The First Conversation & Working Together

“You aren’t going to apologize for ignoring my LIME?”

Saeki demanded an apology from me, in a cold, inarticulate tone.

“….right back at you, you’re leaving other people on read.”

“Right now it’s between you and me. I don’t care about anyone else……. Don’t change the subject.”

“That’s, um sorry.” 

Why are you apologizing me…..

Saeki had done this many times before and is even worse than me. 

“Look, that Saeki is talking to someone.”

“Importantly, the boy next to her, who is he?” 

Perhaps because Saeki and I were talking, other students in the hallway looked at us as if we were a mystery. 

This is bad…..

If word got out that I was talking to Saeki in the hallway, I might get in trouble with the guys who have a crush on her. 

A bead of sweat formed on my forehead.

“Are you okay? I’m not mad at you anymore.” 

“That’s not it. In the first place, I didn’t mean to apologize──”

Just as I was about to say that, someone approached me from next door.

I turned around to see who it was and there was───

“Apologize? How about you earnestly do that now, Okami Kotoku?” 

Masami Tanabe, the second-year grade principal and our Modern Japanese teacher, came from the staff room to us.

Every high school always has someone like her: she is a female teacher, who has a short temper, and is always preaching to a student somewhere. 

“Not just Okami, but Yukine Saeki. You too.” 

Oh, her too?

So, she was standing in front of the staff room because she was called by Tanabe for the same reason I was.

“Even though I announced during class that I would be collecting notebooks, you did not…..are you rebelling against me (Bla Blah Bla Blah)” 

I don’t remember what she said after that point. 

All of Tanabe’s scoldings that entered my ears were converted into rubbish in my brain.

Still, it was refreshing to see Saeki getting scolded. 

She looked bored and sleepy-eyed. Even from the side, I could see her well-defined nose and moist lips, giving her a sex-appeal unbecoming of a high school girl. 

When you’re up close to her, you can really understand that she is in a league of her own compared to other female students.

The way Saeki was usually alone in the classroom made me feel a sense of kinship towards her, but …… I can’t help but realize that she’s different from someone like me.

Somebody like me, who doesn’t attract any attention and is always alone, is fundamentally on a different stage from her who is surrounded by others. 

I’ve decided, let’s never get accidentally involved with her. 

If the people around me spread strange rumors about me, as they did earlier, it would become unbearable.

“Blah Bla Blah Blah”

……even so, today’s lecture is a long one.

Isn’t she a little too angry for not taking notes?

As I was listening to the lecture, Tanabe suddenly went to the staff room, and when she returned to the hallway again, she pressed a large plastic bag and vinyl gloves against my chest.

Trash bags ……?    For what?

“Normally, I would have you write a 10,000-word reflection essay, but today I’m making a special exception. Instead, you will do a beautification activity. Until 6:00 p.m., the end of club activities.”

That means two hours…… until 6:00.

I’d rather write an essay than──but wait.

Does that mean I have to do this……

Quickly, I turned my eyes to my side and saw Saeki already wearing the vinyl gloves.

I-I have to do this with her….

“Now go, both of you.”

Just when I thought I don’t want to be involved with her anymore, I have to do a beautification activity with Saeki.

**

With the track team running around the perimeter, we began our beautification efforts.

The road in front of the high school was littered with unkempt weeds and trash, which I had noticed for some time, but I never thought I would be the one to clean them.

“…………”

For a while now, Saeki has been silently putting the plastic bottles and wrappers of snacks fallen along the road in her trash bag.

Not rebellious, just very serious.

But she didn’t give her notebook like me, right?

Was there a reason for that?

“Saeki, why didn’t you give your Modern Japanese notebook?”

“…………”

I thought my question was ignored, but suddenly Saeki spoke.

“…..because I wasn’t interested.”

Her voice was easier to hear than in the hallway.

“Interest?”

“If I’m going to read a story, I want to read one that interests me. I hate it when someone tells me what to read.”

I thought there was a serious reason for it, but it was just her selfishness.

“Is that why you didn’t do what Tanabe told us to do?”

“……is that wrong?”

“It is wrong. But I can’t speak for others.” 

Although cool, I had an image of Saeki as a bit more clever, but …… apparently so much not.

Well, if you think about it normally, she’s a repeatedly leaving people-on-read offender and ignoring books, so it isn’t strange that she has a quirk or two, right?

“Okami, you───”

Saeki stopped and looked at me as if peeking at me.

“Why did you suddenly LIME me?”

Right, she’ll ask about the LIME incident….

“Ju──Not that, Machifuji pestered me to send you a Lime. I had no choice.”

“ “I had no choice”, such a meddlesome Lime…..you’re an odd one.” 

You don’t have the right to speak for others…….How many times have you done this?

But, well, when someone you’ve never talked to sends you that kind of meddlesome message, it usually pisses you off. If it was me, I would’ve probably blocked them. 

“It was annoying right?”

“Yes, it was.”

Saeki said so clearly and started cleaning again.

“If you found it annoying, then why didn’t you leave me on read, your speciality?”

“………….”

“Why are you not answering me?”

“……………”

Saeki turned her eyes to me and just stared at me, not saying a word.

Her facial expression was as usual, blank, but I could sense that she did not want to answer.

“Then I’ll change the question. Why do you leave messages on read in the first place? If it’s a message that annoys you, I think you can ignore it, but if it’s a message that needs a response, then why not reply.”

“………because I’m not interested.”

Once again, “I’m not interested”.

I wonder if this person fundamentally ignores anything that doesn’t interest her, whether it’s in books or interpersonal relationships.

“I don’t want to spend time on something I’m not interested in. Be it the creepy messages on Lime from boys, invites from girls to mingle…..”

“So, you’re saying you were interested in my message?” 

“…..don’t read too much into it.”

“I’m not reading into anything!” 

“Is that so? I could see the words ‘maybe you’re interested in me’ written on your face right now.”

“Absolutely not.”

Saeki said, “I don’t know,” and distanced from me a little. 

As usual, I didn’t know what she was thinking.

Normally, she’s quiet, but for the past few minutes, she has been talking quite a lot. Also, it felt like there was some emotion in it.

“You just seemed strange to me at the time. You’re usually a loner…..so suddenly you were meddling with me───”

It was a little hard to hear because of the distance, but I think Saeki said so in a small voice.

By always, does that mean she felt the same way about me?

I thought she didn’t care about me…….

Saeki silently picked up the plastic bag and moved further away from me.

I thought she had suddenly become more talkative, but now you’re silent again?

Well, this will be the last time I talk to Saeki, and she won’t be sending me any more messages on LIME.

After two hours of beautification activities, they went home without talking to each other.

**

I showered off my sweat as soon as I got home, got out of the bath, went back to my room and picked up my phone, which I had kept for charging.

While I was in the bath, I received two messages, one from Tamari and the other──────

“What the!!?…..Sa-e-ki?” 

I ignored Tamari’s LIME and opened Saeki’s first.

Saeki: Good work.

I thought I wouldn’t get any more texts from Saeki, but I got a very normal message from her……