I’m a Loner, Gloomy Guy Who Accidentally Witnessed the Moment the Top Girl in the Class Got Dumped. I Didn’t Know What to Say to Comfort Her, So I Just Gave Her a Cola and Somehow We Started Having Lunch Together~ - 2

Chapter 2: The Continuation of Yesterday

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After noon the next day. It was right in the middle of lunch break, and I was behind the gym. I had a run-down bench set up there all to myself, eating my bento alone. Right. I was thoroughly enjoying my solo loner lunch.

Ever since enrolling, I had spent most of my lunch breaks at this bench. For a socially awkward loner like me, the classroom was an uncomfortable place. It felt suffocating. There was no way I wanted to eat a meal in that kind of space. Compared to the classroom, this place was good.

Probably because it was hidden in the building’s shadow, there was hardly anyone around. It was the only place where I could calmly eat my lunch. An oasis for me.

“Even so, that thing yesterday was strange.”

Looking up at the gloomy, overcast sky, I muttered quietly. By “that thing yesterday,” I was, of course, talking about after school. Being made to listen for over two hours to Amamiya-san reminiscing about her memories with Kenzaki… That a gloomy loner like me had spent such a long time talking with Amamiya-san, the top girl of the class, was still hard to believe.

I would probably never forget it. It might even become the biggest memory of my high school life. Well, she had probably already forgotten about it. Amamiya-san was surely driven by the shock of being dumped and just impulsively vented everything. She had probably completely forgotten by now.

I let out a small, bitter smile and resumed eating when I heard footsteps. They were coming closer, toward me. It was rare for anyone to come here. Who the hell was interrupting my peaceful time?

Curious, I looked in the direction of the footsteps.

“Eh…?”

A confused voice slipped out before I could stop it. The top girl of Class 1–3, the female student who had gone on and on about herself yesterday, Noa Amamiya. She was the one coming toward me. In one hand, she was holding a convenience store bag stuffed to the brim.

What’s with that bag…? No, more importantly… Why is she here?

Even as questions surfaced in my mind, Amamiya-san steadily closed the distance between us. When she reached right in front of me, she stopped abruptly.

“You know, I don’t have a place in the classroom.”

“…Huh?”

You have tons of friends. Unlike me, you have plenty of places to belong. Not having a place is something someone like me, a loner, says, you know?

But there was no way I could dump thoughts like that onto someone I had barely talked to. All I could do was return a puzzled response.

“I always ate lunch with Touma. But after what happened, I can’t eat with him anymore, right? So I’m kind of stuck on where to eat.”

“Ah, I see… Yeah, that makes sense.”

Eating together with the person who dumped you would be nothing but awkward. It would be pure torture. If I were in Amamiya-san’s position, I would probably do the same thing.

“So, anyway, move over a bit.”

“…………Eh?”

 Hey, hey, hey…! You’re not telling me she plans to eat here, are you!?

I understood Amamiya-san’s situation. I could sympathize with it. But even so, I wanted her to not eat here. For someone like me who was bad at socializing, lunch break was the one happy time I could be alone. I didn’t want that precious time to be disturbed. I wanted to refuse somehow. But I didn’t have the right to. This was school property, a public place. It wasn’t my private land, so I had no authority to complain.

When I reluctantly shifted to the side, Amamiya-san sat down next to me.

“Hey, Murase-kun. Yakisoba bread or yakisoba bread, which do you like?”

“Um… Yakisoba bread, I guess.”

“Okay.”

After I answered the question that wasn’t actually a real question, Amamiya-san plopped the convenience store bag onto her lap. Inside were massive amounts of convenience store bread.

No way… She isn’t planning to eat all of that, is she…?

Faced with the shocking sight, my eyes darted back and forth. Beside me, Amamiya-san stuck her hand into the bag and rustled around. It seemed like she was searching for something, but after a moment her hand stopped.

“Sorry. Looks like I didn’t buy yakisoba bread today. I’ll give you something similar, so forgive me with that.”

She pulled out a single piece of bread from the bag.

“Here. This is in return for yesterday’s cola.”

She thrust it toward me. The product name written on it was melon bread.

Similar…? No, no, no. Wait, it’s not, right? It’s not similar at all, is it?

I had thought this yesterday too, but Amamiya-san’s sense was unique. It was pretty surprising. A return gift… She didn’t have to give anything back though. But still, it was probably better to accept it. Rejecting a sincere gesture would be rude.

I said thank you and took the melon bread.

“So, how far did I get yesterday?”

“You mean your memories with Kenzaki, Amamiya-san?”

“Yeah.”

“I think it was the sports day in third grade?”

“Then let’s start from there.”

“…………Huh?”

Wait, does this mean I have to listen again today? No, seriously, please stop.

I imagined a full-force rejection in my heart. But Amamiya-san didn’t notice my inner turmoil at all and, just like yesterday, started talking about her memories with Kenzaki.

Ding dong, ding dong~

The preliminary bell rang, signaling five minutes left until the end of lunch break. Amamiya-san’s mouth was in top form again today, just like yesterday. She had talked nonstop the entire time. But now it was over. I was finally free.

“Thanks for listening to me. You’re really good at listening, Murase-kun. It’s fun talking to you.”

A smile formed at the corner of Amamiya-san’s lips. Coming from her well-proportioned face, it had devastating destructive power. The sheer impact made me freeze.

Hey, what are you panicking for, me!? That’s obviously just flattery!

Even so, I couldn’t help but be shaken. I understood it logically, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. Still, I somehow forced out my answer.

“Y-yeah…”

It was curt, but it was the best I could manage right now.

“See you tomorrow.”

Saying that, Amamiya-san headed back to the school building.

“Huh… She just said ‘see you tomorrow,’ didn’t she?”

I tried to think about what that meant, but—

“Oh crap! I’ve gotta get back too!”

At this rate, I would be late for afternoon classes. I had no time right now to think about what Amamiya-san had said.

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