A Recipe for Friendship
Appleton, who had suddenly collapsed, was carried on the back of the teacher who had entered to prepare for the next class and taken to the infirmary.
"Hmm... I wonder where she's hurting?"
"She must have a weak constitution."
"Right? I mean, we didn't even do anything and she just suddenly collapsed."
"Yeah. You didn't do anything wrong, Jeff. Appleton is just weak."
I let out a soft sigh at Shine's words. I had been secretly looking forward to making my very first friend, but who could have anticipated that Appleton would suddenly pass out like that?
I pulled out my phone and began searching for what kind of gifts were best for a friend with a weak body.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, Appleton seems really frail, so I want to give her something healthy as a gift."
"Why don't we just give her the green juice Amy made for us?"
I nodded at Shine's suggestion. That was brilliant. The green juice Amy prepared for us was incredibly healthy. Rather than having us—who were already perfectly healthy—drink it, giving it to Appleton, who looked like she might collapse at any moment, would surely make her strong and healthy.
"That's a wonderful idea."
I spoke as I pictured the dinosaur water bottle resting inside my bag. It absolutely wasn't because I hated drinking it and wanted to dump it on Appleton. Surely, Amy would praise me for giving it to a frail friend who needed it more than I did.
"Don't you think so too, Rain?"
"Yeah. It's a really great idea."
Rain also had her own bottle of green juice from Amy. The three of us were in perfect agreement.
The teacher who had taken Appleton to the infirmary returned to the classroom, and the lesson began.
Bored by the lecture, I rested my chin on my hand and looked around. The classroom was dead silent; not a single person was chatting as everyone focused on their studies. I, too, moved my pen to solve the problems. My hand glided across the paper without a single hitch. I was certain I couldn't solve problems this quickly before. I tilted my head, recalling the study sessions I had done with Amy.
"What's wrong?"
"Hmm... It's just a bit strange. It feels like a fog has cleared from my head."
I answered Shine's question as I closed my textbook.
"They're easier to solve than before, right?"
"Yeah."
"You have to be better than everyone else, Jeff. So it's only natural."
"Is it?"
At this moment, no one in the classroom was solving the problems faster than me. Everyone else was moving their pens with intensely focused expressions. I let out a long yawn and set my pen down. Shine, having finished at a similar speed, also laid down her pen. A dull class. Tedious hours. I couldn't fight off the drowsiness.
Rain was already fast asleep, her face buried in her chick bag. I wondered how long she had been out. The teacher standing at the podium, noticing the sleeping Rain, opened his mouth to say something. But the moment his eyes met mine, his jaw tightened, and he promptly shut his mouth. He then turned his gaze away, continuing the lesson as if he hadn't seen Rain at all. It was a baffling reaction.
I recalled the plot of a manga Rain had lent me. A female teacher approaches to wake up the protagonist who fell asleep during class. She stares down at her sleeping student for a long moment, then gently brushes her soft lips against his. The sleeping protagonist wakes up with a start. After that... No, wait, that's not it. I shook my head at the unfolding memory and buried my face in my hands. Petals of flesh-toned imagery bloomed in my mind and refused to fade.
"Jeff, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything."
"Hmm..."
Shine chuckled softly at my response and leaned down against her desk. Her white hair cascaded down, draping over the desk. She peered up at me with a gentle gaze. My plan to hide my blushing face by hanging my head low was completely ruined. Avoiding Shine's eyes, I covered my face with both hands. As the two of us passed the time like that, the class quickly came to an end.
I began to poke the cheek of Rain, who was still fast asleep. She was smiling with her mouth slightly open, as if she were having a wonderful dream. Annoyed by the finger prodding her cheek, she knit her brows and turned her head away.
"Rain, wake up."
This time, I tickled her armpits. Rain's eyes snapped open, and she bolted upright with a bizarre shriek.
"Yeeek!"
"Are you awake?"
With half-lidded eyes, a slack mouth revealing her tiny tongue, and lips glistening with drool, Rain looked around with a dazed expression.
"Is class over?"
"Yeah."
"Mnnh..."
Rain groaned softly and stretched her arms and legs to loosen her stiff muscles. Even fully extended, Rain was still incredibly tiny. I looked around the room and frowned. Even though class had ended, no one stood up from their seats. Everyone was too busy walking on eggshells around us. I hated this kind of atmosphere.
"Um, excuse me, everyone."
My voice rang out in the quiet classroom. It wasn't particularly loud, but because the room was so silent, there wasn't a single student who didn't hear me. All eyes locked onto me. I looked back at them and spoke slowly.
"I want to become friends with all of you."
"No. You said only one."
