones, wishing he could step aside from all the activity around him.
He only took off his headphones, letting them rest on his shoulders, when Ms. Sousa stood up. It was far too early for the students to have to leave the lounge already, so Yasu assumed whatever she had to say was out of the ordinary.
Oh, how Yasu wished he had been wrong.
He wasn’t particularly close to Maxen, not really, but the news were still shocking to hear.
All Yasu could do was sit there, frozen, as he processed not only Maxen’s death, but the fact that it could’ve happened to him instead.
The news put how overwhelmed he had felt earlier in perspective. It may have been too much at the moment, but it was nothing compared to the uncomfortable feelings brewing on Yasu’s chest, to the thoughts flying around his head with no concrete beginning or end.
Now, that was too much.
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Would it be disrespectful to ride his bike on the airport, on the way to the lounge? Xinyi Liu had enough self control not to do so, the airport was far too busy for them to try to do so, and the last thing he wanted was to get in trouble before school even began. Still, that didn’t stop them from daydreaming about it all the way to the lounge. However, the burst of energy he felt as he imagined that disappeared the second they leaned against the couch on the lounge.
They closed their eyes a bit, enjoying the remaining feeling of having been on the plane. As much as he liked Taiwan, nothing could possibly beat the feeling of traveling itself. They were starting to fall asleep when the were shaken awake by one of his friends from Kalopsia. Right, they were in school now, or would be soon. It was time for him to be the friendly person everyone knew. They let themself nod along the music a bit, enjoying the lively atmosphere with a small smile dancing on his lips. It wasn’t so bad to be a Kalopsia student.
Okay, maybe they shouldn’t have spoken so fast. That sure was a way to begin the school year.
The news from Ms Sousa left Xinyi in shock. How was that possible? Xinyi had gotten a letter from Maxen not too long ago.
It didn’t feel real.
Xinyi took out the letter signed with Maxen’s name and hovered their finger over the signature, scared to trace the name, as if tracing would make the letter disappear, revealing nothing around him was real.
After hesitating for a couple seconds, Xinyi finally traced the name, and absentmindedly let his finger slip, resulting in a paper cut. The paper in front of him sure felt real now, at least. Xinyi still couldn’t process it, though. How could Maxen, the same Maxen who had written that letter, be dead? The life that had been filling him up with energy had suddenly disappeared. The only things in the world were Xinyi and that letter. Along with the incapacity to process the news they had just gotten.
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