Chapter 3

Hirose tried to open the door but it didn’t seem to open. It looks like we have been locked out.

「It won’t open. What should we do?」

The teary-eyed Hirose looks at me. Even if you look at me like that, I won’t know how to open it.

「Ashi-san, I mean Risa-san locked it.」

「Eh?」

「She was the one who brought me here. As soon as I stepped out of the rooftop, she closed and locked the door with a bang.」

I was so surprised that time. I concluded that it was because I was in the way of her talking with Shinozaki. However, she said that Hirose was here. Is it possible that Hirose-san is being bullied in their group?

「I see….」

Silence. No, seriously, what should I do? I wanted to try calling Shinozaki using my cell phone but I left it on my desk for charging.

For now, Hirose and I went back behind the water tank, a blind spot from the school building.

After waiting for an hour, well, it’s actually five minutes, we heard the bell ringing which means lunch break has ended. For some reason, Hirose was in a bad mood which made me feel uncomfortable. However, if I didn’t do anything about it, I wouldn’t be able to go to the 5th period and Miyano-sensei, our homeroom teacher, would probably give me an iron fist. Perhaps she’s treating me as a problem child because my circle of friends is very small.

「Ehto, Hirose-san, can you call your friends using your phone?」

That’s the only thing I can think of now.

「Yeah, I’ll contact them now. What about you, Amane?」

「It’s being charged on my desk. The only contacts I have on my phone are my family and Shinozaki.」

Maa, I only communicate with Yuna. I’m not even sure what I can use it for. I’m not sure what’s the point of having a cell phone if you’re not using it. No, it’s an important tool that makes me able to communicate with Yuna.

「Eh? That’s all?」

Someone like you who’s so flick with using a phone would never understand. And how can you type that fast without looking? Are you sure you’re not making typos?

「Yes, that’s all. I’m not the type of person who’ll contact someone that much.」

First of all, I don’t like tools like phones. I don’t think it’s a good idea to suddenly take away some of the other party’s time. As for email, there’s a high probability that I’ll find it the next day. As for why, my mailbox is filled with spam that looks like a dense forest. As for why they are the only contacts, they’re the only ones I have a relationship with.

「Aren’t you contacting someone to play? Or call and chat while studying.」

「I’m doing housework on weekday nights, I study while watching Yuna study, and on holidays, I go shopping. Aside from those, nothing else. At home, a cell phone is no different from an alarm clock.」

「How about your parents?」

「My mother went with my father when he moved out so there’s only Yuna and I in the house.」

Come to think of it, our parents basically contact Yuna. Well, it’s probably because they trust me and they’re more worried about Yuna.

「Are you doing all the housework?」

「Sort of. But I don’t do much. I don’t think it’s a good idea to make a student do housework when there are exams….during times like that, I was told not to worry about it.」

I don’t do any kind of housework when there’s an upcoming exam and I’m sure other kids don’t do it either. However, if I say too much, I might get scolded and do more housework next year.

「How is it going? Did you get a reply?」

Just as Hirose checked her cell phone, the bell chimed signaling the start of the 5th period. It looks like we’re going to be late.

「She said she unlocked the door so we can go back now.」

For some reason, Hirose’s face was red.

「Oh, that’s good.」

When we went to the door again, it opened easily. When did she unlock it?

If we go to the class together, we’ll just receive some unnecessary misunderstanding so I’ll kill time somewhere.

「Please go back first. If we go back at the same time, we might get misunderstood.」

I went down to the 2nd floor while Hirose went to the 4th floor where our classroom is located. I waited in the bathroom for less than 5 minutes before going to class. I’m sure Hirose would be forgiven if I come later.