THIS IS VOLUME 1, THERE ARE MORE BOOKS AFTER THIS, NOT IN ONE BOOK ONLY
(I realized my mistake; this would have much more views lol)
Did I finally witness the downfall of my mental state, or perhaps my life. Quite literally?
Shinjiro Akabane. This...
BEFORE I knew it, class had ended for the day. Horikita quickly departed and went straight home. The time had come to enact my plan. I needed to capture Kushida.
"Hey, do you have a minute?" I called out as she prepared to head back to the dorm. Kushida turned around.
"Oh, it's unusual for you to come talk to me, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you need something?" she asked.
"Yeah. If it's okay with you, could we talk outside?"
"Well, I was going to meet up with my friends, so I don't really have much time, but...okay."
Smiling, she followed me, not a trace of unpleasantness to be found. After we turned the hall corner, Kushida waited for me to speak. I was trembling with excitement.
Alright! Let's get this started!
"Rejoice, Kushida. You've been selected as an ambassador of goodwill. Tomorrow, your hard work begins."
"Uh, what? I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" she asked.
Etc., etc., etc. I basically explained to her that I wanted to form a study group to save Sudou and the others. Of course, I also told her that Horikita would be tutoring.
"I thought that you could use this study group as a way to get closer to Horikita. What do you think?" I asked.
"Well, I do want to get closer to her, but... well, I won't worry about that now. Besides, it's only natural to help out a friend in need."
This girl was just way too good. She seemed to truly want to prevent Ike and Sudou's expulsion. A cinnamon roll, I think that was the term. She's a cinnamon roll.
"Are you really okay with this? If not, I won't force you to join," I said.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't hesitate because I disliked the idea. I hesitated because I was happy."
Kushida leaned against the wall, gently kicking it.
"It's cruel to expel someone for getting a bad grade. Isn't it awful to have to say goodbye after you've worked to become friends with everyone? When Hirata-kun told us that he was holding a study group, I greatly admired him. But you could say that Horikita has been much more observant than I. She noticed Sudou and those other guys, after all. It's like Horikita is now starting to think of her classmates as friends. I'll do anything I can to be useful!"
Kushida took my hand and smiled. Whoa, she was seriously way too cute! There wasn't a man alive who wouldn't fall for that smile.
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I couldn't afford to get carried away, though. I tried to look safe and inoffensive.
"Great! We could definitely use your help. If you're there, our chances will improve a hundred times over."
"Ah, but there's just one thing I want to ask you. I want to participate in the study group, too," Kushida said.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. I want to study with everyone."
My wishes had all come true. Kushida's presence would brighten our study group, which would otherwise be pretty glum. However, since she didn't get bad grades, there really wasn't a reason for her to be there. She could just say she just needs to brush up her memory or that she wants to look over the boys or something. Although really, the only problem to this was Horikita. But if Horikita lets her stay in the study group, the chances of expulsion are near zero.
"We plan on starting tomorrow." In my mind, I added, Horikita does, at least.
"I see. Then I'll have to talk to everyone by the end of the day. Ill contact you later, okay?"
"Oh, do you need Sudou and the others' contact information?"
"It's okay. I already have it. The only people whose numbers I don't have are you and Horikita-san, actually..."
Well, I hadn't known that.
"This might be too forward, but are you two already dating?" Kushida asked.
"Wh-where did you hear that? Horikita and I are friends...no, just neighbors."
"It's a big rumor among the girls in our class, you know. They say that even though Horikita-san is always alone, she only seems to get along really well with you, Ayanokouji-kun. And you guys eat together, after all. Although there seems to be a bit of a debate whether Horikita-san is going out with you or Shinjiro-kun."
Hmm, so the girls had already started spreading rumors about us.
"That's a shame, because, unfortunately, there's nothing going on like that between me and Horikita."
"... Unfortunately?"
"I meant unfortunately for them."
"O-oh. I see... so, there's no problem swapping phone numbers, right?"
"Not at all."
And so, I got another girl's number. Man, I... I think I'm improving!
