Chapter 3 – I Sat Beside the Beautiful Girl Next to Me
I—Kanzaki Tsubasa—am once again being pierced by a sharp gaze from the seat beside me. This isn’t just dislike anymore.
It’s resentment. She’s definitely trying to curse me to death with her eyes. As I’m lost in that delusion, I hear the girls at the front of the classroom chatting.
“Hey, don’t those two look... kinda perfect together?”
“Right? Tsukishiro-san is obviously gorgeous, but Kanzaki-kun’s pretty cool too.”
“I’m thinking of asking Kanzaki-kun for his contact info~”
Every time those whispers reach my ears, my stomach twists in agony.
Stop it...! I’m just a socially awkward otaku, okay!? I still have zero immunity to girls...! My heart’s gonna explode, so please don’t look at me like that...!
Then suddenly, Tsukishiro-san turned to face those girls. Her expression looked... somehow lonely, maybe even anxious—
What’s wrong with Tsukishiro-san...?
Just then, the chime rang, and as I was getting ready for the next class, I realized something terrible.
...I forgot my textbook. You might say “That’s it?” but for me, this is a huge problem.
My seat is by the window, second from the front. Which means, if I want to borrow a textbook, I have no choice but to ask Tsukishiro-san, who sits to my right.
I lift my head and glance slightly in her direction.
She’s already opened her English textbook, waiting for class to begin. The sunlight from the window catches her glossy black hair, making it shimmer.
Not the time to be mesmerized!
What do I do? Should I ask her to share? But... but...
My palms are sweating from nerves. The last time I spoke to her was when I turned down her confession.
For me to talk to her now—it's just too awkward.
But not having a textbook in English class is seriously bad. If the teacher says, “Kanzaki-kun, read this part,” I’m doomed. My classmates will definitely give me the cold stare...
Th-this is bad—
I-I have to do it! Say it, me! Be brave—
Just then, maybe noticing how pale I’d gone, Tsukishiro-san spoke to me.
“Kanzaki-kun, did you forget your textbook? Want to share?”
My eyes flew wide open, and only the right side of my face twitched. Her voice was oddly low...?
W-was that a smile?
“C-can I?”
“O-of course.”
We pushed our desks together and placed the textbook in the middle. All around the classroom, whispers erupted.
“Kyaa! They joined desks!”
“Kanzaki, you bastard! With my precious Rei-chan!”
“S-so pure...”
That’s what they were saying, but I couldn’t focus on that. Tsukishiro-san was right beside me, and I was a nervous wreck.
My heart was pounding so hard I got worried and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She must’ve heard the class’s chatter too. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she fidgeted shyly.
I quickly looked down.
S-she’s cute... She’s always glaring at me with that scary face... but right now, she’s not the “cold-eyed Tsukishiro-san” I know. Her eyes and brows drooped in a troubled expression, and she stared at her hands folded on the desk.
We leaned in together to look at the textbook. The distance was so close that every breath I took brought the sweet scent of her shampoo tickling my nose.
My heart... this is bad. I might actually die here today.
But—this feeling, it’s familiar...
Suddenly, the textbook in front of me triggered a memory.
—The middle school library.
Tsukishiro-san and I had placed a light novel on the desk and sat shoulder to shoulder, flipping through the pages.
“This line here... it really makes you cry, doesn’t it?”
“Y-yeah...! I love this character so much...”
Tsukishiro-san spoke with a blush, her voice full of joy.
Back then, we were just as close, like we were in a world of our own.
—I thought we’d never have a moment like that again.
But now, here we are, looking at the same page together once more. That realization spreads through my chest, and my cheeks grow warm.
I sneak a glance at Tsukishiro-san’s profile. She’s biting her lip gently.
As if she’s remembering that day too.
“...This feels kind of nostalgic.”
Her quiet murmur reaches my ears. I quickly avert my gaze and open my mouth to cover my embarrassment.
“Eh? W-what does?”
“Nothing, really.”
Tsukishiro-san gave a small shake of her head and smiled softly.
That smile was the same gentle one she showed me back in the library—Tsukishiro Rei, the kind girl who laughed with me.