CH 11

I finally changed to commuting using the train.

Unlike bicycles, trains are great.

I don't get tired of pedaling and if I'm are lucky, I can sit down.

There are many people inside the train, but it is not crowded, and eventhough it's summer it's very cool inside the train.

I am glad that I chose to go to school by train.

Although it is not every day, I sometimes go to school with Tachibana.

It seems we take the same train at the same time.

Tachibana always rushes towards me whenever she sees me at the ticket booth or on the way to school.

I am very happy to go to school with her, but sometimes, when I'm really sleepy in the morning and I cannot keep up with her energy, I'm taking the train at a later time than I usually do.

At the art club I belong to, I'm almost finished with the painting that I kept working on.

Maybe it will be finished by the end of this day.

...

After school, when I was about to leave the classroom after class, I heard someone calling me saying "Hey"

Someone had stopped me from behind.

I turned around and saw three boys in the same class as me.

The one in the middle had a short brown hair and an earring, he seemed to be the leader as the other two guys were behind him.

He was taller than me, so he looked really intimidating.

"Follow me for a minute."

The short-haired man says in a low voice.

I wonder what do they want from me? Did I did something to draw their attention to me?

This sucks.

I walk behind the three of them.

I might take a chance and run away.

But I can't do that because if I run away, I don't know what they will do to me later and because of that I followed the three of them quietly.

They took me to the back of the gym.

Against the wall of the gym, the three guys are staring at me.

Somebody please help me!

The man with the short hair opens his mouth..

"Are you going out with Tachibana?"

What?

"No, I'm not."

"Then how come you two are so close?"

"I always saw you walking together in the morning going to school, you seat next to each other and you look so close when you are talking to each other."

I see so that's how it is.

I guessed this short-haired man likes Tachibana, and because of that he's not happy with the idea of me being so close to Tachibana.

It is true that I have not seen Tachibana getting along with the boys in the class except me.

"Don't get too carried away, you know what I'm saying, right?"

Does that mean that I shouldn't be friends with Tachibana anymore?

The short haired man aprroaches me and I braced myself quickly but he went into my ear and whispered to me.

"I'm warning you, you know what I'm capable of right?"