After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange - Chapter 3

Night.

I sat at my desk with my arms crossed while staring at a single notebook lying in front of me.

On the cover, the word “Ethics” was written.

If only it were really just a notebook for ethics class.

“Seriously, I don’t get it. Why is everyone looking for this stupid ethics notebook…”

At first, I thought it belonged to Sena-san. But then, I found out there were two other people who dropped notebooks, too.

Each one marked with the same mysterious initial “S”.

Other than Sena-san, no one else’s name even starts with an “S”.

Maybe that letter doesn’t stand for a name at all.

If I give this notebook to the wrong person, it could cause real trouble and maybe even a disaster.

That’s how dangerous this thing feels.

And the scariest part?

All three of them gave off a strange, insane vibe, those who might own it.

Any one of them could be the real owner.

“Damn it. Just do it already!”

I clenched my trembling hands, trying to push down the fear and fire myself up.

What I was about to do was simple.

To read the next page of the notebook.

The one page I saw yesterday wasn’t enough to figure out who it belonged to.

And honestly, everyone I asked about it practically said they’d kill me if I looked inside. (Okay, not literally, but close enough.)

So yeah, it’s terrifying, but reading more is the only way to find out the truth.

Keeping this thing any longer feels like I’ll get cursed or something.

“Alright, here goes.”

I took a few deep breaths and slowly turned the page. The one after that disturbing confession from yesterday.

“……”

I nearly let out a gasp, but forced myself to stay quiet.

◆

“Yaaawn…”

I stifled a yawn and slumped over my desk.

Just reading a few more pages of that notebook had completely drained me.

“Still…”

The part I read yesterday was the same. Someone writing down their feelings for the person they liked.

I don’t know when it was written, but reading someone’s private emotions like that honestly doesn’t feel good.

And the contents themselves were so intense, it was hard to keep going.

◇

Why didn’t I notice back then?

When you were still by my side, I was so dull and slow to understand.

I thought having you there was normal. That it would last forever.

It was only after we were apart that I finally understood.

The loneliness that burned deep inside my chest… and how big your presence truly was.

No matter who I talked to, no matter what I did, nothing could fill that emptiness. Just the simple fact that you weren’t there made the whole world lose its color.

…But.

I came back. To where you are.

We can be together again.

I thought I’d never see you again, yet now we can sit side by side, smiling, talking about nothing important.

It should feel the same as before… but it doesn’t.

Every second now shines like a jewel, so bright it almost hurts.

He’s always stood out, no matter where he is or what he does.

Everyone’s eyes naturally turn to him because he’s perfect at everything.

And that’s why…

When he shows even the smallest bit of kindness to someone, it feels like a blade cutting right through me.

I won’t look away anymore.

Your words, your gestures, even your breath.

I’ll carve them all into me.

Because losing you again…

I could never, ever forgive that.

So please, don’t look at anyone else.

Only look at me.

If you do… You know what’ll happen.

:

:

:

◇

An excerpt.

Very poetic.

I still had no idea when it would finally show up, but I put that question aside for now.

The notebook was full of deep and heavy emotions toward “him”.

And there were a few things that really caught my attention.

First, the writer had once been separated from this boy.

It seemed that after they couldn’t see him anymore, that’s when they realized their true feelings.

Second, the boy mentioned in the notebook was clearly someone popular, one of the central figures at school.

So, who exactly was this mysterious “him”?

I had a pretty good idea who “he” might be.

My eyes shifted toward that person.

“Yaaawn… I’m so sleepy…”

“See? I told you not to stay up so late!”

“Come on, going to bed before ten is impossible.”

Morning classroom.

Sena-san was chatting cheerfully with a male student.

That boy, Shindou Arata, was Sena-san’s childhood friend.

With his gentle, androgynous looks and bright smile, he gave off a refreshing charm.

He was athletic, smart, and naturally popular with girls. A real high-spec pretty boy.

“Ah, Shindou-kun! Good morning!”

“Good morning, Yukina. You’re not late today.”

“I wanted to see you early! Oh, look, I bought the same mechanical pencil as you!”

