And then, I pretended to remain as calm as possible while conversing with her normal. I
wondered how many years it had been since I talked to a girl of a similar age, but having realized
that I may need a long time to derive that answer, I gave up.
"Of course. Can I sit beside you then?"
At that time, I had my backpack on the seat beside me. Inside it were my favorite laptop, books,
change of clothes.
My backpack was wide open inside, so while reaching out to zip it with one arm, I blurted my
honest opinion,
"Well, I'm fine with that...but why here? Aren't there empty seats everywhere?"
It might had been rude of me to say that, but that was what I truly thought. I had no idea at all
why Nitadori insisted on sitting beside me.
It had been 4 days since school started, but I never conversed with her in class. Rather, I never
spoke to anyone in class.
Everyone in class viewed me as an older classmate, and treated me with caution, so naturally,
there wasn't any who would speak to me. I guess they were all wondering if they should be using
honorifics with me. If one were to do so, so would the rest, and vice versa. However, nobody dared
to be the first one up to the challenge.
I too was worried if my classmates would shun me if I tried to approach them, and never did so in
the end. The gap of a year was too large for me, who's already ineffectual at communicating.
I felt It is merciless of me to be saying 'there are still other seats' to a person wanting to sit beside
me. While pondering that it was expected of her to be angry, I awaited her answer.
"I want to talk with you."
And then, she said this. She was not smiling, but it did not seem like she was angry.
"Erm...talk about what?"
I place my backpack on my thighs as I asked this, dumping the rolled-up manuscript into my back.
It was just information I printed from home, so it was fine for me even if it was wrecked.
"Thanks."
Nitadori tied her long hair to the back of her neck in a polite manner, and let it drape from her
right shoulder to her chest, quickly sitting down beside me.
She turned to the left, and with our shoulders practically touching each other, she stare at me
right in the eyes, and answered my question with a hushed voice,