Volume 1 - CH 1.1

Art Class with Shimizu-san – 1

“Okay, let’s talk about love again today.”

As I was trying to leave the classroom for the next art class in the art room, Toshiya stopped me. Unlike me, Toshiya has chosen music as his art subject, so I wondered why Toshiya had stopped me, but then he made the same request just like before.

“What’s so good about it? There is an art class right now, so we have to move quickly.”

The rest of our classmates had already started to get ready to move, and the only ones who didn’t seem to be moving were me, Toshiya, and Shimizu-san, who was sleeping in the seat next to me.

“Don’t worry. We finished class earlier than usual, so there’s still some time to spare. Besides, at worst, we can make it if we run.”

If the time is so tight that we have to run, I think Toshiya, who is quick on his feet, is the only one who can make it, and I’m not sure if I can make it in time.

Anyway, it would be quicker to have a conversation about love that Toshiya would be satisfied with rather than arguing with him.

“All right. So what do you want to talk about today? “

“I wonder. What should be the topic of today’s love talk…?”

You stopped me with no preparation. Well, that’s just how Toshiya is.

“The art room’s a little far, so if there is nothing to talk about, I’m going to go now.”

“Wait a minute. I’m in the mood for a little love talk. I’ll think of a topic soon, so please don’t leave your seat.”

I look at the clock on the classroom wall. As Toshiya said, there is still some time before the class starts, including the time it takes to get there.

“…but if you don’t think of something soon, I’ll leave.”

“Thank you, my friend! “

“Well, let’s just start with a normal chat and then move on to love talk.”

“Sounds good. Then I’ve always wanted to ask why you chose painting as your art subject. “

“Simply because I like painting the most out of the three art subjects of painting, music, and calligraphy. Why did you choose music, Toshiya? Did you like music that much? “

We have been talking during breaks for about a year, but I don’t remember hearing Toshiya talk about anything related to music.

“The reason I chose music is simple. It’s because Seto-san chose music.”

For some reason, Toshiya’s face looked very proud when he said that.

“Really, that’s the only reason?”

“Wanting to be with the girl you like as much as possible is natural, you know? Even being on the library committee, since Seto-san said she’d do it again this year, I decided to do it too.”

“So you’ve been in love with Seto since last April? Maybe it was love at first sight? “

Toshiya was also a member of the library committee with Seto-san last year. If what he said earlier is true, I wonder if Toshiya joined the library committee in order to have more contact with Seto-san. And when I said, ‘Maybe it was love at first sight,’ I felt Shimizu-san who was supposed to be sleeping, move her head slightly.

“That’s not true. At least last April, Seto-san was just a classmate to me. I became a library committee member because I didn’t want to join other more troublesome committees.”

“I see. I thought you joined the same committee because you fell in love with her.”

“I’m not that simple. I sometimes think she’s cute on the outside, but that’s not enough to make me want to go out with her.”

It seems that Toshiya is more hard-headed than I thought. I looked at Shimizu-san and saw no movement. It may have been my imagination that she seemed to moved slightly earlier. Either way, I should wake her up when we leave later, because we need to move out of the classroom for the next class.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong, Toshiya? “

While I was thinking about how to wake up Shimizu-san, Toshiya seemed to come up with something.

“I’ve got an idea, a topic of love conversation. Let’s make today’s theme a class time with the girl you like.”

“Class time with the girl you like? “

“That’s right. Even the most boring class time is a hundred times more fun with the girl you like, right? Today, let’s think about the situations in which you can have fun in class time with the girl you like! “

“Before thinking about having fun, you should take the class a little more seriously…”

I can’t help but think he always seems unmotivated about the class, but when it comes to the exam, he not only gets a better score than me but he also ranks quite high.

“Don’t say that, Daiki. You have to enjoy everything in life, you know? Uh, about the situation, can you come up with something?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I mean, there’s no opportunity to talk during class, so what’s the point of doing anything?”

“That’s true, but I wonder if there’s anything else.”

“Toshiya, is there anything you would like to do in class time with Seto-san? “

“About that, uhh… “

Toshiya crosses his arms and groans. I feel like he could accomplish great things if he could use his motivation to think hard like this for something else. Toshiya’s personality makes this impossible, though.

“I’ve got a great situation! Listen to me, Daiki.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“In class, I get bored and took a glance at Seto-san. At the same time, Seto-san glanced at me too, then our eyes met. We both get nervous and quickly look away from each other, then both of us started to think about each other! Don’t you think that’s a nice situation? “

“That’s pretty good for an impromptu idea.”

It’s the kind of situation you’d expect to see in a romance manga, it makes me wonder if he thinks about something like this all the time in his spare time.

“Right? What do you think, Daiki? Do you yearn for that?”

“I think it’s nice. It makes me excited to know that she cares about me.”

“You understand me? That kind of situation is really nice! “

The disadvantage is that it would not work if the other person did not care about you, but it could be an interesting way to get nervous and excited during class time.

“Okay, once we come up with the first one, the rest will just keep coming.”

“Are we still going to continue? “

I was already impressed that he could come up with one situation where the students were restricted to their actions during class time.

“Of course. We still have some time left, so let’s do that. I want to hear Daiki’s idea about exciting situation this time!”

“I can’t come up with something like that.”

“Don’t worry, Daiki can do it. You’re a guy who can do anything, after all. I can vouch for that!”

If possible, I would have liked to hear those reassuring words in a different situation. Unlike Toshiya, who has a vivid imagination, I have a hard time coming up with ideas. I wonder if this is the difference between those who are in love and those who are not. I thought about it again and came up with an idea that was not very clear but seemed to fit the situation.

“Is it okay if it’s a little rough? “

“Of course it’s okay. So what’s the situation? “

“I don’t know if you could call it a situation. But in some classes, you have to cooperate with your classmates. I was thinking that it would be nice if I could do that with the girl I like. “

I think it’s a bit vague, but I couldn’t think of anything else, so it can’t be helped. Toshiya listened to me for a moment and made a gesture of thinking before opening his mouth.

“So, if I were to apply this to myself, I would ask Seto to teach me how to play the recorder when I practice it in music class. That’s great! I want Seto to teach me how to play the recorder! “

It was an ambiguous idea, but he seemed to understand it somehow. I was slightly surprised at how he could quickly apply it to himself, though.

“When I heard that, I became really motivated for my next music class! I can’t stand it, I will go see her right now. Wait for me, Seto-san!”

“Wait! It’s not always possible to actually have Seto teach you in class… “

Toshiya stormed out of the classroom, and my voice did not reach him.

“When he is absorbed in something, he never listens to what people say…”