I Want a Girlfriend who Won’t Betray Me

Reunited Childhood Friend

As I’m about to take my seat, the girl sitting in front of me, who looks a lot like my childhood friend, calls out to me.

“Kazuki.”

“So it really is you, Wakana.”

“Oh? Shinonome-kun, Kisaragi-san, do you know each other?”

“Yes, we’re childhood friends.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s great. Shinonome-kun, Kisaragi-san can show you around the school later.”

“Understood.”

Suddenly, I hear whispers from around us.

“Kisaragi-san and Shinonome-kun are childhood friends?

“But, isn’t Kisaragi-san…”

“Shh!”

After our homeroom teacher, Mikoshiba-sensei, leaves the classroom, the first-period teacher comes in shortly after.

During the break, students gather around me and ask me a mountain of questions.

They ask me all kinds of questions about Boston, the language, the differences between schools in the US and Japan, and what life is like over there. I answer each of their questions politely.

The morning classes are finally over and it’s lunch time now.

Suddenly, Wakana turns around to me.

“Kazuki, I’ll show you around.”

“Okay.”

When the two of us get up from our seats, I somehow feel some jealous stares from our classmates, but I decided just to ignore them since it’s just the first day.

“Since it’s lunchtime, let’s go to the cafeteria first.”

“I’ll leave it to you, Wakana.”

As we approach the cafeteria, I see a crowd of people gathered in front of the convenience store.

“That’s the school store. It’s a convenience store that sells bread and onigiri for students only at lunchtime. They also sell a lot of school supplies there.”

“I see. I’ll check it out later.”

When we arrive at the entrance of the cafeteria, there are a lot of students lined up.

“Everyone is buying meal tickets from the vending machine. There are samples displayed in the glass case next to it, so go take a look.”

“Got it.”

In many ways, the way things work here is completely different. Back is Boston, we brought our own lunch every day and ate in the cafeteria. Of course, there was also lunch service.

But there was no such thing as a ‘school store’. For security reasons, it would be impossible for an outside vendor to be on school premises.

The classes are also different, back in Boston, I had to move between classrooms based on my elective subjects. That means I was always with different students from other classes.

Staying in the same place with the same classmates all day? That never happened. It’s a bit stressful, but I need to get used to it quickly.

I look at the meal ticket vending machine and see a hearty set meal B displayed in the glass case. I insert some coins to the vending machine and buy the ticket.

After that, I enter the cafeteria, line up behind the other students, receive my set meal B at the counter, and sit down at an empty table with Wakana.

“Kazuki, there’s so much I want to talk about.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Where do you live now? A completely different family moved into your old house.”

“I live in an apartment in the suburbs now. I’m living there with my parents.”

“I see.”

“What about you, Wakana? Do you still live in your old house?”

“Yeah, my house is still the same.”

Silence falls over us for a while.

“Why did you choose this high school?”

“Because my dad said this school would be a good choice.”

“Wasn’t the transfer exam difficult?”

“Not really. I had prepared for it in advance. Hey, after my return was delayed, we haven’t really got in touch with each other…”

“I’ll explain that later. After we eat, I’ll show you around the school.”

“Okay then.”

After finishing our meal in the cafeteria, Wakana shows me around the library and the science lab. As we walk through the hallways, I can feel people staring, but I guess that’s normal for a transfer student.

The classes are now over and it’s finally after school. I thought Wakana wants to show me around school again, but suddenly, I hear someone calls out to Wakana from the back of the classroom.

“Wakana, let’s go home.”

A guy I don’t know suddenly calls out to Wakana by her first name.

“Ah, Takayuki.”

Wakana calls him by his first name as well.

“Wait a second, Kazuki.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Wakana hurriedly leads the guy out into the hallway and starts talking to him. He looks a bit unhappy, but eventually, he walks away from her.

“Sorry, Kazuki. Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

After that, we go to the gym first. Both the boys’ and girls’ basketball and volleyball teams are practicing there. They look surprised when they see me.

We then go to the martial arts hall and watch kendo and judo practice. We also check out the equipment storage room and see the baseball and tennis teams practicing on the field. For some reason, everyone seems surprised when they see me. Well, I guess it can’t be helped since it’s the first day.

Finally, we go to the back of the school building, and Wakana tells me about the flower beds. There is a student watering the plants.

“That’s pretty much everything. Shall we go home now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

As we walk out of the school gate, I decided to ask Wakana.

“Wakana, who was that guy who called out to you after school?”

“Ah, that guy. His name is Takayuki Gotou, a friend of mine. We’re kind of close, I guess.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“It’s not like that.”

“I see.”

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Wakana’s POV

The truth is…