Appleton's Friend
Another boring class had begun today. Before coming to the Academy, I had harbored some slight expectations, but it seemed the kind of exciting classes you saw in comic books didn't actually exist. Unable to endure the boredom, I let out a yawn. The atmosphere was endlessly sluggish. Listening to the teacher's dry, monotonous voice, I slumped onto my desk. Rain was already fast asleep, using her chick bag as a pillow. Seeing her sleep so soundly anytime, anywhere, made me feel a little annoyed for some reason. As I poked Rain's cheek, I suddenly found myself throwing a question at Appleton.
"Hey, Appleton."
"Y-yes?"
"What do you usually do in your free time?"
It was just a casual question. After all, I needed to know what she did to get closer to her. But Appleton looked as if she had been asked a terribly difficult question, her eyes darting around as she mumbled.
"Don't you have any hobbies?"
"Taking pictures... is my hobby..."
After some persistent prodding, I finally managed to get an answer out of her. Photography. It wasn't exactly a common hobby for a girl our age, but it wasn't a strange one either. Yet, she couldn't lift her head, looking as if she were too embarrassed to tell anyone. Why was she reacting like this?
"Hey, do you happen to have your camera with you right now?"
"I-I do have it, but..."
"Then can I see some of the pictures you usually take?"
Appleton couldn't answer my question. Was she going around taking pictures that were hard to show others?
"Come on, Appleton, I really want to see the pictures you took. Won't you show me?"
I clung to Appleton's arm and began to pester her. I didn't think I used to be like this, but since Amy and Shine usually gave in whenever I begged them like this, it seemed I had unconsciously picked up a bad habit. Appleton swallowed hard, her face turning pale as she looked at me clinging to her arm. Her gaze was directed next to me—specifically, toward where Shine was sitting. Wondering why she was looking over there, I turned my head, only to find Shine glaring at Appleton with a terrifying intensity.
"Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"You're making Appleton uncomfortable."
"But I want to see them..."
Shine grabbed my arm and gently pulled me back. Clinging to Appleton's arm, I hesitated for a moment but ultimately had no choice but to yield to Shine's wishes.
"Are you jealous by any chance?"
"Yes."
Shine answered flatly to my playful question. My eyes widened at her response. Her brutal honesty and the slightly pouting look on her face were just too adorable. I giggled softly and clung to Shine's arm instead. At that, the corners of her mouth began to lift slightly.
After class finally ended, I was eventually able to take a look at Appleton's camera. Since it looked incredibly expensive at a glance, I didn't touch it directly, but Appleton looked quite natural holding the gleaming camera in her hands.
"Here... you go..."
"Wow. Is it really okay for me to look?"
"Y-you said you wanted to see."
Of course, I had said that, but I hadn't expected her to hand over such a precious-looking camera so easily. I grabbed both of Appleton's hands and shook them excitedly.
"Thank you!"
I knew more than enough about how to operate a simple camera. I immediately began scrolling through the photos Appleton had taken.
"Oh..."
I let out a soft exclamation of admiration as I browsed the photos. The subjects of her photos were all handsome, striking impressive poses. Seeing as they didn't seem to notice the camera, it looked like she had taken them secretly from a distance.
"They're all guys?"
"Y-yes..."
Appleton's face flushed bright red at my words, and she hung her head low. I felt like I finally understood why she hadn't wanted to show me. Most of them were male students sweating while playing sports. I was flipping through them just fine, but the moment a photo of a male student stripping off his shirt appeared, I threw the camera away in shock.
Crack!
"Aaaah!"
Appleton screamed. I did the exact same.
"Gyaaaah!"
I had suffered a visual assault from an entirely unexpected source. Shine, who had been watching blankly from the side, was also startled, and Rain, who had been in a deep sleep, mumbled something and pulled her textbook over her head. Appleton rushed over to her camera and picked it up. The camera cradled in her arms was in terrible shape. It was completely dented and cracked, looking as though it would never work again.
"Ugh..."
Appleton bit her lip hard, trying to hold back her tears. I hurriedly approached her.
"Hey, I-I'm so sorry! I'll buy you a new one. Please don't cry, okay?"
What was the big deal about a male student taking his shirt off anyway? Why had I been so shocked? Why did it look so gross to me? I didn't think I used to be like this. As I was lost in these thoughts, Shine spoke to me.
"Jeff."
"Yeah..."
"Why did you do that?"
"W-well, suddenly a male student was about to strip his clothes off..."
"Good job."
"No, I mean, maybe it was a good reaction, but it's not my camera... This belongs to Appleton. I'm the one in the wrong here."
Shine ruffled my hair as if praising me. Her touch felt nice, but resolving Appleton's problem was the priority right now. I frantically rummaged through my pockets. But there was no way the black card Amy had confiscated would be here. All I had was the small amount of pocket money Amy had given me to buy lunch.
