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“No, I didn’t go out much…”
“Oh, really? What about Shibuya or Shinjuku? Have you been there? Any recommended spots?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been there a few times, but it was with my family, so those kinds of places…”
“Aww! What a waste! If I were you, I’d go to all sorts of places!”
“Well, in that case…”
Classmates who were clearly extroverts surrounded her desk and chatted her up.
That scene was familiar to me.
I guess.
I had witnessed a similar scene just half a year ago.
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“Ugh…”
Just remembering it brings back bitter memories.
Everything went wrong after that.
If that incident hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be sitting here clenching my fists, unable to stand up.
Even with Akanishi, I would just glance at her out of the corner of my eye, not speaking to her.
I would just think to myself that it must be tough for her, and leave the classroom as quickly as possible.
On that way, I would quickly forget about her, meet up with the other girl somewhere, and we would walk side by side…
I think there was a future like that, too.
An extension of middle school. A monotonous world where nothing changes even after moving on to high school, where there are no ups and downs or mountains, where you just go through the motions, and where some people might call it boring.
But for me, it was definitely a world that I could call happy.
There’s no way I could go back to that now, but I still have a lingering regret, just enough for the residue left in my heart to whisper that I wish I could go back.
“I…”
What should I do?
Should I go help her?
If I were to settle the regret of running away that day, I probably wouldn’t be here.
“Wow. Akanishi-chan is already popular, huh?”
As I was looking down, a carefree voice reached my ears from beside me.
I looked up and saw Mihara with his hands clasped behind his head, leaning back on his chair and dangling his feet.
“Well, I can see why. Coming from Tokyo definitely has an impact. This area is pretty rural, so people want to hear what you have to say.”
Mihara looked solemnly.
He seemed to be looking at Akanishi and her friends, but I found that surprising.
“…Aren’t you going over there, Mihara?”
“Huh? To Akanishi-chan?”
When I spoke to him, Mihara tilted his head in confusion.
“I thought you were the type to be the first to make a move in a situation like this.”
“Ah, well, in middle school, I guess I was like that.”
Mihara looked away from me and gazed slightly upward.
“I could go join them, but I’m already friends with Akanishi-chan, so there’s no rush. I’ll get her contact info later. It’s fine, right?”
“…Do you think you became friends just from that brief conversation this morning?”
I was taken aback by what Mihara said.
Apparently, in her one-sided and forceful conversation, she had already decided that they were friends.
How could that be, when they had barely even talked?
If this is how popular people think, then I guess I’ll never understand.
“Yeah. She seems like an interesting person. I’m interested in her. I want to get to know her better, so it’s fine if we’re friends, right?”
“You don’t know what Akanishi-san thinks. She doesn’t seem like the type who’s used to being approached, and that kind of one-sided…”
To her, Mihara’s forceful approach might be a nuisance, so I tried to warn him, but
“Huh? Is something wrong with that?”
“Eh…”
No, what’s wrong is…
“When I feel like I want to be friends with someone, then we’re already friends. Isn’t it too late to become friends after we get to know each other? That’s like saying you don’t trust the other person, and that bothers me.”
Mihara’s face as he said this was very puzzled.