Morning, when I entered the classroom, an unusual silence briefly enveloped the room.
However, in the next moment, the usual morning clamor returned as if nothing had happened.
Still, the noise carried an awkward, insincere undertone.
No one dared to meet my gaze directly, yet I could feel their awareness sharply fixed on me. Most of the emotions directed my way were sympathy or wariness. But a select few carried clear traces of amusement and disdain.
After confirming that much while holding the classroom door open, I gave a brief, dismissive snort.
Walking boldly through the strange atmosphere, I made my way to the window seat at the very back—my assigned spot.
As I settled in, the girl sitting in front of me turned around with an apologetic expression on her cute face and spoke.
“Sorry, Kawai-kun. This is all because of me…”
“Oh… so it’s because of yesterday?” I asked hesitantly.
“Probably… um, here…”
The girl in front—Adachi Fuuka, a striking beauty—handed me her smartphone.
Taking the phone, I glanced at the screen. Displayed there was what students referred to as the school’s “underground bulletin board.”
On it, a secretly-taken photo of me had been uploaded, accompanied by a post that read:
“This guy’s next—ignore him, LOL. Anyone who breaks the rule gets punished, LOL.”
The sheer stupidity of the post was evident from the tone alone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I looked toward the other side of the classroom. There, a group I suspected to be behind the post was grinning at me with nasty, smug expressions.
This situation, which I found myself in on only my second day after transferring schools, was the result of what happened yesterday.
* * *
Yesterday
As a new transfer student, I was assigned the window seat at the very back of the classroom.
The seat arrangement made it obvious that it had been added later. While all the other desks were neatly arranged in a rectangle, mine jutted out awkwardly.
Well, it wasn’t a big deal. Considering I transferred in the middle of the second semester, such things were to be expected.
Since I didn’t have a neighbor, I decided to speak to the student in front of me. That turned out to be Adachi Fuuka.
At first, I thought I was lucky.
After all, during my introduction at the blackboard, I noticed that Adachi-san was clearly the most beautiful girl in the class.
“Sitting behind the class’s number one beauty? What luck,” I thought. “Though I might end up drawing glares from the other boys.”
With that in mind, I casually said, “Looking forward to studying with you.”
“Oh, uh… sure, but… you might not want to talk to me much,” she replied, her gaze downcast.
What was that supposed to mean? Not “Don’t talk to me,” but “You might not want to”?
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