āOne week after Shiorin and her friends were lent the studio.
Hasumi and I were on our way to the studio to see how they were doing, carrying some food to give them while weāre at it.
Rinka was also supposed to be coming with us, but her test scores were in the red and she was caught up in supplementary lessons.
Thank goodness for that, because if she was even capable of getting amazing test scores, itād further amplify her image as a gang leader.
Wait, no, getting bad scores is still not good though.
āI feel bad for Rinka-san. If only I could share some of my marks with herā¦ā
āDonāt, that wouldnāt be good for Rinka at all.ā
I retorted at Hasumi, who had completely disregarded the meaning of tests. Hasumi then heaved a sigh.
āBut you know, I was really caught off guard. I had no idea that you and Rinka-san actually knew each other⦠There were rumors that Rinka-san liked Fujimiya-kun from the soccer team, so I thought she chose her friends based on their looks.ā
āThat rumor is a sad lie. I say that because I know she is a good person at heart. She has no qualms about associating with even an ugly, gloomy introvert like me.ā
When I said this, Hasumi hurriedly shook her head in response.
āT-Thatās not true! Calling you an introvert, a siscon, ugly, gloomy, a nerd, and a socially inept person would be going too far!ā
āHasumi, Iām pretty sureĀ thatāsĀ definitely going too farā¦ā
I say that, but I know itās all true, so I quietly cried in my heart.
āBut Iāve never really looked at your face before, Ritsuki. Can you try taking off your glasses?ā
āNo thanks. Not even I want to take a good look at my face.ā
When Hasumi wanted to see my true face, which she could use to connect me with Shion, I panicked internally and refused.
āFor me, I donāt really care about oneās appearances when I make friends⦠As long as theyāre nice and have the same otaku hobbies as meā¦ā
āHasumi, I know you might find that difficult right now, but once you move on to college, Iām sure youāll find many people that fit that description.ā
āY-Youāre one of them too, Ritsuki⦠After all, youāre the one who understands my feelings best.ā
āYeah, well, weāre both birds of a feather, right?ā
āYou donāt understand the feelings I want you to understand the most, thoughā¦ā
āHasumi⦠youā¦ā
I grabbed the bag of supplies we had just bought at the convenience store from Hasumi.
āIf you wanted me to carry the bag for you, you shouldāve just told me so. No, wait, itās the manās job to notice such things, isnāt itā¦ā
āā¦Fufu, you really are hopeless after all, Ritsuki.ā
Hasumi heaved a sigh and laughed.
āYou darn rascal; you did this on purpose, didnāt you? If you donāt carry a load like this every once in a while, how will you ever build up your muscle strength?ā
āā¦Haaah~, what a load off my back.ā
āYou littleā¦ā
She even made a show out of rubbing and massaging her shoulders, which made me laugh.
Anyways, the only items inside the bag were some popsicles I myself had picked out; thereās no way they couldāve been that heavy.