After a Heartbreak, My Bitter Childhood Friend is now Sweet Like Sugar - Chapter 4.3

Chapter 4.3- Infirmary after Injury

“You don’t have to worry so much. It’ll heal by itself.”

After school, I took Kokoa to the infirmary because I noticed a bruise on her knee…

“How could you say that when even the skin is discoloured? If left untreated, it could leave a scar. I thought you were quite sensitive to these kinds of things.”

Usually, I’m the one who gets scolded on trivial matters. But now, our positions were reversed.

“Umm… you know, it’s… embarrassing. If people learned that I got hurt in gym class, I’d be in trouble.”

I guess she didn’t want me to pry into her matter.

She was probably trying to keep her injury a secret and pretend she didn’t know about it. I’m pretty sure she thinks it’s just a common injury.

“Well, it’s better to go to the infirmary to get it checked. It’s free anyway.”

“I don’t think we should use the nurse’s office for such petty reasons.”

“I don’t need to hear it from you, who looks for bargains at the supermarket.”

“Mine is the wisdom of life. It’s the wisdom that makes my meals a little more luxurious.”

“I guess mine is the same. Come on, let’s go in.”

As I opened the door to the infirmary and walked inside, the white-coated, baby-faced teacher who had been doing some paperwork turned her gaze toward us.

“Oh, you are… Erm, Sawatari-kun and Shirayuki-san, right? Such unusual visitors…”

With a big smile on her face, she spoke to us in a sweet, loli voice. She was Herushi Hanamori, a nurse at Tsukigaoka High School.

“I’ve been bored all day. I’m glad you’re here. Come inside.”

“No visitors in the infirmary means no health problems in the students, right? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Hmm, but many of them usually come to visit us even if they don’t need anything. Come to think of it, some kids used it to skip classes! Sawatari-kun, you seem to be very serious these days.”

“… Yū, you’ve been skipping classes?”

Kokoa glared at me.

“Well-well, it’s just that there was a time when I was like that. I’m serious these days, you know?”

“I’m glad that I’m keeping an eye on you. If I left you alone, I doubt you will be able to graduate by yourself.”

I’m sure there’s no need…

“So, what happened to the two of you? A bruise? A fever? Have nausea? Or do you want to rest on a bed?”

“No student would come all the way to a bed after school over a fake illness. Kokoa is injured, and I’m escorting her.”

Kokoa sat down on a chair and showed her knee to Hanamori-sensei.

“Oh, I see. It looks like a slight sprain. Wait a minute.”

Hanamori-sensei brought a cooling spray and applied it to the affected area. After that, she applied a bandage.

“As expected of a Hanamori-sensei, you’re very experienced.”

“Fufu. Well, I could do it even faster if I wanted to.”

She replied to my words with a sense of pride.

It was amusing to look at her smug face when I praised her a little. She was a bit cute, though.

“If it hurts, you’d better put some ice on it, but I think you’ll be fine at this point. You can take a bath, but don’t make it too long today, okay?”

“See, I told you it was no big deal. You were overreacting.”

“No, it’s better if you come to show me, so Sawatari-kun’s decision was correct. You can’t let your guard down. It’s not uncommon for a lapse in judgment to lead to a crisis… Okay? And Shirayuki-san, take care.”

“Thank you, Hanamori-sensei.”

Kokoa stood up from her chair and bowed her head lightly.

“No-no. If you get hurt, be sure to come here~ Even if you don’t get hurt, please come again!”

The two of us walked out of the infirmary, changed our shoes at the entrance, and headed home.

Even though we stopped by the infirmary, it was still bright outside. The days are getting longer these days.

“So, what do we do now? Do you want to hang out or go home? Since you’re injured, I think we should go home as soon as possible.”

“Yū, how about we play a game at your house, like the racing game we played yesterday?”

“I don’t mind, but don’t get mad if you lose again. And while we are at it, you should do something about your habit of leaning over when you take a turn.”

“I did some image training, so it’ll be fine.”

“Is it really something that can be fixed by image training?”

“Yes, it is. It’s not very mature of you, the owner of the game, to launch a mental attack at your opponent before the game even starts.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, there’s no need for me to psychologically attack an opponent who’s about to be overwhelmed by me.”

“Hmph, only time will tell what you can do.”

We stared at each other and laughed.

We weren’t really cursing each other. We were just fooling around without any concern.

It would be embarrassing if anyone saw us laughing like this, but fortunately, there were no familiar faces around us.

“You know, I don’t want to go back. I’m afraid to move forward. Right now, it’s good. I wish time could stop. I don’t know if it’ll go on forever… Sometimes I feel like that.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just trying to be honest once in a while.”