In the end, a week passed without me being able to find anything to ease Umiās loneliness.
While I was stuck in a rut, my other classmates had blended into the new environment completely. Iāve seen a few groups of friends have formed already.
They were either people who belonged in the same club, attended the same cram school or were from the same middle school. Well, this obviously wasnāt their first time having to change classes, so it wasnāt strange that they could adapt so quickly.
By using something they had in common, they gathered friends and formed new groups in an unfamiliar environment.
Me on the other handā¦
Club activities: The going-home club
Cram school: None.
People from the same middle school: None because I was from outside the city.
Long story short, it was hopeless for me.
In fact, I only ever opened my mouth a few times in the classroom since the first day.
I thought my communication skill got better since last year, but why did it revert back to zero as soon as I changed class?
Unlike last year, I wasnāt even alone here, Amami-san and a few other former classmates were here too.
āMaki-kun, Maki-kun! Can I borrow your textbook? I forgot to bring mine.ā
āHm? Sure, go ahead.ā
āYay~ Thank you~ Youāre a lifesaver, Maki-kun~ Iām glad I have you as my friend~ā
Amami-san said as she moved her desk toward mine. By the way, as soon as the class started normally, she immediately claimed the seat next to mine.
For this reason, I received a lot of jealous and envious gazes from every corner of the classroom.
āUgh, why is Amami-san with that guyā¦ā
āI thought I was lucky when I saw her nameā¦ā
āBy the way, I heard that guy got a girlfriendā¦ā
āI heard that too. Class 11 Asanagi, another cutieā¦ā
āHow many worlds did he save in his previous life to be this lucky?ā
And so, history pretty much repeated itself again. Makes sense since they didnāt know about our relationship prior to this.
[Amami: Heheā¦ Maki-kun, you became popular~]
[Maehara: Ugh, I wish those people would just leave me aloneā¦]
[Asanagi: Eh? What? What happened?]
[Maehara: The same old problem. Iām used to it by now, but itās still annoying.]
[Amami: Sorry for the trouble, Maki-kunā¦]
[Amami: I didnāt know that borrowing your textbook would make this happenā¦]
[Asanagi: Hm?]
[Asanagi: Yuu, did you forget your textbook?]
[Amami: Ahā¦]
[Amami has left the chatroom]
[Asanagi: Oi, get your a** back here!]
[Asanagi: Usual place. Lunch break.]
Nice slip up there, Amami-san. Anyway, it wasnāt anything new. People would badmouth those they were unfamiliar with whenever they were being friendly with Amami-san like this.
Well, we could vent our frustration in the group chat, so it didnāt turn into a big deal.
āā¦Heheā¦ā
āHm? Whatās up?ā
āAh, sorry. Itās justā¦ You look so happy when youāre fiddling with your phone, Maki-kun. You made a smiling face like this, you know?~ā
āUghā¦ā
She lifted the corner of her mouth with her fingers, trying to show me what my face looked like when I was on the phone.
She said that I was āsmilingā, but I thought that āgrinningā would fit the expression more.
I always tried my best to hide my mouth whenever I was on the phone, but I guess I let my guard down today.
Luckily, it was Amami-san who noticed and she only teased me lightly. If it was some other person, they would definitely call me āgrossā or something along the line.
I felt like my cheeks were getting hotter from embarrassment.
āā¦Sorry for showing you something unsightlyā¦ā
āDonāt worry about it~ You know, Iāve been thinking that my presence here made you isolated from the rest of the classā¦ Seeing you smiling and enjoying yourself like this made me feel relievedā¦ā
āWhy did you think that? ā¦Amami-san, Iām thankful for your presence, so donāt worry about things like this anymore, okay?ā
āā¦Is that so? ā¦Iām gladā¦ā
āā¦Were you trying to imitate me just now?ā
āHehe, yep! What do you think? I nailed it, right?ā
āā¦20 points.ā
āEh, really? I thought Iād get 40 points at leastā¦ā
āā¦Your target is too low!ā
Lately, imitating my way of speaking has become a trend among Umi and Amami-san (sometimes Nitta-san too). They would occasionally do it when we were chatting like what Amami-san did just now. By the way, the whole thing was started by Umi.
Since they were my friends, I had no problems with them teasing me this way, but I failed to understand what was so amusing about imitating me? I mean, it wasnāt like I had some strange habit when talking, did I?
ā¦Girlsā¦ The more I learned, the less I understoodā¦
āBy the way, Maki-kun, can you show me your smile again? I want to take a picture of you~ā
āHuh? Over my dead body.ā
āBoo! I want to show your smile to Umi and Nina!! You look so cute, you know?ā
āRather than cute, it looks gross, Iām sureā¦ā
Umi was one thing, but if she showed it to Nitta-san, that girl would definitely mock me. Besidesā¦
āā¦Ahā¦ā
And then, I realized something.
Iāve been looking for a way to ease Umiās loneliness since she was separated from her friends.
This might workā¦
āAmami-san, could you help me with something?ā
āOh, thatās rareā¦ Maki-kun asking me for helpā¦ Go ahead, tell me your problems~ā
āWell, this is the thing that only you could do, Amami-sanā¦ā
I still felt embarrassed about this, but if it was for the sake of my precious girlfriendā¦
If this could make her smile even a little, I didnāt mind being the butt of a joke.