Reincarnation [3]

Lunch came to an end, at 2:40 p.m., as the classroom got filled with my classmates, and it was time for self-study until 5:00 p.m. when school hours ended.

By the time everybody settled down, my head was already tucked in my arms as I mused.

Change of plans.

I planned to kill myself later this week, but in consideration of Linda's feelings, I will do it today.

So the thing was I feared physical pain, so I needed a painless way to kill myself. And what better way to do it than with a gun? I happened to know just the right person who owned a gun.

Before I realized it, I was already subconscious as time flew by quickly, and the chilly atmosphere snapped me back to situational awareness.

The classroom had a dark veil over it and everyone was out but me. I looked up at the classroom clock and it was 5:09 p.m.

It was at this time that Linda made her appearance.

"Bryan-senpai! I'm back!" she declared, "What are you doing in the dark?"

She flicked the switch and the lights lit up.

"It seems like it's going to rain," she added.

The sky was covered with eager clouds which were ready to pour at any moment.

I stood up from my chair and left my bag on it.

"Oh? Bryan-kun?" another voice chimed in from the door, "And you are...?"

"Ah, sensei!" Linda bowed, "I am Linda from class 1A!" she introduced herself to Mr Verschmitzt.

"Hmm..." he gave a look of suspicion for a moment, "An underclassman, I see. Good! Come help me with this stuff."

Linda and I looked at each other before we went outside. We were met with a load of English textbooks on a small cart. They had stamps from the library.

"Are you in charge of setting the English quiz, sensei?" inquired Linda.

"Yes. And I'll need all the required research."

'Haah...' I inwardly soughed.

The faculty office was located on the ground floor, and right now we're on the second. So pulling the cart down the stairs didn't work.

We each lifted our set of books, leaving the cart empty, and sensei told us not to worry about it as he would return it.

Walking down the stairs wasn't that much of a deal compared to the opposite.

Anyway, there's something peculiar about this man. On the outside, he might seem like a nice and caring man.

But he can't deceive my eyes.

Deep down, he looks at people as if they were worthless insects. The way he firmly holds objects, and the way he cautiously walks—indicate that he's a dangerous person.

But there was nothing to fear. As long as he put up with his nice facade, all was well.

After 2 minutes, we arrived at the empty office.

"...Sensei, are the third years writing a quiz too?" I asked, putting the heap of books on his desk.

This was my chance.

I discreetly pulled back the top drawer as my question served as a distraction.

"No. It'll just be the sophomores who'll be writing the quiz."

At first glance, it was an ordinary drawer. But there was a hidden layer beneath it.

"Sensei! I heard senpai is smart! Do you think he's going to pass?!"

Yeah. Keep him distracted like that, Linda.

I moved the surface further in with my left-hand fingers and revealed a gun with a grey finish.

'...A dangerous man always has some kind of weapon...'

I quickly put the gun in my left pocket.

"I consider him a kind of genius, so I'm quite sure he will pass. The quiz just helps them to recap on what they did in the first semester."

Putting everything back to normal, I closed the drawer. My task was completed without a hitch. Now it was time to make sure they didn't notice the bulge in my pocket.

BANG!

For a split second, thunder flashed the office and following up, rain drizzled.

Linda placed her right hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief as she got startled.

"...Anyway, thanks for the help!"

"Happy to be of help, sensei!"

At this time, I had already left the office, heading to the classroom, and Linda caught up with me.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?!"

I made sure that she walked on my right.

"...I need to go before the rain acts up."

We finally arrived at class 2B after I secretly endured my pain on the stairs.

My left pocket faced my chair as I sat on my desk. I took out the gun and placed it inside the desk.

"Your homeroom teacher is pretty sweet, isn't he?"

"...Yeah. I guess we're lucky to have him," I replied as I unzipped my bag, grabbed my books inside the desk with the gun between them, and placed them inside my bag.

