"Good Morning~"
"Hey."
"You know yesterday's drama~"
"Ahh~ That's nice."
The classroom was filled with everyone's lively voices, and as usual, Alisa had her textbook spread open on her desk. She is working hard on preparing for today's lesson.
But her gaze had been going back and forth from the same spot for a while now, and if you looked closely, it was obvious that she couldn't focus. Alisa was a diligent honor student, but there was a reason why she wasn't able to concentrate. One look at her and it became clear as day.
"Ah-!"
Each time the classroom door, she peeked over to see who came in. She would then peek at the desk next to hers, and go back to work. And that's how things were.
Why should I even care... In the end, he's just going to come in with a sleepy face like he always does. There's no reason for me to feel like this.
Alisa persuaded herself as she restlessly played with the hair that reached down to her shoulder. She'd been like this ever since she came to school today. Alisa herself was aware that she was doing this, and let out a short breath as she collected herself.
It'll all be fine if I act normal... Right, act normal.
Alisa decided not to worry about it anymore and stared at her textbook with resolve...
The door to the classroom opened again, but Alisa didn't look over. Right now, she was completely focused on the textbook, and since she was now fully focused, she probably wouldn't be distracted by anything.
"Ah, Masachika. Yo."
"Oh, good morning."
"...!"
But she didn't stay focused for long. Her thoughts were all over the place in an instant.
She jumped in her seat when she realized, but tried to keep turning the pages in her textbook to cover it up.
...The stuff on this page wouldn't even be in today's lesson.
"Good morning, Alya."
"Oh, good morning. Kuze-Kun."
Then, after Masachika greeted her, she looked up at him and finally noticed something. She put on an act of composure, and looked up at him with an unconcerned look, as though asking him, 'The thing that happened yesterday? Oh, and what about it?'. And as she looked up at Masachika like that...
"Preparing for class?'
"Y-Yeah..."
...For some reason, he said that with a kind smile.
Eh? Eh? What's with his expression?
She'd never seen Masachika with such an empty expression before, which left Alisa at a loss for words.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Eh... Nothing."
"Ok...?"
She reflexively denied it, and noticing this, Masachika left it at that. He turned and greeted Hikaru, who was sitting in front of him. They'd known each other since middle school, and Hikaru's thin build and nice face made him very popular with the girls.
Alisa pretended to study as she kept quietly stealing glances of them talking.
Kuze-Kun isn't acting like usual today...?
That was the impression she got as she watched the two of them talk. They were talking about the same things as always, but the atmosphere wasn't the same as it usually was.
And so, she couldn't help but be curious, and she thought he looked a bit cool-
Agh, what am I thinking!
She suddenly had a flashback of when the two walked home together yesterday, and suddenly sat up in denial.
It's nothing... That's right. He just didn't get enough sleep.
Because he didn't sleep enough, Masachika wasn't feeling well. She convinced herself with that explanation, and class started.
He just didn't sleep enough...
For once, Masachika wasn't nodding off in his seat nor yawning, and he was actually paying attention to class. He didn't really forget anything, and he didn't rush to finish any homework during break.
Seeing him act like that completely threw her off. She thought Masachika would surely be the same as he always was after staying up all night. This serious side of himself, he was showing, showhow made her remember the words he told her yesterday.
-- I won't let you be alone anymore. From now on, I'll be by your side, supporting you.
When she remembered the words Masachika said and the way he was looking at her, Alisa's cheeks started burning up.
Wait, is he really... changing the way he usually acts just for me...?
An idea like that suddenly came to mind, and she shook her head from side to side to cover up her embarrassment.
--------------------
"Kujo-san? What's wrong?"
"Huh? Ah, I'm sorry. t's nothing."
It was fourth-period physical education or PE. Alisa suddenly shook her head in the middle of a volleyball match, which led to confused looks from her classmates. She sent the ball in an arc towards the opponent's side with a sharp hit, as though trying to prove that it really was nothing. Alisa was unrivalled in volleyball matches because she was tall and had outstanding relfexes.
One of the girls on the opposite team was in the volleyball club, but they weren't fighting a losing battle. Alisa's team was, rather, wiping the floor with them.
But still, while her offence and defence were amazing, only half of Alisa's attention was on the game itself. She suddenly noticed Masachika playing on the other side of the gym and looked over.
I... wonder if Kuze-Kun will be ok.
Masachika had been acting differently the entire morning, and Alisa couldn't help but worry.
The class was split by gender for PE and there was a big net hanging from the ceiling spiliting the gym into two areas. Even though Alisa's eyesight was almost perfect, it was basically impossible to tell the boys apart because of how fine the net was.
That's how it should have been at least, but Alisa could somehow easily tell him apart from the other boys.
...Well, the reason she 'somehow' could was pretty obvious, but Alisa... Well, she wasn't self-aware enough to realize.
"Ah-"
While she was looking at Masachika, his teammate's serve smacked straight into the back of his head. He stumbled and fell down, and the guy that served rushed over to him in a panic.
"Kujo-san!"
"Uwah!"
She was suddenly pulled back to reality by a call from behind and she noticed that her teammate had hit the ball up in the air. She moved into place under the ball, still distracted, planning to spike the ball. But just as she was about to, she noticed the other team's volleyball club member jumping up to block her. She decided to do something else.
She hit the ball in a way that made it fly in an arc just above the hands of her opponent. The ball fell onto the floor, and her classmates erupted into cheers when they saw the move she pulled off. The teacher that was acting as the referee whistled, ending the match.
"Game! Team B wins!"
Her teammate ran over with a cheer and she gave a subdued reaction back before making way for the next team to play.
As she was walking over to the wall, she noticed that Masachika wasn't there anymore. Maybe he left the gym, she thought.
"Everyone ready? Alright, starting... now!"
At the teacher whistle, the next game started and everyone watched.
"..."
The game was on, and everyone was focused on it right now, so...
Alisa quietly snuck out of the gym.