I was abandoned by Alan…

I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, but I was still being harassed and bullied.

Using bad words, having things hidden, being ostracized, etc. was a daily occurrence.

Because of that, I had a hard time, but thanks to Kaito-kun and Alan, I was able to do my best to go to school.

Kaito-kun and I were in a different class, so I was a little worried, but since we spent our break time together, I didn’t feel lonely.

After all, the bond between the three of us is strong and immortal.

I was going to school in the morning while thinking about that, but when I arrived at the class, there was something unsettling in the air.

“Hey, do you know anything about the key chain that Shinohara-san had on her school bag?”

“Eh, I don’t know at all. What happened?”

“Actually…”

Listening to the conversations around me, it seems that Shinohara-san, the central figure of the class, has not been able to find her cherished key chain since yesterday.

The atmosphere in the class was getting worse as people were making a fuss that someone definitely from the class had stolen it.

While the entire class was quiet with a gloomy atmosphere, someone mumbled a few words.

“Maybe it’s that blonde Gaijin who stole the key chain?”

The next thing I knew, all eyes in the class were on me.

Their looks were full of suspicion towards me, but since I didn’t steal the key chain, it was clearly just an accusation.

But, the people around me had completely started to judge me as the culprit, so frankly it was an ugly situation.

To make matters worse, Shinohara-san approached me.

“Hey, is it true that you stole my key chain?”

“No, I would never do that.”

I tried my best to deny it, but Shinohara-san refused to believe me at all.

“I don’t trust you when you say that. For now, show me everything under your desk and in your school bag.”

“Okay, if that will make you trust me, I’ll show everything to Shinohara-san.”

Thinking that it would be a small price to pay to clear up the misunderstanding, I decided to do as I was told.

Shinohara-san then began to examine my desk, but after a while she suddenly stopped.

Then she turned around with a devilish look on her face and slapped me as hard as she could.

I fell to the floor from the impact of the slap, and froze, not understanding the situation at all.

Why was I slapped?

I thought so as I held my aching cheek, but I soon learned the reason why I had been slapped.

“The fact that it came out of your desk, I knew you stole it. Screw you, you lying betch.”

Surprisingly, the key chain that Shinohara-san treasured came out from my desk.

I don’t know how it got into my desk, but this made me look like the culprit.

“Ugh. Gaijin, you really suck.”

“After all, someone who looks like a Gaijin is also a Gaijin on the inside.”

“I was suspicious of her from the beginning.”

My classmates who witnessed the situation began to speak ill of me all at once.

As I held my cheek and looked like I was about to cry, Alan stood up from his seat and headed over to me.

Even in this situation, I’m sure Alan will be on my side.

I thought so, but I couldn’t believe my ear when I heard the words that popped out of Alan’s mouth.

“Onee-chan, you should apologize to Shinohara-san as soon as possible.”

“….ehh.”

I couldn’t understand what Alan, who was standing in front of me, had said, and leaked out such a sound.

Wrong, I should say that my brain refused to understand them.

“That’s right. Apologize to Shinohara-san right now.”

“Apologizing when you do something wrong is common sense, even a kindergartener knows that.”

I finally realized that my little brother was no longer on my side when I heard his words and my classmates began to tell me to apologize to her.

“Alan, why….”

Unable to hide my shock, I asked Alan, but he only looked sad and would not answer me.

The shock of being betrayed by Alan was too much for me, so I ran out of the classroom in a half-crazed state.

Then I started crying alone behind the empty gymnasium.

I sat and cried for a while, but gradually nothing came out, as if my tears had dried up.

“I’ve been abandoned by Alan…”

When I finally calmed down a little, I remembered what happened earlier and murmured so.

I am sure Alan must have abandoned me out of self-pity.

If he hadn’t abandoned me, he would have come after me long ago, worrying about me.

“…… I see, so that’s all there is to the bond between a sister and brother.”

I had loved Alan so much, but now all I felt was hatred.

Given that, I must have lost the ability to trust Alan again.

At that moment, I was halfway shattered from the shock of being betrayed by Alan, but I wouldn’t realize it until much later.