5pm
The golden hour. Pathway to paradise. The best time of the day.
I've used a lot of names for this time period, but none of them can fully capture what I feel when the bells echo throughout the school, marking the end of the day. This exact moment never fails to put me in a great mood.
Until today.
I'm already dreading what's about to happen as I make my way across the narrow, student-filled hall. I hope the number of students dwindles a bit in the next few minutes. God knows I'll need every inch of space I can get.
"Say, Sugiyama-kun, aren't we supposed to be headed to the gym?"
"Yep, that's the plan."
"Then, why are you going to the third floor?"
"Who knows? Guess you'll have to follow along and see."
Never in a million years would I have thought that I'd be stringing Sakakibara Daiki along. And yet here I am, leading him up the flight of stairs to the third floor, where the third years are. After stepping over the final step, we're now officially in the wild, treacherous territory of the senior students… Actually, it's not that bad here. Certainly a lot less chaotic than the first years' hallway. I then take four steps to the left and arrive in front of my destination: the door to Takamoto's classroom.
I reach out my hand and ever so slightly open the door so I can take a peek of the inside. As I hoped, Takamoto is still there, talking with her cronies near the teacher's desk. I then take a step back to compose myself a bit. This is it. Once I fully open this door and call for her, there's no turning back. I still have the option to turn back and forget about this whole thing. But if I do that, it would only prolong the inevitable. Afterall, it's not like Kurebayashi is going to just let this go anyway.
I turn towards Sakakibara Daiki, who is patiently standing beside me; a look of silent contemplation strewn across his face.
"So umm… Did you manage to send Suzuki the text?"
"Yeah, I did. He said he'll be there right after classes are over."
"Okay… But just in case, can you send another text? Tell him we're on our way and I'd appreciate it if he's already there before we arrive."
"Sure, no problem."
He takes out his phone and quickly sends the text before putting it back in his pocket.
"There, that should do it. Anything else you want to tell Suzuki-senpai?"
"No, that's all. Thanks… So, aren't you going to ask why we're standing here?"
"Hmm… I think I have a pretty good idea about what you plan to do."
He steps closer towards me and reassuringly places his hand on my shoulder.
"I'll help you out. So do what you gotta do, Sugiyama-kun."
Damn him. He must've noticed how I'm looking absolutely neurotic right now. My hands are sweating, my stomach is churning from the inside, and my knees feel like they're about to fold like an origami figure. But this gesture of his somewhat made it a bit easier to handle.
But that doesn't mean that I'll thank him or anything. Nope. Thank you is one of the phrases you will never hear me say to him. Even though I did just say thanks to him a few seconds ago. But never again after that!
After taking two deep breaths, I finally worked up the courage to just reach for the handle and slide the door open. Immediately, I'm overwhelmed with a torrent of undesirable feelings: regret, fear, anxiety. All coalescing into a single moment of climax, which then spontaneously disappears as soon as the door hits the frame. And now with a bunch of third years and who is quite possibly the most dangerous person in Japan staring at me, I feel strangely absent. Like a feeling of nothingness. Taking advantage of this momentary out-of-body experience, I clear my throat and prepare to proclaim what could very well be the words to be etched on my tombstone if this goes wrong.
"Excuse me! Is Takamoto here?"
Of course, I already know that she is. In fact, my eyes dart straight towards her. She's got a very relaxed posture and a smile across her lips, which kind of threw me off guard for a second.
"Yep, I'm here. What's up?"
"We have something we wanted to ask you. Could you come with us outside for a minute?"
She stands up and starts walking towards me, her two cronies following close behind. Damn. I was hoping to get her alone, but it looks like I'm not so lucky. Well, not that it matters much. As long as we're out in the hallway, then it'll be fine. Or at least I hope so.