“Alright, all done! Free-dom!”
“Wha—Sajocchi, you're too fast! Wait for us!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
“How very elegant, how very charming—Ow! Stop flicking pencil lead at me! Hey, get your hands off my eraser!”
After finishing the Classical Japanese worksheet and sinking back into my chair, Ashida—who had pulled her chair up to Natsukawa's desk behind me—started complaining. When I teased them, Ashida began flicking millimeter-long pieces of lead at me from the tip of her mechanical pencil with her fingernails. It actually kind of stung; they were hitting the back of my neck and sliding into my uniform. I decided then and there that I was going to burn Yamazaki's house down for trying to use an eraser on my work.
Including Natsukawa, there were three people and one animal who had completely forgotten about the Classical Japanese assignment. Natsukawa, naturally, had finished hers a step ahead of everyone else. When I joined Ashida in making a calculatedly creepy face while wheedling her to let us see, she just looked away with a huff. Ashida pouted and gave up, but I didn't know… I had a feeling that if we'd been a bit more persistent, we might have gotten through. Push harder, Ashida!
Yamazaki, who had pulled his chair up to my desk, snatched my worksheet and started copying the contents. Natsukawa probably refused to show us because she thought we wouldn't learn that way, but Yamazaki? He didn't matter. Avada Kedavra.
“It’s starting to get cool outside, isn’t it?”
“It was actually pretty chilly this morning… It’s a bit early for blazers, so I’m thinking of buying a cardigan or something.”
“Sajocchi and Zakkiyama have just been going straight from summer uniforms to blazers, haven’t you? I usually just wear the hoodie I use for Volleyball Club practice, but maybe I’ll buy something too. Looking at Aichi’s, it’s just so cute.”
“R-really…?”
“Oh! I want matching ones! Tell me where you got it next time!”
“Huh…? I wonder where it was from?”
“I personally like the long ones that almost cover the skirt,” Yamazaki chimed in.
“That’s just your fetish, Zakkiyama. Definitely not. Why don't you get a girlfriend to wear one?”
“Well, uh… I don’t actually have a girlfriend.”
Oof… for some reason, that damage splashed onto me too. Being talked to on the assumption that you have a girlfriend when you don't is pure torture. Well, Yamazaki was the type who lost out entirely because of his personality. He was a two-for-one deal of disappointment and crude behavior. You shouldn't just casually mention your preferences in front of girls. For the record, I also like the long ones that hide the skirt. If she were to do a livestream, I wouldn't hesitate to throw money at the screen.
Autumn uniforms, huh… Natsukawa looked incredibly cute in a cardigan. I was pretty sure her profile icon was a selfie in one. When I first saw it, I immediately tried to save the image, but it was protected, so I had to settle for a screenshot, which I then enlarged and rejoiced over. Looking back on it calmly, I was a total creep. Doing that for a female classmate instead of an idol was messed up. No, wait, it was probably messed up even for an idol.
“Actually, I'm the one who wants to know. Where do they even sell men's cardigans?”
“Amazon. Uniqlo.”
“Roger that.”
Something was wrong… I wasn't feeling any of the excitement Ashida and Natsukawa had. Aren't you supposed to enjoy the process of hunting for a shop? My purchasing options were decided instantly. Heck, I could finish the whole thing without leaving my room. I didn't know whether to be happy about the convenience or sad about the lack of experience.
“It was cold this morning, but it’s perfect out now. Want to eat outside today?”
“Oh, that might be nice…”
“Really? Maybe we should join you.”
“Eww, Zakkiyama, you guys are too noisy.”
“Hey, I think it’s the same for your group.”
While Natsukawa’s habit of being the center of attention had quieted down compared to the First Semester, it had become routine for a segment of the girls to sit and eat near her. It couldn't be helped that even a group of ‘not-noisy’ girls would become loud once five or six of them gathered. Perhaps because they were girls themselves, Natsukawa and Ashida didn't seem particularly bothered. Me? I just thought they smelled nice.
“But if everyone comes, there won’t be any place left to sit.”
“I feel like if the group gets too big, we’ll stand out…”
“Tch, well, our gathering is pretty loose anyway. I don’t even know what group Sajou belongs to.”
“Calling it a ‘group’ is a bit much. Lately, I’ve just been eating with whoever I have business with at the time…”
Originally, I hung out with Yamazaki and the boys while also involving myself with Natsukawa—and by extension, Ashida’s group. In that sense, I’d always been caught in the middle. In reality, I was with Yamazaki and the guys, but in my heart, I was an executive of the Natsukawa Group. Now, I was the high priest of the Natsukawa Religion.
