Volume 5 - CH 8

The BirdCage Girl is Lonely

The spring when I entered middle school.

I moved to a new neighborhood where I don’t know anyone.

It was like I was walking into a whole new world.

It feels strange when I am surrounded by hundreds of children my age but I don’t know even a single one of them.

Even in my own classroom, most people already have their group of friends.

They are probably classmates from elementary school.

Boys with boys, and girls with girls.

Their groups were divided like that.

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“I don’t have anyone…….”

About four girls gathered in a girl-only group at the seat in front of mine.

It would be nice of them if they called out to me but these girls already started to wear makeup and their language was slightly vulgar so I don’t think I can talk to them well.

Also, I’m afraid that they might make me their gofer if I accidentally met eyes with them so I escaped to the corridor.

“………Haa. This really is a hard mode isn’t it.”

My family’s circumstances aside, it was like the relationships I forged until now were all reset.

After all, the girls with who I have been talking and laughing together for 6 years all went to a different school.

“Haa……..”

I was standing outside the classroom all by myself.

It’s like I’m observing the people of my class from the outside.

At this rate, it will probably take me at least 3 months to blend in.

When I started worried about my future, I see a group of three walking toward the classroom.

“You know, Risa was—–!”

“Yeah, and Risa-chan also——!”

“……oh, really……….”

An androgynous boy.

A short girl with pigtails.

A listless boy with mean-looking eyes who seems to be bored by his friends but go along with them anyway.

My eyes were attracted to the three.

The reason was that they have boys and girls in the same group.

The other groups were all exclusively boys or girls so they stood out the most to me.

How nice, I want to try talking to a boy like that too.

I always long for a mixed group like that.

That’s why I was jealous of the short girl.

She has a cute mole under her eye too. Maybe she’s dating one of them? Even though it was rude, I tried guessing about their relationship.

Moreover, there’s this girlish name like [Risa] that often comes up in their conversation.

It seems that they have another girl in their group.

What I longed for was right there in front of my eyes.

“Man, It’s exciting to see who we will meet this year isn’t it!”

“Meeting Hideyori-kun alone is already enough for me.”

With that said, two of them went into the classroom.

However, the mean-looking listless boy turned toward me.

“Good morning!”

U, UwaWawa!?

He suddenly greeted me.

My heart almost exploded from the surprise but I squeezed out my voice to greet him back.

“G, Good morning!”

For the first time today, I spoke to a stranger.

Worried that I might sound weird, the embarrassment was overwhelming.

“I’m Akechi Hideyori. Nice to meet you.”

“Y, Yes! I’m Miyamura Towa. my name was written as [Eien] but it reads as [Towa]. It is nice to meet you too, Akechi-san.”

Akechi-san kindly introduced himself so did the same in response.

People often read my name incorrectly as [Eien] so I made sure that he knows that it is pronounced [Towa].

“My name is also strange because it’s a mix of two warlords’ names you see. In a sense, it felt like that made me a little closer to you, Miyamura-san.

Akechi-san casually laughs at his own name. 

That caught me off guard so I started laughing too.

Akechi-san seems to be a good person and easy to talk to so I started to open up to him.

“Fufu, you are a funny person Akechi-san! Are you also in this class?”

“That’s right. Miyamura-san as well?”

“Yes, we are in the same class. I’m glad I can be in the same class as you Akechi-san!”

Thank goodness!

I was thinking about how nice it would be if we are in the same class but we really are classmates.

“I see, I see. Then if you feel like it, I’d be happy if you call out to me sometimes.”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Ah, my friends are waiting for me. I’ve to go.”

“I see. Thank you for talking to me.”

He’s a friendly and cool person.

His mean look aside, he’s pretty much my type.

But when he was talking to me, I really didn’t mind his mean vibe at all……..

Now I’m kind of looking forward to my school life!

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“My bad, my bad”, he apologized to his friends when he entered the classroom.

“Eh? Hideyori, where have you been?”

“Ahh, I spotted a UFO earlier you see.”

“EHH! That’s amazing! Why didn’t you call us!?”

“What color was it!?”

“…….chestnut?”

It was funny seeing him making strange excuses to his friend so I started to smile.

When I entered the classroom, Akechi-san noticed me and our eyes met.

To give him a good impression, I also smile back.

“What color is chestnut though!?”

“It’s just brown.”

Seeing him talking so casually with his friends, I was fascinated.

I also want to have that kind of conversation with him too.

Like that girl who’s laughing with him.

I want to be included in their group.

Hmm…….

Talking to Akechi-san seems like a hurdle too high for me now.

Of course, I find talking to other boys and girls pretty hard already but talking with Akechi-san seems even more difficult.

Then……, maybe I should befriend that girl first?

It seems her name is Sasaki Emi.

Alright, let’s muster up my courage and try to make friends with Sasaki-san first!

TLN: Did you notice it? Did you notice it!?