Chapter 3 Part 2 – Envious glances from the outside world pierce me

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

Long homerooms were held on Wednesdays and Fridays during the sixth period to decide on class matters. The other day, on Wednesday, we had finished deciding on the groups for the field trip, and today, Friday, we were supposed to split into these groups and discuss the course of the field trip.

Our destination was Yokohama. The students will be taken to Yokohama station by bus, and from there they will have six hours of free time. We were asked to decide what we would do during that time and submit our plans.

– Well.

Today was the first time the four of us had been together since the group decision. When we moved our desks and lined them up so that we were all facing each other, I immediately felt extremely nervous. I think Sawa, sitting next to me, was in the same state.

He looked terrible, and his gaze swam. I couldn’t find any sign of the boisterous guy who talked a lot.

That’s true, isn’t it…?

There are two girls in front of you who are not related to us moderate guys.

I glanced at her, and Riko was playing with her bangs, looking a little embarrassed.

Yes, cute.

Asakura, next to me, leaned forward with her arms on the desk and looked at me and Sawa with an air of curiosity.

“Hey, aren’t you two nervous? It’s so funny.”

Wow, there it is.

It’s just the kind of thing that a cheerful girl would say, and it’s not funny at all. Sawa and I stiffened up even more.

Oh no.

I’m scared of this girl…

The theme from the film “Encounter with the Unknown” starts playing in my head. [TN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind]

This isn’t good…

That movie is about a hero who’s thrilled to encounter the unknown.

But if talking about the film director Spielberg, the theme from his other movie “Jaws” is obviously more accurate to my feelings. [TN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(film)]

And it wasn’t just Asakura; to be honest, the stares from the outside world were also terrifying. The guys in the seats around me were complaining about me and Sawa in rather loud voices and not discussing where to go on a field trip.

“I don’t understand why they’re in that group…”

“It’s so disgusting to think that these girls have been taken over by such plain people.”

“How did that accident happen? Has anyone heard of it?”

…

I feel so uncomfortable that I’m dying inside…

I’m sure it’s reaching Riko’s ears now…

As I trembled, unable to look at Riko, feeling bad that I had paired her with such an unnoticeable person, Asakura said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“They’re so jealous of you, it’s quite annoying. But it can’t be helped, right? Riko said she wanted to team up with her childhood friend, so…”

Asakura’s words, “childhood friend”, made the people around her buzz even more. Everyone was screaming that they had never heard of it before.

Oh dear…

The teacher had left the classroom to talk it over, and there was no one to stop the commotion.

I wondered if it was wrong of me to hope for the happiness too big for me by teaming up with Riko after all.

“- But I’m glad that your childhood friend made an appearance. When we went on field trips in the first and second grades, we decided by lottery, but there were still people who didn’t agree, and we had to fight in the back of the gym. Right, Riko?”

“No, that’s an exaggeration…”

“You know the guys who got into fistfights and got suspended from school? I think it was a bad thing that the guy who won the lottery had to be a good-looking guy from the basketball team. I think those delinquents felt threatened to be left out, so they resorted to heavy-handed tactics. But compared to that, this childhood friend of yours is…”

Asakura looked at me and then let out a giggle.

“It’s guaranteed that you and Riko have no chance of getting together since you’re looking kind of dull and slightly suspicious. The other boys won’t object so much that you’re here, will they?”

“Rei-chan, no. Don’t say anything bad about Minato-kun, okay?”

Riko, who had been flustered and troubled when the topic of the duel was discussed, sternly told this to Asakura while considerately patting her arm. The tone of her voice was calm, but Riko was probably angry. Asakura seemed to have realized how Riko really felt and widened her eyes in surprise before quickly apologizing.

“I’m sorry, Riko. I wasn’t clearly aware of what I had been doing, so I said something I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry about your childhood friend, too.”

“No, it’s fine…”

“But I’ve never seen Riko get angry like this before.”

“Oh… I, um, … I’m sorry for making things so weird…”

Then we got into a bit of an apologizing war. Asakura didn’t seem reluctant to do what Riko asked, and she apologized to me and Sawa earnestly, so I’m sure she’s not a bad person at heart.

Asakura’s comment also caused the boys who had been looking at me with hatred to start calming down and muttering, “That’s true.”

It seems that I was able to get out of the predicament by being disrespected by Asakura.

I felt so miserable. But I’d much rather receive these feelings than have Sawa and Riko get in trouble because of me.

After that, everyone focused on deciding the route of the excursion and we were able to have a smooth discussion. Asakura made suggestions, Riko smiled and agreed, and Sawa and I just listened in silence. Riko kept asking us, “Is that okay with you…?” each time, and every time Sawa and I nodded hurriedly in agreement.

“So, I guess this is the route we’ll take. Just to confirm, our lunch destination is Yamashita Park, right? We’ll bring our own bentos that day.”

“Oh, I see. There are only a few places where we can spread out bentos.”

Riko nodded at Asakura Reina’s words.

“But do I really want to prepare my own lunch? Since my parents are both working, I can’t ask my mom to pack a bento, so I end up buying something at a convenience store. It’s such a hassle.”

“Oh, hey, it’s the same for me too…! Me too!”

Sawa joined the conversation, looking desperate.

“Really? It’s so annoying. Isn’t that the worst?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s the worst.”

Sawa was so nervous talking to girls that he mostly just repeated Asakura’s words. I felt uncomfortable too, wondering if this is what others experienced when talking to Riko.

But then I remembered that I was supposed to bring my own lunch on the day of the field trip. I thought about it as I looked at the “what to prepare” section printed on the handout. There was no way I could bring the lunch Riko had made for me. If the others saw the same lunch box, they would immediately realize that our relationship was more than just childhood friends. We hadn’t eaten lunch together before, so I had thought letting Riko make lunch for me had been okay, but this time it wasn’t going to work well. I would have to buy a bento from a convenience store this time, just like before. After getting used to Riko’s delicious bento, my taste buds would find convenience store bentos to be very tasteless.

But just as I was thinking about this, Riko raised her hand nervously.

“Oh, um… if you’d like to…, I can make lunch for all of us…?”

“What?”

“Oh, jeez! Yay! Riko, I love you!”

“Whaa!?”

I was surprised by Riko’s suggestion, Asakura raised her hands in delight, and Sawa slid off his chair.

Riko said she would prepare lunch for four people…

It’ll be a lot of work…

Was this really okay? I gave her a look that said “Are you sure?”, and Riko smiled slightly so that only I realized.

I’m happy to be able to eat Riko’s lunch on the day of the excursion, though…

When I looked back at Sawa, who was sitting on the floor, I saw him half crying with joy.

Asakura was seriously happy too, and I didn’t want to deprive them of their happiness as I was the one who was usually provided with Riko’s lunch.