46
“Wow, Akanishi-chan is so nice. She waited for us!”
…How did I get into this situation?
I couldn’t help but think that as we walked along the sidewalk on a slightly chilly afternoon.
“Oh, it was nothing…
“Don’t be so modest. If you hadn’t come, we might have kept talking until the teacher came. Sa-chan didn’t even contact me. Don’t you think that’s heartless?”
“Um… I don’t know. It’s the first day, so maybe she was just busy?”
“No way. She just forgot about me in her new class!”
“Ah, hahahaha…”
I guess that’s what it’s like to see girls talking right in front of you.
In the end, I was persuaded by Mihara, and the three of us were walking home together. At times like this, I really feel like I lack communication skills.
I didn’t have the guts to interrupt the girls’ conversation, so I was half a step behind them.
（Seriously, how did this happen?）
The three of us here were practically strangers who had barely spoken to each other.
Normally, I would never walk home with them.
Even if I knew their faces, I wouldn’t want to walk with someone I didn’t know well.
But if someone I didn’t think badly of invited me, I would probably say yes, but I would prefer to be alone with them.
With three or more people, I don’t know when to join the conversation, and it makes me uncomfortable.
So, it’s much easier to be alone.
I start thinking negative thoughts, like maybe I’d be better off not being here.
“Tsujimura-kun thinks so too, right?”
“Huh? What?”
Was I thinking about that so much that I reacted slowly when she suddenly spoke to me?
“Huh? You weren’t listening, were you?”
“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t…”
I apologized honestly.
Since it’s true that I wasn’t listening, it’s better not to lie in these situations.
“Oh well. I was saying that I was saved thanks to Akanishi-chan.”
“Ah, that’s…”
“Mi…hara-san, I didn’t mean it like that…”
Akanishi-san is flustered, but I agree with Mihara’s opinion.
If we’d stayed the way we were, she might have kept on complaining forever.
I think it’s only natural to thank her, so I decided to join in while I had the chance.
“Akanishi-san, I’m sorry it took me so long to thank you. Thank you. You really saved me.”
That included what happened this morning and when we first met, but I decided not to mention it.
Akanishi-san seemed like the type who would feel burdened by other people’s kindness.
“Tsujimura-san too… I really…”
It seems I wasn’t wrong. Akanishi-san looked troubled and cast her eyes down.
…So she’s not used to talking to people either.
I’m not happy that my prediction was right, but I can’t help but feel a kind of sympathy for her.
“Ahahahaha. Well, that’s how it is. Since we’re all here, why don’t the three of us go to karaoke? Like a bonding session! It’ll be a little small, but…”
“Huh?”
From Noble mtl dot com
Mihara said something that ruined the mood.
“Hm? Did I say something weird?”
“No, it’s not weird, but…”
I didn’t say it out loud, but are you crazy?
There’s no way it would be fun with just the three of us.
I’m not good at karaoke in the first place, and I don’t want to sing in front of other people.
“Excuse me, but I’ve never been to karaoke before…”
Like an angel sent from heaven, Akanishi-san said that.
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes… I went to cram school every day after school. I spent my weekends studying and reading, so I almost never left home.”
“Wow, that sounds really hard. Kids in the city really do go to cram school. You wouldn’t have any time to play, would you?”
Mihara said with a depressed expression that she could never do that, but something about her words bothered me.
My school is known for being a college prep school, but our standard isn’t that high.
It would be fair to say she’s a bit above average, or perhaps slightly above average.
There’s no doubt about it, given that she was able to get into Mihara.
The school rules are fairly relaxed, so it’s not exactly a hardcore academic institution.
I don’t know what Akane-san’s deviation is, but if she was in an environment where she could focus on her studies, I wonder if she could have aimed for a higher ranked school.
“That’s true. That’s why I don’t really understand songs…”
Akane-san seems somewhat depressed, lost in thought.
Her expression is somewhat shadowed, and I’m at a loss for words, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the other person present.
“Hmm… oh, that’s right! In that case, I’ll teach you. Can I see your smartphone for a moment?”
“Eh…? Oh, sure.”
Mihara seems to have had an idea, and when she says this, she stops walking, and Akane-san follows suit.
Incidentally, I also stop walking, and the two of them seem to be staring at each other’s smartphones.
“Oh, you don’t have the app installed? And that’s the latest model! I’m so jealous!”
“Yes, I bought a new one when I started high school.”
“Wow, lucky you. Okay, I’m done. Now, just accept the request I send you… Okay, it’s done! You’re registered!”
Eventually, the two of them look up, and from the content of their conversation, it seems that they were exchanging SNS account information.
“I’ll send you the video URL later. If you listen to that, I don’t think you’ll have much trouble. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me and I’ll help you.”
Mihara seemed rather pleased.
She probably doesn’t often have the opportunity to teach someone something, so perhaps this is a refreshing change of pace for her.
“Um, i-is it okay?”
“Hm? Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Mihara says this nonchalantly.
She says it as if it’s obvious, but she’s closing the distance so smoothly that Akane-san can’t keep up.
(That’s why extroverts are so…)
From what I’ve seen, Mihara is moving too fast.
(Oh, crap…)
Really, it’s completely unlike me.
I couldn’t help but find Mihara’s decisive actions somewhat dazzling.