The second period was math.
I sat in the same seat as always, near the window, watching clouds move slowly past the school building. The lesson began the way it always did, with numbers filling the board and the quiet scratching of pencils across paper.
Someone two rows ahead of me kept tapping their pen against the desk.
It was distracting, but I didn't say anything.
When I looked up, I realized it was Sora.
He wasn't tapping hard. Just lightly, as if he wasn't fully sure his hand was still there. His shoulders were slouched, and his uniform hung a little looser than I remembered. Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for me to hesitate.
The teacher cleared his throat and started calling out names for attendance.
Everything followed the same rhythm as yesterday.
"Here."
"Yes."
"Present."
Then the teacher paused.
He frowned at the list, eyes scanning the page. His finger hovered over a line for a second longer than it should have.
"Sor—" He stopped. "Almost there… ah—Sora?"
There was a beat of silence.
"Here," Sora said, laughing lightly as he raised his hand. "Sorry, sir. Guess I was blending in."
A few students chuckled. The teacher nodded, embarrassed, and moved on as if nothing strange had happened.
But I didn't laugh.
Sora lowered his hand and glanced around the room, smiling like he always did. His expression didn't seem worried. If anything, it was practiced—easy, automatic. Like he'd already decided it wasn't worth thinking about.
I tried to return my attention to the board, but something felt wrong.
Sora looked… thinner.
Not physically. Not in any way I could explain clearly. It was more like his presence didn't fill the space around him anymore. When people shifted in their seats, when someone leaned back or turned around, their movements felt solid.
Sora felt lighter.
Like if the air moved too suddenly, he might drift a little.
I shook my head and wrote down the next equation.
This was stupid. People looked different all the time. Lighting changed. Sleep changed things. I hadn't even talked to him in weeks. Why would I suddenly notice now?
The bell rang, and everyone stood at once.
Sora packed his bag quickly and slipped out with the rest of the class. As he passed my desk, I almost said his name.
Almost.
He was already gone by the time I looked up.
I stared at the empty space he'd left behind, waiting for the uneasy feeling to fade.
It didn't.
I told myself it was nothing.
Just a moment.
Just my imagination.
Still, as I followed the crowd into the hallway, one thought stayed with me, quiet and stubborn.
Sora had been there.
But it had felt like he was already halfway gone.