I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 23

I’d experienced plenty of annoying moments because of telepathy before, and I’d probably have plenty more in the future. But situations like this made me especially want to hate this ability.

“Wait, is the past tense of drink is a…? Or is it u…?”

“Ugh, I have no idea at all…”

“The answer for (2) is A, right?”

“Alright, so (2) is U.”

…So loud. Too loud.

There shouldn’t be any talking or noise here. The classroom should just echo with the scratch of pencils on paper. But to me, it felt like I was standing in the middle of a busy crosswalk. There was no way I could focus on the English listening section.

Even if I tried to ignore it, my brain automatically caught every thought about the questions. And since it kept throwing different answers and options at me, it was impossible not to get distracted.

I struggled through the questions, caught in this storm of thoughts, for a while.

“Phew, it’s done.”

“It finished, but… the grammar looks a bit scary. I’d better check over it.”

Even with all the interference, I finally finished writing down my answers just as everyone else was wrapping up. I said “writing” and not “solving” because some parts were still uncertain, and I honestly copied some answers from others.

Not exactly a proud moment.

Still, thanks to telepathy, I managed to catch questions I might have gotten wrong from careless mistakes. I don’t have the mindset to cheat willingly, but I also couldn’t just leave a mistake uncorrected once I noticed it.

It was an unfair advantage, forced on me. Sure, I benefited from it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I tried to sharpen my focus as I checked over my work, but my telepathy suddenly grabbed my attention again.

This time, it wasn’t about the test.

“Th-this pen is… right? But, but this…peni──”

I didn’t even have to think hard to realize this was Tatsuki’s telepathy.

Apparently, she was thinking about something personal.

Honestly, I wanted to say it was impressive that she could have such thoughts during a test that could decide her grades, but it wasn’t something too wild.

When I looked down at my paper, I noticed the typo.

“This penis bought by him.”

…Yeah, well.

Maybe I only noticed because my attention had been dulled by all the telepathic noise…

Still, she had sharp observation skills.

—

Even though I had been distracted by other people’s thoughts, I wasn’t just coasting through life for the past ten-plus years with this telepathy ability.

Somehow, I managed to get through the four-day, roughly three-hour-per-day marathon of tests.

From the third day, Tatsuki’s telepathy had been quiet… it had basically shut down, which was a huge relief. The last part of the test felt a lot less stressful because of that.

I felt pretty confident about how I did, so there wasn’t much to talk about.

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

Tatsuki nodded while tilting her head like a little doll.

“Well, who knows how it’ll actually turn out, though.”

I sank into the back of the sofa and answered casually.

We were in the library where we’d spent the past week doing study sessions.

It was the fourth day, after all the tests were over. For some reason, we were still meeting here after school.

Of course, it wasn’t my idea. Tatsuki had started it.

This morning, my phone had a rare incoming message from her. I opened it carefully and I found a simple request, “Can you come to the library after school?” No explanation, no reason, and just that.

With the whole Kisara situation in mind, I had to be careful how I responded.

…But what would happen if I refused? If she didn’t care, fine. But if Kisara got upset, every little shadow following would notice immediately.

And if that happened, Tatsuki would probably suspect me first. For some reason, she seemed to think Tatsuki and I were close.

So I couldn’t just ignore her. That’s why I ended up back in the library again.

“So, what did you want to talk about today?”

Still, I didn’t really know the purpose of this meeting.

After a brief pause, I decided to start the conversation. We’d just met up, and there was no reason to linger unnecessarily.

“Right, let’s get to the main point.”

With that, Tatsuki reached into her bag and pulled something out.

She held it out to me with careful, deliberate movements, as if presenting a gift.

“This is…”

“Yes, it’s ‘TheVam.’“

It was her favorite novel, “The Vampire Next Door.”

Compared to the last time I saw it, the book’s pages and cover seemed even softer, more worn. Had she really read it so much in this short time that it became almost supple?

“The play, it’s next week… right?”

“Yes, next weekend.”

The stage performance would open just as the break began tomorrow, technically, the grading period.

Tatsuki and I had promised to watch the play together, and we’d been exchanging messages about it from time to time.

But since we rarely talked in person, this was the first real conversation we’d had since then.

“For that reason… I’d really like you to read the original novel first.”

“…The original novel?”

It made perfect sense. Reading the story beforehand would probably help me understand the stage version better.

“This work has very unique wording and expressions. I thought it might help to fill in the parts that can’t be fully expressed on stage.”

“Right…, that makes sense.”

“Yes, please do.”

Tatsuki leaned slightly toward me, nudging the book closer across the desk. I was a little startled as her face came nearer, but I steadied myself and picked up “TheVam”.

“…When should I return it?”

“Let’s say…, on the day of the performance.”

Right up until the very last moment.

It made sense, since we’d see each other anyway. But it also showed her determination; she genuinely wanted me to know this story.

I held the book in my hands.

On the cover was a girl with red eyes, white hair, and sharp fangs. Probably the vampire.

Her appearance was nothing like Tatsuki’s, yet somehow her beauty reminded me of her.