Hitori was thinking about what happened yesterday while waiting for Hashiro in literature class. Hashiro said she would help him and for the first time in this highschool, Hitori finally trusted someone.
Hashiro came in and waved his hand at Hitori. Hitori waved to Hashiro with a smile. Inside, he was nervous. Hashiro was going to introduce himself to someone today. She said that the person she was going to introduce was someone who could chat with him. But Hitori wasn't sure of that, he had never been able to speak frankly to people. His tastes, interests and hobbies were very different from people and this was perhaps the most important reason why people distanced themselves from him...
Hashiro turned towards the entrance of the door:
"Umaku! Come on, Hitori is waiting for you."
As soon as Umaku entered, Hashiro exited the classroom.
"Anyways, you guys have a little chat, I have to go to the gym."
Hitori wanted Hashiro to stay a little longer. He was afraid to talk to this guy he just met. Umaku could make fun of him for not being able to speak. After all, no one had helped him until now, except for Hashiro. Meanwhile, asking Hashiro for help meeting new people seemed like a bad idea.
Hitori was not supposed to have the slightest sympathy for people around him. They were the ones who left him in this state, none of them helped him, Hitori had always tried to stand up for himself and failed most of the time. He shouldn't have trusted anyone else. And now one of the sources of his main fears stood next to him. A talkative person.
While Hitori was trying to get these thoughts out of his head, Umaku grabbed Hitori's phone from the top of the chair and entered Anstigram without asking and started scrolling. Hitori wanted to stop Umaku at that time, but she couldn't. He was afraid of going against people. So he just waited for Umaku to put the phone own.
Five minutes later, Umaku put the phone down. He looked at Hitori, while Hitori was closing her eyes in fear, waiting to be teased by Umaku.
Umaku turned to Hitori:
"So you're interested in music, foods, MMORPG's and romantic comedy animes huh? Hmmm... I see. I like your taste in music by the way. It's different but nice, I like the artists you follow, if you want, you can send me their link on Psotify sometime."
Hitori wasn't mocked, and wasn't humiliated either. He looked at Umaku in surprise.
Umaku continued:
"Sorry for taking your phone without asking, by the way. I was just looking at the stuff you've been following so I could talk to you, that's all... Anyway, since you're into anime... shall we talk about it?"
Hitori smiled and wrote "yes" on the blackboard with chalk.
"Okay. Have you watched Hire a Girlfriend: Okashimarisu?"
Hitori nodded in agreement. This anime was one of his favorite Slice of Life genres.
They talked for a long time about anime. They both had watched this anime and they both liked it. So they had a long discussion about all the plot-twists and what might happen in the future. Looking at Hitori's vision of the story, twists and characters, a question came to Umaku's mind:
"Well Hitori, what do you think of the main character in the story?"
Hitori wrote on the board:
"He's a character with low self-esteem, rarely goes out and aloof. Everyone hates him for hiring a girlfriend because his ex-girlfriend dumped him. How can they wait for that character to develop? What can that character do but hide behind their emotions? I can't understand that. He's a very hated character, but I respect that character and want to see his development with the help of his friends. I fully support that character."
Umaku got serious:
"Hitori, forgive me if I'm wrong, but maybe you have some sympathy for them because you identify weak characters like him with yourself?"
When Hitori heard this, he dropped the chalk and became upset. What Umaku said was true, but Hitori didn't want to hear it. He wrote disappointedly on the board:
"I have to go, we'll talk later."
To avoid being ruse towards Umaku, he wrote:
"It was a good conversation. Thank you".
Umaku replied to Hitori:
"Okay, see you."
Just as Hitori was about to walk out the door, Umaku called out from behind:
"Oh, Hitori! One more thing: Shall we talk after school tomorrow on the way home? I just want to chat with you some more when you have more free time..."
Hitori turned around. He smiled sincerely at Umaku. He felt relieved, both Hashiro and Umaku were good people. And finally there was someone willing to talk to him. On his way to his class, he was planning what he was going to talk about tomorrow in his mind. His classmates didn't even notice him as he sat down in the classroom... Everyone was gathered around Hashiro's desk. They were playing Truth or Dare with a plastic bottle they found... But for the first time, Hitori wasn't upset about not being invited or anything…