Chapter 243 – Unexpected Help (2)

The class started and the noise surrounding us calmed down for the duration of it. But, there was still an air of awkwardness between Amami-san and me. Actually, the awkwardness became more and more pronounced as time passed.

Currently, the English class by Yagisawa-sensei was still ongoing.

"Alright, can someone translate the passage up to this point? Hm… Since it's the first of September, the first person in the attendance list should do it, so go ahead, Amami-san."

"Y-Yes!"

After being nominated, Amami-san stood up. But, she looked more jumpy than usual.

Then I noticed that she didn't have her textbook on her desk.

…It seemed like she forgot to bring it.

"Amami-san? Did you forget your textbook?"

"Y-Yes… I came to school really early this morning, so I forgot… S-Sorry…"

"Ah, right, you had to help with the backboard installation this morning. It's an easy part though, so you could ask the person next to you to show the passage for you."

"Y-Yes, ma'am…"

Normally, in this kind of situation, whenever Amami-san's clumsiness appeared, I'd help her with whatever she needed.

There was nothing special about this as everyone in class should be familiar with this, but…

"Here, Amami-san. The sentence goes from here to here."

"Ah, u-um, t-thank you, Maki— n-no, Maehara-kun…"

I secretly wrote down the Japanese translation of the English passage so that she could have an easier time, but the way she acted was a little unnatural.

Why was she acting like this? I thought we decided to forget about the rumors and just act like usual?

I felt the need to do something about this. So, I immediately took a blank paper and started writing something on it.

[Amami-san, calm down. Nothing happened yet, don't worry.]

I tore the piece of paper with my message on it and placed it on Amami-san's deck. Seeing that, it seemed like she had regained some of her composure as she nodded. Then she proceeded to answer sensei's question.

Although Amami-san's grades in her studies, including English, weren't that good, she still had foreign blood running through her veins. She didn't speak English, but her pronunciation and intonation were on point.

"Alright, thank you. Share the textbook with Maehara-kun for the rest of the class, okay? Also, next time, bring your own textbook."

"Yes, sorry… Hehe…"

She laughed weakly as she slowly sat down on the chair.

Then the class continued quietly. Suddenly, she passed over a piece of paper to me.

[Sorry to trouble you again, Maki-kun.]

[Don't mind it. That's what friends are for.]

[Okay. Also, can you not tell Umi that I forgot to bring my textbook?]

[No.]

[ >< ]

[Don't make that face.]

[Maki is bullying me!]

Occasionally, she'd let out a little giggle when we were doing this. It seemed like she had calmed down a little.

It might be confusing to some people, but this was how our usual interaction would go.

Even though we were going through a rough patch, I really wanted Amami-san, the most cheerful person in our group, to be able to shine brightly like usual. I knew that everyone in our group shared the same opinion.

And so, the rest of the morning classes passed without a hitch. At first, I was worried about the gazes from my classmates, but as time went on, I was too busy trying to keep up with the classes, as it went at a faster pace than usual. 

The teachers' policy of 'since you had enough fun on your summer break, get on with your studies', helped me tremendously this time.

"Ngh~ Finally, lunch time! It's been a while since we had classes. Somehow it feels more tiring than usual…"

"I feel you. I've been slacking off too… I think I'll need some time to get used to class again. Anyway, let's go."

"Okay. Don't want to keep everyone waiting."

We were supposed to eat with the usual group of five, so we took our lunches and left the classroom.

We met up with Umi, who was waiting for us in front of our classroom and headed toward the courtyard, where Nozomu and Nitta-san were waiting for us.

"Yo, Maki. How's everything?"

"Just okay. How about you?"

"Same. Anyway, the rumor had spread in my class too. Seriously, they don't know the slightest thing about us, yet they keep talking about things. I hate it."

"I tried to find out about the source of the rumor, but everyone said that they heard it from a friend. No one seems to know the source."

Even while we were talking like this, I could feel the gazes of the students who heard about the rumor. Because of this, it was hard for us to talk under those gazes. I doubt that we could eat our lunches in peace either.

I woke up early in the morning to prepare my lunch with Umi. I wanted to enjoy it peacefully at least.

"So, where should we eat, Maki? Our usual spot is used by other people to practice."

"Is that so? Hm…"

I knew a few quiet places that I used to eat my lunch by myself, but if we were to go to those places together, it'd make us stand out if anything.

The weather was still scorching hot outside, so if possible, I wanted to eat somewhere inside, but I didn't know a place where we could go together without minding other people's gazes.

In other words, the cafeteria was out of question since it was filled with people. Our respective classes too. I wonder if there was an empty classroom we could use somewhere in the building?

"Um, can I have a word, senpai?"

"Hm?"

Suddenly, one boy approached us.

"Sorry for suddenly calling you out like this, but you are Maehara-senpai, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Great. I've never talked with you before, so I was afraid that I mistook you for someone else…"

The boy smiled. He was wearing a green tie, a sign that he was a first-year.

He looked like a boy that could bewitch every girl who saw him. He had light brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, overall a nice face and he was tall. I wouldn't be surprised if he was an idol or something.

Though, for some reason he looked really friendly even though this was our first meeting.

Then, Umi, who stood next to me, greeted him.

"Heya, Takizawa-kun. You're all better now?"

"Yes. Sorry for troubling you back then, Asanagi-senpai. Mio-chan— I mean, the president was really thankful for your help."

"You don't need to hide anything, we won't make fun of you or anything. Right, Nina?"

"Eh?! Y-Y-Y-Yeah…"

The conversation between Umi and the boy, who seemed to know each other already, and Nitta-san, who acted strangely, made me realize something.

"Umi, is he that Takizawa-kun?"

"Yes, he is that Takizawa-kun."

"Ahaha… I'm embarrassed to admit it, but yes, I'm Takizawa Souji, the vice president of the student council. Nice to meet you, Maehara-senpai."

The boy who still managed to smile amiably even after we had that kind of conversation in front of him was the first year who was heavily talked among the girl students in our school.