CH 5

The alarm on my phone, set for 7:30 a.m., informed that morning had arrived. But I quickly picked up my phone, which I keep near my pillow, opened my eyelids, which were still heavy, and turned off the alarm.

Then I crawled into bed again, and just as I was starting to drift off to sleep, I was shaken sideways this time.

When I opened my heavy eyelids again, I saw a girl with blonde hair and big eyes peering at me.

“Oh, are you finally awake? If you don’t eat soon, you’ll be late.”

“Today’s school…?”

“What, still half asleep?”

“Hurry up and go wash your face,” Kaede urged me to go to the bathroom, and I headed for the bathroom, shaking my hair, which was looking terrible.

In the bathroom, I took some warm water and splashed it on my face.

I looked at my face in the mirror and saw that my eyelids were gradually closing, as if I still wanted to sleep.

“Wait! Are you sleeping standing up!?”

Startled by the loud voice, my body reacted and I reflexively opened my eyes.

Kaede combed through my hair with a comb, soaking it with a wet towel , and then carefully styling them.

Then, after finishing with the hair dryer, I looked again in the mirror and saw that my usual bed hair was gone.

“Well done.”

“Mou~~, You can’t afford it, you know?”

“Well, I won’t be late.”

I, who always won the last minute late game, was confident that I would not be late.

“Ah, umm, are you really not going with me?”

“I told you yesterday, right?. We’ll go to school at different times because it would be conspicuous if we went together.”

The two of us decided on this last night, but Kaede didn’t seem to be satisfied with the decision, as I could tell from her expression in the bathroom mirror.

Having finished brushing my bed hair, I moved to the living room. On the living room table, as if it was natural, Breakfast was placed.

It was a sandwich with lettuce, ham, cheese, and mayonnaise on bread.

“Please eat breakfast properly!”

“I will.”

“I’m off then.”

“I’ll see you later.”

Kaede smiled at me in front of the living room door, and walked to the front door with her own bag.

After that, I heard the front door open with a clunk, and again Kaede said, “I’m off,” in a voice that could be heard all the way to the living room.

I turned on the TV with the sandwich that Kaede had made, and watched a sub-segment of a news program called ‘Today’s Fortune Telling: What’s Your Fortune?’

(Oh….Capricorn has a pretty good ranking.)

After eating my sandwich, I packed my bag with only the things I would use for today’s class, checked the door locks, and locked the front door.

The closer I got to school, the less I wanted to go. I felt depressed, thinking that I would have to spend another long day at school.

While I was thinking about this, I arrived at the school’s main gate five minutes before.

With a huge yawn, I opened the classroom door and walked into the classroom.

Kaede, who had been looking in the direction of the door, seemed relieved as soon as I came in without being late.

When her eyes met mine, she smiled and waved at me from her seat in the front row, right next to the window.

I pretended not to notice her and sat down with my bag next to my seat.

Then, from behind me

“She just waved at me!” or “The Angel just smiled at me!” the boys in the class happily said.

(Okay… doesn’t seem like we are found out)

“Every time you’re on the verge of being late, Ren.”

“Takuto…..with this, I have broken the winning streak record.”

“What the h**l are you fighting, you…”

“Being late?”

“Then come earlier …”

He told me that I was already losing the battle, but I didn’t care what he said, I wasn’t about to stop fighting the battle just in time for being late.

While I was having a casual conversation with Takuto, my homeroom teacher came through the front door holding the attendance record book.

“We’re going to start homeroom, so take your seats.”

At these words, everyone took their seats in unison.

“Yes, it’s October and it’s getting colder and colder, but October means it’s one week before the test!”

I was a little surprised to hear the loud homeroom teacher’s voice, but completely forgot about the midterm test.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ 

When I came home from school, the front door was already unlocked.

Kaede must have opened it with her spare key.

I went to the living room and saw Kaede running her sharp pen across her desk.

She was studying.

“There’s still a week, you know? You really are excellent.”

“Is that so?…” She replied,

With that, I headed toward the couch as if my heavy body was being sucked into it.

I played with my phone as I lay there.

“Why don’t you study, Hayasaka-kun?”

“I don’t….”

“Come to think of it, Hayasaka-kun, didn’t you get a very good score on the final exam last time?”

“It sounds like a sarcastic remark coming from someone who is in the top of their class.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. …” and she apologized.

“No, don’t apologize.”

“Well, I’m not going to study yet.”

I said that, and she looked at me lying on the sofa with a wry smile.