Not minding the awkward silence as the boy struggled with thinking of something to say, Shiori continued on with her picture. Bolding the line she had been drawing lightly until then, she smiled faintly. It really was nice being back: she never would have been able to draw and have a conversation with someone in Tokyo. They were so demanding there - either they wanted her full attention and wouldn't let her draw at all, or they'd ask her so many questions or expect full participation in the conversation that she wouldn't have been able to focus. So moments of silence like this were actually pretty welcome.
Pausing in her drawing when the boy finally did speak up, voice betraying his unease, Shiori was yet again reminded of the differences. People in Tokyo spoke so confidently that unless they were confessing their love to another person, their voices never wavered. He was probably just shy or something. Living in the country, he could afford to be that.
"Whoa, really?" she asked, looking up at him. "You're a second year? Are you in my class?" Realizing how rude that sounded, she quickly added, "I've been gone for awhile, and I never really paid attention to the people at school anyway, so..."
Jeez, awkward. She blushed and looked back down at her picture, hand poised to continue but not yet doing so.
"So you, um, like to read then? Or do you just study a lot?" she asked.