Goggles
The ringing of the bells at the end of the school day echoed across the afternoon sky as the students made their way out of the building. The cool wind blew through the leaves of trees that were just beginning to color. The wind flowed through Akira’s long, flyaway hair, scattering a few strands and blowing them into her face. She reached up and pulled the strands away from her face with a hand, noting how unfamiliar the sensation was.
She looked over to Tian, walking next to her and making her usual commentary about school and teachers and homework after their first day back. Then she looked to Seita, at her other side, who was silent but staring at her intently with his brow furrowed.
Akira looked back at him, slightly confused. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Seita shook his head slowly. “Something’s… different,” he said, continuing to stare at her.
Akira looked even more confused. “Is there something on my face?”
Tian immediately stopped chattering and glanced over at Akira. “Hmm…” she murmured, scanning Akira’s face.
With both of them staring intensely at her, Akira began to feel uneasy.
Then, Seita’s eyes widened. “Your goggles…”
Tian snapped her fingers. “That’s it! Your goggles are missing! You didn’t forget to bring them, did you?”
Akira sighed. “No,” she said, “They broke this morning. The frame finally gave out, and the whole thing virtually disintegrated into my hands.”
Seita whistled. “Wow. That’s too bad.”
“It’s fine,” Akira spoke up, “In fact, I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did.”
“They were your grandmother’s, right?” Tian asked.
Akira nodded. “So they were at least a hundred years old!” she said with a grin.
The three of them laughed.
“Will you be getting new ones?” Seita asked.
Akira looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.”
“You should,” Tian said, “They’re practically your trademark!”
Akira shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve gotten used to them keeping my hair out of the way, at least.”
Meanwhile, Seita continued to stare at Akira with a thoughtful look on his face.
A few weeks later, Seita stood on the school rooftop with a small, wrapped package in his hands. He leaned on the railing as he listened to the chimes signaling the end of classes for the day, and fought down the feeling of apprehension in his guts.
He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. This was Akira, right? It shouldn’t matter that he had something special to give her. It shouldn’t feel any different, right?
No. Scratch that. It meant everything to him, that Akira would like his gift. If she did, he’d be over the moon. If she didn’t… well…
“Seita?”
Seita looked up to see Akira walking toward him. He swallowed, willing away a lingering feeling of dread, and plastered a smile on his face. “Hey.”
“I thought it was a little weird,” Akira said, “you calling me up here all of a sudden. But I guess since no one comes up here, it’s a nice spot to talk privately!” She looked back at him questioningly. “What’s up?”
Seita took a deep breath. “I got you something the other day,” he said quickly, handing the wrapped package over to Akira.
“What’s this?” Akira asked, smiling.
“Open it,” Seita replied with a weak smile.
Akira tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box, to reveal a pair of bright blue goggles. Fitted within the blue frame were violet-tinted lenses.
Her expression brightened, and she looked up at Seita. “Thank you,” she said, “They’re beautiful.”
“I looked all over for goggles that looked like your old ones,” Seita said quickly, “but I couldn’t find any except for those.”
Akira shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The fact it was you who got them is good enough for me!”
“Actually...” Seita said slowly, “They do have some special meaning.”
Akira looked back at him questioningly.
Seita was silent for a moment, then spoke up again. “The blue is me... and the violet is you. No matter what happens, I will always be there for you. To support you, and to help you keep on looking ahead. Just like the frame on the goggles support the lenses!”
Akira stared at him, not saying anything for a moment. Then, tears filled her eyes. “You...” she said, wiping her eyes roughly, “are such a dork!” She leaned forward, planting a kiss on his cheek. “But you’re my dork!”
Akira came home that evening with the new goggles on her head and a big smile on her face. As she passed Nami in the hallway, Nami immediately took note of this.
“I see you finally got new goggles,” she said with a crooked smile on her face. “I wondered if you would, or if you’d get something more formal, like a headband or a hair clip!”
Akira made a face. “They were a gift,” she said nonchalantly, “From Seita.”
Nami’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, really?” Her lopsided smile grew bigger.
Akira immediately turned red. “It’s… it’s not what you think!” she stammered, “Really!”
“Mm-hmm,” Nami answered cheerfully. She laughed as Akira turned and rushed to her room, looking very flustered.
“Ah, to be young and in love…”
Notes:
I originally planned for Akira to break her goggles earlier in the main story (Chapter 45) but it was one of those little details that slipped my mind and never got past the planning stages (and never made it into my main story notes for some reason). So I ended up reworking this idea into a post-series short story/ficlet!