In the morning, I noticed I had received messages from Haru and Hiro for the first time in ages. To put it simply, Haru’s was a dead-serious apology without a single emoji or sticker, saying, "I'm sorry for saying something so insensitive." Hiro had also sent a message apologizing on Haru’s behalf. Wait, why Hiro? He had this subtle "boyfriend whose girlfriend came crying to him" vibe going on. Was that actually the case?
The image of a buzz-cut, die-hard baseball player in his uniform apologizing felt incredibly sincere. I had this impression of guys in the Baseball Club being either extreme saints or total delinquents—it felt like there were no average guys among them.
"—Ah! Morning, Sajocchi!"
"Yo. Morning, Ashida. Just finished morning practice? That’s intense."
"I mean, it's not that intense."
I ran into Ashida in front of the school entrance. Seeing that "I just worked up a sweat!" Volleyball Club energy first thing in the morning made me feel a bit hesitant. Even though I’d just arrived at school normally, a mysterious sense of guilt started welling up inside me, as if my own lifestyle was somehow unhealthy.
"You didn't message me at all yesterday. It was a little lonely not having any notifications after club ended."
"Ah, well... I just happened to be busy. Natsukawa’s been like that lately, too."
"Hmm...? —Ah! Speak of the Goddess!"
"...!"
My heart skipped a beat at Ashida’s voice. Given her joyful reaction, I knew it was Natsukawa without even looking. Yesterday, right before we parted, I’d tried to act like things weren't awkward, but now that I was conscious of our "rejected and rejecter" relationship again, I couldn't forget it so easily. Still, I couldn't afford to be clumsy about it, so I decided to treat her the same way I treated Ashida.
"Morning, Aichi! Can I hug you?!"
"Morning, Kei. It’s too hot for that."
"Morning, Natsukawa."
"Morn—ing..."
I hadn't accounted for how awkward Natsukawa would feel toward me.
It was bad; she visibly averted her eyes. She looked incredibly uncomfortable. No, stay calm, Wataru... Don't let it get to you. I’d decided to act like usual, hadn't I? If someone who isn't even on Natsukawa’s level starts acting weird and fidgety, it isn't some sweet, youthful moment; it's just being a plain introvert.
"...? Did something happen between you two?"
"Eh? N-No? Nothing at all."
I stammered, intimidated by Ashida’s sharp intuition. Why did she have to poke at that with her very first move? Normally, wouldn't you wait and see even if something felt off? This was the terrifying thing about Ashida. She was the type who could reach the heart of a matter through pure instinct. She was probably Kindaichi’s natural enemy; she looked like she could solve a murder case in the name of her Chocolate Caramel Frappuccino. The culprit is probably you! ☆
"It's hot, so let's just get to the classroom."
"I'm already used to the heat."
"That's impressive."
"It's not, really."
"..."
I felt a strangely prying gaze from the corner of my eye. It seemed like she wasn't even listening to my conversation with Ashida; Natsukawa was clearly feeling the awkwardness after yesterday. It was best to head to the classroom quickly. I needed to distance myself from Natsukawa, even if it felt like my heart was being torn out.
"Sajocchi, you were running in the evenings until recently, weren't you? This hot weather is the perfect opportunity, so you should just start again. You'll get used to it, you know?"
"No, I won't. What do you mean, 'perfect opportunity'? Besides, back then, I had a specific purpose for runn—... Huh?"
"Wha...? Something just fell from Sajocchi’s—wait!?"
"Eh..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
...Okay, anyway, I understood the situation was dire. I had to avoid doing anything careless. I needed to organize the situation objectively. Yes, objectively.
I had opened my shoe locker. Something had fallen out. It was clearly a letter. As it fell, I caught a glimpse of a cute pink sealing wax sticker. The handwriting was gentle, with somewhat rounded pressure: "To Sajou-kun."
"A l-l-l-love letter for... for me?!"
"Calm down, Sajocchi! Using 'me' like that is gross! Isn't a love letter a bit weird for this day and age!? Someone is definitely trying to trap you and make you a laughingstock! There's no way a love letter actually exists nowadays! What are you getting so delusional for? This is hilarious!"
"Did I kill your parents in a past life or something?"
"Ah...!?"
