Chapter 108 – Last Day of School
I climbed a slope surrounded by the cherry blossom trees and passed through the school gate.
A whole year had passed since I first came to this school. The number of students passing through the gate was considerably less because the third-years had graduated earlier this month.
I'd stopped walking while looking down, so changes like this were noticeable to me.
"Yo, Maehara! Good morning!"
"!… M-Morning…"
Well, I may have changed a bit, but I still couldn't get used to the teacher's loud greeting.
…By the way, I'd heard rumors about him moving soon, I wonder if it's true?
"Yo, Maki."
"Morning, Nozomu."
I entered the classroom, took my seat and fist bumped Nozomu. Since the beginning of the semester, he became my seatmate.
The seating order was decided by lottery as usual, but…
(Front)
Me Nozomu
Umi Nitta-san
Amami-san
Somehow the seating order ended up like this.
I was thankful that Umi was seated behind me and Nozomu beside me because he was the only boy among the classmates that I could talk casually with. With Nitta-san and Amami-san nearby, my circle of friends was basically all here which made me feel a little giddy.
"Where did Yuuchin and Umi go, Rep? You weren't with them this morning? Is it a lover's quarrel?"
"What lover's quarrel?… Amami-san overslept so Asanagi went to her house to knock some sense into her, so I went ahead."
Both Nitta-san and Nozomu knew that Umi and I were dating, but we still haven't announced it to the rest of the class, so we referred to each other by our family names whenever we were at school.
However, since we were practically inseparable at school, I think everyone had more or less figured out that we were dating.
As a result of that, no one tried to confess to her (and got rejected) anymore. But I had to bear with their gazes of jealousy every single day, it was annoying.
Well, I got used to it now at least.
"Yo, Maki, tomorrow's spring break, do you have any… Never mind, you're just going to flirt with Asanagi for the whole break, right?"
"I wish… I actually haven't made any plans for spring break, what about you?"
"Baseball."
"Of course."
It seemed like the baseball club planned to practice without rest during the break. It wasn't that surprising since they were quite a formidable team and I heard that they were one of the favorites for the upcoming tournament.
Because of the grueling schedule, the members of the club couldn't afford to care about anything else, including girls. I heard that some of them weren't particularly amused about it, but it wasn't like they could do anything about it.
"I love baseball, you know? I love watching it, I love playing it… My dream is to be a pro player, so I have to practice a lot to realize it…"
"Right, aren't you the ace now? Becoming the ace when you're still a freshman, you're cracked, man."
"Thanks, but you know… While I love baseball, seeing you flirting right beside me is making me have second thoughts. Seriously dude, I'm jealous of you… I want a girl too…"
"…My bad…"
This semester had events like Valentine's Day and White Day.
This guy, despite his popularity, only got a single 10-yen chocolate from Nitta-san for Valentine's. (Umi and Amami-san don't give out chocolates).
…What about me, you ask? Well, let's just say that Nozomu might consider killing me if he found out.
"You say that, but you rejected her confession back at the graduation ceremony, didn't you, Seki? You're just reaping what you sow."
"Ugh! Nitta, you… How?…"
"Hehe… Did you think you could keep a secret from this great me?"
"…Nitta-san, elaborate."
"Back at the graduation ceremony, his former club manager confessed to him, I don't know the details since I was just passing by, but I saw him bowing to her, so I assumed that he rejected her."
"…Nozomu, elaborate."
"…I-I was surprised, you know? I-I mean, she was the idol of the baseball club…"
As expected, there were girls who were interested in him. Also, since the girl confessed to him on the day of her graduation, it was obvious that she was serious about him.
Despite that, Nozomu still rejected her.
"That was my first time receiving such an earnest confession… Honestly, I was shaken up, but… I already decided to love only one person…"
He directed his gaze to Amami-san's empty seat.
"You still haven't moved on, Seki? What a waste, you should just give up on her and go out with that cute senpai…"
"S-Shut it! She's my first love okay? It isn't that simple! A-Also, don't you dare tell Amami-san about this…"
"She'll find out even without me telling her. Anyway, Rep, this is your chance to brag about Yuu's choco– Mmph!"
"Nitta-san, shut up."
I threw my gym bag toward her face to shut her up, but it was too late.
"…Oi, Maki… Didn't you say that you only received chocolates from Asanagi back on Valentine?"
"Uh… Amami-san gave me some, but they were leftover chocolate… Asanagi, Amami-san and Nitta-san made chocolates together and they gave the leftovers to me, it wasn't a big deal…"
"…Lies, Yuuchin and I bought chocolates from the store and we gave them to– Ow!"
"Shut up for a second."
What the hell was she doing? Jeez.
Anyway, since White Day was on the weekend, I managed to give them my homemade chocolate to return the favor.
"Maki~ Can you accompany me to the toilet right now? It's okay, you won't die, don't worry~"
"I-I don't feel like going right now, so can't you just go alone?"
My effort of resisting him was futile, of course. He wrapped his thick arm around my shoulder and sealed my escape route.
"Good morning!~ Phew, I made it in time!~ …Huh, Maki-kun? Seki-kun? What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing~ We're just thinking about going to the toilet together, right, Maki?"
"…Help me…"
I sent an SOS toward Umi, who was standing right behind Amami-san, but…
"U-Uhh… Good luck, Maehara…"
She took a glance at Nozomu and just gave me a wry smile.
"Alright, Maki, let's go. I want you to tell me everything about the chocolates you got from those three. In detail."
"…Have mercy…"
My school life became considerably livelier than it was a few months ago. But I realized that today was the last day of the school year.
Will my life stay the same in the next school year?