Regardless of my situation, the guys were bad at gathering. Everyone’s timing and preferences for food were different. Some had bento, some had convenience store food, some went to the Cafeteria, some went to the shop. No one was diligent enough to coordinate. Eating alone was common for everyone. When I saw Shirai-san or Saito-san looking hesitant while trying to invite Sasaki to lunch when he was eating alone, it was so painful I almost messaged Yuki-chan out of reflex. You better be grateful, Sasaki. Your very life is thanks to me.
“Alright, I'm done too! Byebie!”
“Ah, Zakkiyama, you cheater!”
“That guy was definitely planning to copy me from the start…”
Lately, he’d been wandering around everywhere asking people to ‘let him copy,’ and it was starting to get genuinely annoying. He must have learned something, though, because he didn't say it out loud this time. Still, it was irritating. I finally understood how Natsukawa felt when she looked away earlier.
“That’s fine! I’ll just have Aichi teach me the solutions.”
“Wait, what about me?”
“Sajocchi is… nah, I’m good!”
“That’s the most hurtful way to reject someone, you know?”
Where did your usual audacity go? Just tell me my answers look wrong. I’d love to have Natsukawa teach me if I could. I just couldn't look her in the face right now.
“Um… are you eating outside?”
“Ah, well… which would you prefer, Sajou?”
“Actually, I'm eating with Ichinose-san today.”
“Eh…?”
“Hah…?”
…Wait, what?
When I answered, both of them froze. The sudden silence was terrifying. Was me eating with Ichinose-san that surprising? You guys know we’re acquaintances, right? Granted, it’s the first time at school, but back when I was working at the bookstore, the Wife would treat us to meals and we’d eat together.
“Um… Sajocchi? You’re eating with Ichinose-chan?”
“Hmm? Yeah.”
“Is that, like… because you’re in the mood for it?”
“No, I don't just decide ‘I’ll eat with this girl today’ based on my mood. I was simply invited. Last night.”
I didn't have the guts to invite a girl just because I felt like it. That would be awkward for her. Besides, I’d normally just be rejected.
“Last night… are you in contact with Ichinose-san?”
Now it was an interrogation from Natsukawa. Calling it an ‘interrogation’ rather than a question made it sound like I was Natsukawa’s boyfriend… hehe. If I had a girlfriend, I’d definitely never eat with another girl. Especially if it were Natsukawa.
“If you mean contact… it’s just normal messaging. We talk quite a bit at night.”
“H-how often?”
“Eh, what do you mean how often?”
“Every day…?”
“No, not that much… mostly on days when Ichinose-san is working her shift.”
“H-how often?”
“N-Natsukawa…?”
“It’s for your own good to answer, Sajocchi,” Ashida said.
Wait, hold on, what was this atmosphere? I was genuinely being grilled here. Why only when it was Ichinose-san? This never happened with Shinomiya-senpai.
“Um… maybe about four times a week…?”
“What!? You’re messaging each other four times a week!?”
“Hey, your voice is too loud!”
Fortunately, Ichinose-san’s seat was on the complete opposite side of the room, but this wasn't a conversation I wanted people to overhear. Ichinose-san surely hadn't invited me with the intention of having it leaked. She was definitely that type.
“Hold on, Sajocchi, what is the meaning of this!? I thought your activity in the group chat was low lately, but you were actually flirting with another girl!?”
“I wasn't flirting! Most of it is just talk about work! Like what kind of customers showed up today, or what the Manager said.”
“Do you… message her too, Wataru?”
“Eh, well… yeah.”
“What do you say?”
“Uh… things like 'Did any weird customers come?' or 'Are you doing okay?'”
“You’re a papa! You’re already a papa!”
“I’m not a pa—a papa, huh…”
“You actually look a little pleased with that!”
No, you had it wrong. This was a protective desire, not that I was feeling fatherly. It was strictly my feelings as her former senior at work. Well, I mean, if I were to be reborn six times, I wouldn't mind being Ichinose-san’s papa once.
“I mean, I worry… Even if she’s gotten a bit more used to it, that’s the Ichinose-san doing customer service, you know?”
“…Even though… yesterday… you idiot.”
“Eh, idiot? Yesterday—eh…?”
“It’s nothing!”
“Nyah-nyah, idiot, idiot! Sajocchi’s a big fat idiot!”
…What?
Avada Kedavra.