Envy. One of the seven deadly sins. It's a feeling of wanting something that another person possesses that the individual doesn't have. It's a feeling that can drive people into doing unthinkable actions to obtain and satisfy this dangerous sin.
I'll be lying if I say that I never felt envy before. I mostly feel it when I see someone get lucky at pulling a character that I want in a gacha game. Such as getting a character within 20 rolls while I spent 80 rolls. The envy I felt was mostly because of the difference between luck and ability.
I have the brain and athleticism that were given to me thanks to the wonderful genes of my parents. Not to mention the good looks that I have. It's something to be proud of and something that I take good care of.
So when I realized that Mei Shimizu possessed an intellect that was superior to mine, I was filled with jealousy. The envy that suddenly flowed into my spirit was enough to give me an ache in my heart.
.
.
.
It was now 4 in the afternoon. I'm at the front gate of our school, waiting for my classmate, Tanaka. He said that he had something to take care of before going home with me, so I said that I'd wait for him at the gate.
"What's taking him so long?" I wondered.
I pulled out my phone and opened its screen lock by placing my fingerprint in the middle. I scrolled and opened the application that I often play to pass the time. Since Tanaka is taking forever to deal with his business, I decided to open my game to claim the daily rewards.
"Are you waiting for someone?" asked a girl.
The girl in question has a familiar tone. I gazed my eyes to my side and saw the face of Ai Shimizu, wearing a nonchalant expression on her face. That expression of hers is one of her aspects; I rarely see her smile or laugh. She's just so serious, but maybe that's how she really is.
"Yeah," I said.
I turned my gaze away from her and focused on my game. I'm playing one round of the game and trying to turn my attention to it. It's not that I hate interacting with her; it's just tiring. Her personality and way of thinking are tough to handle. Not to mention that the psychology knowledge that she possesses is something that I find scary.
Even single movements or changes in my expressions give her enough hints for the information that she wants.
"The way you're talking to me, is that your solution to avoid interacting with me?" asked Ai.
Do you see what I mean? This is what I'm talking about. The way she reads me like a book even though I'm trying my best to maintain a poker face.
"It's not like that," I said.
"You're lying," said Ai.
"Okay, how the hell did you know that? Even cold reading has its limit," I said.
"Oh, so you really are lying," said Ai.
"Ah," I muttered.
"Hey, Takahashi. Sorry for the wait. Let's go," said Tanaka, joining the conversation.
Tanaka! You came at the perfect time! I quickly turned around and avoided looking into Ai's face.
"Let's go, Tanaka," I said.
Tanaka looked at Ai and gave her a nod. He's aware that girls hate him, so he's trying his best to maintain a distance. He's trying to build up his reputation since he blew it all on the first week of our class.
Tanaka tried to hit on every single girl in our class, and the girls called him weird and a pervert straight on. It was similar to a public execution, but it's social. You can also call it social humiliation. Since the incident gave him humiliation that was similar to a public execution, this is an exaggeration, by the way.
"Hey, may I walk home with you?" asked Ai Shimizu.
"Huh?" wondered Tanaka and I simultaneously.
"I was supposed to go home with Mei—ehem, Mei-sensei, but it seems they still have a meeting and it won't be over for a while," said Ai Shimizu.
Mom also called me about that meeting. She said she would get home late, so we should probably prepare our own food. Late-night meetings like this one aren't uncommon at this school. Since teachers are busy teaching students in the afternoon, they held meetings in the evening. It usually takes about 1–2 hours.
"Wait, is Mei-sensei your relative?" asked Tanaka.
This idiot. This is why girls hate you. It's so obvious; they have the same last name. Well, even I didn't realize that at first, so I can't actually blame him. Ai Shimizu isn't the type that stands out in the class, so our classmates are clueless about her relationship with our teacher.
"Yes, she's my twin sister," said Ai Shimizu.
"What?! The two of you are twins?!" screamed Tanaka.
"Hey Tanaka, keep it down," I said.
I noticed that the other students that were going home turned their heads to look at us, getting their attention from the loud scream of Tanaka. This guy really knows how to be the center of attention, doesn't he?
"Ah, sorry about that. It's just... The two of you really are twins?" asked Tanaka.
"What's wrong about that?" asked Ai Shimizu.
"Oh, no, nothing's wrong with that. It's my first time seeing twins," said Tanaka.
The right word is "encountering." The word "seeing" doesn't apply with this one because you can't see the other twin. So basically, it's just a girl who's half of the other sister. Wait, what? Ah, the exhaustion is catching up with my brain, making me unable to think right.
"So, can I?" asked Ai Shimizu.
"It's fine with me. What about you, Takahashi?" asked Tanaka.
I turned my gaze to Ai Shimizu, still having the fear of being read by her. Well, I'm just going to avoid talking, so I won't give any details.
"Sure," I said.
"Thanks," said Ai Shimizu.
The three of us started to walk, and neither of us started a conversation. We just walked silently for around five minutes until Tanaka broke the silence.
"Hey, Takahashi. I thought you're going to tell me something after class," said Tanaka.
"Forget about it," I said.
"Okay then," said Tanaka.
We continued walking without speaking to each other. I can feel the intent gaze that's coming from Ai. I hope she doesn't realize that I'm planning to tell Tanaka something that's related to her sister.
While I'm wondering in my own thoughts, I suddenly feel a vibration coming from my pocket. I pulled out my phone and received a message from an unknown sender.
"Is it about my sister?"
I turned around and looked at Ai, who had her phone on her hands. She has that poker face, like this is not even bothering her!
"Don't turn around, your friend will notice," messaged Ai Shimizu.
"His name is Tanaka. You should know the names of your classmates," I messaged.
"I don't care. Well? Is it about my sister?" messaged Ai Shimizu.
This girl! Seriously? How did she even get my line?! I never gave it to anyone in our class except for Tanaka!
"I got it from my sister," messaged Ai.
"I didn't even ask about it," I messaged.
"You were going to," messaged Ai.
She read me like a book again. This is why I hate talking to her. I didn't even ask, but she knows what I'm going to ask. This is the first time I've met someone who's this good when it comes to reading people. She's predicting every single thing that I'm going to do or say.
"My sister cried yesterday," messaged Ai.
Before I even got to finish typing my reply, she immediately texted something. Crying? Mei Shimizu cried? Why? What?
"What?" I messaged.
I couldn't help but turn around. What I saw was Ai Shimizu looking at me fiercely with her eyes. She proceeded to type on her phone and send me a message.
"My sister cried when she heard you with another woman last night," messaged Ai.