So, after that incident with Alex, he started talking to us every time we come across him.
What's even more strange now is how Paul and Aira got really close after what happened.
Paul often goes to her room, and hangs out with her.
From the point of view of someone who has been hanging out with Aira for a very long time,
They seem really close!
Like, even more close than I was with Aira.
You know, that kinda bothers me.
...
A week passed of no major events.
...
Huh. This feels weird.
I've been hanging out with Shaina during our free times, but there's still no major changes in our interactions.
Oh right, the guys in the school still look at me menacingly, but I think I'm now used to it, that I can't notice them most of the time.
...
Yep, you guessed it, it's a time skip.
Well, it's just week but, in stories like these, days or even hours are important.
Anyways..
...
Today is Monday. The start of the week.
I arrived at school nearly late because if the traffic and due to bad weather.
Entering the room exhausted, I threw my bags at my seating area and went outside.
The rain's cold breeze cooled me off.
There's still three minutes before class starts.
Since there's still time, of course students still occupy the halls.
And of course, it's filled with couples, and soon-to-be couples.
Oh, and Paul's also there, with Aira.
Huh. I don't think it's jealousy that I'm feeling, it's more like a feeling of realization.
A realization that maybe, just maybe, I haven't done enough to have a life like Paul's.
...
"I sense jealousy in the air." Shaina stands near me, reading a book.
"Conversing while reading?" I responded.
"I stated an observation. That was not a conversation starter. In fact, you're the one who started asking."
"I didn't even adress you. You weren't obligated to respond." I replied.
...
A moment of silence between us.
...
Oh, I get it.
...
I chuckled.
"Anyways, you look jealous. That was my point." Shaina broke the silence.
"I'm not though."
"Not giving a reason why? You must be telling the truth."
"Ah, yes. I am."
"Yeah, no."
"You have no right to choose what I'm feeling. Only I have the ownership of my own statements, and only I can state if it is truth or not."
"If that's how everyone works, then I guess living would be simple enough that it would be no different than being a programmed robot."
"True, but you can't just dictate what exactly I'm feeling when I already disagreed."
"Are we really gonna spend our three remaining minutes like this?"
"Don't we always spend our time like this every time?"
"Well, I don't always enjoy it." Shaina continued reading her book silently.
...
Oh.
That was my mistake.
...
Seconds passed.
...
I glanced over what Shaina is reading.
...
"Horror? That's new." (Josh)
Yeah, it's new for Shaina to read horror. Well, based on the books she reads everyday.
She usually reads romcoms, dramas, or power fantasies.
"A-Ah, yeah! I tried diving into the genre a little bit."
"Hm, are you enjoying it somehow?"
"Not really. I still don't enjoy this genre. I'm still looking for that one scene that would awaken my love for this."
"Same. I can't enjoy horror one bit."
"Wait. How'd you know reading horror is new for me?"
"I mean, you've never brought a book here with an ominous picture of a doll as a book cover or any of that sort."
"I read a romance drama book last week, and it's cover was way creepier than this one."
"Ah, no. It's not because of the book covers. I just recognize every book you've brought so far."
"You've read them too?!"
"Nah. I've only watched its adaptations. I'm not much of a reader."
"Oh, well those actually had good anime adaptations."
"Exactly why I recognized the book covers."
"It's cool to find someone who has the same tastes as I have."
"So, I assume you read "The Garden Where We Were?"
"Oh. My. Gawd. OF COURSE I'VE READ IT! It's a really obscure story so, I didn't expect anyone here would know that."
"Once you've dived into the bottomless pit of romance dramas, you're sure to read that."
...
Oh right,
"The Garden Where We Were" is a light novel having sci-fi mixed with fantasy, post-apocalyptic, romance, and drama elements.
This deals with the lives of the remaining survivors of a fantasy world after a war that eliminated the majority of the creatures.
Technology became the main priority, because magic has abandoned the land.
The protagonist, Shou, encounters two girls, with hints on the entire story on which of the two heroines will end up as Shou's romantic partner.
And these two heroines are : Beatrice and Andrea.
...
After talking about the events of the story and gushing about it, Shaina closed her book and looked at me.
"So, who's best girl?"
...
And right after hearing that, a grin full of joy appeared in my face.
