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Chapter 3 â Interacting With Enami-san\nVolume 1\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\n\n
At that moment, I thought. Enami-san is probably the same as me. Just as I donât know what to say to her, she doesnât know what to say to me either.\n
If thatâs the case, then why does she want to go home with me? Itâs a mystery to me, but Iâm sure sheâs trying to figure it out. I could sense that she was having a hard time gauging the distance between us.\n
I noticed that Enami-san was wearing a light blue bracelet on her left arm. Itâs a simple bracelet with no fancy decorations and is connected with a fine chain. It didnât look very expensive. It was surprising that she was wearing such a thing.\n
âEnami-san, have you always worn that bracelet?â\n
I didnât notice it when I saw her at the diner. Enami-san looked at her left arm as she remembered with an âOhâ.\n
âYouâre right. I wear it all the time.â\n
âDid someone give it to you?â\n
ââŚâŚ Wellâ\n
Enami-san has a cool image. She didnât look like the type to wear a cute light blue bracelet. Thatâs why I thought she might have gotten it as a gift from someone.\n
âOh, yeah. From your boyfriend maybe?â\n
âNo, from my father.â\n
I thought that was also unexpected. I wondered if she was close to her father. I couldnât imagine her talking to her father in such a friendly manner. It seemed unusual for her to receive an accessory from her father and wear it every day.\n
âDoes your family get along well with each other?â\n
ââŚâŚ What makes you think that?â\n
âNo, because if one listens to what you just said, theyâd think so tooâ\n
âReallyâŚâ\n
I wonder if it was something I shouldnât have mentioned too much. Come to think of it, Shiroyama-sensei had also said something along the lines of, âThere are many things about Enami-sanâs family situationâ. I could see Enami-sanâs face become noticeably cloudy. She didnât look like she was in a bad mood, but she was simply depressed.\n
âWhat about your family?â\n
This time, the conversation turned to me. For a moment I was at a loss for words, but I quickly answered.\n
âI have a sister who goes to our school. We talk about silly things together, and I think weâre pretty good friends.â\n
ââŚâŚ What about your parents?â\n
I tried to avoid talking about it, but I knew she was going to ask me that. I had no choice. I thought to myself and decided to answer honestly.\n
âMy father is not strict at all, heâs more like a friend. Sometimes we go to karaoke together, sometimes we go mountain climbing.â\n
âI see. What about your mother?â\n
Perhaps Enami-san has no ill intentions. I guess she just asked me because I was blatantly avoiding the topic.\n
ââŚâŚ she is no longer with us.â\n
With just those words, Enami-san seemed to understand. She looked awkward and only replied with a small, âI seeâ.\n
âDonât worry too much about it. Itâs all in the past for me.â\n
Itâs been four years since Mom left us. Little by little, the chances of me remembering her are decreasing.\n
âI told you that I often cook during our lunch break. Thatâs because my mom is gone. My dad and sister canât cook at all. Iâm the best one, so Iâm the one who has to cook every day.â\n
I think Iâm talking too much. Iâm not sure why, but I felt like I should tell Enami-san about it.\n
âSo, thatâs my family situation. Momâs not here, but itâs peaceful.â\n
âIâm glad to hear that.â\n
Perhaps Enami-sanâs family was not so peaceful. But Iâm sure she cares about her family. If she didnât, she wouldnât be wearing the bracelet her father gave her.\n
âI donât know whatâs going on with Enami-san, but are you planning to come to school on time and take your classes seriously from now on?â\n
It was something that had been bothering me for a long time. Since I was in a position of accepting the request from the teacher, I wanted to know if it was accomplished in any way.\n
âYes, thatâs the plan.â\n
I guess you could call it the benefit of injury. I was glad that my blunder had finally led to a result.\n
âAfter all, it was the teacher.â\n
I was startled by Enami-sanâs sudden remark. I looked at her face.\n
She had a mischievous expression on her face with her lips spread wide.\n
âItâs obvious. Both Nishikawa and Fujisaki are terrible actors. And itâs too good to be true that the two class-reps were there, isnât it? I was suspicious of the way they were going about studying together because it was so smooth.â\n
ââŚâŚâ\n
It may indeed have been a poor strategy. But I didnât expect to be discovered so easily.\n
Thatâs not good. She had said she was going to take the class seriously, but if we were found out here, she might change her mind. What should I do? Anyway, should I insist that itâs not true?\n\n
Just as I was thinking about this.\n
âKusu\n
I heard a voice. A small laugh.\n
I didnât immediately understand what was going on.\n
Enami-san had her hand over her mouth and was smiling broadly. It was a genuine smile, different from the one she showed in class. It was a more pure laughing face.\n\n
âEh?\n\n
I felt like I had seen something unbelievable.\n
Is Enami-san smiling?\n
âYour face is pretty easy to readâ\n
I put my hand on my face. I wondered what kind of expression I had on my face right now.\n
I thought she was more cold-hearted than that. I had never seen her smile so happily, even when she was with Nishikawa.\n
It was frustrating, but I found myself thinking that she was a little bit cute.\n
âIâm not going to get mad at you even if the teacher asked you to do it. After all, I got to know an interesting person like you.â\n
Calm down. Sheâs just a delinquent. Sheâs the type of delinquent I hate.\n
A person who doesnât always smile just happens to show it. Just as a delinquent who picks up an abandoned cat looks like a very nice person when he picks it up, a person who never smiles just looks better when she shows it.\n
\nEnami-san is just trying to get back at me for preaching at the request of the teacher.\n\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Itâs a different feeling when expressionless people smilesâŚ\n\n\n