I walked across the campus as it slowly began to bustle with students and headed into the lecture building.
"See you then."
"Yeah."
With that brief exchange, Kasahara and I went our separate ways.
Our lectures were in different departments, so while we shared the same building, our rooms were on different floors. I left her as she headed for the second floor and kept climbing the stairs. My Fluid Dynamics lecture was all the way on the fifth.
There was an elevator in the building, of course, but it always got crowded as class time approached, so I rarely used it. I preferred taking the stairs for the exercise, though I was always a bit winded by the time I reached the top.
The lecture hall was empty when I arrived. Most college students are professional procrastinators; they usually don't show up until the very last second. Naturally, I took my usual spot right in the front row, directly before the lectern. It was a small perk of coming to school early, I thought to myself with a smug, self-satisfied grin.
"Don't you feel a bit conspicuous sitting in the very front? You stand out so much."
"Gah!"
A sudden voice from behind made me let out an undignified yelp. I recoiled, looking over at the person next to me.
"Y-you...!"
It was Takeshita, the girl I’d run into earlier. Why was she here? I immediately tensed up, my guard rising. I’d been quite clear about not needing a reward, yet she had followed me all the way to my lecture hall. This was definitely suspicious.
"Um..."
"I'm not interested in any multilevel marketing," I cut her off.
She stared at me, her face a mask of utter confusion.
Wait, was I wrong? A cute girl seeking out a guy like me—if she wasn't recruiting for an MLM, what else could it be?
"...Is it a cult, then? A new religion?"
"What are you even talking about?" Takeshita tilted her head, looking genuinely troubled. "I only spoke to you because we're in the same department and have the same lecture."
Same department? Same lecture?
I blinked. Now that she mentioned it, she did look familiar. Where had I seen her? Oh, right—the same department. But yesterday, she’d been heading toward a completely different building. Maybe it was an elective?
"You're the same age as me?"
"...Yes."
"Arriving this early to prepare for class... that's impressive."
"...Yeah."
"Well, good luck to both of us, then."
"Wait...!"
Her voice echoed through the empty hall.
As far as I was concerned, our conversation was over. I couldn't fathom why she was stopping me. I suspected she was still trying to push that unnecessary reward on me—using it as a pretext to put me in her debt so she could ask for a favor later.
But what could she possibly want from me? I have few friends, I'm a known troublemaker, and Kasahara calls me a flag crusher. There was nothing to gain from me. Unless it was an MLM. Or a cult. Or an invitation to some shady dark part-time job. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
"Please..."
Suddenly, Takeshita bowed her head. She looked desperate—the kind of look someone gets when they're failing to meet a sales quota. I felt a twinge of pity. She was so backed into a corner that she was indiscriminately targeting a guy like me.
"Please teach me how to study!"
While I was busy feeling sorry for her, she made her actual request.
"Study...?"
"Yes..." she whispered, looking down.
"Is this a pitch for some educational information products?"
"Why do you keep trying to turn this into some shady business scheme?! No! I'm talking about our university coursework!"
Coursework? For me?
"Why me?"
"Because, Yamamoto-kun... you're the top student in the department!"
I wanted to ask how she knew that, but she beat me to it.
"It's common knowledge in our department."
"It is?"
"Yes. You're always the first one in the room, and you're the most vocal about asking the professors questions. The professors always hold you up as a model student to motivate the rest of us, and you always respond with such cool composure."
"Actually, I'm just staying quiet because the attention is awkward..."
"Everyone calls you 'The Solitary Hard Worker.'"
"That's a cringey nickname if I've ever heard one. It's been beautified so much it's taken on a life of its own."
Wait, that brown-haired guy who dragged me to the mixer never mentioned that. Then again, people usually only say stuff like that to your face if they're trying to mock you.
"...And there are rumors that the girls in the department are watching you, waiting for an opening."
"Then they have terrible taste."
I was a loner, a troublemaker, a flag crusher, and apparently "The Solitary Hard Worker." It was strange. Back in high school, I was constantly at the center of some interpersonal disaster, but in university, my reputation was soaring just because I kept my mouth shut. You really never know.
"F-for the record, I'm not interested in you that way! Personally, I like guys with more feminine, androgynous faces."
"Could you please stop running away with the conversation?"
"But I really need you to help me with my studies!"
Facing a girl who clearly had no intention of backing down, I let out a heavy sigh. I needed to think of a way to turn her down. I had zero intention of saying yes. Helping her would be a hassle, but more importantly...
"I refuse. I'm busy."
"..."
"I just moved to Tokyo to start living on my own. Between school and keeping up with the housework, I'm slammed. I don't have the time to look after someone else's grades."
"Then... what if I did your housework for you?"
No. Absolutely not. I already have someone living with me who acts like a nagging mother.
"Look, there have to be other people you can ask."
"..."
"Ask the girls who gave me that nickname. They’re much better at socializing than I am; they’d be far better teachers."
"I... I can't."
"Huh?"
"I don't have anyone!" she shouted, her voice breaking. "I don't have any friends!"
At Takeshita's desperate scream, the pieces finally clicked.
"Oh..."
I see. So you were a "Solitary Hard Worker," too.
"Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes!"
Takeshita had tears welling in her eyes, leaving me genuinely flustered.
While that brown-haired guy had looked down on me, it seemed Kasahara’s friends had actually been looking out for me. It was a total reversal from my high school years; I actually had the groundwork to be popular here.