So You’re Telling Me I’m in My Popular Phase!? - Chapter 38 & 39 & 40 & 41

Chapter 38: The Unexpected Newcomer!?

We were waiting for the person Machida-san said she would introduce to us.

By the way, Machida-san went to fetch them.

“I wonder what kind of person the new one is,”

Izumi said excitedly.

“Yeah. Well, if it’s someone Machida-san thinks is good, then we can trust that.”

Even though Machida-san looks like she’s just messing around all the time, she’s actually very dependable.

So it’s reassuring.

“Oh ho, you sure trust Toyomi-chan a lot. You like her or something?”

Oi, Tomoya, what the heck are you saying?

Sure, I trust Machida-san, but that’s not love! The only one I love is Aki!

“Eh? What do you mean, Ryu-kun?”

Hey, hey, don’t look at me like that, Izumi.

You look like a dog who thought it was finally going for a walk, only to be told we’re not going after all.

I mean, that’s the metaphor I’m using, but wait—what kind of face is that supposed to be?

“That’s not it at all! She was chosen as the grade’s student council president. Of course I’d trust her! You think so too, right?”

“I get it, I get it. You’re just panicking, Ryu.”

“I’d say I’m still calmer than Izumi.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Izumi then looked like a dog that did get to go on its walk.

Okay, that metaphor still feels weird.

“But still, thank goodness…”

“Why are you so flustered about this?”

“Because Ryu-kun—”

“What about me?”

She started to say something but stopped halfway.

“It’s nothing. Saying it wouldn’t matter.”

What’s that supposed to mean?

“Izumi-chan’s got her own struggles, huh.”

“Tomoya, if you know something, tell me.”

“Can’t do that. But if you watch Izumi-chan closely, you’ll get it.”

“Really?”

I looked at Izumi for a moment… but nothing clicked.

“Don’t stare at me like that so much, it’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Hmm. I really don’t get it.

“You’re looking at it the wrong way, Ryu. You didn’t get it from that just now?”

“U-uh, no.”

“Well, if you keep paying attention, you’ll figure it out eventually.”

“I guess…”

Now I just feel kinda bad toward Izumi.

“Don’t worry so much, okay?”

Izumi smiled gently, trying to comfort me.

But the truth is, I don’t really understand her that well.

“Anyway, let’s drop this. Let’s talk about our new member!”

Tomoya changed the subject since the air had gotten gloomy.

“I wonder if it’s gonna be a girl? Or a boy?”

That’s the first thing Izumi cares about, huh.

“What, you’d be happy if it’s a boy?”

“That’s not true!”

“Hahaha, guess you two are the same as always.”

“Pretty much.”

“Yeah.”

No matter what happens, we always get along somehow.

“You all seem to be having fun.”

“Ah, welcome back, Toyomi-chan!”

While we were chatting, Machida-san came back into the classroom.

“Huh? Machida-san, where’s the new person?”

“That’s kind of a harsh way to put it, don’t you think?”

“Is it?”

Well, it can’t be helped—I don’t know their name yet.

“Anyway, I asked them to wait in the hallway.”

“Why?”

“So you all can feel the suspense.”

That’s such a lame reason!

“Are you thinking something rude?”

“N-no, not at all.”

“Really now?”

Sometimes Machida-san gets sharp like this—it’s scary.

“Hey, Toyomi-chan, hurry up! I wanna see them already!”

Izumi, who’s been the most excited this whole time, urged her on.

“Alright then, let’s have them come in.”

“Yaaay!”

Izumi’s face right now looked like this → (´▽｀)

“Please, come in.”

Chapter 39: The Unexpected Childhood Friend!?

When Machida-san called out, a blonde-haired, twin-tailed girl walked into the room.

Wait a second—

Isn’t that the girl who kept glancing at me during club practice?

Well… maybe she wasn’t really staring.

Looking closely though, she totally gives off the tsundere vibe.

“Um, this here is Itabashi Sakura,”

Machida-san said.

“Now then, Itabashi-san, please introduce yourself.”

Itabashi-san glanced at Machida-san and whispered in a small voice,

“Just call me Sakura like usual.”

Machida-san only smiled in response.

Guess they’re close friends?

Itabashi-san turned toward us and cleared her throat once.

“As Toyomi said, my name is Itabashi Sakura.

The reason I joined is because Toyomi kept begging me to become a member of the grade student council.

