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Chapter 28 - The center of attention
"There's rumors about you!"
"Eh? Eh?"
The one who said that was Tendou-san, a cheerful and active girl in our class. Her eyes were wide open so that they looked as if they were shining.
Then she came over to me, shook my hand, and smiled at me.
"Is Kana dating Kashiwagi-kun?"
"Huh!?"
I was surprised to suddenly be told something like that. My face must be red now.
"Oh, good reaction..."
"Does that mean...?"
"We're not dating!"
"Eh~? Really?"
"Suspicious~"
The girls surrounded me and arranged me in a formation that seemed to say that they wouldn't let me escape. Perhaps their spirits had risen because of an event called the sports festival... but they were now like goldfish flocking to the food.
But sorry, I don't want to talk about that topic, it's too painful for me right now.
"I'm not dating him... There's no way I'm dating Kota..."
I could have said 'we're not dating' in a normal way, but I couldn't, and I said it in a bad way.
That's probably why the people around me were silent for a moment. I thought I had made the atmosphere... worse...
I thought I might have done something a little wrong, and when I looked at their faces, they all had rather troubled expressions.
"You call each other by your first names~"
"If you're not dating, what kind of relationship do you have~?"
"Kashiwagi-kun ran away just now when we questioned him."
I won't let you go, okay? I felt that kind of aura.
When I looked quickly at Iori for help, our eyes met for a moment and she quickly turned his face away.
I've been abandoned!
+×+×+×+
After that, I was surrounded by classmates who liked to talk about love for a while, because I couldn't clearly answer their questions, they didn't know what kind of relationship we had. They also knew that I liked Kota. 'I'm supporting you!' they told me.
"..."
"Sorry... because there's nothing I can do about it, right?"
"It’s right, but..."
They finally let me go and I looked at Iori with protesting eyes and that's what she said.
"Why don't you say that you're his childhood friend in a normal way?"
"Kota said that we are classmates from now on..."
I was a bit tired. Physically not so much, but mentally I was very tired. Although I still have to follow the competition in the afternoon... Well, it's like a performance, so I wouldn't say it's a hindrance.
+×+×+×+
"What competition are you follow next?"
"1500 m run. The first afternoon competition."
"Ah, do your best."
I talked to my mom, who was the one who sent me the message earlier. She said that she would come if she could, and I thought she would never come, so I was surprised when I got a message saying that she had arrived. I didn't think I needed to see her, but she said she had bought me a drink, so I'm here to receive it.
"By the way, I met Kirishima-san earlier."
"Oh, I met her too. She said that it was nice to talk to Kota for the first time in a long time."
"Ah, yes..."
"I wish I could meet Kana too. Do you know where I can meet her?"
"I met her in the hallway earlier, so I think she might be in the classroom right now. If they're going to be here, they'll probably pass by, right?"
I wondered if Kana was okay. My classmates were quite excited when I accidentally called her Kana and they thought we were really dating, maybe they've had enough. I'll have to apologize once again later...
"Hm, okey... You've made up with her, huh?"
"Made up..., well, that's right."
"That's good."
Mom looked very happy when she said that. Parents may feel bad about the fact that their son doesn't get along with his childhood friend. Mom says, "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but you're making it up... I wonder if that means you realize that you can't hide things from your parents."
"I'm going to go now."
"Okay. Good luck."
I left there with the two bottles of sports drink given to me.
Translator: Janaka