Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 12: Seating Arrangement

“Today, I want to change the seating arrangement.”

“Yatta!!!”

Hello everyone, I’m Yuto.

As you’ve just heard, we’re going to change our seats today, and during the integrated class too. Well, since there’s not much to do, I guess it’s fine.

Besides, as long as it’s an end seat, I don’t really mind where I sit.

(゜д゜)<That’s too cruel…

Seeing Rina and Maria frozen with such expressions, I couldn’t carelessly say something like that.

“Okay, Yuuto-kun, go ahead and draw the lots.”

Oh, I’m first in line.

The teacher brings the box containing the lots to my seat. I draw a lot and…

“Number one… the first row by the corridor, the seat on the very right.”

After drawing, I return to my seat and prepare to move immediately.

For some reason, in elementary school, we have to move the desks ourselves, which is a hassle. I think it would be fine to just move our belongings.

“Also, this time, we’ll be pushing the desks together. Lately, many of you have been forgetting things, so share and look after each other’s belongings. Don’t worry, I’ve already gotten Yuuto-kun’s permission for this.”

Gattt!!!

Are you serious?! The girls stood up from their seats with such expressions. I was thinking of at least talking to Rina and Maria, but…

Gogogo(o-word-o)Gogogo

With an atmosphere like this, I can’t even talk to them. I Kinoshita Yuto, will absolutely not commit such a suicidal act, so I’ll just read a book.

Yes, I’m running away.

Haha! This novel is so interesting! (feigning interest)

As I thought that, all the girls gathered around the teacher’s desk.

When the girls (except for two particular students) looked at the teacher during the seating arrangement, they looked at her as if she were a god, or so the teacher would later say.

Every girl in the class wanted to seize this opportunity. That’s understandable because the two girls who sat next to the new boy got to talk to him a lot, and they even got to be on a first-name basis with him.

In these few months, his cold, aloof, and unapproachable image had completely vanished, and he had become bright and cheerful, talking a lot more.

With a wide range of categories such as anime, games, novels, news, sports, and recent events, anyone could talk to him as long as they had some knowledge in one of these areas. Even if you talked about something he didn’t know, he would still show interest and listen.

He was truly a specialist in conversation.

On top of that, he would remember your name, which was a pleasant surprise to most of the girls. And now, he knew the names of almost all the girls in the school, which was unimaginable.

When asked about it, he replied,

“If I don’t know your name, wouldn’t it be awkward for me to refer to you the next time we talk?”

There stood a handsome boy who was kinder than any male lead in a shojo manga.

They wanted to know why he had become so cheerful, but no one thought deeply about it because everyone preferred him this way.

In reality, he had given up on creating a herbivorous girl due to the overly aggressive behavior of the girls, and he was just acting the way he did at home.

However, that didn’t matter. What was important now was that he would be pushing his desk together with someone and sitting next to them. It was a golden opportunity to create a gap with others, and they couldn’t let it slip away.

They might become close like those two girls did with him and get to be on a first-name basis with him.

But the seating arrangement was decided by drawing lots, so it was a game of luck.

First, they checked if there was any cheating.

Since the teacher made the lots, there probably wasn’t any, but they had to be absolutely sure, especially for the lot that would determine who would sit next to him, number eight.

Everyone checked only that piece of paper. The others were just trash. No one cared about the seats that weren’t next to him. Everyone thought the same.

Then, the teacher put the lot for number eight into the box in front of everyone.

There was definitely no cheating. All that was left was to draw the lots.

But before that, the teacher set some rules.

If bullying or any other issues occur after the seating change, arrangements will be made to move him to another class immediately.

If you cause too much trouble for him just because you’re sitting next to him, the seating arrangement will be changed immediately again, and the desks will no longer be pushed together (also, the person who caused trouble will never be allowed to sit next to him again).

You must not be so infatuated with him to the point that your grades drop. You must maintain a constant score of 80 points or higher in all subjects.

If the person sitting next to him forgets something three times, the seating arrangement will be changed again. (T/N: Wtf?)

These rules must not be known to him.

Only those who abide by the above rules will be allowed to draw the lots and will be given the right to sit next to him.

That made sense.

Everyone agreed, but they didn’t move. No, they couldn’t move.

There were 30 girls in the class. In other words, the probability of drawing the winning lot was one in thirty. Some thought that haste makes waste, and that there was luck in leftovers, while others thought that the early bird catches the worm, and that the initiative was a thousand troops.

But what if they lost?

That single thought stopped them from taking action. In the first place, if they didn’t draw, they wouldn’t win. But the probability of drawing a losing lot was high. If they drew carelessly and lost, they would only benefit others. This wasn’t like the lottery at the shopping district, where you could draw as many times as you wanted.

Because they were serious, they needed time to make a decision.

“Homeroom class is almost over, so draw quickly, okay?”

Seeing that no one was drawing even after a while, the teacher got impatient. It had been about ten minutes since the lots were put in, and no one was moving. However, even when the teacher prompted them, the girls didn’t move at all.

Then,

“Should I just let Yuuto-kun draw instead?”

The teacher took action, deciding to not let the girls draw the lots themselves.

He would decide who would sit next to him with his own hands.

“Write your name on a piece of paper and put it in the box. Yuto-kun will draw, and that will be the final decision. I won’t accept any objections.”

If you can’t decide, then let someone else decide for you.

Everyone agreed and wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in the box. It was useless to make unnatural folds because it wasn’t them who would be drawing, it was him.

“Yuuto-kun… can you draw one more time?”

“Huh?”

He, who had been completely left out, was reading a book in a relaxed manner. He was surprised to be asked to draw again all of a sudden, but he immediately agreed and slowly put his hand into the box.

The girls prayed, Pick me, Pick my name, This time, it’s me, as they watched him pull out a piece of paper.

And then…

“Eh… Samejima, Asuka… Samejima Asuka-san?”

“Yes.”

……

“Yuuto-kun, you baka!!!”

The girls who weren’t chosen (except for two) ran out of the classroom crying.

And at that time, he thought,

(This is too unreasonable.)

“That’s too bad.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

The two comforted each other. They couldn’t sit next to him, but if they sat behind him, they could at least talk to him. That was their next goal.

But…

“When will everyone come back?”

“Who knows?”

“Let’s talk to Yuuto-sama for now.”

“Yeah.”

And they went to him.

“What about the seating arrangement?”

Since most of the girls had run out, the seating arrangement would probably be carried over to the next day. But first,

“Nice to meet you, Samejima-san.”

“Nice to meet you, Kinoshita-kun.”

Since they would be sitting next to each other, a light greeting was necessary. It was rare for someone to call him by his surname.

She was always dignified, smart, and good at sports, an amazing person, as he had observed.

“Is it normal to get so worked up over a seat?”

“Yeah, it’s normal.”

But there was no need to cry. I felt a sense of guilt. I’ve always been weak against women’s tears. When I forgot the name of a classmate, she looked at me with teary eyes, so I memorized the names of all the girls who talked to me. (T/N: Sudden switch to mc pov.)

I might be too simple-minded.

By the way,

“Sensei, what are we doing after this?”

“Hmm, there’s only homeroom left, and there are no handouts today, so you can go home.”

“Were you expecting this situation, sensei?”

“I was spot on, so I was surprised myself.” (*´∀｀*)v

I wonder how this person got a teaching license.

“Yuuto-sama~,”

“Yuuto-kun.”

“Rina, Maria, what’s up?”

“Well, do you want to go home together today?”

“Oh, sure.”