That was Orihara-san, walking up to him and talking in a friendly tone.

“Good morning, Shindou-kun. Orihara-san, you’re too noisy in the morning. Could you calm down a bit? You’re bothering him.”

And there came Kuroe-san too.

The three girls from yesterday were now gathered around one boy, each of them searching for that same notebook.

The “him” written about in the notebook perfectly matched this scene.

And the fact that all three were close to him only made it clearer.

Sena-san, his childhood friend.

Orihara-san, the center of the girls’ group.

And even Kuroe-san, who didn’t get close to anyone in her first year, somehow became friends with him once they entered the second year.

No wonder every guy in class looked at him with envy.

People even joked that he was like the main character of a dating sim game.

Honestly, judging from what I was seeing now, they weren’t wrong.

But what he didn’t know… was that one of those girls had a ticking emotional time bomb inside her.

If he chose the wrong girl, this really could turn into a truly bad ending, just like in a dating game.

…And that guy was also the one who once hugged the girl I used to like.

In other words, by some twisted fate, he’s my old rival in love. The guy I can’t stand.

Well, to be fair, I don’t think he stole her from me on purpose or anything.

It’s probably just my own grudge.

Still, I’m not the kind of saint who can just forgive and forget that easily.

Thanks to him, I can’t even look at anything in the BSS genre without wanting to scream.

Anyway, putting my personal issues aside. Right now, everyone searching for the notebook seems to be close to Shindou.

That makes it hard to tell who the real owner is…

At least, if the notebook only contained those feelings about him.

Just reading that part was already overwhelming, but the section I saw yesterday had more. It turned into something like a diary. It described what the writer did after meeting him again.

That part might be the key clue to figuring out who the notebook belongs to.

I turned my eyes back to the group.

All three girls were friendly with Shindou, but that didn’t mean they were always together.

After greeting him, each one returned to her own seat.

Kuroe-san sat next to me, opened a book, and started reading.

She was usually alone in class and didn’t talk much, except to Shindou.

Orihara-san sometimes hung around with them, too, but she was mostly with her own group. Her flashy gal crowd. She’d already joined them now and was chatting happily.

The one who was almost always by Shindou’s side was Sena-san. As his childhood friend, she often helped him out and spent time with his group. Naturally, she seemed the most likely to be the notebook’s owner.

Back in their first year of middle school, she transferred to another school, just like the girl in the notebook who had been separated from him.

It’s easy to imagine her realizing her feelings back then, and after years of holding onto them, writing that notebook once they met again.

“Haa… I’m starving…”

“That’s because you didn’t get up early! I even made you breakfast, and you didn’t eat it.”

“Yeah, but a full-course meal in the morning? That’s too much!”

The classroom was getting noisy as more students arrived.

I listened quietly to their conversation from a distance.

So apparently, Shindou skipped breakfast.

A full course meal in the morning, though? Seriously?

“You leave me no choice. Here, take this.”

“Oh? Thank you.”

Sena-san handed Shindou a pouch of jelly that said “Quick Energy Charge” on the package.

…She came prepared.

Before I could even finish that thought, the jelly was already gone. It was emptied in seconds.

And right after he finished, Sena-san smoothly took the trash from him, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

To her, it really was natural.

“…”

Then, a line from the notebook I read yesterday flashed through my mind.

─Today, I managed to collect the empty bottle he finished drinking again. That makes five now. I’m so happy.

…No way. It couldn’t be.

I watched carefully as Sena-san stared down at the empty jelly pouch in her hand.

Then, she tucked it into her bag ever so gently, like it was something precious.

Ah. She’s… collecting them.

My worst fear was right.

Her actions matched perfectly with what was written in the notebook.

So, the owner of that notebook really is Sena-san…

“—!?”

Just as that thought crossed my mind, her eyes suddenly met mine, slipping perfectly through the crowd of students like a needle through a thread.

For a moment, she looked surprised and almost panicked… But then, her expression softened.

She lifted her finger to her lips.

And with a small and playful wink, she smiled.

—Shhh.

…That’s terrifying.