Chapter 7 – You Don’t Have a Shot

When the break after second period began, a sense of calm returned to the classroom, which had been bustling as students moved between classes.

And what does a “sense of calm” mean, you ask? Well—

“Aki, you finally got dumped, huh? And here I was rooting for you the whole time.”

I was being pestered by the official representative of Japan’s idiots, Souichi Takigawa, whose desk is a short distance away.

This is what a calm break time is for me.

“He says he got dumped, but it doesn’t feel like Aki’s the one who got dumped. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

Shinichi, from the seat behind me, always has to jump in right about now.

By the way, since the last part of Shinichi’s and Souichi’s names are the same, Souichi usually gets called “Takki.” But that means my nickname, “Aki,” and “Takki” sound similar, a fact that no one has noticed yet.

“Hmm, that’s the thing. When I saw Chifuyu-chan  earlier, she seemed pretty down, or, how do I put it…”

“She looked completely off. Aki, don’t tell me you two broke up after you crossed a line with Hasebe? Does that mean… you did more than just kiss?”

Clatter.

Hayasaka-san  next to me reacts with a jolt.

During break, she’s wide awake, with no trace of sleepiness. I always think to myself that it’d be great if she could maintain that same energy during class.

“Of course not. We didn’t even kiss.”

““—Huh??””

Souichi’s and Shinichi’s voices overlapped. Hayasaka-san, seeming confused, just tilted her head.

“We just had a wholesome relationship, and besides, what she told me yesterday was something about how my love was lacking, or something like that.”

“Lacking love? What’s that mean? Love has a quantity?”

“I think she probably found someone new. I just have a feeling, that’s all.”

It’s not like I don’t have any evidence. Still, the incident where I saw her walking with a handsome guy is just a suspicion, not a certainty.

“Hey, Aki.”

Souichi stared at me with a serious expression.

?

“Is it cool if I go after Chifuyu-chan? I think I might have a shot.”

“Like you’d have a shot.”

The one who immediately shot back was Shinichi.

“C’mon, man, it’s not like I’m not popular with girls. In middle school, I was just so into table tennis that I had to turn down confessions.”

“Oh?”

An unexpected story about Souichi being popular. True, he’s not bad-looking, and his dedication to table tennis and his funny personality might be part of his charm.

I only just realized it now.

“So, Aki, is it okay if I go after Chifuyu-chan?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I don’t care. She’s not my girlfriend anymore, and it’s not like you need my permission, Souichi.”

“So you really did break up, Aki. But even so, it doesn’t seem like you’re down about it at all.”

“I am down about it, for the record. But I don’t have any regrets.”

“I like that motto.”

Souichi is looking at me with a huge grin. 

Could it be that he’s been after Chifuyu  this whole time? If so, then to him, I might have been his best friend and his rival in love. It’s possible he was harboring those kinds of complicated feelings.

“Nah, now’s the perfect time. A girl who just broke up with her boyfriend seems like she’d be pretty easy to win over, right?”

I was wrong. He was just a scumbag.

My gaze falls on the cold expression of Hayasaka-san, who’s been—for all intents and purposes—eavesdropping next to me.

“Um… what is it?”

She’s seemed really interested for a while now, so I figured I had to ask. I’m the type who wants to be on reasonably good terms with the student sitting next to me.

Hayasaka-san  glanced away, then looked at me again before shyly averting her gaze once more.

“Akira-kun, you’ve… you’ve never kissed anyone before, have you…?”

Huh, that’s what you focused on?

More importantly, she just called me by my first name for the first time in a while.

The truth is, for a few days after the seating change made us neighbors, Hayasaka-san  called me by my first name. But after a certain point, she suddenly started calling me by my last name.

The most likely theory is that she was completely put off after meeting my sister, who has a super-intense brother complex, on the bus.

“We’d only been going out for about two weeks. I didn’t think I should be that aggressive.”

“If it were me, I would’ve gone for it. As far as I could go.”

“Don’t butt in.”

Souichi’s crude interruption is exasperating.

Hayasaka-san  tilted her head.

“As far as you could go?”

“You don’t have to worry about that—”

“Right, right. Hinami-chan, you’ve got experience, don’t you?”

“I’ve never kissed anyone.”

Seriously? With your sultry looks, I wish you wouldn’t use a cutesy word like ‘chuu’ for kiss.

“Oh. So you’re a virgin, Hinami-chan ~”

“Sho-jo?”

I thought about bashing Souichi over the head, but it was too late.

And I wish he wouldn’t say ‘shojo’ like he’s saying ‘JoJo’.

“You mean you don’t know? A virgin is—”

“I said stop. Do you have any idea how much of a line you’re crossing right now?”

“What’s the big deal? Teaching someone something they don’t know is a super important part of school, right?”

Why does he look so proud of himself?

The representative of Japan’s idiots is on another level. On top of being an idiot, he doesn’t have a single shred of decency.

If I had to give a prime example, it would be how he casually asks girls if they’re on their period. The whole world would be appalled by that. All of Japan would weep.

Even as we’re talking now, the girls in the Souichi-hater club are shooting him looks colder than ice.

Popular people have a lot of haters.

“Tell me about being a ‘sho-jo’.”

Hayasaka-san? A complete change from her doze-all-you-want attitude in class, her gaze is completely serious.

“Hayasaka-san, it’s not that it’s something you shouldn’t be taught, but I don’t want you to hear it from this guy, so you should ask one of your female friends.”

“In that case, I want to hear it from your mouth, Akira-kun.”

Hayasaka-san’s attitude toward me keeps leveling up. Which is a problem for me.

“Like I said, you should really ask a female friend—”

“I don’t have any female friends.”

I stepped on a landmine.

“Ah, well…”

The bell rang. My savior with its usual perfect timing. I can’t thank the bell that brings order to the school enough.

“Hurry up and get back to your seats. Matsumaru-sensei  is coming.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

At Shinichi’s scornful words, Souichi reluctantly made his exit.

My desk is the second from the front, and second from the window. Hayasaka-san  is to my left.

Souichi’s desk is the fifth from the front and second from the hallway side, so it’s pretty far. By the way, diagonally in front of him, the fourth desk from the front and closest to the hallway, is the seat of my ex-girlfriend, Chifuyu.

Somehow, I’d weathered the back-and-forth with Hayasaka-san.

When I glanced over at Hayasaka-san  next to me—

—she was already getting ready to take a nap.