CH 171

A breeze, which still carried heat, blew as if it were rising up into the blue sky.

The campus, once filled with the hustle and bustle of club activities, is now filled with the fresh air of the new school term.

Conversations could be heard throughout the school, with students rejoicing in seeing each other for the first time in over a month, and regretting the days that have passed.

For first-year students, the second term, with its eventful lineup of activities, has finally begun.

For second-year students, a sense of agitation covered their hearts since the summer vacation of their second year has come to an end and that next year they will finally have to take the entrance exams.

For third-year students, their last summer is over.

This is the end of the last summer of their high school life.

…Those lines were surely said by a high school baseball player somewhere.

Anyway, the feelings even in each grade were different and diverse.

The same sophomore me is very different from the unknown boys I just passed by.

However, what we certainly share is that it’s a new day.

I was thinking about this as I walked to my classroom, which I had already gotten used to.

Time does not return.

So, as if to say, enjoy this moment to the fullest, the students were proudly talking about how they had spent their summer.

In the future, when they take a break and look back, will they remember their high school days?

My dad used to say that high school friends last a lifetime.

But I don’t have any friends like that.

I have a bad friend from junior high, but there is no such thing as a ‘lifetime friendship’ that I’ve formed in high school.

In the end, it’s one’s luck.

I don’t think I will ever truly understand the trend of making the high school years a beautiful story.

I changed into my indoor shoes, climbed the stairs, and proceeded down the second-floor corridor.

Struggling my way through the crowd, I headed for the classroom where class 3 of the second year was located.

There were a few students who appeared to have a dramatic makeover, partly due to the effects of exposure to the sun, but it’s a regular occurrence.

At best, they look fresh and healthy, and at worst, they look like they are making their summer vacation debut.

If they were just tanned, I wouldn’t think so, but if their hair color had changed, it would be a different story.

At our Sakuranaoka High School, there are no restrictions on hair color.

There is no censure whether one’s hair is red, brown, or blonde.

However, it inevitably attracted the biased stares of the students.

I walked next by them, looking the same as I did before the long vacation.

My skin is still white and unhealthy, and I haven’t changed my hair color.

There is no reason for them to look at me, which is why I walk around with a nonchalant look on my face.

I don’t want to think that it is because I saw the back of my father’s head during the summer vacation that the thought comes to my mind that my hair might thin out in the future if I dye my hair that much.

After a long vacation, these sorts of changes must be spreading through the school in no small numbers.

In the freshman building, there will be more changes than we sophomores have seen.

I’ll ask Hino-kun about it at the student council meeting.

When I arrived at the front of the classroom, there was a depressing amount of chatter leaking from the room.

No need to put it into words, they must be surrounded inside.

For those classmates who have not seen each other for a long time, it is a long-awaited reunion.

Imagining such a sight, I opened the classroom door to find the scene as I had expected.

“…”

When I entered, the eyes of the class gathered for a moment, but as soon as they realized that it was me who had entered, they immediately fizzled out.

They then focused on the students they wanted to see.

The girls’ gazes were on Yuuto, and the boys’ gazes were on Shizuku and Kirasaka.

“What were you doing during summer vacation, Ogiwara-kun?”

“Is it true that Kanazaki-san and Ogiwara went together to the summer festival?”

Everyone of them was asking the questions they had been agonizing over.

They had probably already forgotten about my existence.

This was a group of students who were unable to understand the relationship between themselves and the person in front of them properly, and a few here and there doubtful and dissatisfied with the situation and settings in which they were not present.

Nothing about this scene made me feel any better.

I feel sorry for them, being surrounded regardless of their own will, but I do not help them.

‘Hate yourself for being so extraordinary that you stick out like a sore thumb’…were the sarcastic words that came to mind when I saw them.

“…Good morning.”

“Good morning, Shinra-kun, I see your school schedule hasn’t really changed even though it’s a new term.”

Kirasaka sat down next to me and we exchanged morning greetings, but her gaze remained fixed on the paperback she had in her hand.

I sat down with a little interest in the fact that today it was a slightly older book.

“Just because it’s a new school term doesn’t mean you have to come to school early or did Kirasaka come to school earlier than usual…?”

“Yes, I came to school an hour earlier than usual.”

…Too early.

It’s not like she’s an elementary student who’s excited about a field trip.

As I pondered the reason for her uncharacteristic statement, she answered a question I hadn’t asked in a matter-of-fact manner.

“Since it’s a new school term, I was thinking about the possibility of Shinra-kun coming early, so I was there waiting for him at the time he never would’ve come. It’s a secret by the way.”

“You know what? Don’t tell this to anyone.”

There is no secret when you have told the person in question.

