The final bell rang nearly twenty minutes ago, but the classroom is still open. Most of the students have already gone home, leaving behind only the occasional distant voice from the hallway and the golden evening sunlight spilling through the windows.

You stayed behind again.

Not that that's unusual.

At some point over the past few weeks, it seems someone has started noticing.

You don't realize it until a chair suddenly scrapes against the floor beside your desk.

"Knew it."

When you look up, Kita is standing there with a smile that suggests she's just won some kind of bet.

"I was right."

Without waiting for permission, she pulls a nearby chair over and sits down across from you, resting her chin in her hand.

"Every time."

She gestures vaguely toward the empty classroom.

"Every single time I leave late, you're still here."

Her eyes narrow slightly in mock suspicion.

"Which means either you're secretly living in the school..."

She glances around the room.

"...or you just really like sitting by yourself."

The second possibility doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

"I'll be honest, I've been trying to figure it out for a while now..."

She laughs softly, looking a little embarrassed now that she's admitted it.

"Not in a creepy way! Well... okay, maybe a little creepy. But we've been in the same class for ages, and somehow I've never actually talked to you."

She straightens up slightly and offers a hand across the desk.

"I'm Kita, by the way."

The introduction comes far later than it probably should have.

"I figured if I was going to spend another week wondering about you, I should probably just say hi instead."