SHOP

The word SHOP was written in capital letters at the top of the page.

And below it, I saw... a catalog.

This catalog had various items. All of them were portrayed by a picture of a clown doing this or that activity.

Beside every picture, there was a text bubble with the description of the item.

Well, now that was interesting.

I started looking through the catalog.

The first picture depicted a clown in large glasses. The name of the item was: 'Argus-eyed'…

[You will be able to see profiles of other people.

Price: 3 Points]

Profiles? Like my own?

Sounds useful. I definitely should buy that stuff later.

The next item was more expensive. Looks like they were placed in the catalog in accordance with the price.

[Perfect Disguise

You will receive a special mask. While wearing it, you will appear to people around you as a perfectly average person. Your acquaintances will be able to recognize you if they enter a five-meter range around you.

Price: 5P]

Not so bad.

The next item was more interesting.

There were two clowns in the picture. One of them was evil-looking. A black cloud hung above his head. The other one was smiling. There was an arrowed line between them.

[Relationship Gauge

You will be able to see characters's opinions of you.

15P]

It was expensive, but not as much as the next thing was.

100 points! And what it was? The picture portrayed Yuji doing various activities. He was singing, dancing, playing chess, and tennis, and all of that at the same time...

[Great Talent

It will make you talented in any field of your choice

100P]

There was a lot of interesting stuff in the shop, but I had no time to check all of it. The lesson was coming to the end.

I read about the last thing.

[Mystery box

The catch depends on your luck.

50P]

"…Is that a loot box?"

"Actually, it's a box with a surprise."

Yuji corrected me.

'…'

'Know the difference!'

'...'

There's none.

The teacher, meanwhile, was talking:

"Now we have to choose the person who will take up the duty to clean the classroom after the last lesson of a day… So, is there anyone found of manual labor here? Or shall we use a lottery to make that decision? Two people will be enough…"

Cleaning the classroom… I always hated all that bothersome stuff. But wait… What if I…

Suddenly, I had an idea. I raised my hand and said:

"I can do it."

Several pairs of eyes turned to me. However, I didn't care about that. What really was important was that the back of that Kotori-girl once again shivered.

From the very beginning, since she entered the classroom, the girl has been paying me very strange attention. I don't know why, but something surely was going on. It felt as if she wanted to talk to me, yet there were too many people around. But here it is: our chance.

We could have a private talk after the end of the lesson.

She only had to raise he hand.

Several seconds passed by. I was feeling nervous when the hand of the girl finally rose up.

'I wanna do it!' said Murakami.

'Well, that's good,' nodded the teacher.

I lowered my hand and sighed.

'Then from tomorrow onwards, it will be your duty to clean the room. Do we have a watering can for the flowers here? Well, if there isn't one, you can ask for it in the teachers' room.'

'Wait, tomorrow? We don't have to do it today?' I asked.

'No, why would you? It's not like we managed to make a mess here in just a few minutes… Well, so be it. Today being your first today, now that we decided on all the duties, you are free to go…' said the teacher, and right after loud noise filled the classroom as people started to stand up from their desks. I stood up to, and so did Kotori.

'Just don't forget to take your uniform from the wardrobe. It is on the first floor. And one more thing… Those of you who had been assigned to the old dormitory – you should visit class C-1. It is the teacher's room, by the way. You will be given your keys there.'

Old dormitory… Wait, I remember something about it being written on my note… I placed all my stuff – phone and magazine – into my pockets and then, with everyone else from the classroom, slowly left the room for the hallway.

Then, as one very slow and bumpy crowd, we started sliding down the stairs to the first floor.

In the hallway to the right, there was the wardrobe. To the left – toilet. Several more steps and you will enter a large free space with several lockers for the shoes and finally, behind one more glassy door - freedom.

I crawled out of the crowd. Other classes on the first floor were still loud with teachers' voices. I started walking toward the door at the other end of the hallway labeled with C-1 sign.

Suddenly, I heard steeps behind my back…

I turned around and saw a white-haired girl in a red tracksuit.

Murakami.

Kotori.

There was a distance of two steeps between us.

Once I turned to her, the girl lowered her gaze.

I gulped and walked further.

Murakami also moved forward, and soon we were walking side by side.

In the reflection of one of the glasses inserted into the doors, I saw that she was staring at me.

Not a pleasant sensation.

I'm not really fond of attention.

Finally, we approached the teacher's room. There was no light in that part of the hallway, so Murakami's hair lost its luster.

'Are you also… going there?' I asked, just because there was an urge to say something in the air.

The girl looked at me with her blue eyes… They were sparkling. Then she suddenly made a very bright smile and said:

'Yep, so… Neighbors we are, I guess?' she stretched her hand to me. I shocked it right away, feeling the warmth and softness of her palm. I was lost in that sensation for a moment, and the smile of the girl became even brighter…

Our hands separated.

Murakami then knocked at the door:

'Can we go in?'

Meanwhile…

[Ring! Ring!

Mission accomplished!

5 Points!]