Chad Nosmith was walking down the front steps of Manha High School. He was leaving, but much later than he wanted to. The student council meeting actually ended early, but he was used to leaving right after fourth period ended.

The front of the school was empty. Everyone had either already left or was currently participating in some sort of after school sport or activity. There wasn’t another person in sight, just the gray sidewalk lying ahead of himi.

“At least nobody will bother me on my way back home.”

Chad being the great optimist that he was, tried to bring forth a positive to his disastrous situation. There would be a lot of other people walking or biking home when he usually left school. He would have to make way for bikes and scooters passing by him as well as adjust his walking pace so that he wasn’t walking awkwardly along with some stranger. With no one else being around, he could walk home at his own pace. It was quite enjoyable, especially with the cool fall weather and the orange tinted sky.

Light footsteps were doubling his pace from behind him.

Is somebody walking up from behind? Better make room for them.

Chad instinctively walked on the edge of the sidewalk to allow for the speedster behind him to pass. Even after waiting a while for someone to go by, the quick steps behind him remained constant.

He wondered if someone was purposefully messing with him. He knew Peter would do something like this to get on his nerves, but he remembered him saying he was going to hang out with some people after school. So who was it?

With his usual disinterested face, he turned around to see who was trying to mess with him.

“Kobani?”

“Um, hey.”

He looked down at Kobani with a raised eyebrow. She stood swaying back and forth, playing with her extra long sleeves.

“Can I help you with something?”

“Oh no, I was just walking home.”

“Ah” Chad shrugged, “I am too.”

“Really?” Kobani looked up to him, “C-can we walk home together?”

What a bother.

He at first thought of declining her offer, but then he reflected back on his day. Kobani had been quite nice to him, especially compared to that Sarah girl. He probably shouldn’t be rude. He needed as many allies as possible in the student council. Even though Rose had recruited him, based on that last interaction with her, it seemed like she was going to be quite harsh on him.

“Yea sure,” he turned back around waving his hand for her to follow him, “You don’t have to walk behind me… You can if you want to, I guess.”

With a flurry of soft steps, Kobani arrived beside his left arm.

He peered at her from the corner of his eye.

Now that I’m standing directly next to her, she is quite short.

The quick walking pace he heard earlier was due to her tiny legs. To keep up with his above average stride length, she had to walk at almost twice the pace. His walking pace was also a bit faster than average, so Kobani was almost jogging to keep up.

Besides some birds in the distance, the only sounds were their out of rhythm steps on the concrete sidewalk. Chad wasn’t opposed to walking in silence, but he knew that this wasn’t the most polite way to walk home with someone. He already wasn’t on good terms with Sarah and he wasn’t quite sure if he was on good or bad terms with Rose. He had no clue about Kate, plus she kind of weirded him out a bit. Kobani was his best bet to secure a foothold in the student council.

Why would he want a foothold in a group he didn’t want to be a part of in the first place? The answer was quite simply to cut his losses. He had already tried to refuse joining, but his mother and Yuna vetoed that idea. Next he tried convincing Rose that he wasn’t fit to be a student council member. That again didn’t work, so he came to the conclusion that him joining the council was inevitable. He needed to make the best out of this horrible situation.

The best way to do that is to get some sort of authoritative sway in the group. Rose obviously had full authority over the group, being the student council president, but power came in numbers. If he could convince Kobani and maybe one other member to his side, then maybe he can have some control over what the student council did. If he had some say in what they did, then he could fit their schedule around his own. He could decrease the amount of work the council does, including running the stupid concession stand this Friday.

Also, why the hell does the student council have to oversee the effectiveness of the schedule change?

This job seemed like something the school board should be responsible for, especially since they were the ones who implemented the new schedule.

Those thoughts and questions could be saved for later. Right now, the awkward silence between him and Kobani was growing. He needed to stop this so she wouldn’t think he doesn’t like her.

“Uh, Kobani… or Ko-ko. Is that your nickname?”

“Yes.” she responded with her soft voice.

“Do you mind if I call you Ko-ko? Or is that something only your friends call you.”

“Yes you can call me that.” Kobani spoke quickly.

Ok, I don’t need to do anything fancy with this conversation. I just need to come across nice and gain her trust.

“So.. uh…”

She was staring straight ahead while he was trying to figure out a question to ask her. She didn’t necessarily look interested in talking with him.

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Did I make a mistake? Was silence the best option?

He had already started talking so he couldn’t quit now. The first thing that came to his brain rolled off his tongue.

“A-are you really a senior?”

Kobani finally turned her face to look up to him. Her glossy green eyes had the innocence of a child.

“Uh, yes? I know I don’t look like one… Do I really look that immature?”

“No that wasn’t it. It’s just that most seniors have their license and drive, so I just was wondering why you were walking home, ya’ know.”

“I don’t have my license, or a car for the matter of fact,” she looked down at the ground, “Those things are out of reach for someone like me.”

Can she not reach the pedals or something?

She shook her head, clenching her sleeve covered fists against her chest.

“E-even if I did have a license and car, I don’t need it anyways. The neighborhood I live in is right next to our school,” She gestured towards the direction the pair was walking in, “Who needs a car? Walking is good for you, right?”