...
I'm surprised Shaina would ask that.
Yeah, I won't go into details as to what a "best girl" is.
It's like a character you really, really like.
Just look it up.
It's basically a waifu. (Look that up too.)
...
"Andrea." I answered with a proud smile.
"Wh-WHY?!
"She had great character development."
"That's all?! Beatrice was a major factor of the show! She even saved best-boy Anderson!"
"Andrea best girl."
"WHY?!"
...
Hehe, seeing Shaina frustrated about this is kinda fun.
...
"Outgoing, active, or basically an extrovert. It's the qualities of a premium best girl."
"Wha- You just want someone outgoing -cuz you're an introvert! You just want someone like that so you can get out of your house?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I can't communicate properly when it's just me going around the city."
"How is she the best girl though?! She did have character development, but so did Beatrice! Beatrice even had more cute moments with the protagonist!"
"It's not about the protagonist. It's about me."
"Do you want a girlfriend that bad? You seem really desperate at this point."
"Isn't it obvious? That's exactly why I hung out with Aira for the most of this school year. Kinda bothers me how Paul and her got together for a short time."
"HA! THERE WE GO. I knew it, jealousy it is."
...
Alright. Why did I tell her about that?
...
"That's jealousy?"
"I think so. Seeing someone get better results in a short time while you worked hard for something small."
"Oh.. Oh my god.. I really am jealous." I said without any emotion.
"You don't really care, huh?"
"Of course. I won't do anything about it anyways."
"Kind of a disappointing reason as to why you hung out with Aira. Did you never find interest in her as a friend? Did you only see her as someone with a chance to be called as yours?"
"Wow. Odd to see you this talkative. Where did the hype come from?"
"I just read a horror book."
"I thought that makes you scared?"
"Fear gives me energy."
"Lies."
"Actually, yeah. It's a really scary book. I don't even plan to finish it."
...
I glance around the halls.
There's still other students here.
...
"Never knew three minutes can be this long." I wondered.
"The teachers had an emergency meeting."
"You knew?"
"That's why I'm here."
...
Is it possible?
That she wanted to..
...
"To hang out with m--?" (Josh)
"To inform you about the meeting."
"Ah, right."
"Bold of you to assume that I want to hang out with you."
"Bold of you to assume that it's what I was about to say."
"Right.."
"Anyways, the morning classes are cancelled, but I think it'll be cancelled for the entire day."
Shaina nodded.
...
I looked at a distance and saw four students speed walking.
They walked as if their life depended on it.
Each one if them entered a room and placed posters and started announcing stuff.
"Here's the criteria for the contests on the coming Physical Activity Day! Please check the posters placed on your classroom."
...
Ah, right. Physical Activity Day.
It's a day where teachers use the event as an excuse to avoid classes.
It's also the day where students either get lazy or really creative.
And of course, class wars.
...
"So, what sport do you take part in?" Shaina asked me.
"Anything that's available, I guess. I don't have any interest in sports, so I just have to join in anything so the president won't kill me."
"Too bad. I focus on running, even though I'm not that fast."
"I'll join that then. At least I have something to look forward in the event."
"We're probably not gonna be against each other because it'll probably be separated for boys and girls."
"Well it's still an interesting thing to do. I guess our sections will be the only ones we can have a competition with."
"That would be fun. But I don't actually know what else I could help the section with other than sports."
"There's the section games at the last day that gives plus points for the final score. So, we could do everything to help our sections win in this part."
"Ah, interesting. Alright, we'll see what happens. I've never joined in those back in elementary because I thought it was boring."
...
Oh right.
Events in this school never change.
I've been here since elementary, and I can say that in high school, the same events happen.
They just give a different schedule to the high school department.
Kinda boring if you think about it.
But what this does is that it fuels the section wars in high school to get even worse.
Since majority of the sections are already the ones in elementary, knowing that their battles are gonna be continued makes their motivations even stronger.
So since we're in the 3rd year of high school now, they're now thinking of themselves as grown ups that should give more effort just to win these.
...
I guess they still haven't grown up yet.
...
"So you're gonna help 3-C after doing nothing for 2 years? I wonder how much would your efforts contribute." (Shaina)
"Ah, provoking me? I might still decide to do nothing again this year, so don't get your chances up."
