A Cure for a Weak Constitution
"Appleton isn't here yet..."
Her seat remained empty. Class had already started, but she still hadn't returned to the classroom. And here I was, with a whole pile of gifts to give her. I rested my chin on my hand and let out a deep sigh. At that, the teacher who was leading the class at the front flinched and froze. The hand that had been moving so smoothly, filling the blackboard with formulas, came to a dead stop.
"Um..."
I stopped taking notes and looked out the window. The weather was finally starting to warm up, and delicate petals were budding on the trees. The cute blend of white and pink brought a small smile to my face. A cool breeze drifted gently through the slightly open window. As I stared blankly at a petal that had floated in with the wind, I realized that everyone's eyes had gathered on us once again. What is it this time? With that thought, I raised my head, only to find the teacher looking at us—or more accurately, at me—with an incredibly anxious expression. He looked at me and asked, "Is... is there something uncomfortable about the lesson?"
I frowned at his words. As a student, hearing a teacher speak to me in such polite, formal honorifics felt incredibly bizarre. The looks from the surrounding students didn't help either. Seeing my expression, the teacher began to tremble.
"No, it's fine. Just keep doing what you're doing."
Saying that, I rested my chin on my hand again and looked back out the window. The halted lesson resumed. Appleton's empty seat still felt lonely. I reached out and gently stroked her desk.
"I hope she comes back soon."
I smiled faintly, imagining how happy Appleton would be when she received her gifts.
Appleton finally returned just before the next class was about to start. Seeing how tense she looked, even breaking out in a cold sweat, she still didn't seem to be feeling well.
"Hi!"
Shine, Rain, and I greeted her. Appleton, who had just opened the classroom door and stepped inside, froze on the spot. After a brief moment, she managed to regain her composure and replied, "O-Oh, hi?"
"Come over here and sit!"
I gestured for Appleton to join us. Right next to me. Appleton glanced at the seat, then slowly walked over and sat down beside me.
"Where did you go?"
"W-Well, I wasn't feeling very well..."
"You're using formal speech again. I told you I don't like that. Friends can speak more casually with each other."
Appleton swallowed hard at my words and nodded.
"Right. So you went to the infirmary because you weren't feeling well?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"I see. Isn't it hard having such a weak constitution?"
"Not... not necessarily..."
Listening to Appleton, I began pulling out the gifts I had prepared for her from my bag. Shine and Rain also took out their items and placed them on the desk. When the massive, vacuum-sealed pack containing the owl bear paw was placed on the desk, it instantly made the space feel cramped. The dinosaur's belly had indeed been thoroughly emptied.
"Here!"
I pushed all the items that had been piled on Shine and Rain's desks over to Appleton's.
"T-This is..."
Appleton's mouth fell open, and her hands trembled as if she were deeply moved. Her eyes were glued to the gifts we had just handed her.
"They're good for your health! You'll accept them, right? I really want you to eat these."
"Should I... should I eat them now?"
Appleton asked, looking ready to devour them on the spot. But the gifts I had prepared couldn't be eaten right here, right now. Shaking my head, I replied, "No, you have to take those home to eat. They require a special cooking process. But you can take the supplements Shine prepared right away."
As I spoke, I took two pills from the medicine bottle Shine had prepared and placed them in her hand. Appleton blinked, staring down at the pills in her palm. They were small, round tablets. Just pop them in your mouth and wash them down with water—a very simple way to take medicine. Anticipating that Appleton might not have water, I pulled a bottle filled with green juice from my bag and held it out to her.
"Here. Drink it with this."
Having handed everything over to Appleton, I rested my chin on my hand and watched her closely.
"You're not going to refuse to take them, are you?"
Appleton took a slow, steadying breath at my words, popped the pills into her mouth, and began chugging the green juice. Once the green liquid had been completely gulped down, she slumped back into her chair, looking utterly exhausted.
"Thank you..."
Appleton was such a good girl. Seeing how she didn't forget to express her gratitude, I found her adorable and reached out to pat her head.
"Good job."
Startled by my sudden gesture, Appleton flinched and pulled her head back. My hand, suddenly losing its destination, froze in midair.
"Oh... sorry. Was that a bit too sudden?"
Feeling embarrassed by her reaction, I pulled my hand back. Living with Shine and Rain had made me lose my sense of how to maintain a normal distance with other people. Leaving the flustered Appleton aside, I cast a helpless glance at Shine for help. Shine, who had been watching Appleton with her arms crossed, finally shifted her gaze to me when she felt my eyes on her.
"What is it?"
"Shine, do friends not pat each other's heads?"
"Hmm... it was a common thing in comic books."
"Right?"
I knew it. Nodding, I reached out again and patted Appleton's head. Though she had resisted at first, Appleton squeezed her eyes shut and accepted my touch. She looked just like a cat, which made a giggle escape my lips.
"Hehe."
And so, the next class began. Throughout the lesson, I kept observing Appleton. She paid close attention to the lecture and worked hard on her studies. Whenever she made a mistake on a problem, I would point it out to her.
"This one is wrong."
"Ah!"
Every time, Appleton would startle and quickly correct the problem I mentioned. It was a completely different feeling from being with Shine and Rain. It felt as if I had gotten a younger sister. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I watched her.
"U-Um..."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Perhaps the initial awkwardness had faded a bit, because although she still didn't seem entirely comfortable, Appleton cautiously started talking to me. I chuckled softly at her question.
"Why? Is it uncomfortable?"
"N-No!"
Appleton waved her hands frantically, shaking her head. Her reaction was so amusing that I let out another giggle. Hehehe— my soft laughter echoed quietly through the classroom.
"Ahem!"
