She is Reading My Thoughts Again Today - Chapter 74

The Last Day of Winter Break

I thought I’m blinded by seeing the disaster in front of me. Or rather, I’m already almost blind now. Well, how can I not be in this situation?

Still holding my head down, I look forward and open my mouth.

“…all of you, if you have something to say, say it while moving your hands. Don’t stop working on your assignments.”

“I’m really trying to finish them on time, you know? I really do!”

Kisaragi who is sitting diagonally to my right, looks up from her assignment with a desperate face. I want you to use that spirit to finish your assignments.

“Well, all I can see right now is unfinished assignments. So, start working on it already.”

“If you don’t do your assignments, you will have plenty of time to prepare for the test after winter break you know?”

“Well…”

Kosaka shows unexpected side of her, but it is just an excuse for someone who has not finished their assignments. I mean, I overheard Kosaka say she is a type of person who finishes her assignment as soon as possible, but was she talking about someone else?

“That kind of attitude will only make you more enemies. Stop it.”

“Oh no, you sound just like my mom.”

“Don’t make me keep repeating myself.”

“I could’ve finished it if I wanted to, but hanging out together looked so much fun.”

“Stop being such an airhead will you!?”

Mikinori who said so is working on his assignment with a smile on his face, but it doesn’t seem like a happy smile, it seems more like a distressed smile. I really hope he won’t go crazy from this.

“Are you a lunatic who takes care of everyone’s assignments?”

“You are the ones who are making me crazy here!!”

Hoshikawa has a calm look on his face, but he has several assignments piled up in front of him right now. Why is that everyone I know hasn’t finished their assignments even though it’s the last day of winter break? I don’t understand them at all.

“Heyy, it’s bad for you to be all grumpy Hokuto-chi.”

“…don’t add weird things into my name.”

The other three seems interested to what Kosaka said. They start to call me Hokuto-chi, so I tell them to move their hands and cover my ears.

“Stop calling me Hokuto-chi and move your hands already.”

“Mikan.”

“What is it Nao?”

“What kind of ‘chi’ is in ‘Hokuto-chi’?”

“It’s like the ‘dle’ in ‘Ladle’.”

“dle…?”

“Uwa, that’s really hard to understand!”

“Don’t worry about the little things. You can find it out later if you don’t understand.”

“Ladle, ladder?”

“Don’t you dare write that down on your assignment.”

“Ho…Hokuto-chi is surprisingly tidier than you might think.”

“I think so, if my towel gets even a small stain on it, I think I’ll put it in the washing machine right away.”

“Eh, isn’t being tidy and being fastidious different?”

“No, it’s just an example.”

“Ah, is that so…?”

“Why are you looking at me with such a serious face? Stop it, this conversation makes no sense. Move. Your. Hand.”

After an hour of working on the assignments and talking pointless conversations, it’s clear that they have reached their limits. I can see that each of them is gradually losing motivation. It’s not good to keep pushing them. As I’m about to go get some snacks and refreshments for them, Kosaka rolls her mechanical pencil onto the table.

“Please, no more.”

The rattling sound caught everyone’s attention.

“I don’t care if the two of you will continue to work on it, but me and Nao just can’t do it anymore. Let’s give up for today and go home to bed, shall we?”

I shook my head at Kosaka’s words.

“Don’t you dare try to give up now!”

“A few… no, maybe even dozens of students won’t finish them anyway.”

While Kosaka says so, which I don’t want to hear more about it, I hold back Kosaka’s hand which is about to put her mechanical pencil into her pencil case.

“You’ll feel much better about yourself tomorrow if you get it done now.”

As soon as I said that, I see Kisaragi folding her assignments away on the corner of my eye. So I let go one of my hand off Kosaka and hold back Kisaragi’s hand as well.

“Right? You want to finish your assignment, right?”

“…is that the mindset of everyone who finishes their assignments?”

“I don’t know, because all the people I know almost never finish their assignments, but at least I think that way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand what you’re saying. I’ll do it.”

Kosaka shook my hand off and put it on top of Kisaragi’s hand. I just realized that Kisaragi is holding my hand firmly.

“…eh, what?”

“I will definitely finish the assignment, so hold my hand, will you?”

“…did you just say!?”

I shook the piercing glances off me and take Kisaragi’s small, soft, warm hand in mine. After confirming I’m holding her hand, she grabs her mechanical pencil again and started working on her assignment in an incredible speed. I wonder if I should’ve done this from the beginning