CH 2

Chapter 2 – A Chance Meeting (1)

I made my first friend, Asanagi-san. What sparked our friendship was something unexpected.

It happened after the entrance ceremony, during our class’ first homeroom.

*   *   *

“Uhh… E-Ewery… Everyone…!”

“Sensei, does that mean biting your tongue makes a good first impression ~ ?”

The frozen atmosphere in the class eased up the moment a certain female student, whose name and face I didn’t recognize at the time, spoke up.

“I’m sorry everyone, it’s my first time being a homeroom teacher, so I’m a little nervous… Anyway, my name is Yagisawa Miki… From today onwards, I look forward to working with everyone, at least until next year… There, I said it all!”

“Gee, will we be okay during that time period ~ ?”

For the first time, the class broke out in laughter.

The homeroom teacher looked a bit unreliable, but she seemed like the type that everyone would adore.

Even when my classmates teased her, she was still smiling brightly, perhaps she had always been like this since her youth. She probably understood her clumsy nature and decided to embrace it.

Apparently, Yagisawa-sensei was twenty-five years old and had only been a teacher for three years.

“Well, enough about me, you’ll learn everything about me in the future. Today, I’d like everyone to introduce themselves. That’s why yesterday I decided to make this… Okay, pass this over to the one behind you.”

My classmates passed around the paper they received from Yagisawa-sensei.

Self Introduction Card

Name :

Previous Middle School :

Hobbies :

Likes (Food, people) :

A word of greeting to the class :

“Haah…”

The moment I read through it, I sighed.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Everyone will fill out the card. Then I will randomly draw cards and ask that student questions about what they wrote. What do you think? I came up with it after a lot of thought, you know? Now we can easily break the ice for the first hour of homeroom!”

I see.

There were thirty students in this class, so two minutes per person should be enough to fill in the hour. However, for people like me who had been a loner since grade school, this was quite an annoyance.

When I played games, a minute would feel like it passed by in seconds, but when I had to make a speech in front of everyone like this, that minute would feel like an eternity.

And since she gave us a two-minute limit, the burden on me just doubled. This is just pure torture.

Some of the students complained about this.

Right. Introducing your name and where you were from, saying a few words, and being done with it should be enough for a simple self-introduction like this. It saved time and that time could be used for us to properly organize our seats.

“I’m fine with this kind of introduction, sensei! I don’t know what I should say when introducing myself, so following your guidance is more convenient for me!”

“T-thank you! And, you are… um…?”

“My name is Amami, Amami Yuu! Sensei, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to a certain girl who raised her hand. Of course, mine too.

Her hair was blond and her eyes were blue. She stood out back in the entrance ceremony and she looked even cuter up close. Saying that she looked like an idol wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

When she stated her opinion, the people who complained immediately shut their mouths.

It was obvious that this girl would be the center of the class, so no one was foolish enough to go against her words.

After that, everyone obediently gave Yagisawa-sensei their self-introduction cards.

“Then, I’ll start drawing them… first up is Amami-san, so, let’s start from you!”

“Yes, teacher! Ask me anything!”

Amami-san was up first. No doubt that she’ll pass this with ease.

“Okay. So, your name is Amami Yuu, well that’s all good, you are from… Tachibana All-Girls Junior High… Huh, isn’t that the prestigious escalator school? Why did you choose to enroll in this high school?”

“I thought it would be better for me to enter a co-ed high school. I mean, I’m a high school student, I do have an interest in that kind of stuff.”

“I see. I guess you are at that age huh, Amami-san.”

Hearing Amami-san’s answer, some of the boys’ faces turned red in excitement. However, contrary to their expectations, I was sure that she would date a handsome guy from another school anyway, so it wasn’t something worth noting. As for me, I’m fine with being a stranger.

Her other answers were…

Hobbies : Karaoke! I love to sing, so let’s all go together after school!

Likes : Sweets! But I gained weight easily, so I’m currently on a diet…

Word of greeting : Let’s be friends!

An exemplary introduction.

The boys seemed to want to know more about her, but sadly for them, two minutes passed by quickly.

Then, Yagisawa-sensei called the next student…

“Next is… a boy, huh, Maehara-kun.”

“…Yes…”

Me.

I thought I would have to wait for a little longer, but I didn’t expect that my part would be right after Amami-san’s.

“Maehara-kun is from Matsubara Junior High…? Where is it?”

“It’s in the neighboring prefecture. I moved here recently, in the winter of the third year of my middle school year. Well, something like that…”

I didn’t want to go into details about it, so I just said it vaguely. My parents got divorced around that time, so I moved here with my mother.

“Huh, that’s unusual. Then, next would be…”

Sensei also didn’t push me for an answer.

My other answers were as follows.

Hobbies : Games.

Likes : Nothing in particular.

Word of greeting : Please give me your best regards.

“Hmm…”

Sensei seemed unhappy with my answers.

However, I really didn’t have any particular likes or dislikes, there was almost nothing I normally did aside from playing games. I did listen to music, read books and watch movies, but those were just pastimes, I didn’t do it very often and I couldn’t exactly consider them hobbies.

I was just being honest in my answers.

“Games… well, sometimes I did play popular games like that certain building game, so that should be fine. But, what did you mean by ‘nothing in particular’? Don’t you have anything to be excited about? Like something you look forward to on weekends…?”

“…Well, I do have one thing.”

“S-so you do have something, then, spill it, spill it, what is it?”

I actually didn’t want to say anything, but my tongue slipped. Now, it’s the point of no return.

“Since I’m always alone on Fridays, I would call Uber Eats or something and order a pizza or whatever, then, I’ll play games or watch something on TV while drinking some Coke…”

“Ehh…Mmm… Well, this much should be fine…?”

Sensei didn’t want me to take up too much time, so he told me to go back to my seat.

Because of my introduction, the class was enveloped in this strange atmosphere, but I was just being honest, who cares.

Most of my classmates had friends from the same middle school, but since I was not even from this prefecture, I had none, add the fact that I was never a sociable guy to begin with, it was inevitable that I would be isolated from the rest of the class, well, Ooyama-kun was an exception, since we would talk quite often. But, in the end, I still spent most of my time at school in silence.

This continued for a good while, until a certain Friday evening.

As usual, I bought Coke at the convenience store on my way home, ordered pizza over the phone, and was lazing around on the sofa in the living room while watching a movie when the doorbell rang.

“The pizza already came…? No, it shouldn’t be… it hasn’t been that long since I called them…”

I pressed the button on the monitor while wondering about that.

“…Um, hello, I got some pizza and coke here… Uh… Maehara-kun…? You wanna enjoy them together with me…?”

“Huh? Uhh… Asanagi-san?”

“Y-yes…”

The person standing in front of the door with L-sized pizza and two bottles of 2L coke in her hands wasn’t the usual delivery guy, but my classmate, Asanagi-san, who I’ve never even talked properly with before.