...
Physical Activity Day is next week, so I guess I got something to finally look forward to.
...
The president of my class stood at the front of my class and announced:
"Welp, it's pretty obvious but, I guess there's no class for the rest of the day. We can leave this prison now. Yay." The president said in a monotone voice.
...
June Rula. The president of my section since grade 3, after our last president changed schools after a big fight.
She's the laziest person you can see in class, but she still passes her grades and teachers still like her.
She can often seen with over-sized sweaters and sleeping like a blob at her table with her friends, who are also the class officers.
Sleeping in class, doing assignments an hour before the deadline, and avoiding errands from others.
She's pretty far from a "model president" but for me, she's the greatest one out of all the sections in my grade.
Why?
Because when it comes to these section wars, she becomes a completely different person.
She becomes the most diligent person in the room, with her aura of authority being felt all over the place.
With one command, the entire class gets to follow her orders and do a good result.
And if our section looses, she doesn't mind and goes back to her blob form.
She's pretty cool.
...
Anyways, no classes for today, huh?
...
"Hmm.. Do you have anywhere else to go to?" I turned to Shaina.
"Nope. I don't plan on leaving either because of the rain."
"Hm. I think I can wait for the bus outside."
"What exactly do you do at home?"
"I live alone soo..."
"Ah, yes. I think it would be fun to come over your house looking for evidences of your teenage hormones being active."
"Hm. Wanna come over?"
...
There was a short silence after that.
...
"Smooth. Real smooth." Shaina look at me in disgust.
"Wanna go somewhere else then?"
"Nah. I like the school."
"That's a shame. I guess I'll be going then."
...
Wait. Why did I actually plan to leave?! Your goal is to flirt with Shaina, Josh. Why would you leave her alone?!
...
I mean I do wanna go home.
Can't you be less honest when Shaina's around, Josh?! You have a goal here!
...
I was about to enter my room to pick up my bags, the class president called out to me.
"Josh! Come here!" June shouted.
...
Oh no.
...
"You'll probably not join in, like you always do. So I'd like to request you to be the guy to buy the things the we need in emergency."
"Wait. So if you tell me to buy something, I have to prioritize that over anything else?"
"Well, I have the power to complain and report you to the class adviser soooo..."
"Ah, dammit. Fine. I'll reply if I've read your messages to let you know I got it. Do you need anything right now?"
"We're starting with the decorative contests right now, and we have the stuff we need for now. You can go home and relax for now."
"Is this what they call the "calm before the storm"?"
"Exactly. You're gonna have a lot of stuff to do starting tomorrow."
"Oh right, I'm planning to join the running competition."
"It's fine. Kinda new though. Well, you can practice running while buying the stuff we need." June said with a chuckle.
...
She picks out the people that don't help, and order them to become buyers every year.
I guess my time has finally arrived.
...
I picked up my stuff, and left the room.
...
"I have something to do in the event now. Pretty new."
"I guess you'll be interrupted on stuff you plan to do on the event?"
"Yep. I probably can't hang around the campus during the event in this case."
"Sigh. Well, I'll leave the school too. Wanna go to the mall?".
"Ooh, what's with the sudden change of mind?"
"Nothing much."
"Right..." I nodded with doubt.
...
We left the school, and got on the bus.
We dropped out at the waiting area near the mall.
...
What we didn't realize is...
...
"..."
"..."
"You don't have an umbrella either?" I asked, because for sure I didn't bring mine.
"Sigh. No."
"So we're gonna spend lots of time here, huh?"
"Yeah. I was looking forward to the random stuff I'll find at the toy store."
"You still enter toy stores?"
"Is that bad?"
"Not really, just unlikely."
"They have sitting areas everywhere. It's where I always rest when in the mall."
"By "rest", you mean spend the entire time there?"
"Precisely."
"Remarkable." I sat down, then Shaina followed.
I took my phone out, and played games while Shaina continues to read her book.
...
"I thought you're not gonna read it anymore?" I asked Shaina without facing her.
"I'm giving it a second chance."
...
Minutes later, she closes her book and sighs.
"Yeah, no." She puts the book back to her bag and looks around.
"Hey, the rain has weakened for a bit. Let's go." Shaina calls out to me.