After I had been staring at Appleton for quite a while, I heard Shine clear her throat from beside me. She pulled on my arm with a displeased look on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Aren't you staring too much?"
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Isn't this what friends usually do?"
"No, it's not," Shine replied flatly.
I tilted my head at her response, recalling things I had often seen in comic books. Staring at the friend studying next to you throughout class was a cliché that absolutely always appeared in any school-themed manga.
"Hmm... really?"
"Yes."
"But it's a scene that comes up all the time in comic books."
"Then the comic books are wrong."
"Then does that mean everything you've done to me is wrong too, Shine?"
"T-That's..."
Shine looked flustered by my question. It was rare to see her make a face like that. Finding her reaction adorable, I let out a soft laugh.
"Don't laugh like that."
"Okay. If you want me to stop, I will."
Saying that, I grabbed Shine's arm, pulled it onto the desk, and rested my head on it. In an instant, I had made myself a Shine-arm-pillow.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"Yeah. The weather is so warm and cozy, I'm getting sleepy."
"Physical education is an outdoor class, so I'll wake you up then."
"Okay."
I rubbed my cheek against Shine's hand and closed my eyes. A gentle breeze, a quiet classroom. The soft scratching of pencils became my lullaby, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.
Jeff—
A clear voice pierced through my fading consciousness. Smiling faintly at Shine's voice, I turned my head.
"Mmh..."
At my sluggish response, Shine called my name once more.
Jeff—
"Mm..."
I turned my head again. Through my blurry, half-open eyes, Shine's face came into view. She was looking down at me from very close by. Her breath falling over my face felt warm.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah..."
I usually took a nap around this time anyway. Answering Shine, I pushed myself up. Aside from my body feeling a bit stiff from sleeping face-down on the desk, everything was perfect.
"Mmmph~"
I let out a soft groan as I stretched my arms.
"It's PE class now, right?"
"Yes."
I nodded and stood up. Appleton, who had been sitting stiffly in her chair, also stood up to follow us.
"Hey, it's PE class. Aren't you guys going to change?"
I asked, looking around the classroom. The other kids were still frozen in place. Leaving the unresponsive classmates behind, the four of us headed to the changing room.
"Appleton."
"Yes! I mean, yeah!"
Appleton squeaked, startled by my sudden question.
"What do we usually do during PE?"
"Ah. Um... well, usually we just spend the time doing whatever we want."
"We don't actually learn anything?"
"Mmm... you can if you want to, but most people just use the time to study."
"Hmm..."
Nodding at Appleton's response, I stepped into the changing room. It was spacious and smelled nice.
"But everyone still changes into their gym clothes, right?"
"Yeah, because it's the rule."
"Then why are we the only ones here?"
"W-Well, once we're done changing, everyone else will probably come in."
"Why?"
"Because you guys..."
"Huh?"
"N-No, it's nothing."
Appleton mumbled, shaking her head. I pulled out my brand-new gym uniform and tore open the packaging. The uniform had a very sleek design. It was mostly black with blue accents here and there, so it didn't look tacky at all. The fabric was also soft yet durable. After quickly changing into our gym clothes, we stepped out of the changing room.
Not long after we stepped outside, a crowd of students who had changed into their gym clothes poured out. Since the classes weren't separated and the entire grade was grouped together, there were quite a lot of students. Once they reached the sports field, the kids gathered in their own groups and scattered in all directions. The PE teacher in charge of the class didn't stop them either. He only focused on the students who actually gathered in front of him, teaching them exercises. The four of us sat down on a wooden bench.
"Appleton, what do you usually do during this time?"
"I... I just study."
"Study?"
"Yeah."
"So you don't exercise at all?"
"Uh-huh... usually, yeah."
I jumped up from my seat at Appleton's answer. Now I knew exactly why she had such a weak constitution.
"Rain, Shine. You guys get up too."
Rain and Shine immediately stood up at my command. As I pulled out my phone and opened my music playlist, Rain, realizing what I was about to do, said, "Jeff. You're not seriously thinking of doing that here, are you?"
"Yes, I am. We're doing it."
My finger tapped play. As the familiar intro music began to flow, Shine and Rain instinctively spread out to give themselves some space. I grabbed the hand of the seated Appleton and pulled her up.
"Alright, you're going to follow along too."
"Huh? Huh? Follow what?"
I positioned the bewildered Appleton in a spot where she could clearly see Shine and Rain. As Appleton stood there blankly, I moved behind her and poked her in the back.
"Come on, copy those two!"
The gymnastics music kicked into full gear. As Shine and Rain began to move, Appleton did her best to clumsily mimic their motions just as I had told her to. But she was far too awkward. Standing behind her, I personally adjusted her posture. However, Rain's movements were a bit strange. Looking closer, she had her head hung low, her face completely flushed, clearly self-conscious of the surrounding stares. With her head down, she couldn't get the postures right.
"Rain!"
"Y-Yes!"
"Head up!"
"Ugh..."
"You want to grow taller, don't you?!"
Only then did Rain finally lift her head.
By the time we finished the full routine, Appleton was completely exhausted.
"How is it?"
"Haaah..."
"Feels good, right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Appleton panted, barely managing to nod. That's weird. Doing gymnastics is supposed to make you feel refreshed. As I stared at her in confusion, Shine stepped in front of me.
"Shine?"
"I'll help."
"Okay."
Shine straightened Appleton's slumped upper body, grabbed her by the shoulders, and whispered in a low, quiet voice.
"Gymnastics feels good."
"Ugh..."
"Doing gymnastics makes you feel good."
"Y-Yeah..."
"Right?"
"Gymnastics... gymnastics... gymnastics feels goooood..."
Appleton let out a weak groan as she muttered the words. Only then did Shine step back with a satisfied expression.