Keiko Sohma
Keiko kept her chin up and her sight forward, mainly concentrating on not bumping into any males. If she grew careless, something might happen. So with an at ease look and a soft smile, she continued down the hall.
School had ended not to long ago, leaving Keiko to attend to a few things before she could make her way to the Sohma Estate. First, she would stop by the student council room, and then she would have to speak to one of her teachers who had requested to see her after school.
“Keiko,” a familiar voice shouted. It was that of Keiko’s friend Mai, the daughter of Keiko’s father’s closest co-worker. They had known each other since they were rather young. “There is a new store that opened in the mall today! It’s supposed to have the prettiest dresses! Do you want to go?” Keiko felt bad, but the mall seemed much to dangerous to her.
“I’m sorry, Mai. But I have to study and practice more … It sounds like fun though. Maybe tomorrow? I also want to visit a family member.” Mai was obviously upset that Keiko would not join her, but she was used to it by now.
“Alright, tomorrow. Don’t go making plans on me, you hear,” Mai shouted as she ran off, not letting Keiko answer.
Keiko let out a small, polite sigh as she made her way to the student council room. The door was wide open. It looked rather busy in there, the President sitting in his usual spot, yelling at the new kids for something they had … fudged up. Keiko lingered in the doorway until he noticed and waved her in.
“Please tell me you’re here to save us, Miss Keiko?” Keiko smiled at the first year students.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on them Haru. Maybe they would understand you better if you led by example.” Keiko let off her usual sweet smile which sent President Haru into a mad blush. He started muttering before holding out his hand. “Of course. Here you are, the papers you requested. I started organizing them before the bell rang, so they might be a little jumbled.”
“That’s fine. Thank you very much for your help, Keiko. I wouldn’t be able to function without you.” The two exchanged goodbyes as Keiko exited, making her way to the classroom her teacher was in.
“Hello Mrs. Nagasi, what can I do for you?”
“Ah, Keiko, I’ve been waiting to speak with you for a while. You’ve been so busy.” Mrs. Nagasi paused for a second before continuing. “How is everything going for you? Is your … problem getting in the way of anything? It looks like you haven’t been sleeping.”
All the teachers had been made aware of Keiko’s dyslexia, but Mrs. Nagasi made it her objective to check up on Keiko constantly. Keiko’s eyes dropped slightly, she hated being reminded of her issues, but Mrs. Nagasi was only being concerned.
“I’ve been doing much better, ma’am. And I’ve been sleeping very well. I thank you for your concern, but I’ve been doing better with the support of my teachers and family,” Keiko lied. In truth, it was the same as always. It was difficult for her to read much of anything and the last time she slept was three days ago for about thirty minutes. She had gone longer without sleep, but she had been running a fever. The medicine she took helped her sleep temporarily.
Keiko’s smile showed no fault, so her teacher had to believe the girl was doing alright.
If I told her, she would just worry herself. She doesn’t need unnecessary stress, so I won’t hand it to her, Keiko thought.
“I’ll be on my way now, ma’am. Thank you for worrying, but I’m fine.” With a final smile and wave, Keiko walked into the nearly empty hall and started to the front entrance. Many people waved and greeted her on her way down, some even had quick conversations with her. Keiko couldn’t bring herself to tell them she was in a hurry, so she would listen and hope things would end as soon as possible.
Finally making it to the front doors, Keiko changed her shoes and started jogging to the Sohma Estate. She hadn’t even made it a quarter of the way before she had to stop to catch her breath. The school and the Estate were so close it was pitiful she was out of breath this early. Keiko leaned against a wall and took deep breaths. She wished her body wasn’t so weak.