Episode 40 – Unlucky Day

There is something called a spinal reflex. It’s when your body moves on its own before you can think about a particular thing. That was the root cause why I didn’t avoid the ball and went out of my way to make a conspicuous move.

(…..Damn it)

They say it’s hard for people to break habits, and I thought I’d gotten over that one. To be honest, I’ve been so rarely doing any serious physical activity lately that I’d forgotten about it.

(……They’re staring at me like crazy.)

The stares are mainly from boys in the same class. There are many students at this school who are serious about sports. They’re suspicious that I’m cutting corners in P.E. As proof of this, when I was helping clean up the class (because it would be noticeable if I didn’t), a student from the soccer team talked to me.

[Hey Shiina, were you on the soccer team?]

Of course, I answered no to that question. I had never actually been a member of any clubs or club activities, and had always been in a go home club since middle school until now.

I was never recruited by the students in the soccer club, but they were very suspicious of me. They said that I was actually an experienced national tournament player and that I was hiding my talent….something like that. I denied it loudly enough to be heard by the other students, but I wondered how much effect it would have.

On the way back to the classroom, I overheard some of my classmates whispering to each other.

“That was really great, wasn’t it?”

“He’s definitely athletic.”

“Well, it can’t be helped that I’m curious.”

I was almost being treated like an amazing person, but the commotion slowly died down, thanks to the fact that I was keeping a low profile. It may have spread as a rumor to the girls who were having lessons at the tennis court, but I think I’ll be fine since I don’t get a chance to talk to girls often.

By the way……

“Well, that was so close, Yukihana san.”

“Yes, yes. I mean, it’s amazing that she could compete that hard against the track and field team !”

“You should definitely join the sports club……”

The tennis matchup between Yukihana and Kisaragi seems to have ended with Kisaragi’s victory. The reason for Yukihana’s defeat was that she ran out of energy first.

“……Tch.”

It was a little scary to see Yukihana clicking her tongue during a break time. Moreover, her arms were completely shaking as if she was desperately trying to hold back the fact that she was about to break the racket when she saw Kisaragi smiling and winning. Yeah, that was definitely infuriating.

“Okay, then, take your seats.”

As I was playing around with Yukihana’s mind reading, Shichinomiya sensei came in through the front door of the classroom. Yes, her subject is mathematics.

This is a question I have been asking myself since middle school, but isn’t doing math right after PE a kind of torture? I remember in middle school, there was a math teacher who knew that we were too tired to think straight, and he would pick on us during class, and almost all the students hated him. I wonder how he is doing now.

“Well then, today is exponential functions, and soon we will be moving on to differentiation. I’m sure you already know this, but the pace of classes at this school is very fast, so everyone be careful.”

(Differentiation in the first semester of high school, huh……)

I don’t know how advanced the other schools are, but it seems a little fast to me. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s an integrated middle and high school, but maybe it’s just a matter of some students not being able to keep up. Especially……

“……Seriously～”

Kisaragi was quietly looking up to the ceiling. Seriously, how did you manage to get into this school? But well, Kisaragi is well-liked and so on, so it’s easy to imagine that she will use her connections to do something about it. I can only say that I feel sorry for those who are involved.

“Then, let’s start with…….”

Then, Shichinomiya sensei began to write mathematical formulas on the blackboard. My classmates hurriedly began to take notes. Perhaps because she was too lazy to write on the blackboard, Shichinomiya sensei did not write much on it, but verbally repeated a lot of important information. That’s why it was necessary for them to take notes.

And by the time after school arrived, the commotion had calmed down.

※

On the way home. It’s a time when the students who go home are in their prime, as it means their release from school. But…..

(Why am I going to the station……)

A place I would never normally stop by. But my step sister’s order compelled me to come to this place. The order from my step sister was as follows.

[Could you go to the station and buy some limited-edition macaroons? I want to try the limited cherry flavor. Oh, and while you’re at it, do some shopping too. Fresh food is getting cheaper at the mall in the station, so use your good eye and pick up some good stuff. Oh, and if you skip it, you won’t get dinner. All together.]

I was told this over the phone, but she hung up without giving me a chance to acknowledge whether I was busy or not. She also said this in a rather loud voice, so my ears are still ringing.

I think my step sister thinks I’m her servant or something. And she does a rough job of transferring the fee for this to my phone’s app using a certain payment app. I think my step sister lacks the feeling of sisterly love.

(Ahh, what a pain in the ass.)

While saying that, I head to the front of the station lazily. Fortunately, the station is not far from the school, so I walk slowly while playing with my phone.

(……)

That was my intention, but I speeded up my pace a bit. Then I changed my phone to internal camera mode.

It’s definitely my fault when it comes to the soccer thing, but it’s definitely not the case that someone is following me right now. I mean, it’s creepy when they keep staring at me from behind as if they’re examining my back.

I try to go into the alleyway, but decide against it because I feel like I’m taking a lot of risks. I decided to go to the front of the station without hiding, believing that no harm would come to me.

(……Sigh)

I don’t know what kind of person is following me, but to be honest, I’m starting to feel sick and depressed. Moreover, it seems that that person is also used to it, and even if I look back several times, they still don’t show themselves. I guess they are used to hiding.

(…..I guess I should go into the back alley.)

I had been through this back alley once before, and it’s very convoluted, so it was a good place to find out who that person was. I quietly enter the back alley and quickly hide in the shadows.

(……)

Tap, tap……

After I hid myself for a while, someone who had been following me entered the alleyway. I slowly turn the camera on my phone in that direction to check out the person.

(……As expected, there are a lot of troubles today.)

The person was wearing a uniform with a hood and plain glasses.

However, her blond hair was slightly sticking out from the hood, and her blue eyes, shining through the glasses, were shimmering slightly. She may have intended it to be a disguise, but it was obvious to anyone who saw her.

“That’s strange. He’s definitely here….”

And then there was her characteristic low-level tone and voice. At any rate, I’ve completed identifying the person who followed me……but I still don’t understand her motive.

(What the hell are you doing, Nanase.)