Although she might be joking, it is hard to tell from her tone and facial expressions.

After sitting down on a seat and putting down my stuff, I turned my gaze once again to the classroom, but the atmosphere was still different from before.

Everywhere I looked, I could see some changes.

The only people you can clearly see that have not changed are Kirasaka, who is sitting next to me, Shizuku, who is surrounded by students a little further away, and Yuuto, who is surrounded by students on the opposite side of the room.

Well, it is not likely that these guys will change in terms of appearance anytime soon.

I opened the window and let the air in.

The breeze was still hot, but it seemed to help distract me from the noisy, unpleasant atmosphere in the classroom.

The second term is full of events.

There’s the sports festival, a cultural festival, and for us second-year students, a school trip.

The student council elections are coming up soon, so this is the busiest time of the year.

In addition, we have to do our school work as usual, so the days have started to be both fun and hard for the students.

“…”

Looking at the flowers and grass growing on the side of the schoolyard and then back to the classroom, I almost felt as if I had wandered off into an amusement park.

That’s how noisy the school seemed after a long interval.

“By the way, the student council election is to be held tomorrow, right?

Kirasaka muttered in the midst of this.

In a voice so small that you can’t hear it unless you are next to her, as if to confirm it.

“It’ll start tomorrow at lunchtime, since they even sent out the student council members to take photos.”

Student council elections will begin immediately after the break.

The next week will be even more crowded with elections.

The students are sure to be lively in response to the competition between Koizumi and Shiraishi.

Although it is someone else’s business, it will be fun to watch the elections at the school they attend.

As a member I’m also involved in this matter, so whether I like it or not, it’ll be of my concern too.

“Have you had a chance to talk to Shiraishi-san since then?”

“I’ve heard from her a few times over the holidays, but we haven’t had a chance to meet in person, the calls were more like exchanging information that didn’t require a meeting in the first place.”

“…So, you never really responded to my calls, but you did contact Shiraishi-san.”

“…No, in your case, you would have either barged to my house or called me before I called you back.”

She sounded so cold that I could feel a chill down my spine at the end of her sentence.

But how many times have I been forced to go out?

Most of the time, I was forced to help her with her shopping, carrying her bags and helping her, and other similar chores.

Because of one part-time job, I tolerated it this time, but I am firmly determined to refuse it next time. You can do it Minato-kun.

The summer vacation also turned out to be far from what I had imagined due to being occupied with the activities of the student council for various reasons.

However, there is no point in dwelling on what has passed.

Although Kirasaka gave a cold look, she did not seem to make eye contact with me.

She silently read the passages and then turned the page.

Only silence flowed between us.

There isn’t any conversation.

But that’s what I prefer.

I feel that I am suited to a relationship in which conversation is minimal and nothing is asked of me beyond that.

I looked at the poor girl at the end of the group of girls spread out in front of me and noticed that Shizuku was forcing her way out of the circle and towards me.

At the same time, Yuuto also exits the circle of girls.

“Good morning, Minato-kun, oh and also, Kirasaka-san.”

“…Good morning, you two, so you’re trying to make me look like a publicity stunt?”

The malicious stares from the students standing behind them are stabbing.

This is why I hate talking inside the classroom with the main characters of the class.

Kirasaka remained resolute, only at the end of Shizuku’s sentence her shoulders twitched a bit.

“Oh my, look who it is, the princess who was so happy to be surrounded by the boys. You can go ahead and enjoy yourself to the fullest without us.”　

“…I guess some people came earlier than usual and to be looked at in the classroom, so I can do whatever I want in the classroom too you know.”

…Scary.

No, it’s really scary, the way the girls talk to each other, the way their words stab at each other.

If it weren’t for myself, I’d be crying completely.

By the way, my knees are crying..

To be frank, my spine is trembling.

Next to me, leaning against the window, Prince Charming was happily watching the scene.

“It’s kind of nostalgic, even though it’s only been a summer vacation.”

“…Don’t talk like a high school boy in the midst of adolescence, it’s weird.”

“That’s true btw, …but even so, the atmosphere of the class has changed quite a bit.”

Yuuto let out a sigh of exasperation, as if he had a similar impression to mine.

It was unusual for him.

Yuuto’s attitude was to neither deny nor affirm.

It was a minor change, but I wondered if they had noticed that there was something a little different about him as well.

“Anyway, it looks like you’re going to be busy in the upcoming term.”

“…Seems so.”

I looked at the two girls next to me who were arguing with each other, then looked at Yuuto’s face and for an answer.

The expression on his face said that he was enjoying himself and was looking forward to the days ahead, but it was different from the one I saw reflected in the window he was leaning against.