In the end, a week passed without me being able to find anything to ease Umi's loneliness.
While I was stuck in a rut, my other classmates had blended into the new environment completely. I've seen a few groups of friends have formed already.
They were either people who belonged in the same club, attended the same cram school or were from the same middle school. Well, this obviously wasn't their first time having to change classes, so it wasn't strange that they could adapt so quickly.
By using something they had in common, they gathered friends and formed new groups in an unfamiliar environment.
Me on the other hand…
Club activities: The going-home club
Cram school: None.
People from the same middle school: None because I was from outside the city.
Long story short, it was hopeless for me.
In fact, I only ever opened my mouth a few times in the classroom since the first day.
I thought my communication skill got better since last year, but why did it revert back to zero as soon as I changed class?
Unlike last year, I wasn't even alone here, Amami-san and a few other former classmates were here too.
"Maki-kun, Maki-kun! Can I borrow your textbook? I forgot to bring mine."
"Hm? Sure, go ahead."
"Yay~ Thank you~ You're a lifesaver, Maki-kun~ I'm glad I have you as my friend~"
Amami-san said as she moved her desk toward mine. By the way, as soon as the class started normally, she immediately claimed the seat next to mine.
For this reason, I received a lot of jealous and envious gazes from every corner of the classroom.
'Ugh, why is Amami-san with that guy…'
'I thought I was lucky when I saw her name…'
'By the way, I heard that guy got a girlfriend…'
'I heard that too. Class 11 Asanagi, another cutie…'
'How many worlds did he save in his previous life to be this lucky?'
And so, history pretty much repeated itself again. Makes sense since they didn't know about our relationship prior to this.
[Amami: Hehe… Maki-kun, you became popular~]
[Maehara: Ugh, I wish those people would just leave me alone…]
[Asanagi: Eh? What? What happened?]
[Maehara: The same old problem. I'm used to it by now, but it's still annoying.]
[Amami: Sorry for the trouble, Maki-kun…]
[Amami: I didn't know that borrowing your textbook would make this happen…]
[Asanagi: Hm?]
[Asanagi: Yuu, did you forget your textbook?]
[Amami: Ah…]
[Amami has left the chatroom]
[Asanagi: Oi, get your ass back here!]
[Asanagi: Usual place. Lunch break.]
Nice slip up there, Amami-san. Anyway, it wasn't anything new. People would badmouth those they were unfamiliar with whenever they were being friendly with Amami-san like this.
Well, we could vent our frustration in the group chat, so it didn't turn into a big deal.
"…Hehe…"
"Hm? What's up?"
"Ah, sorry. It's just… You look so happy when you're fiddling with your phone, Maki-kun. You made a smiling face like this, you know?~"
"Ugh…"
She lifted the corner of her mouth with her fingers, trying to show me what my face looked like when I was on the phone.
She said that I was 'smiling', but I thought that 'grinning' would fit the expression more.
I always tried my best to hide my mouth whenever I was on the phone, but I guess I let my guard down today.
Luckily, it was Amami-san who noticed and she only teased me lightly. If it was some other person, they would definitely call me 'gross' or something along the line.
I felt like my cheeks were getting hotter from embarrassment.
"…Sorry for showing you something unsightly…"
"Don't worry about it~ You know, I've been thinking that my presence here made you isolated from the rest of the class… Seeing you smiling and enjoying yourself like this made me feel relieved…"
"Why did you think that? …Amami-san, I'm thankful for your presence, so don't worry about things like this anymore, okay?"
"…Is that so? …I'm glad…"
"…Were you trying to imitate me just now?"
"Hehe, yep! What do you think? I nailed it, right?"
"…20 points."
"Eh, really? I thought I'd get 40 points at least…"
"…Your target is too low!"
Lately, imitating my way of speaking has become a trend among Umi and Amami-san (sometimes Nitta-san too). They would occasionally do it when we were chatting like what Amami-san did just now. By the way, the whole thing was started by Umi.
Since they were my friends, I had no problems with them teasing me this way, but I failed to understand what was so amusing about imitating me? I mean, it wasn't like I had some strange habit when talking, did I?
…Girls… The more I learned, the less I understood…
"By the way, Maki-kun, can you show me your smile again? I want to take a picture of you~"
"Huh? Over my dead body."
"Boo! I want to show your smile to Umi and Nina!! You look so cute, you know?"
"Rather than cute, it looks gross, I'm sure…"
Umi was one thing, but if she showed it to Nitta-san, that girl would definitely mock me. Besides…
"…Ah…"
And then, I realized something.
I've been looking for a way to ease Umi's loneliness since she was separated from her friends.
This might work…
"Amami-san, could you help me with something?"
"Oh, that's rare… Maki-kun asking me for help… Go ahead, tell me your problems~"
"Well, this is the thing that only you could do, Amami-san…"
I still felt embarrassed about this, but if it was for the sake of my precious girlfriend…
If this could make her smile even a little, I didn't mind being the butt of a joke.