Chapter 3

After a few minutes, I was on my way back to my classroom to resume my waiter duties. But on the way, I ran into Nakahara-san, who seemed concerned, as if something were bothering him. However, when he realized it was me he had run into, his puzzled face suddenly transformed, and he was overjoyed to see me.

"Noa! You're perfect!" he said.

"Excuse me?"

"I understand I've caused a lot of discomfort and trauma, and I apologize, but can you please assist me just once?"

Even though I'd already forgiven him, there were still traces of trauma in me, and every time I saw him, those claustrophobic sensations returned, and he could see right through me. Nakahara-san is a decent person in my opinion. enough for me to put my faith back in him.

I nodded and asked, "What do you need help with?"

Nakahara-san’s face lit up when he heard I had agreed to help. "I am a member of the theater club, and for this occasion, my club planned to act and perform Romeo and Juliet for the entire audience; however, the actress who was supposed to portray Juliet became ill and was unable to come, and we only found out about this 2 hours before the performance began."

"Do you want me to play Juliet in the play?"

"If it's possible, yes."

"Why me?"

"Because! There's a rumor going around about you having photographic memory, so I thought you'd be able to remember the script in less than an hour."

"Am I going to sing and dance?"

"No, all you'll have to do is act."

He escorted me inside backstage and loaned me the script. Juliet had a lot of lines to play out, but I was up to the task. While getting my make-up and hair done, I read every single line and learned it in an instant. After that, they prepared my clothes, and when everything was complete, the actor who played Romeo entered the room.

"Matsumoto-san?"

"Noa," he snickered, astonished, "so you're the new Juliet."

"And you are Romeo..."

"The one and only," he said as he bowed, and I pouted shyly. He appeared just when I believed I wouldn't be able to talk to him again. I couldn't look him in the eyes because I remembered the chat the principal and I had.

"I heard from Daiki about your psychic ability that got you to where you are now," he said.

"Yeah," I said. Matsumoto diverted his sight from mine with a gentle nod. To me, it appeared that his body language indicated that he did not believe I had such power. "I'm not expecting you to trust me; not everyone does."

"I'm a little skeptical, but again, that explains how you get perfect grades every semester."

"I could be deceiving you."

"Yes, you could, but we'll find out later when we do our performance."

After an hour, it was time to perform. Backstage with the other performers, I was waiting for my signal when my hands became chilly. I was aware of my nervousness.

This will be my first performance in a play, and Hoshi-neesan will be there as well. I'm hoping he doesn't go crazy when he sees me on stage, because if he does, I'll ignore him as I always do.

The play began, and I became much more frightened than before. Seeing the others perform flawlessly on stage while smiling helped me understand that I, too, needed to grin. And it's possible that this is the first time they've seen me grin without my lips pursed, as I usually do.

With the passage of time, it was finally my chance to shine. I stepped onto the stage with a smile and spoke my lines. While performing, I kept my gaze on the crowd at times, and I saw that there were more students than parents or adults. Even from this distance, I could see their surprised expressions when they spotted me smiling up on stage.

Matsumoto couldn't help but smile when he saw how happy I was. It seemed as if he was seeing a completely different person in me, as if he were seeing the genuine Juliet.

Time passes, and it was only the two of us—the classic scene in which Juliet sits atop the tower and Romeo is below. We were flirting on stage, and the ease with which we did it fooled many non-students into thinking we were dating.

Finally, the kiss moment had me worried, and my pulse was hammering. Matsumoto observed my nervousness as I changed my expression as my first kiss was about to be performed.

Everything he did was soft and kind, including his touch and words. And before I realized it, our lips were in contact.

I had to keep my calm because this was all an act. On the outside, I appeared pleased, but on the inside, I was nervous. When our lips separated, his hand was still softly cupped on my cheeks, and his gaze felt so different. Something I hadn't seen from Matsumoto before, and for the first time, I thought he looked handsome and attractive.