“Yea something like that,” Chad scratched his head, “Do you live in the neighborhood just around this forest?”

“Yea.”

“I do too.”

"Eeek"

Chad quickly looked down to his left to where a high pitched noise had just come from. Both of her hands were covering her mouth. She seemed fine, though her face was a bit red. Maybe she was feeling a bit feverish.

“You feeling ok?”

“Yes, completely fine.” She muffled through her sleeves.

He shrugged as they continued to walk together. Their conversation had come to another break point where the only noise came from the surrounding ambiance. This time it felt a lot more natural then the awkward silence from before.

Good job Chad.

Chad metaphorically patted his own back for a job well done. He was able to carry out a nice little conversation with a student council member. Hopefully this was just the start to him winning her favor over Rose’s. He needed to gain sway in order to form the student council to something more to his liking. The overflowing load of “work and responsibilities” Rose had talked about will soon be pushed aside with his plan. Although at this stage, it was less of a plan and more of an abstract idea.

“Chad, where are you going?”

He turned around to see Kobani walking on the sidewalk by herself. He then looked down and saw he was in the grass.

Where am I going?

Walking in silence had led him to get lost in thought and he let his muscle memory do the walking for him.

Oh…

He finally took in his all too familiar surroundings. This was where he would always leave the sidewalk. There was a small opening in the forest bordering his neighborhood and the school. It was a shortcut that he would routinely take.

“This is a shortcut I usually take on my way home. It spits you out right into the neighborhood. It’s pretty convenient.”

Kobani’s eyes widened.

“C-can I come?”

“Well, yea… we’re walking together, right? Plus this is shorter than walking around.”

“Ok!”

With an enthusiastic response, she did a little hop off the sidewalk and trotted her way over back next to him.

The pair continued their walk, but now surrounded by the brilliant colors of fall. All the leaves had turned a lustrous orange that matched the setting sun in the distance. The forest created a nicely isolated and peaceful walk. Along with being a shortcut, this was another reason why he made use of this path. It was quiet and nice on the eyes. Although, he wasn’t sure if during winter it would be all that nice to look at, but hopefully it will keep its tranquility.

Chad had already gone above and beyond his prior expectations for himself. He started a conversation with Kobani and it went well. That wasn’t enough though. For the newly reformed him with a solidified… Well, abstract goal in mind, this isn’t enough. He needs to bring her to his side. He suddenly remembered how she reacted to Rose’s praise of her idea back in the meeting.

Maybe that will work.

“Hey Ko-ko,”

“y-yes…”

Her voice was even quieter than usual. Chad was barely able to make it out over the leaves rustling in the wind.

“Thanks for standing with me back there.”

“Hmm?”

“In the meeting, when Sarah was just laying into me. You defended my intellect, even though you barely know me. Thanks for that.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” her face grew red, “Sarah’s a bit rough around the edges, but she’s a nice girl. Just sometimes Rose has to reign her in, but it ended up being me this time.”

Man she’s bright red, that fever must really be getting the hold of her.

“Why is someone like Sarah in the student council? Aren’t council members supposed to be ideal students? She seems quite… unideal.”

“Well, she’s like super super smart. I think she’s like a genius or something.”

“I feel like intellect alone shouldn’t get you into the student council, especially with her attitude.”

“I once heard Rose say that once you’re in the student council it's really hard to get out of it…”

I already figured I couldn’t just drop out of it, but this confirms it.

“Even if Rose did want to kick Sarah out, there are other reasons why she can’t. I’m not sure if I should share those though.”

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t need to know.”

I need to know. I can probably use it to bring Sarah to my side. That will be quite the task, but in order to do less work I’ll have to be up for it.

The pair exited the forest path and resumed walking on a small sidewalk in the neighborhood. They walked in silence again, but it had become comfortable. Chad had strategically conversed with her in a way that would make him seem much friendlier than he actually was. This comfortable silence would one day lead to him overtaking command of the student council. There may be a few unmentioned steps in between those two things. Although, Kobani was still quite red in the face.

I hope that fever isn’t making her feel too miserable. If she’s feeling sick while walking with me, she might start associating that feeling with me which would hamper my plan.

“This is my house right here Chad. Thanks for walking with me.”

She swayed back and forth, seeming like she wanted to say more.

Kobani’s house wasn’t anything special. It was quite similar to his. The structure was the exact same with a grayish blue siding instead of burgundy. There was one peculiarity with her house though. When he turned his head about thirty degrees to the left, he saw his own house, sitting adjacent to her house.

“Um.. Chad-”

“Are we neighbors Ko-ko?”

“Hm?”

Chad pointed to his house.

“I live right there.”

Kobani turned around and looked at his house for a second. Then words started racing off her tongue like Olympic sprinters.

“Oh wow cool I better get going thanks for walking with me see you tomorrow bye…”

She quickly sprinted up her driveway with her short strides and slammed the door behind her.

Weird. Maybe the fever was getting to her.

He shrugged and continued heading to his house. His mother’s car was in the driveway, so he better prepare for questions about his day.

What a bother.