I got off the desk and put the straps of my bag over my right shoulder.

"..."

A pouted Linda was staring at me.

"...What's wrong?"

Maybe she was trying to hold a conversation.

"You don't sound very happy about it!" she extended her right arm as if she wanted to receive something.

'Ah... She wants to carry my bag...'

"Well, that's how I am," I tried to be more open.

I handed my bag over to her and she happily accepted it. I could always count on her to help me carry the load.

We made our way toward the exit of the classroom compound.

"...So? Did your bf save you something to eat?" I asked as we sauntered on the empty hallway, the sound of drizzling rain in the background.

"Hmm... I don't know. I hadn't checked up on him."

"So you didn't eat what was on lunch? I heard the menu was pretty good."

"Yeah! But I could always eat supper!"

It was almost time for them to eat supper; they do so at half past five.

'She must really enjoy the time she spends with me to miss out on lunch...'

Mr Verschmitzt went in the opposite direction to return the cart and gave us a knowing look as he passed by.

"What about you, senpai? Why don't you always eat lunch?"

She leaned forward and looked at me.

"...I didn't say this before? It sorta became a habit when I was losing weight."

"Ohh! I see! I almost forgot about that! Like, I can't even imagine you being fat!"

If you saw me fat, the changes would've been obvious. My forearms now were like three times smaller than before... Scrawny... and... f-feminine...

"...Hey, is it okay that your bf doesn't know about this? I mean, you're with another guy and all..."

I wanted to lower her likability toward me as much as possible with the little time I had left. Of course, this question had a risk. It could serve as a boost to her assertiveness, and make her confess right this moment.

Her confession would pose a serious threat to me as I would need an immediate answer.

If I rejected her, I would shatter her heart into pieces, and I can't do that to a sweet girl like her. And if I postponed, the probability of suicide increases when she finds out about my death.

But there wasn't a need to worry about all that, because—

"I'm sure it'll be fine! Besides, I'm meeting up with him later!"

—a cheerful girl such as her, along with her innocence, would always wait for the opposite to take the initiative.

"I see..."

We arrived at the exit and I took off my school shoes, put them in the locker, and put on the ones which would walk on the wet paths.

After that, we stood on the roofed platform as we stared at the rain.

"...I guess this is where we part ways."

A few seconds in the rain and one would get wet as it was no longer drizzling.

A guess being a boarding student has its perks. You don't have to worry about rain and the like.

"Do you have an umbrella?!" Linda exclaimed, glancing at the students who awaited the rain to subside.

"Yeah, I do," I received my bag as I replied.

"...Did the forecast mention this?"

"Ah, no. I don't think it did..."

Judging by the unprepared state of the other students, it was safe to say the weather forecast didn't mention this...

I took out a contractable black umbrella and opened it up.

"...Then how did you know it was going to rain?!"

Hmm... I just judged by the morning humidity and the direction of the wind across the entire day... Yeah, and it was raining overnight from the northwest...

"...I just thought being on the safe side of things is better," she wasn't going to be satisfied with just that, so I added, "Sensei said I was a genius, so maybe I predicted the weather." I couldn't help but brag a little.

"B-But intelligence alone can't predict the weather...!"

I turned around, Linda looking at me in a daze, fueling her likability toward me...

"...Go form the file," I uttered as I ventured into the rain. The others were envious of me, but I couldn't care less.

It was almost time for the boarding students to eat their supper, so this was an opportunity for Linda to be first in line.

Now then, regarding Linda's situation...

0.1 percent chance she would be killed by her boyfriend. 24.9 percent she would die by external factors like an accident, terrorism, natural disaster, and any unforeseen incidents outside my calculations. 

35 percent she would take her own life, and for the last remaining 40 percent, she would die by... cardiac arrest...

So about the last percentage... Let's just say 2 to 3 years of severe depression might lead to death...

'...I'm sorry... Linda... If there's another me out there, I hope he took the choice to make you happy...'