It’s not like I joined because I was worried about Toyomi or anything, okay!?”

Yeah, sure. Not that I thought that, but—

She really is a tsundere, huh!

“Hey, hey, Toyomi-chan,”

“Yes? What is it?”

Izumi waved her hand quickly as she asked Machida-san a question.

“What’s your relationship with Sakura-chan?”

She just dropped the chan right away, didn’t she?

“H-hold on, calling me with chan all of a sudden—”

See, even Itabashi-san reacted.

“Is that not okay?”

Izumi tilted her head slightly as she said that.

S-so cute. I almost fell for her for a second.

“It’s… it’s not like I don’t like it or anything…”

Too bad, looks like Itabashi-san lost too.

“Good! So, Toyomi-chan, what’s your relationship with her?”

She’s still on that question!?

“Let’s see… we’re childhood friends, I suppose.”

“‘Childhood friends?’”

Izumi and I said it at the same time.

“Yes. Sakura moved near my house when we were in elementary school, and since we ended up in the same class, we became close.”

Oh, I see.

“That’s like us!”

Izumi said happily to me.

“Is it? We just happened to live nearby from the start.”

“It’s not that close! It takes five minutes to get to your house!”

Uh, that’s still pretty close, you know?

“We only need under a minute.”

Machida-san and Itabashi-san said it in perfect sync.

“I’m so envious…”

Izumi said, looking honestly envious. Why though?

“Umm—”

“Hmm?”

All four of us turned toward the voice at once.

“I can’t get into the conversation here.”

Tomoya had suddenly joined in.

“Ah, true.”

Aside from Itabashi-san, who didn’t know Tomoya too well, everyone else nodded and thought the same thing at once—

‘What should we do now?’

“Anyway, I’ve got club practice, so I’ll head out for today, okay?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Right. See you tomorrow.”

With that, Itabashi-san left the classroom.

Come to think of it, that was the first time I’d ever heard Machida-san talk in that kind of tone.

“Ah, speaking of which, we forgot to introduce ourselves, didn’t we?”

“Ah! You’re right, Tomoya—shouldn’t we do that? Is it okay that we didn’t?”

“Ah, yes. Well, I gave a quick explanation earlier, so it should be fine for now. Let’s make sure to do it next time.”

“Yeah! I wanna do it!”

Izumi, who always wants to befriend everyone, said that eagerly.

She’s fine ‘cause we’re classmates, but still—better be cautious, okay?

“Well then, let’s wrap it up for today, too.”

“Yes, let’s.”

After giving a polite bow, we all left the classroom.

Oh right, Itabashi-san’s in the same tennis club as me, isn’t she?

Guess I’ll go check it out.

I headed toward the clubroom, walking fast—faster than usual.

Chapter 40: The Unexpected Genius!?

When I arrived at the clubroom, I changed clothes and headed outside.

“Oi, Ichikami! You’re late!”

“S-sorry! I was held up by the grade student council.”

“Oh right, you’re part of that. Damn, I’m jealous—no, actually, I resent you!”

He suddenly started grinding his knuckles into my head.

“Ow—ow! That hurts, senpai!”

“Hahaha!”

This friendly upperclassman is the captain of the boys’ soft tennis team.

His name? …Honestly, I don’t remember.

“Anyway, come on, ball pickup, ball pickup!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Out of all the tasks in club activities, I hate ball pickup the most.

It’s such a drag.

“Come on, get motivated!”

“’Kay!”

The captain slapped me on the back, so I started gathering balls.

“Speaking of which, Itabashi-san—ah, there she is!”

While picking up balls, I looked over to the girls’ court.

She was rallying with one of the male seniors—and holding her own.

“Whoa, that’s amazing.”

I couldn’t help but say it out loud in admiration.

“Hey, Ichikami, your hands have stopped moving!”

“Ah, sorry!”

I quickly resumed collecting balls.

Still, Itabashi-san’s really good at tennis.

That match wasn’t just even—she might have actually had the upper hand.

“Kyaa! Sakura-chan beat a senior!”

No way! I turned my head quickly and saw our senior looking completely deflated.

Seriously… she’s incredible.

Maybe I should ask her to teach me sometime.

Itabashi-san took a sip from her water bottle.

Alright, back to picking up balls.

As I moved around retrieving them, I occasionally found my eyes drifting toward the girls’ court.

