When I Picked Up A Stunningly Gorgeous Downer-Type Beauty In Front Of The Entrance. - Chapter 59: It's Sad to See Someone Leave to Go to Work.

It’s Sad to See Someone Leave to Go to Work.

Mondays are, without a doubt, the most depressing day of the week.

Coming right after the weekend. It’s not that I dislike school, but if you ask me if I like it, my response would be a noncommittal “Not really…” with a hesitant tone.

Once humans become lazy, there’s no limit to it. This morning, I seriously considered, “Maybe I can just take today off?” while staring at the clock past 7 AM. Half of my brain was still asleep.

In fact, if Sajou-san hadn’t woken me up, I might have been in trouble. If I were still living alone, I would have either been late or skipped school entirely. Finding the good parts of living together, I felt somewhat heartened.

But it felt strange to be woken up with a “Let’s go to school” by Sajou-san, who used to skip school altogether.

I doubt she likes school now.

A change in feelings. It might be overconfident to think I had a part in that, but it didn’t feel bad.

And so, after school.

I managed to get through the classes while carrying a heavy, lethargic feeling.

Finally, I can go home.

Normally, this would fill me with a sense of freedom, but today, that wasn’t the case.

Sajou-san, who had packed up her things, approached me.

She lightly hit my head, which was lying sprawled on the desk, calling me “sloppy.” I groaned but didn’t get up, and Sajou-san let out a sigh of exasperation.

At the same time, she casually mentioned the reason for her melancholic mood even after school.

“I’m going straight to my part-time job.”

Usually, we would go home together, but today was different.

It was her first day at her new job at a café. She didn’t have much time, and she had told me in the morning, “You’ll have to go home alone today.”

For some reason, that weighed heavily on my heart, and combined with it being Monday, I couldn’t muster the energy to do anything.

“hmm…”

“Don’t say silly things. You should head home soon too. I’ll be back for dinner.”

With that, she gave a quick, subtle wave at waist level and briskly walked away.

The abruptness of her departure left me feeling unreasonably lonely. I crossed my arms under my head, buried my face, and let out a muffled groan that even I couldn’t quite understand.

Even though she told me to go home soon…

I couldn’t bring myself to head back to an empty room.

I never felt this way when I was living alone, even when my family was away on business trips. Just because she’s coming home late from work, my heart felt as heavy as lead.

I didn’t even feel like figuring out why.

Perhaps the after-school classroom contributes to this feeling.

Though a few students remain, most have left.

It’s early October. As autumn reaches its midpoint, the days grow shorter.

The sunlight streaming through the window is tinged with crimson, and the sky, painted in a gradient of blue and red, approaching twilight, only serves to deepen my gloom.

I don’t want to move.

As I rest my cheek on my folded arms, the light dims as if a cloud has passed over the sun. However, the shadow cast is human-shaped and somewhat reminiscent of a raptor—wait.

“Your shadow is noisy.”

“First time I’ve been told that.”

It’s the first time I’ve said it, too.

It’s a hassle, but if I ignore it, it’ll become an even bigger hassle. So, I lift my cheek, squinting my eyes, and turn my heavy body towards the window.

There, silhouetted against the backlight, is a classmate striking a peculiar pose with both arms and one leg raised.

I let out a weary sigh and let my gaze drop to the floor.

“…You’re energetic for after school.”

“Isn’t that when you’re supposed to be energetic?”

With a smile and a double peace sign, my classmate beams, “It’s fun, you know?”

Well, I suppose.

That’s how it usually is, but looking at her with an exasperated gaze, I understand.

However, whether that applies to me now is a different story.

My attitude must have clearly conveyed that dealing with her was a hassle.

Her cheeks puffed out in a pout, clearly displeased.

Her lightly made-up, cute face was annoyingly contrived.

If it were Sajou-san, I would have just thought she was cute and left it at that, but imagining Sajou-san pouting like this is impossible, and I dispel the thought like a cloud.

“Geez, what’s with that attitude? Even though we haven’t talked in a while, you’re so cold! Are we a couple in a rut? Or a husband who has lost interest in his wife and started looking for someone else? Am I the young wife with an excess of libido?”

“Could you stop with those comparisons?”

Besides being misunderstood, the implication is entirely unfounded and makes me extremely uncomfortable.

“The other day, Na-chan from Class B came to me, saying it was about a friend, even though she was teary-eyed, trying to smile bravely.”

“Na-chan…!”

I feel like crying. Have I ever heard such a bittersweet story about a friend before? And is there really someone in the neighboring Class B living out a soap opera?

I can only hope my classmate’s wish that “I hope it’s just a joke” is the truth. Na-chan, stay strong.

“…Even though it’s been a while, you bring up a story like that?”

“Well, I couldn’t handle it on my own.”

Laughing cheerfully, my classmate placed a hand on the back of her light brown hair.

I couldn’t laugh at all; my face twisted into a grimace.

But, indeed. It had been a while since she talked to me like this.

Was it when the second semester started, and Sajou-san hadn’t come to school yet, and she was worried?

I seem to recall it was the same raunchy talk about sex, pregnancy, or cheating back then too… Was she really worried?

My memory seems a bit hazy, but I’ll let it slide. Memories are best kept pretty, tinted with sepia.

The recollections of this nosy girl with light brown hair and a pink brain need a thorough sepia tint.

Once you start digging into memories, they all get pulled up together in a chain.

…Wait? Come to think of it, I can’t remember talking to anyone other than Sajou-san recently.