After a Heartbreak, My Bitter Childhood Friend is now Sweet Like Sugar - Chapter 2.4

Chapter 2.4

TL: Devxtt

ED: Silver

Thank you Silver for helping me on this one.

The bell for the end of class rang.

Kamishiro-sensei waved her favorite stick and drew a large circle on the blackboard.

“The midterm exam will begin next week. The exam will cover this topic, so make sure you study hard. This(I) high-spec teacher will prepare some difficult questions that no one can solve!”

No, you can’t have a test that no one can solve. It’s not a contest of wits.

But… a test. Hmm.

“Kazama, are you studying for the test? Is he asleep?”

Kazama was sitting next to me. I tried to wake him up but he was lying down on the desk and sleeping without a care.

“Wow, Kazama-cchi’s sleeping like a log. He’s definitely not studying.”

“Did he return to the stone age?”

I couldn’t help but make a comment to Kasugai, who came to my seat.

“I don’t need to ask if Kasugai is going to study, right?”

“Fufu~n. Who do you think I am? I’ve been doing a lot of practice and revision. I don’t want to myself stress before the exams.”

“I envy you. I want you to share your seriousness with me.”

“How about you, Yucchi?”

“Do you think someone who took a lavish holiday is ready? On top of that, my grades aren’t that good. I hate studying.”

“I see. That’s a pinch, isn’t it?”

“In fact, I don’t even have any notes to study from when I was off.”

“Do you want mine? That is if you can decipher it.”

I took the notebook from Kasugai and checked the contents.

There was something written in letters that looked like a worm was writhing around, and I was unable to decipher it.

“Is this… a foreign language? It doesn’t look like letters. Is it Hieroglyphics?”

“Isn’t it a masterpiece?”

Kasugai, I thought she’s a perfect girl, but I didn’t realize she had such flaws.

“I’m sorry, It’s too high level for me to handle.”

“Too bad, you didn’t have enough status. It’s the same thing we see in foreign tournaments where you have to meet the requirements to participate.”

The only other person who might be able to let me borrow…

If Kazama is out of the question, then there is no one else in the class who is close to me. —Oh no, it’s bad.

By the way, I’m a loner who barely talk with my classmates.

“If it’s a notebook, there’s one person who can help you. She’s not from this class. She’s an honor student with beautiful handwriting and good grades. And she’s your good friend Yucchi…”

“Hmm? … Ah!”

Well, she’s there’s and definitely not from my class.

“So, Kokoa-sama. Please lend me your notes!”

On the way home, I pleaded to the only person I could think of, Kokoa-sama.

She had excellent grades since middle school and her handwriting is beautiful.

I shall borrow her notebook without a doubt.

“Sigh, which subjects?”

“All of them. I was absent for a long time.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go home and get all my notes, then we can go to the convenience store together and make copies of that. Or will you do your best to write it by hand?”

“No, just photocopies, please.”

It would be a lot of work to copy the note of all the subjects for several days.

The cost of photocopying was a bit of a pain, but considering the labor involved in doing it by hand, it was an expense that could not be helped.

After returning to my room, I picked up the bundle of notebooks that Kokoa had brought with her and headed for the nearest convenience store.

For some reason, she tagged along with me.

“I’ll go with you… I hadn’t paid the electricity bill yet.”

“Hey, isn’t there a debit for your house?”

“My mother isn’t very good at it, so it’s still on the bill. I guess she didn’t like having the bill deducted without her permission. She’s edgy.”

“I see.”

Well, I understand that she’s anxious and wants to look at the bills before paying in cash.

“Guess, this time I should be grateful.”

“And, why you’re so grateful?”

“It’s a secret.”

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“Fufu~.”

I don’t know what the secret is, but she laughs and changed the topic.

“What were your test scores last year, anyway?”

“Humph, are you doubting my academic ability?”

“No, I don’t doubt it. You are very good at what you do and you can study very well. This school is one of the best schools in the district. It’s not a place for unserious students who don’t do much studying.”

“I was desperate at that time. I think I studied through my third year of junior high school.”

I didn’t like studying and thought I could just go to a moderate level school, but I suddenly became motivated because I wanted to enter the same high school as Senpai.

“But I usually don’t work hard, so my grades are bad. Our school is at a high level, so if you don’t study just a little bit, you’ll quickly fall behind. You probably got nothing but red marks anyway, didn’t you?”

“You know me well, don’t you? It’s an embarrassment… Hmm.”

Then, she seemed to ponder something.

Does she want to say something but can’t, because of me?. What is it that she’s trying to tell me? Is she going to scold me?”

“Okay… I’ll teach you.”

“Hmm?”

