CH 14

The day of the field trip.

We first-year students have been coming to school in gym uniforms since this morning in order to do physical exercise all day.

When we arrived at the school, several buses for the field trip were already arriving at the parking lot, and the first to arrive at the school got on the bus for their class.

As the seating order in the bus is assigned to each group in advance, I also entered the bus and headed to the designated seat. …… There was no place for me to sit there.

Why, it was because everyone in the class was sitting in my seat in the morning chatting with Saegusa-san, who was in the same group as me.

Well, I’m not such a petty person, so I don’t mind that much.

But the problem was that I didn’t know where to sit until a seat became available.

“Oh, good morning, Ichijo-kun.”

I turned around at the sound of her voice.

I saw Shimizu from the same group sitting there alone, looking uncomfortable.

–It seems that Mr. Shimizu is in the same situation as me.

Shimizu-san seemed to be sitting here for the time being to keep an eye on Saegusa-san so that she could return as soon as the people who were hovering around her disappeared.

It’s no use, we’ll just have to wait for it to die down.

So I gave up, sighed and asked if I could sit next to her. She said yes and so I sat down next to Shimizu-san.

After I sat down, I noticed something.

Why am I sitting next to a girl?

Once I realized that, I suddenly felt very embarrassed about this situation.

It seems that Shimizu-san is the same way, her face reddening as she looks down uncomfortably.

“Oh, I’m sorry! You don’t like it, do you?”

“No, no, it’s okay.”

I immediately tried to get up and move away, but Shimizu-san said it was okay and looked up at me shyly while picking at the hem of her dress.

To be honest, the sight of her looking up at me while picking at the hem of her dress was freakishly cute.

“Sorry guys! Shimizu-san and Ichijo-kun are having trouble finding a seat, so can you please make one available for them?

As Shimizu-san and I froze, looking at each other, Saegusa-san suddenly shouted a little louder as if to interrupt everyone’s conversation, and the people around our seats, which had been full of people until a moment ago, quickly disappeared.

“Sorry, you two, you can sit down now.”

Then, when no one was around, Ms. Saegusa smiled and approached us, smiling but somewhat impatiently, as if she had no time to spare.

Today, Saegusa-san was still acting slightly suspicious to a certain extent that everyone did not notice.

“Oh no! I’m almost late!”

Takayuki got on the bus just as it was about to leave and sat down next to me, huffing and puffing a little.

“I was worried you wouldn’t show up.”

“I’m sorry, I overslept like a normal person!”

Takayuki smiled while fanning his clothes, looking wildly handsome again today.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in this class, but there are still many girls who look at Takayuki with a passionate gaze, and even now there are a few girls who look at him sideways as he fans his clothes.

I was thinking that he was still a sexy man, and I looked at the seat behind me. There I saw Shimizu-san blushing a little, and Saegusa with her eyes squinted and a stern expression on her face.

–No, not Shimizu-san, but Saegusa-san, what’s with your face?

I wondered if Saegusa-san was also looking at Takayuki with that kind of face, but unfortunately her eyes were not looking at Takayuki.

Then, I wondered where she was looking, and for some reason, our eyes met, me and Saegusa.

Hmmm? What’s this?

As usual, Saegusa-san was staring at me with narrowed eyes.

I have no idea what she’s trying to do, but I’m pretty sure it’s not an expression of good feelings, so I smile and wave my hand lightly at her.

It’s a must, smile and cover it up!

I thought there was no way such a technique would work, but for some reason, Saegusa-san immediately brightened up and waved back at me with a smile on her face.

I don’t know why it went so well, but it seemed to put her in a good mood, so I decided to call it good.

We arrived at our destination and got off the bus.

There were six classes in our grade, so people were getting off the bus one after another.

“All right, let’s go on the hiking course. Students in the same group must walk together so as not to be separated. Are you ready?”

“””Yes!”””

The head teacher announced over the loudspeaker, and the hike began immediately.

We started walking along with the others, but a problem immediately arose.

“Hi, Saegusa-san! Can I walk with you if you want?”

Suddenly, it was Togo Kimihisa who called out to us in a brisk voice.

We were in class 4, but I think he was in class 1.

He is famous for being a reader model for the magazine “Try”, which is very popular among young people today, and he is an easily recognizable handsome and popular guy, to the extent that girls cackle at him as a prince.

Togo is naturally confident about himself, and he is still trying to get close to Saegusa like this.

“Since we’re both in the entertainment industry, why don’t we talk while we walk?”

“I’ve quit, so I guess there’s nothing to talk about.”

Saegusa smiled at Togo-kun, who took the liberty of standing next to Saegusa and talking to her, but she rejected his invitation with a smile.

“No, but I’d like to get some advice from you as a senior in the entertainment industry. ……”

“Well, I don’t think idols and reader models have much in common. I don’t know anyone who’s a reader model. Sorry!”

When she said that, Saegusa-san came running up to us as if to avoid Togo-kun, and said, “Let’s go!” She took Shimizu-san’s hand and started walking happily.

I’m sorry to say that I felt a little bit relieved for Togo-kun, who was staring dumbfoundedly at the back of Saegusa-san’s face with a pale face that was too obvious.