The pure excitement outweighed the sting of having the letter’s existence denied to my face. It felt as if I’d just encountered a Tsuchinoko. No, seriously. If there had been a wooden stick rolling around nearby, I would have poked it just to be sure.
Willing to let my pride be cut to sever the bone of the moment, I immediately snatched it up before Ashida—who was still frozen despite her sharp tongue—could react.
"—Well then. Let's go."
"Wait, that's not fair...! Why are you tucking it away so casually!? I'm dying to know what it is!"
"Well, look, it's addressed to me, right? I have deemed this an important document, and I shall look it over thoroughly at a later time."
"You can't even hide how happy you are! Let me see! Let me see!"
"Hold it. Actually, don't hold it. I'm not showing you. This is for me, so you understand it's something only I should see, right? I intend to take this to my grave. I'm getting buried with this thing."
"Uuu...!"
Hehehe... Man, I couldn't stop grinning. Was this seriously a love letter? It was the first one of my life. But Ashida was right; a love letter did feel a bit "old school" for this day and age. Maybe it wasn't a love letter? No, no! Let's stop the negative thinking for now! It might be an invitation like, "Meet me on the rooftop after school." I should enjoy this excitement to the fullest while I can. I’m a total party person right now.
"Sajocchiiii..."
"Stoooop it, don't pull on my sleeve... oh..."
Ashida gave me a forceful tug. The moment I turned around with my giddy face still on, I involuntarily regained my composure. There was Ashida, pouting like a child, and behind her was Natsukawa, looking downcast as if she wanted to say something.
Wait, hold on. Natsukawa saw that. Even though we were both conscious of each other in a bad way after yesterday, of all things, she saw me celebrating something that was likely about love or dating.
No, stay calm. That's a separate issue. It was already "over" between me and Natsukawa. Even if a girl I could no longer have that kind of relationship with saw it, it shouldn't matter. Fretting over what Natsukawa might think about this was probably just me being self-centered.
If anything, it was a shock to be seen jumping for joy over a love letter from someone else right in front of my "fav" idol-like person. Was I really that easily swayed? I felt like such a small-timer. I gave off the vibe of one of those mob characters who swarms around a beautiful girl and gets rejected instantly.
...I don't care if I'm a small-timer!
I mean, this might be a real love letter, right? If it was, wasn't this a total win? It might be rude to look at it in terms of social status, but for a high school boy, it felt like my level was going up. Maybe I wouldn't feel so inferior to Natsukawa or other high-spec people anymore, and I’d be able to speak to them with confidence...
Okay, comparing it to Natsukawa was going too far. Even if I got a love letter, Natsukawa was still a Goddess.
Once we were in our seats, Ashida wouldn't shut up.
Her "Did you see it? Did you see it?" interrogation was relentless. She whispered to me, threw crumpled bits of paper at my desk, and kicked the bottom of my chair from behind—what was with this girl? Was she really that interested? Was it that thing where girls have an obsession with romance talk? Besides, why did she think I was going to tell her what was in it? I couldn't even look at it because of her!
Look, even Ichinose-san next to me was glancing over repeatedly! She definitely thought we were being too loud! Her face didn't look as annoyed as it used to, but it definitely said, "Um... I'm sorry, but could you please be quiet?" I’m really sorry, Ichinose-san!
"Alright, let's have a seat reshuffle now."
"Ehh!?"
"Yes! Finally!"
"Alright!"
Nice one, Ohtsuki-chan! The classroom arena erupted in cheers!
As expected of a capable homeroom teacher. No wonder she was an English teacher loved by her students. She was the kind of person you instinctively wanted to use informal speech with. Ohtsuki-chan herself was an extrovert, so I liked that she valued these kinds of events. Her being strict with introverts was her one flaw, though... Extrovert girls really seem to hate introvert boys; sometimes they look at them with eyes as cold as if they were looking at their parents' murderer.
"Geez, Sajocchi, just read it already."
"You, seriously..."
"But I'm curious!"
"I told you...! There's a chance it isn't even a love letter, right?"
"I was fine with my current seat, though."
"I wasn't. Even though I’m at the edge, I’m in the front row so I get called on all the time, and I get sneak-attacked from behind."
"Sneak-attacked? What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what."
If I ended up behind her, I was going to mess with her constantly.
Eraser shavings, paper scraps, sticky notes. Tap.