"I read an anonymous post online that the school groups people by merit," Mako says, looking up at the illuminated route map above the door. "Class A, B, C, and D. I wonder how they decide who goes where. Do you think it was our middle school grades? Or the interviews?"
"Who knows."
"You always got average scores on purpose. You're going to drag me down if they pair us by our hometown."
"I get average scores because studying past the passing line is a waste of calories."
"You're just lazy."
"I'm not. I'm conserving energy."
"Lazy."
"If you say so."
"I hope the cafeteria food is good," Mako continues, her bright voice echoing off the metal walls of the quiet car. "Yuta said boarding schools always serve terrible food. Like, plain boiled cabbage every single day. But this is a government school! They have to serve good food. Maybe they have steak?"
"Steak is expensive."
"But the government is rich! They collect all our taxes for a reason."
"They don't spend taxes on teenage diets."
Renjiro sighs. If he didn't have to respond to Mako's every word, he'd prefer to stay silent. But ignoring her would only make her noisier. Responding with minimal words was the only logical move.
He turns his head away and watch the dark city buildings flash quickly past the glass window. The sky slowly turns a pale, bruised purple.
Five minutes pass in a steady stream of chatter. Ten minutes roll by.
Slowly, Mako's long sentences start to stretch out. Her words slow down, losing their sharp, energetic bite.
"I just... hope... we get into the same class..."
Her head bobs forward. She jerks it back up immediately and blinks rapidly to fight off the heavy sleep.
"Because... if we don't... who's going to wake you up in the morning?"
"I have an alarm clock."
"You hate... alarm clocks..."
Her voice fades into a soft, incoherent mumble. The relentless bounce completely drains out of her posture. She tilts sideways, her balance failing as gravity takes over.
A sudden, solid weight drops onto Renjiro's right shoulder.
He does not move a single muscle. He slowly shifts his eyes to the right, keeping his neck perfectly stiff.
Mako is fast asleep, her soft cheek pressed flat against the rough fabric of his school jacket. Her breathing evens out into a slow, steady, quiet rhythm.
Annoying. Her head is heavy. My shoulder is not a pillow.
Renjiro considers shoving her off. It would take minimal physical effort. A simple shrug of the right shoulder would send her tipping straight into the empty blue seat next to her. She probably would not even wake up until she hit the plastic.
He turns his head just slightly, getting a clear, unobstructed view of her face. Her bright blue eyes hide behind relaxed eyelids. Her usually expressive, talkative mouth sits perfectly still.
The loud, chaotic energy that surrounded her like a storm for the past seven days is completely gone, leaving only a quiet girl resting on a train.
Renjiro exhales a long, slow breath through his nose.
Then again, this is much better.
He shifts his weight just a fraction of an inch against the wall, angling his posture to support her heavy head a little better. The steel wheels clack steadily against the rails. The morning sun begins to peek over the distant horizon, casting a soft, warm orange glow through the train windows.
She is not talking when she is asleep.
Renjiro closes his own eyes, resting the back of his head against the cold glass of the windowpane. He listens to the rhythmic sound of the train car and the quiet, steady breathing right next to his ear.
He experiences the silence with her for an entire hour.