Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I Hate Exams (2)
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...Why is this guy here?
In a completely unexpected situation, I froze in place and stared blankly at him. Had he been coming to school all this time? Or...
My thoughts trailed off there. I realized his gaze was fixed somewhere.
"...Where are you looking?"
I muttered quietly, and he flinched, his shoulders jerking up. My eyes narrowed as I raised my arms to cover my chest. He'd been staring at my chest this whole time.
"Ah, no... It's a misunderstanding..."
"You pervert."
He didn't even know what he should be saying to me right now, and the first thing he does upon seeing me is ogle my wet body. Rage boiled up inside me, making my entire body tremble. The slight favorability I'd built up plummeted, and the disgust I'd been holding back surged up my throat. I wanted to spit in his face and give him a piece of my mind.
...But I wouldn't go that far.
I crossed my arms and turned my body slightly away. His face flushed bright red. The ridiculous sight of him flailing his hands and insisting it wasn't like that only made me frown even more.
"Then where exactly were you looking?"
"I-It was just... you were wet, so my eyes naturally went there."
"...Die."
"...Sorry."
If I was wet, he should've looked away even more. Ever since becoming a girl recently, I'd grown a bit more shy, so I was sensitive to anyone eyeing my body. Back then, I didn't care who looked, but now... I guess you could say I felt embarrassed for no reason.
For him to stare so openly at my body like that, my face nearly heated up too. I was letting it slide because it was him. If it were anyone else, I'd have frozen them solid on the spot...
No, it wasn't because it was Zenon. It was just that right now, hearing what he had to say was more important. No need to waste time getting mad, so I was letting it go.
"What happened? Were you coming to school the whole time?"
"Yeah, I was coming to school."
"You weren't in class."
"I couldn't go. Can't attend class in the middle of a suspension."
Suspension. At that word, my narrowed eyes widened slightly. So he avoided expulsion? That meant he'd spilled his side of the story to someone. Thinking that made my anger ease a bit. Getting mad at a guy who went to the trouble of sharing his circumstances just to avoid expulsion felt... a little off, didn't it?
I uncrossed my arms and looked straight at him. He flinched and made that dumb face, which was annoying to look at, but I still had to ask what needed asking.
"How many days of suspension?"
"...Today's the last one. It was two weeks."
Shorter than I'd expected. And if today was the last day...
"So you're coming back starting tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Oh god. I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed. These past few days had been peaceful, but now I'd have to face Zenon in class again. Maybe I should switch to a seat in the corner.
...But avoiding him so blatantly might hurt his feelings.
What a headache. I'd have to toss and turn at home tonight figuring out how to dodge him without hurting him.
As I pondered that, his voice came to my ear.
"...Thanks to you."
"What?"
"Avoiding expulsion... and everything else. If you hadn't stopped that fight back then, I really would've been expelled."
I hadn't really done anything, so it felt a bit odd, but since he was thanking me, I wasn't going to argue.
"Not curious how I avoided expulsion?"
"...You handled it yourself somehow."
"I could tell you."
You'd want to know, right? He added that at the end with a faint smile. I had no idea what he meant by that. He probably talked about his mom and avoided expulsion that way, but why tell me? In the novel, the only people he opened up to about his mom were people he trusted or... had feelings for.
There was no way he'd tell someone like me, who'd only met him a handful of times. I shook my head firmly and opened my mouth.
"Nah. More importantly, suspension's what matters. Good thing it wasn't expulsion."
"...Yeah, lucky."
His blue eyes looked down at me. Maybe because of the smile on his lips, but his expression seemed much brighter than before. Probably just my imagination. In the original story, he knew Aisha from the start, but he only started smiling for real after falling for her.
Anyway, I was glad Zenon got off with just a suspension. With the plot already tangled from day one, it was better with the protagonist around.
"But why are you standing here?"
I'd been wondering since earlier. Why was he in front of the girls' bathroom? Maybe he had some fetish I didn't know about. As I slowly raised my arms again at the thought, Zenon shouted in a panicked voice.
"No, it's a misunderstanding!"
"Then why are you in front of the girls' bathroom?"
"...Look at this. Suspension duty—I'm here for cleaning service."
He sighed and showed me the rag in his hand. Ah. Seeing that, I roughly understood why he was here. Makes sense—even on suspension, they rarely just let you stay home. They probably had him cleaning bathrooms or something.
"Got it. Good luck then."
That answered my questions. As I tried to walk past him, he grabbed my arm.
"...Wait a sec."
"What?"
Why grab my arm all of a sudden? I shot him a glare like what do you think you're doing? He hesitated before speaking.
"...Your number."
"What?"
"G-Gimme your number. I mean—you're the only one I know here. And we can contact each other through your smartphone. No weird intentions, just... if I have questions, I can ask..."
"Here."
I tossed my plastic box at him. So this was a smartphone. First time hearing the name. Probably an evolved form of a smartphone or something. Geez, so wordy just to ask for my number. Giving it to him felt a bit iffy, but it was the protagonist's number after all.
Couldn't exactly pretend I didn't have it.
Zenon stared blankly at the smartphone I'd thrown him. Watching him fumble with it like an idiot was frustrating, so I spoke up.
"What? You don't have to if you don't want it."
"Ah, no. It's fine."
He flinched in surprise, then quickly entered his number and handed the smartphone back.
"...Huh. But you have no saved numbers? You couldn't have just bought it..."
"Nope. You're the first."
I barely knew how to use it anyway, and I didn't know anyone. Oh yeah, I should get Frey's number too. I pocketed the smartphone and looked up to head to Frey. That's when I saw his face flushed bright red.
He couldn't even meet my eyes. Did he see something on the smartphone...? I'd have to check it later.
"You okay?"
"N-No, uh. See you. Tomorrow."
"...Yeah."
He'd buried his head completely, mumbling something. It was a bit weird, but I turned and walked past Zenon.
Pssshhh—
If steam could really vent from a person's head, I'd look just like that right now. Like a steam locomotive, endlessly spewing something from my bright red, overheated head—I was probably thinking that. The meaning behind those words was surely exactly as they sounded.
You're the first.
Who knew those words could shake a person this much? I had no idea what emotion I was feeling right now. My chest tightened at a simple gesture, at ordinary conversation, making me inexplicably anxious... I had no clue.
How shocked I'd been entering my number into her smartphone. Seeing the pristine contact list without even her parents' numbers made a ton of thoughts flood my mind. Had she lost her parents like me? The model was discontinued five years ago—had she lived five years without contacting anyone?
Could someone live that lonely a life and still go on so ordinarily?
Actually, when my suspension was confirmed, I hadn't entirely ruled out going to Aisha to let her know. But I hesitated, wondering if it was okay to approach her for something like that. I'd only glimpsed her from afar, after all.
But as time passed, conflicting emotions piled up. I made excuses to get even a little closer, and when I saw her heading to the bathroom, I deliberately grabbed a rag and pretended to come out of the boys' even though it wasn't my assignment.
When I added my number to her empty contact list, I felt an indescribable joy. And when she said I was the first, my vision went white for a moment—I couldn't look at her face.
Face-to-face, I had no idea what words would come out of my mouth. I don't even remember what I said when she called to me.
What should I call this feeling?
...I had no idea at all.