Chapter 2
A few weeks had gone by, and much had occurred, but I had not informed my parents or siblings of the incident. The principal immediately summoned me to report what had occurred, and of course, I told her everything. It is mostly about bullying.
Then, a few days after my visit to the principal's office, Nakahara apologized and told everyone the truth. He confessed to me; I refused him, which obviously irritated him; and he attempted to set me up. He never intended for the false story to spread so far; therefore, he didn't think about the consequences.
As a result, everything is back to normal. And by "normal," I meant that the students who admired me weren't hesitant to approach me. Bullying still occurs, although it is not as severe as it once was.
A month later, the school was preparing to celebrate its founding anniversary. That means no classes for the next two weeks! The students were preparing for the event through a number of activities organized by their classes, clubs, and councils.
My classmates decided to create a mini-café. I was one of about four or five of my classmates who worked as waiters, while the rest were cooks and supervisors scouting for new customers.
"Hello, and welcome to the Class 2-Ds Mini-Café; what would you like to order?" I asked, a warm grin on my face.
"Hello! Could we please have one Choco-Para Waffle, one Berry Waffle, one Rainbow Crepe, one Oreo Choco Crepe, one Holi-Sunday, one Mango Shake, and one Mango Juice?"
"Certainly! Please wait a moment."
They were astonished when they saw me not writing their orders and had to stop me. They were worried that I might botch up their orders, but when I repeated everything exactly, they were impressed and let me leave.
I returned to the chef's section and gave them the orders for the meal to be prepared. However, when they discovered that there was no record of the order, the chef sighed once again.
"Murase-san, how many times have I instructed you to write the orders down? We don't have a memory like yours."
"Sorry," I said as I jotted down the orders, handed the list to the chef, and went out to another customer.
This continued on for three hours, until I had to switch with another classmate to eat my lunch. I hadn't brought my lunch, but thankfully, my elder brother arrived for the foundation celebration and brought my bento. We met in the school garden, where both visitors and students were permitted to eat.
When I arrived, I noticed my brother sitting on one of the benches, waiting for me. I approached him, and he soon saw me approaching him. He stood up, smiled, and handed me my bento.
"Thank you; did you prepare this?" I inquired.
"Mom cooked that; remember, I don't know how to cook," he chuckled.
"Of course, that's why I'm asking,"
He sulked, pouting at my remark. "That hurt..."
"I'm sorry, but I was just being honest," I explained as I sat down and opened my bento box, which had a simple egg sandwich and karaage sandwich, as well as two little octopus sausages with pickled veggies on the side.
"Will you leave, or do you have other businesses around here?" I asked.
"I came for other reasons as well. I'm going to watch Romeo and Juliet. Later on, the theater club will perform, and I'll scout new actors from them."
I nodded in response. "You know, there are more performances before that."
"Really? What play? "
"Ice 2."
"Are you serious? I have to see that! "
"Both plays will be performed in the gym," I told him, "so go ahead; I'll be fine by myself."
"Thank you, sis; let's meet up later!"
As he rushed away, it was now completely quiet without him. It's remarkable how quiet it can get when the loud individual isn't there and it's extremely soothing.
The principal approached and sat by me while I ate quietly on the bench a few minutes later.
"Do you mind if I eat with you?" she said. I wasn't sure why she approached me, but I didn't want to offend her, so I consented with a nod.
"Those sandwiches look great!" she said as she took a seat next to me and opened her bento box.
"Would you like some?" I inquired, moving my bento closer to her.
"I'm good. I've got a lot packed," she remarked, opening the box to reveal the delectable food within. It was a dish of pork balls. One is a rice ball covered in bacon, and the other is pork flesh.
It was awkward dining with the principal since I didn't know what to say and didn't want to communicate at all. I just wanted to eat quietly, but I felt bad thinking that.
"How is your booth?" she inquired.
"Everything is going great, Ms."
"Do the students still pick on you?"
"Yes, but it's not as harsh as before, and it's bearable," I said. "Thank you, Ms."
"Oh, don't thank me; I did nothing; it was all Matsumoto’s doing."
"Matsumoto-san? What did he do?"
"He confronted Nakahara and those girls who were going overboard, and you should thank him rather than me."
I was startled to learn that a person I met once had assisted me twice. Well, I knew him before that; he was equally as popular as Nakahara for his sass and personality. He's outgoing, friendly, amusing, and active in school. Almost everyone knows who he is, including the employees and teachers.
From a distance, I could tell he was someone I didn't want to be engaged with. Noisy people aren't what I want around me; it merely implies they're likely to cause trouble. As a result, I've avoided him ever since.
But, as they say, "even if you wish to avoid something or someone, if it is destined to cross your path, you will encounter it or them somehow." Plus, I may have misjudged him. I used to think that being loud always meant being a jerk, and I guess I wasn't completely wrong.