...
We went inside the mall.
As we were walking, I noticed Shaina slowly getting ahead of me and getting faster.
I followed her.
...
Moments later, I noticed that we were heading on a famliar place.
...
Ah.
The toy store.
...
"I didn't think you were serious about it." I called out to Shaina.
"I'm going in even if you don't come. So don't mind me."
"Right." I nodded my head.
...
I still followed her.
She immediately looked for a place to sit down on.
She lets out a deep sigh.
"I'm tired." (Shaina)
"And you say you play active sports."
"Heh."
I sat down beside her, and looked around.
...
I see robots, toy dinosaurs, and small bikes.
Wow. It feels nostalgic being in here.
I used to ask for these toys non-stop.
This was a time where things were simpler. When I didn't think about my place in the school hierarchy.
A time where robots were what I was aiming to get, not a girlfriend.
A time where I fantasized about real dinosaurs, not about relationships.
A time where I wished for bikes, not social acceptance.
...
Minutes passed of me looking at these toys.
I might buy one robot here. Just for the old time's sake.
...
Hmm.. Where's Shaina?
I looked back at the seat, and she wasn't there.
...
I walked around the area, and found other toys.
This really takes me back.
...
As I walking looking at water guns, I heard a sound of foam being squished.
I also hear sand.
Like compressed sand being thrown down.
...
I looked behind the shelves to see where it was coming from.
There's a very small space between the shelves, and
...
"Hup!" A sound made while diving.
The moment I turned my head into the back of the shelves, I saw Shaina dive down.
Falling into a pile of stuffed toys.
...
I looked at her.
She turns her head towards me.
Seconds passed.
...
"Usually, nobody discovers this area." (Shaina)
"Usually, everyone here is noisy."
"Ah, right. It's a week day. Kids don't go here. I guess this was a mistake."
"Actually, if there really were kids in here, you would really be unnoticeable."
"Exactly my point. I forgot about that, and could't help myself but go here."
"How'd you even know about this place?"
"I don't know why, but the staff always puts stuffed toys here. Maybe these couldn't fit with the space given for them.
This is how things have been working for years."
"You're saying that you've been jumping to a pile of teddy bears everytime you come here, ever since you were a kid?"
"..Maybe.."
"Well, go on. Enjoy." I sat down at the floor, and gave a small chuckle.
Shaina rolled around the pile of fluff, and threw around stuffed toys.
...
"Is this how the main girl of a slice of life romance novel, who's shy and smart, shows herself that she's also cute and adorable?"
"Is this your way of complimenting me?"
"Probably."
"Impressive." Shaina said in a monotone voice.
"Truly, I have the skills to make swoon a girl over."
"Serious question: do you actually think that?"
...
Actually, yes.
...
"Actually, no." I replied.
"You lie."
I let out a small chuckle.
"Wanna eat?" Shaina said while hugging a white beanbag with two dots and a curved line between it.
"You're actually inviting me to eat while looking like that?"
"Like what?"
"An adorable koala."
A short silence after that.
"That's two compliments in a row. Seems like it's a good day for you." Shaina looked at me.
"No, I actually meant that you looked really comfortable. And your eyes were closing."
...
Aaaand, I'm back to taking back my compliments.
Why do you do that, Josh?
...
"Yeah, I really am a bit tired." Shaina replied.
"Wanna go home then?:
"Nah. It's way more comfortable to sleep on this beanbag than on my bed."
"You could sleep right now, I'll just wake you up after an hour passes."
"I don't trust you enough for that, Josh."
"I know, but it's a commendable suggestion."
"Let's just eat."
...
We left the area, and went towards the nearest fast food restaurant near where we are.
We bought food for takeout, and ate it as we head towards the exit.
...
"So, was this a date?" I asked.
"It's not a date."
"Right, we didn't even take an hour.
"No, it wouldn't be a date even with that."
"Why?"
"I don't like you that much."
"Ah, a direct approach. I applaud you for that."
Shaina lets out a small giggle.
...
Alright. Is this how it will end?
...
"Hm, wanna come over?" Shaina looks over to me.
"Is this how I'll gain the romcom protagonist status? By coming to a girl's house?"
"It's sad that you actually have that mindset."
...