CH 2.2

The Begging Of My Daily Life (Part 2)

The first class was homeroom, and the newly appointed homeroom teacher explained that we would introduce ourselves again and decide on our committees.

“I’m sure you’ll learn my name soon enough. Let’s change seats.”

Adopting someone’s random advice, the homeroom teacher began to write seats and numbers on the whiteboard.

Then, the teacher made a lottery with some handouts.

“Seat numbers are written behind.”

The teacher goes around in turn, putting the lottery tickets inside an envelope about the size of A4.

Sugiuchi puts his hand into the envelope, worshipping it. He opened the lottery and looked up at the sky, saying, “Noooo, it’s too subtle!”

No one paid any attention to Sugiuchi’s number, and the lottery was drawn solemnly, and it was my turn.

It didn’t matter where I was, as long as it wasn’t at the front or where the teacher would see me.

I got a good seat in the last row, slightly closer to the window.

As each of us moved our desks, Hinagata came next to me.

“I-I’m seated here.”

“Ahh, I’m here.” 

We both point to our new seats. Apparently, we were neighbors again.

Sugiuchi was seated in the front row of the hallway, almost on the diagonal.

I could feel his envious gaze on me, but I ignored it.

“Wice to weet you.” 

Wice to weet you?

“Oh, yes, Nice to meet you.” Just as everyone was settling into their new seats, one of the girls called out to Hinagata.

“Hey, Shiori-chan, may you switch seats with me?”

I didn’t know her name because I didn’t have any contact with her in the first year, but she was a rather flamboyant girl.

“Eh?”

“Will you trade seats with me?”

“Umm…..”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

The flashy girl was two seats down from me, next to Hinagata.

As she said, it’s true that not much will change.

As I thought Hinata would be nervous, her eyes became sharp.

“Nope.”

“Ahh….. why~?” Because I was stupid, I said what I had in mind…

“If it doesn’t change much, you don’t have to change seats, right?”

Hinagata looked at me.

Her eyes were shining with happiness, as if there were stars scattered around them.

Guess it’s true  that the eyes speak as much as the lips.

“That’s right…”

I shuddered.

I felt a little embarrassed and looked away.

When you’re in high school, you can always tell who’s going to get along with whom by the atmosphere.

If there’s a girl near Hinagata’s seat who’s a good friend of hers, I can understand why she really wants to exchange. But there’s no one like that. I mean, they’re next to each other, so there’s not much point in moving them.

After the teacher’s announcement, “If you have bad eyesight, you may exchange with someone in front of you.” Everyone was seated.

“Tonomura-kun, thank you.”

called me by my surname name in front of everyone.

“No, it’s fine. I get nervous when I’m next to someone I don’t know.”

“I don’t though?”

“Are you seriously saying so? After all this?”

She chuckled and whispered, almost replying, “Is that so?”

“I kind of do.”

“What?”

I saw her melancholic face, shyly smiling.

Ah, ohh, that’s what it is.

I immediately understood when I saw the changed scenery of the classroom.

“It’s because the desks are spaced too narrowly here.”

The space between Hinagata and I is strangely small. I could say that we are almost attached to each other.

Okay.

I moved my desk to the side to open a proper space between us.

We’re adolescent boys and girls, after all.

The distance between us could have made her a little nervous.

I was thinking that I could move a little closer, so it was just right.

“…”

Looking at Hinagata, she lost the vitality in her eyes.

“Oii, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Her voice was faint, like a ghost.

It was definitely not okay.

“Nervousness isn’t bad at all.”

…What’s up with that?

“Some tensions make you stiff and impair your performance, while others don’t.”

“Oh, yeah, I know.”

Hearing this, Hinagata closed her eyes tightly and looked up to the heavens.

“Then I’ll be going,” the teacher said and walked out of the classroom, not caring that there were still a little more than ten minutes of homeroom left.

“Why did you move your bench?”

Huh? What are you mad about?

“What do you mean, ‘Why?’ They say it makes you nervous, and it’s only when you forget your textbook that you stick them together.”

“Then I forgot.”

“What do you mean you forgot?”

She looked forward with a sullen expression on her face.

“Not in a good mood?”

This time, she turned her face down, grabbed the edge of my desk and yanked it.

The distance between the two desks shrank with an itchy voice.

When I saw the white hand she was holding the bench with, the blood vessels were visible. It ’s really strong!? The grip strength is amazing regardless of how it looks!?

“I’m not nervous.”

“Really?”

That’s fine then.

Hinagata started to prepare for the next class and put her textbooks and notebooks on her desk.

She said, “I forgot,” but I know she’s the type to put all her textbooks on her desk.

“It’s been a while since we were next to each other.”

“Yeah, you are correct.”

“It’s been …since fourth grade, so I’m kind of happy.”

I was impressed that she remembered so well. I looked at her profile.

As if she noticed, Hinagata touched her hair to block my gaze.

“Hey, are your ears getting red?”

“Ehh…”

Quickly, she hid her ears in her hair.