The one who answered was Shine. Pulling me down by my waist into her embrace, Shine rested her chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.
"You said only one."
"But we're in the same class, so wouldn't it be nice to get along?"
"I don't want to."
I couldn't break Shine's stubbornness. Of course, if I pushed hard enough, she would reluctantly give in. But doing so would undoubtedly hurt her feelings, so I had no choice but to yield to her obstinacy.
"Okay, okay. I get it."
In the end, I gave up on making any more friends and left the classroom. The moment we stepped out, the other kids finally began to move as if they had been holding their breath. I really wanted to change that stiff atmosphere, but how? For now, I wanted to visit Appleton and ask for her advice. She had been with those kids much longer than we had, so surely she would know something.
Rain, Shine, and I headed toward the infirmary, each holding a water bottle filled to the brim with green juice. Thanks to Rain, who knew the layout of the school, we found our way without getting lost. Since the building was massive, the infirmary was equally grand. Seeing how each bed was placed in its own small private room, it looked less like a school clinic and more like a private ward in a hospital.
The school nurse was nowhere to be seen. Judging by the way the empty chair was still swaying slightly, they must have just stepped out. The three of us walked slowly, checking the beds. It didn't take long to find Appleton. Her unique hair color made her stand out, but there were also very few students lying in the white beds to begin with.
She was still unconscious, her eyes closed. Approaching Appleton's bed, we placed our water bottles beside her and sat down nearby.
"Should we wake her up?"
"Do you think we should?"
As Shine and I debated over the sleeping Appleton, Rain chimed in.
"Didn't you say she's sick? I don't think we really need to wake her up."
"Hmm..."
Rain made a fair point. But just as we were debating whether to wake her or not, Appleton's eyebrows twitched violently, and her closed eyelids began to flutter open.
"Ah! She's awake!"
Looking down at Appleton as she blankly opened her eyes, I jumped up from my seat and called out.
"Appleton!"
Appleton looked up at me with a hazy gaze, still half-asleep. After a moment, she began rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Appleton, are you hurting somewhere?"
She was the first friend I had made at this school. It was only natural to worry. I stepped closer to the bed and placed my hand on her forehead. Beside me, Shine flinched and glared at Appleton, but she didn't do anything more than that.
"Gasp..."
Appleton began to tremble violently as she stared at the hand resting on her forehead. I wondered if she was cold, but her body temperature felt perfectly normal.
"Sit up. We brought you a gift."
"A-A gift?"
"Yeah. And I told you, you can speak casually to me."
"Y-Yes! I mean, yeah!"
I pulled Appleton by her hand and helped her sit up on the bed. She still looked anxious, her eyes darting nervously around the room.
"Here, this is for you."
"What is..."
I lined up Shine's, Rain's, and my water bottles in front of Appleton.
"Since you seem so frail, Appleton, we brought you something healthy. You have to drink every last drop, okay?"
"A g-gift?"
Appleton asked back, her voice trembling. I nodded and thrust my dinosaur water bottle toward her.
"It's really good for your body. Drink up, quick."
As if she wouldn't dare dream of disobeying my words, she quickly reached out and grabbed the water bottle. She began to chug the green juice inside. The moment the green liquid flowed into her mouth, Appleton's face contorted in sheer horror. A trickle of green juice began to run down her lips. Before the drop could stain the bedsheets, I reached out and wiped her chin.
"Don't spill a drop. Drink up."
"Mmph..."
Without even pulling her lips from the bottle, Appleton gulped down the green juice. Seeing her down it all in one go, it seemed the green juice suited her taste. Taking back my empty bottle, I handed her Shine's.
"Ugh..."
Appleton groaned as she began to drink the next bottle of green juice. Her pale face was turning a sickly shade of blue. We were definitely feeding her something healthy, so why did she look like she was about to collapse again? But rendering my worries useless, Appleton managed to empty Shine's bottle as well.
"Huff... Huff..."
Appleton panted heavily, clamping a hand over her mouth.
"This is the last one."
Finally, I handed her Rain's bottle. Appleton hesitated for a moment, her eyes locking with mine in midair.
"Go on."
At my urging, Appleton gripped the bottle and began to drink the green juice once more. Gulp, gulp— the green liquid poured entirely into her stomach.
"Ack..."
Having swallowed the very last drop, Appleton let the bottle slip from her hand and collapsed onto the bed once again.
"Appleton?"
No matter how much I shook her, the collapsed Appleton showed no signs of waking up. To think her constitution was this weak... I had things I wanted to ask her, but I couldn't just wait around forever for her to wake up. Promising myself to bring her more green juice next time, I stepped out of the infirmary.