An after school affair with an unattainable flower - Chapter 1 (Lilac): Part 4

After school.

The homeroom teacher conveyed the message and left the classroom as quickly as possible.

“Well at last, the class is over for today too~ So, since I have the duty as a librarian again today, see you later!”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Taichi was enrolled in the library committee.

The reason is of course, because he loves to read.

While I’m not enrolled in the library committee.

The reason being, most of my time after school is spent reading and writing my own novels.

Taichi often invites me to be a member of the library committee, but I flat out reject his invitations every time pointing out various reasons.

Taichi doesn’t know that I’m writing a novel.

And well, I don’t want to tell everyone about it as much myself, so I never told him as well.

In short, I’m scared. About the impressions from others.

It’s a shameful part of me while knowing that I want to live as a writer, and I am well aware that it’s a part of me that I’ll have to overcome someday.

I stayed in the classroom for a while, while confirming that all my classmates left, after which I slowly took out a notebook.

When I opened up the notebook, which had “World History” written on its label; there was a list of characters written out there.

This was my novel. my own original story.

“…Now then, shall we continue writing the story today as well?”

Writing a novel alone in the classroom after school. It’s been a habit of mine since last year.

When you listen carefully, you can hear the energetic shouts of the sports club and other disparate practice sounds of the musical bands.

I love writing novels while listening to them.

It becomes fun to glide my pencil along the notebook along their beats.

Although, when I get too involved in writing, those sounds get harder and harder to hear, but it’s not the same as when I am reading, when I can’t hear anything at all.

The genre of the novel I was focussing upon is a romance one. Consequently, the novel I am writing right now is also a romance novel.

Romantic stories are something I fundamentally like, and I also frequently read stories like that as well.

The story I was creating right now is about a poor male college student who falls in love at first sight with a girl who works at a coffee shop.

Probably nothing interesting or fresh as a plot.

I know that as well. But first and foremost , I wanted to create a novel that is interesting, not something boring even though it is something that can be easily found and predictable.

The story now has reached the point where the college student and the store clerk are exchanging contact information with each other.

This is a part that even I think is quite interesting, so after taking a fresh breather I accelerate my writing pace.

But, was it perhaps because I took a fresh breath?

When I unconsciously turned my eyes to my right, my eyes suddenly met another.

I had a similar experience this morning as well.

However, compared to the morning, the present one was clearly different, as the person who met my eyes was someone from the opposite sex.

And to top it off, it was that extraordinarily cute girl, Takamine Hana.

That info alone was enough reason for me to go into panic.

“Waaaah!!!”

“Ky~aah”

I guess my astonishment was quite contagious, as she also got astonished looking at my  astonishment.

“Ah, ah, I–I’m sorry Takamine-san. I guess, I surprised you all of a sudden.”

“Uh~n~, I’m sorry from my side as well, Shiranui-kun? Since I was the one who surprised you first, right?”

“Ummm, so, what’s the matter?”

A thought immediately ran in me, that it was likely a question with a low deviation value at that.

“Umm well, I —, even though it’s quite embarrassing to say it myself. So today, I was called out for a confession, and with that, I left my bag in the classroom and went to the back of the school building. After which, when I came back to the classroom, I saw Shiranui was there. Wondering that you were studying, I started feeling how diligent and proper you are, with that in mind, when I got behind you to have a closer look into what you were doing, somehow, in time, it became like this.”

‘Tehehe~’, and she puts her right hand to the back of her head.

Closer, you say?

Oh you gotta be kidding me. Her face and mine were right next to each other.

It was a distance which only lovers would have.

What the he–k is even going on with the cognition of her own personal space as a whole right now!?

Inside, I was already befuddled and in complete panic, but fortunately my mouth was smarter than I thought.

“Say, Takamine-san. Did you see it?”

Confirming the fact of her browsing, whether she agrees or not

“Un. Ah, could it be…”

It was something you didn’t want to be seen? Yes…

She tried to continue, but she seemed to be at a loss for words because of her embarrassment.

“Un, that’s what I expected, if possible.”

“I–I am really sorry for that? I mean, I didn’t mean to do that! I was just wondering what you were studying… and—!”

This is bad, she’s starting to feel guilty about it.

“Ah well, it’s okay already. It can’t be helped, since it’s already seen.”

“sorry…”

Being dejected even more, she withered away.

‘I am so pathetic’, and humiliated myself in return.

“Certainly, it’s true that I didn’t really want people to see it, but since I had to eventually show it to someone or other someday, I think it was a good opportunity overall, yeap.”

“You have to show it to someone eventually? Shiranui-kun, don’t tell me you’re…”

“Yeah, it’s exactly what you are thinking it is.”

Fufu, she laughs.

I interpreted that as she was making fun of my profession as a novelist, and in reaction, I made a slightly displeased expression.

“Oh, no! It wasn’t that I was ridiculing that dream of your’s, I just thought that it was kind of funny and strange that we were continuously repeating the same conversation over and over again and…!”

Apparently I misunderstood her.

I became afraid that someone would stab me in the back if I kept making her, our school idol, apologize so frequently, so instead, I started to try and make her mood better as well.

“It surely was like that, wasn’t it?”

Saying that, I gave her a rather friendly laugh.

“Even so, to think there was someone in my class who dreams of becoming an author.”

“Was it really that surprising ma’am?”

“I don’t know what to say, it feels really mysterious. Doesn’t that mean that it will be like, I was in the same class as that author in the past –something like that will happen in the future, won’t it?”

It’s as if she has no doubts that I will succeed as an author in future.

“No, no, no, It’s not yet decided that I will be able to make a living selling books as an author yet…”

“U~nn, I don’t think so. You see, I don’t usually read books, but reading what Shiranui-kun was writing just now really caught my eye!”

My work which got exposed to someone for the first time was in fact praised. I have never felt this happy before.

“Even if this is just some false compliment, I feel really grateful. Thank you, Takamine-san.”

“Oh! You don’t believe me don’t you?”

“No, no, I really believe you.”

“Then all’s fine. I apologize again for bothering you at this point. So, I’ll be leaving now.”

“See you later, Takamine-san.”

Seeing what I did, she looked a little surprised, but then she smiled and–.

“Later! Shiranui-kun!”

said goodbye in return as well.

When she left the classroom and I could no longer see her, I let out a big sigh and relaxed my back on my chair.

“… What is even with ‘If you ever become one’?”

That was just a small interaction. But even in that short interaction, somehow I already had my heart stolen, charmed by her.

I put my hands on my chest.

My heartbeat was so loud that it kind of hurts.

Ahh so this is how it is, so this is how guys feel when they try and confess their feelings to her huh.

While I was puzzled by the feeling she made me experience for the first time, I also felt that it would make up for something that my novel lacked, and so I slowly picked up my pencil  and let it run on my notebook before I could forget that feeling.

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