“Kyaa! Amazing!”

A few minutes later, I heard the girls’ excited voices again.

When I looked—

“Huh?”

Itabashi-san was now playing against the girls’ tennis captain.

She was slightly behind… but still nearly even.

And the girls’ captain is about as strong as our captain.

For her to be keeping up like that…

“What’s wrong?”

The captain called out to me again. Oops—caught staring.

“It’s just—she’s awesome.”

I pointed toward Itabashi-san as I explained.

“Ah, Sakura, huh. Yeah, she’s impressive. Not even the vice-captain could beat her, I bet.”

That good, huh…

“She’s amazing…”

“Yep. Anyway, focus on your ball pickup for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

After that, I kept working for about two hours.

My back was starting to ache when—

“Alright, boys and girls alike, fifteen-minute break!”

Umeda-sensei showed up and called for a rest.

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted in unison.

I sat down on a bench near the court to catch my breath.

“Hey, you’re Ichikami-kun, right?”

Suddenly, Itabashi-san talked to me.

“Y-yeah, that’s me.”

What is this? Such strong pressure…

“Can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Just like with Machida-san, even though we’re the same age—she gives off such serious pressure.

Kinda intimidating.

Chapter 41: The Unexpected Invitation!?

“Well, it’s about Toyomi.”

“Ah, right. You mean Machida-san?”

Does she have something she wants to tell me?

Come to think of it, Machida-san and Itabashi-san are childhood friends, huh?

Just like me and Izumi.

“Yeah. Hey, why are you using polite speech?”

“Uh, I don’t know, just kinda…”

“You don’t have to, you know.”

“Thanks.”

Good. Since she’s Machida-san’s childhood friend, I thought she might be like Machida-san and tell me to use formal speech or something.

“It’s not like you needed to thank me or anything!”

Man, she’s such an obvious tsundere. Was that on purpose?

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Ohh, straight into casual speech.”

Wait, was that bad?

“S-sorry!”

“No, I just meant suddenly switching your tone might be hard at first.”

Phew, that’s a relief.

“Well, it’s more like, since we’re classmates and I don’t really know how to talk to you normally, I ended up using polite speech.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Hahaha…”

What is this—so awkward!

“Anyway, getting back to the main topic.”

“Ah, right.”

Oh yeah, she was originally going to talk about Machida-san. Totally forgot.

“The truth is…”

“You lot! Break’s over!”

“Ah—”

“Ah…”

“Yes, sir!!”

Umeda-sensei!!

Why do you always barge in right at the most interesting part!?

“Ahh, guess that’s that. I’ll tell you on the way home. After club’s over and you’re changed, meet me at the school gate.”

“Oh, got it.”

“’Kay, later!”

“Yeah.”

Alright! Time to get back to practice—

Wait. Hold up.

Did she just say we’re going to walk home together!?

No way, no way!

I’ve never gone home with a girl besides Izumi before!

Nooooo!

“What’s wrong—you’re sweating like crazy, Ichikami.”

The captain came over. In a way, thank god.

“I’m fine, really.”

“I see. You were talking with Sakura earlier—something going on?”

“N-nothing, really.”

“Alright then. Let’s continue training.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ughh, I’m so nervous I can’t focus at all!

I mean, come on—Itabashi-san’s Machida-san’s childhood friend!

If I accidentally say something dumb, she’ll report me instantly!

Scary!!

Haah… good luck, future me.

Present me is officially escaping from reality.

After that, I practiced harder than ever before.

But no matter how intensely I played, time kept moving forward.

Whoa! It’s already this late!?

Time, please—slow down!!

Of course, time didn’t slow down. Club activities ended.

“Ichikami, let’s walk home together!”

“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got plans.”

“With Izumi-san? Man, I’m jealous!”

Not exactly, but it’s too annoying to try explaining, so I’ll just ignore him.

“Later then, Ichikami! Good luck out there!”

“Y-yeah.”

I went to the school gate and waited for Itabashi-san.

About ten minutes passed.

Girls really do take forever to change.

Finally, Itabashi-san arrived.

“Sorry. So, can I tell you what I wanted to say? Is it okay if we talk while walking?”

“Yeah.”

As I thought. I’d been frozen in place, not taking a single step, hoping maybe we wouldn’t walk home together—but too bad.

Guess I’ll just go with her after all.