Right after I transferred in eighth grade, there was a stretch when the girls in my class ignored me, for no reason I could find. Once I stopped looking for one, it got a little easier.

I still don't know whether Sora, in the seat next to mine, noticed. But the way he just stayed there, saying nothing, made me feel safe somehow.

We didn't need to talk. Even without talking, there was someone close by. Back then, that was enough to get me through.