Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate

Chapter 4.5 - Gravimetry

I arrived at the designated place punctually, 10 minutes after my message, just as promised. It looked like this was a wise decision as the brown-haired boy who contacted me just threw away what seemed to be the leftovers of his dinner. I had told him that I'd answer his questions, but I didn't expect him to ask me twice in one day while I wasn't even able to answer his first one.

"It feels pretty unusual to get an invitation from you, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you would just ask me via chat."

I greeted him with a smile and sat down beside him. He seemed the type to ask in the classroom or by chat, so it was indeed out of the ordinary. He was usually quiet and behaved like an introvert would most of the time. He began to warm up to Karuizawa-san and the rest of us, but he was still uncomfortable around most people.

Did I perhaps assess him wrong?

"I guess it's unusual. It's just that I'd like to see your face when we are talking."

"Huh?"

I felt my face burn up after hearing that sentence. This wasn't something he could just say to a girl. Wasn't Ayanokouji-kun aware of this?! No, wait. It's Ayanokouji-kun, after all. He probably didn't know any better due to his upbringing.

"Did I say something weird again? I'm sorry about that."

His trademark monotone voice rang through the area. It was manly, and somehow mysterious. I couldn't help but enjoy listening to him for some strange reason.

Ayanokouji-kun mentioned that he had been homeschooled before, but I didn't expect his social abilities to be this bad. I wondered if I should warn him about the dangers of saying such things to a girl. The reactions would differ vastly, depending on the person. Some would dislike his open and honest approach, while others...

"Ah, no. Not at all, just a little unexpected." I waved my hand as if it was nothing, pushing those thoughts deeper in the back of my mind. "A-anyway, what were you about to ask me, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"About that. Today was really scary, huh?"

"You mean swim class? Yeah, it was pretty heated. It was understandable, however."

"You were pretty calm, Matsushita, weren't you? Aside from Horikita, you seemed to be the only one who was cool-headed."

Cool-headed, he said... Was he...? No...

I wasn't as affected since none of my underwear was stolen, but I was still upset for the other girls. Stealing underwear of either sex was just wrong and should not be excused, no matter who did the deed. Doing nothing or behaving differently because of the circumstances would send a bad precedent as well.

Ever since Hirata-kun invited him to our group, I had watched Ayanokouji-kun with interest. Hirata-kun was a good guy, so I understood why he had invited him. He wanted to help Ayanokouji-kun find a place in our class, since he seemed sad or was even apathetic to most of the things that had happened. He bantered with Horikita-san a lot, but aside from that, he was quiet. Inconspicuous even.

His social abilities were almost non-existent, and he seemed kind of dorky in a cute way, walking into the wrong classroom on the second day. He wasn't a bad person, or indifferent, even though his expression always implied such a state of mind. Ayanokouji-kun had trouble expressing himself, and that was alright.

Today, however, something felt different. He appeared different. When everyone started yelling at each other, he kept quiet and didn't move an inch. He simply listened and observed. I couldn't help but grow even more curious about him.

"Hmm. Guess I was. I mean my stuff wasn't stolen, so it's easier to keep calm, I think? I was still upset, though. Talking about cool-headed, however, you were also pretty calm back then."