For Some Reason, I’m Almost Locked up by the Most Beautiful Girl in School Who Can Hear My Inner Thoughts - Chapter 8-9

Chapter 8

School ended without anything happening today, and I ended up walking home with Noa-san.

We were meeting at a place we agreed on beforehand, so I hurried there.

Why go through the trouble of meeting up? Because I wanted to avoid other students seeing us as much as possible.

Even so, since many students took the train, my classmates would probably ask me tomorrow morning, “Why were you walking home with Noa-san?”

But I thought it was better to try, even if it was just for peace of mind.

After leaving school, I went to a convenience store a few minutes away, and she was already there. That was amazing—despite being so popular with students, she was already here.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, it’s okay. I asked for this.”

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

As I started walking, she walked beside me.

In the awkward silence for a few seconds, I was thinking about what to talk about when she brought up a topic.

“Do you have any hobbies, Sasaki-kun?”

“I don’t have many hobbies, but maybe gaming.”

“Gaming? Like Battle Crash Busters?”

“I play those too, but mostly PC games. Like shooting games. What about you, Noa-san?”

“I… don’t really have any hobbies. Maybe sleeping?”

“Sleeping is important too.”

Her hobby was sleeping?

Did she care a lot about bedding? …No, probably not.

She was probably just refreshing from school stress and tiredness by sleeping. I could tell that from watching her daily school life.

“By the way, Noa-san, you always get good test scores. Do you have some special study method?”

“…No, not really. Just preparing and reviewing.”

It felt like she paused strangely, but maybe it was my imagination.

“What about you, Sasaki-kun?”

“I study with Mitsuki every time, helping each other with subjects we’re bad at.”

“That’s nice. Studying together. I’m jealous.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

She looked a little lonely, a bit sad when she said that.

When I thought about it, she might not have any real friends at school. Everyone around her probably only cared about her appearance.

From what I knew, no one seemed to want to be her actual friend.

…No choice, then.

“Want to study together next time? With Mitsuki too.”

“Really?!”

Her lonely face suddenly turned bright and sparkling.

I still felt it was a hassle, but since I suggested it like picking up a stray cat, I couldn’t back out now, or animal rights groups might sue me.

“Yes, really. How about studying after school tomorrow?”

“I’m looking forward to it!!”

And so, I added another thing to my schedule.

—

Chapter 9

“Yes, really. How about studying after school tomorrow?”

“I’m looking forward to it!!”

I got off the train and saw him off. I took out my headphones from my bag and played music loud enough to block out other people’s voices.

If I didn’t do this, even though I was in a good mood, random noise or people’s thoughts would ruin it.

Sasaki Yuki-kun.

He wasn’t very interested in me. That made me happy but also a bit sad.

Was this what liking someone felt like?

I’d never felt this way before, so I didn’t know. But looking at him made me feel safe and want to be with him.

That’s why I went out of my way to make excuses to give him a lunch box. It might have been bold, but I went along with his idea to walk home together and even got him to agree to study together.

So many guys had invited me to hang out before, but even if they acted nice, I could see they just wanted to take advantage of me. It felt gross.

But he invited me out of pity or necessity, without any bad thoughts, thinking about me.

I’d never met anyone like that since starting high school, or even ever.

I wished tomorrow would come faster.

While thinking that, I arrived at my station, got off the train, passed through the gate, and went home.

It wasn’t far from the station, so I got home in about ten minutes.

“I’m home!”

“Welcome back, Noa-chan!! Dinner or bath first?”

When I went to the living room, my mom hugged me energetically, so I let her.

She was always like this, so I didn’t mind anymore.

“I’ll eat dinner first.”

“Dinner it is. Put your bag in your room and wash your hands.”

“Okay.”

My mom let go of me and went to the kitchen.

She was shorter than me, but her chest was bigger, so it bounced more when she walked.

Did Sasaki-kun prefer chests like my mom’s?

But mine was bigger than most people’s, and my figure was way better than my mom’s. Since I was her daughter, I’d probably get to her size when I was older.

I thought about what Sasaki-kun liked while washing my hands and heading to the living room.

“Today’s your favorite, hamburgers, so eat a lot, Noa-chan.”

“Yay, thanks!”

I sat down, said “Let’s eat” with my mom, and started eating.

“You seem in a good mood, Noa-chan.”

“Yeah. I get to study with Sasaki-kun.”

“Really?! That’s great!”

My mom smiled happily.

“Yeah, a boy like Yuki-kun is rare. And he’s super cute.”

“…? Did I ever show you a picture of Sasaki-kun, Mom?”

“!? Um… I think I saw him in a group photo or something.”

She said that, looked away, and stuffed a hamburger in her mouth.

That was suspicious, but I figured I wouldn’t get anything by pushing, so I let it go.

Some might wonder why I didn’t read my mom’s thoughts, but I couldn’t.

I didn’t know why, but my mom said:

“I couldn’t read Grandma’s thoughts either, so I think people who can read minds can’t read each other’s.”

My mom and grandma could read minds like me, so that was probably true.

Still, I thought this ability was useless since I couldn’t use it when I needed it most.

Without this ability, I might have lived without feeling bad so much. But it also helped me avoid creepy guys, so I didn’t know how to feel about it.

“S-So, you’re studying together, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why not invite him to our house? That way, you won’t worry about others watching.”

My mom said that, maybe to change the subject.

“Is that okay? It’ll probably be Sasaki-kun and another boy, Yamashita-kun.”

“It’s fine. If Yuki-kun’s coming, anything’s okay.”

My mom said that strongly.

I had no reason to say no, and it felt exciting but nerve-wracking to have Sasaki-kun over, so it was fine.

“Okay. I’ll ask tomorrow.”

“Good. I’ll prepare snacks and wait.”

“Thanks.”

I wondered why my mom was so excited eating her hamburger, but I looked forward to tomorrow’s study session and finished dinner.