"Don't worry."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes."
Shine led the sobbing Appleton and me out of the classroom. I felt like we were forgetting something, but I decided to follow Shine for now. Walking slowly, she began to strike up a conversation with Appleton.
"Appleton."
"Y-yes..."
"Did you take those pictures because you like those people?"
"Oh, yes. The male students playing sports looked cool... P-please keep it a secret from others."
"I'll keep your secret. But sports aren't only played by male students."
"That's true, but..."
"Yesterday, Jeff and I showed you a great game of ball, didn't we?"
"Yes..."
"Then shouldn't you just take pictures of things like that?"
At Shine's words, Appleton stopped in her tracks. We waited for her. Fiddling with her broken camera, she slowly opened her mouth.
"Of course it was cool, but... there was no heart-fluttering feeling, so I couldn't bring myself to take a picture..."
"A heart-fluttering feeling?"
"Yes."
"So if your heart flutters, you can take a picture?"
"Uh, probably...?"
"Great."
I had no idea what was so great. Shine smiled brightly and extended her hand to Appleton. In a daze, Appleton took her hand.
"I'll take care of the camera problem."
She led Appleton toward the faculty office. By this point, I could easily guess who she was planning to ask.
Knock, knock—
"T-this is the Principal's office!"
"Yeah."
"It's us."
At Shandroi's permission to enter, Shine swung the door open. A rich aroma of coffee wafted from the wide-open office. I darted my tongue out and licked my lips. It had been a while since I last had coffee, and I really wanted some.
Shandroi's eyes quickly swept over us. Shine, me, and Appleton. Her gaze shifted slightly to the side as if looking for someone else, but there was no one but the three of us.
"Welcome, Shine, Jeff, Appleton."
Because Appleton was with us, she tried to treat us like ordinary students. But Shine wasn't having it. She walked forward confidently and plopped down on the sofa opposite Shandroi.
"Come here."
I went over and sat down as well. Appleton, who was trembling violently, hesitated to move, but after I grabbed her hand and tugged a few times, she reluctantly followed.
Looking around the office, I recalled what Grandfather Ferman had told me. He said to always check what's around you, no matter where you go. I immediately activated my ability. A thin electromagnetic field spread out wide, checking the operational status of all nearby mechanical devices. I could see faint radio waves flowing through the air.
"Contact Grandfather for us," Shine said.
Shandroi seemed to hesitate for a moment at her request, but after glancing at Appleton, she nodded.
"Hey, Shine, if we're just going to contact Grandfather, we could have used our own phones. There was no need to come all the way here..."
"But you said you missed Grandfather, Jeff."
"W-well, that's true, but..."
As soon as Shandroi finished making the call, she seemed to receive a reply. Rising from her seat immediately, she began to prepare various things. Just like before, a large screen appeared on the wall, and cameras moved around. Then, at some point, the screen lit up, and the vivid image of Grandfather Ferman, dressed in a sharp suit, appeared.
Grandfather Ferman was fiddling with the camera in front of his desk.
"Grandfather!"
Grandfather Ferman's gaze shifted to the side. The joy that had filled his face was replaced by confusion. Only then did I realize who we had left behind. Rain was missing. We had left without waking her up while she was sleeping in the classroom.
"This is Appleton, our friend."
At Shine's words, Grandfather Ferman nodded and spoke.
"Do we need a reason to call you?" Shine asked.
"We called because Jeff missed you so much."
"Yeah. This is the only place we can see you on a big screen."
At her words, I buried my face in my hands and hugged the sofa cushion next to me. Although what she said was true, having it blurted out so openly in front of him was a bit embarrassing.
Grandfather Ferman laughed heartily at Shine's words. He seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. Seeing this, Shine began to state her original purpose.
"Grandfather."
"We need something. We need a camera."
At Grandfather Ferman's puzzled question, Shine pointed to the broken camera cradled in Appleton's arms.
"Jeff broke it."
Grandfather Ferman said this and raised his hand. As if waiting for that gesture, a secretary standing nearby approached him. The two began to converse in low voices. Although I couldn't hear the details, I could tell that Grandfather was trying to push back his schedule. After some important-sounding exchange, Grandfather smiled warmly and spoke.
"Really!?"
I jumped up from my seat and shouted at Grandfather Ferman's words. The excitement of seeing Grandfather after such a long time wouldn't fade. Watching me rejoice, Grandfather nodded and replied.
"Yes!"
I answered energetically. Not long after, the call was disconnected. Staring blankly at the screen as it faded to black, I threw my arms around Appleton, who was sitting next to me.
"Appleton! Grandfather is coming! I'll introduce you to him then!"
"H-heck... gasp..."
Appleton, her face completely pale, could only manage a weak nod.