Part 28: The Anomaly Known As Sakakibara Daiki

The next day, I go to class a bit earlier than usual to prepare myself mentally. I spent a majority of last night trying to think of my game plan on how I should make the request. After going through numerous simulations in my head, the scenario that looked the most promising is to complement her first to butter her up before springing the request unto her. 

Honestly, this would be a lot easier if I wasn't such a deadbeat introvert.

As I sit at my desk, I see more and more of my classmates come in. Most of them just immediately go to their seats to fiddle with their phones, while others talk among themselves about what they did last night. But none of them ever paid any attention or even acknowledged my existence. Even though I sit right next to the door and I would be one of the first things you see upon entering, I'm still an invisible ghost in the eyes of my classmates.

Some would think that it's a sad existence. But I don't mind it. In fact, I revel in it.

A few more minutes go by until the familiar figure of Asamura Asuka appears. I haven't paid much attention to her nor even looked at her directly whenever we talk. But now that I am actively looking at her, she really does have a model-like figure. Plus, she has an attractive yet intense face, kind of like a beautiful secretary that won't tolerate any non-sense. Going by looks alone, one can easily tell why she belongs in the popular group.

Upon entering the classroom, Asamura goes straight to her friend group gathered around Sakakibara Daiki's seat by the window.

"Yo, Asuka-chan! Listen to this, my bro Daiki forgot his textbook today!"

"Eh? It's rare for Daiki to forget something."

"Are you okay, Daiki? You're catching a cold or something?"

Geez, the guy just forgot his textbook yet everyone is acting like it's the end of the world.

"Come on guys! It's just that I woke up late and had to run to school. I forgot that I left my textbook at my desk back home."

 Sakakibara Daiki remains unfazed by their reactions and simply laughs and gives them a straightforward reason. Normally, people who are given that much attention and admiration would grow arrogant and "holier-than-thou". But this guy somehow still remains friendly, amicable, and somewhat humble. He's an anomaly in the world of high school teenagers. Which is why people flock to him like some kind of messiah.

It irritates me. No one is that perfect.

After a few more minutes of interacting with her friends, Asamura glances at my direction and catches me staring at them. Her eyes narrow and her expression seems to say "Eww, why are you staring at me? You creep."

Although it's already too late, I still put my head down in an attempt to salvage the situation. But after a while, I hear footsteps approaching me.

"So, any reason you were so fixated on me just now? Don't tell me you were waiting for me to come to you?"

I look up and see Asamura towering over me like a vengeful goddess.

"I-it's not you I was staring at. I was looking at Sakakibara Daiki."

"Daiki-kun? Why? You in love with him or something?"

"Hell no. I was just watching things. That's all."

Judging by how she's looking at me, my reasoning didn't seem to defuse her suspicions. It's the truth though. What else do you want from me?!

"Hmm… Well, not that it matters to me. Just stop staring too much. If others catch you, they might take you for a creepy stalker."

She begins to walk away, seemingly not wanting to give me any time to retort.

"W-wait! There's actually something I need to talk to you about!"

Out of panic, I blurted those lines out a little too loudly than I would have liked. All my other classmates, who were previously doing their own thing, suddenly stopped and now have their gazes shifted towards me. Asamura also turned around with a look of pure shock on her face. 

"Hey Asuka, what's up over there?"

The queen of the group, Fujiwara Sumire, called out to Asamura.

"Eh? Ah, it's nothing! Sugiyama-kun just had something to ask me about yesterday's lecture."

"Sugiyama? Who the hell is that?"

That hurts. Although I don't know 80 percent of my classmates' names, I still know who Fujiwara Sumire is. Now I know how Asamura must have felt when I mistakenly called her Ashura.

"Come on, you guys know Sugiyama-kun, right?"

Asamura awkwardly points towards me like some kind of crime victim identifying a suspect.

"Oh! Yeah, that guy! I always thought his name was Sugijama."

Hey, that's not funny. Are you trying to say I'm a hindrance or something? That's rich coming from the comical relief of the group. But I shouldn't be too bothered. I don't even know his name, either.

"You and me both, Tatsu. I actually thought his name was Hijikata."

Now now, side character number 2, that doesn't even sound remotely close to my name. And since when was I a part of the Shinsengumi?! Don't get me wrong, I wish I had an incredibly cool name like Hijikata or Muramasa though.

As everyone else in their group starts talking about what they thought my name was, the distinct harsh grating sound of chair legs dragging on the floor reverberates across the room. As if on cue, everyone stops what they're doing. All eyes darted towards Sakakibara Daiki, who had stood up from his desk.

"I almost forgot. Tatsu, have you decided where you're gonna go for the field study?"

"Oh! I almost forgot! I guess I'll just go wherever you're going, Dai-bro!"

"Oh yeah, that's right! I wanna go where you're going Daiki."

In one fell swoop, Sakakibara Daiki managed to get the entire class' attention away from me and towards him. Now, almost everyone is talking about where they're going for the field study in two weeks. By the way, I already decided to go to the aquarium and write a report on jellyfish behavior for the field study. Not that anyone asked.

Did Sakakibara Daiki do this on purpose? But why would he offer us a lifeline out of that awkward situation? Looks like Asamura is simply relieved with this sudden development and doesn't even question it. She looks back at me and mouths "later, okay?" before running back to her group and joining in on the conversation.

Well, at least I got part-way towards what I want to achieve. All's well that ends well. Honestly, I feel so tired after that moment that I just want to rest my head on my desk and sleep the day away. In fact, I think I'll do just that.

As I plop my head down, my eyes dart back towards the amalgamation of voices emanating from the increasing number of people in the far corner of the room. Despite the smorgasbord of faces surrounding him, I somehow lock eyes with Sakakibara Daiki. He is staring right at me. Once he sees that I noticed him staring, he flashes a smile at me that seems to say "You're welcome". I turn away quickly.

Damn it. I really don't like that guy.