“If you get red scores then you’ll have to take make-ups classes. You don’t want to lose your free time after school, do you? Besides, you’ve been absent from the school for a long time. If you get a bad grade this time, you might even end up repeating a year.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, though.”

Well, I’ve low attendance, and I’m in a pinch, that’s for sure.

I want to at least get about the passing marks .

“That’s why I’ll teach you.”

“But is that okay? Kokoa, what about your own study?”

“It’s better than worrying about you and not being able to concentrate. In return I’ll have an ice cream.”

“Um… How many ice cream in total?”

“Hmm…? With 10 for 10 days.”

“Uwaa~ There was such a thing as interest. That’s too much.”

Kokoa chuckled. Perhaps my reaction was too funny.

She seemed to be telling me not to worry about it with her smile.

The study session with Kokoa was immediately held that night.

In the living room we spread out our textbooks on the table and sat opposite each other. It’s the same arrangement as when we eat.

The first thing I did was to check the scope of the exam. I read through the textbook, and checked its contents, since I had no idea what the class had covered while I was absent.

“I see, I have no idea.”

“It’s too early to give up. It’s only been five minutes, and we’ve just started studying.”

“Aren’t high school classes difficult? When I was in junior high school, I could solve a lot of problems and I knew a lot of things, so except for memorising the lessons and English, I didn’t find it that difficult.”

“Yū used to read a lot, and I guess that means you had a good academic ability. But in high school, the content is more specialized, so it’s not as straightforward as it seems.”

“Specialized. I wonder if I’ll ever use it in my life.”

“Yes. But isn’t that why we learn, because we don’t know what the future holds?”

“I guess so.”

I don’t know what I’ll be doing in the future.

Even if I make up my mind now, it doesn’t mean I’ll do it. Just like the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with died.

I felt I was left alone…

“Well then, I’ll study on my own, so if you have any questions, please ask. I’ll help you, if I can.

“Thanks. I’ll be in your care.”

.

.

.

“Hey, I’m having a hard time just checking the parts I’ve missed. There are too many parts I’ve never seen before.”

“You’re right. You’ve been absent for over a week. After coming to school, did you try to catch up?”

“No, I did not.”

Anyway, there’s no point in complaining about it. The only thing I can do is to study a little bit at a time.

….

….

… Hmm…

Suddenly, I felt a gaze on me. When I looked at Kokoa, she looked away from me in a panic.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I was just looking at you because you were making a funny face.”

“It’s rude to look at someone’s face and think it’s funny.”

“Well, you know, it’s comforting.”

It’s so rude to be relieved by a funny face. I wonder how bad my face is. Perhaps it was weird. I should refrain from making that face again.

Well, I’m already used to her sarcastic remarks, and it’s too late now. I don’t think she meant anything in particular, and she was probably just making fun of me. It must not mean much.

And.

While I was concentrating on my studies, something small rolled down and hit my foot. I was curious, so I reached out and bumped with a hand that was also reaching out from the other side.

“… Ah!”

It was the eraser that she had dropped. And while reaching out for the eraser I unintentionally touched her hand.

She pulled her hand as quickly as she could. I picked it up and handed it over.

“Here.”

“Oh, thank you very much. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s just a bump of the hand.”

“I’m a little tired, so I’ll brew some coffee. You want some, right?”

“Yeah. Then, please do.”

She hurriedly stood up and headed for the kitchen where the coffee maker was located. This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing.

I wondered why she was so nervous. I’m sure it was just a slight bump of the hand.

“Do you want to added sugar?”

As I was thinking about this, I heard her voice from the kitchen.

“No, I’m fine. You should have some.”

“I need a lot.”

Come to think of it, she has a sweet tooth.

“I don’t like bitter foods. You know that, right?”

“You’re still a child, aren’t you? Once you get used to it, black is delicious.”

“You’re too young to have bitter, that’s the taste of a child pretending to be an adult. Of course sweet is better. Do you know when bitter tastes good it’s a sign that your tongue has deteriorated. Bitterness is a poison, so if your taste buds are sensitive, you can’t accept it.”

“When you get used to it, it tastes good. Besides, most delicious things are bad for you. It’s the same with sweets.”

“You’re a hypocrite. That’s the usual Yū.”

While having this conversation, I accepted the coffee that she had brewed.

“It’s bitter…”

“See?”

“I mean, I don’t usually drink coffee at home.”

Somehow, I asked for it to be black, just like when I used to go to a coffee shop with Senpai, but it still didn’t taste good.

I should’ve asked her to put sugar in it. With such regrets, I headed for the textbook once again, realizing that the caffeine was making my head feel crisp.

***

ZETROTRANSLATION