cote react to

part 14

"Why am I not responding?" Horikita asked to herself. She's getting more and more confused about her future self's situation.

"Maybe your phone was not functioning properly?" Matsushita tried to guessed.

"Even Ayanokoji-kun is getting worried." Haruka said.

Manabu looked deep in thought.

I'm cooking right now, so I might not respond right away. Just text me, and I'll get back to you.

Once again, the read receipt popped up, but she didn't reply. I went back to my dinner.

By the time I finished eating, I still hadn't heard from Horikita. As I drank the last of my barley tea, I started feeling like something was wrong.

"She couldn't be... She's not really in danger, is she?"

"But she's in her dorm?" Shibata said puzzled.

"You don't know that." Amikura countered.

"Then in the school?" Shibata throw in another comment.

"Ryuuen-kun is here." Amikura said.

"Stop countering me!" Shibata glowered at her.

"I'm not!" Amikura defended herself. Ichinose and Kanzaki sighed in unison.

Could she have collapsed somewhere? This whole thing was atypical of Horikita, without a doubt. Was her phone malfunctioning? If so, she could just have contacted the school.

"If her phone was not functioning properly then how can she contact the school?" Yahiko asked.

"You said something logical and decent for once." Kamuro said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Yahiko glared at her. Katsuragi sighed and sent a look at him.

If I knew someone close enough to Horikita to go to her room and check on her, this would have been over quickly. Sadly, I couldn't think of anyone who fit the bill.

Are you okay? I texted.

I had to find out what was going on.

"Oh..."

The read notification didn't appear. The situation had changed. Maybe her phone's battery had run out, or her phone had automatically shut off.

What other possibilities existed, though? The fact that Horikita called in the first place still weighed on me. Why? It was also strange that she hadn't said what was going on.

She's pranking you?" Inogashira suggested.

Horikita gave her a sharp look. "Why would I waste my time pranking him?"

"Uh...because you're bored?" Inogashira asked nervously.

"If I'm bored, Inogashira-san, I can review and study my notes. There's no need to prank Ayanokoji-kun." Horikita said.

"Somehow, that hurt my feelings." Ayanokoji mumbled.

"I never peg you to be sensitive." Miyake said to him.

Ayanokoji looked at him surprised, "I never knew either."

Logically, my first thought was that Horikita had some business with me, but had been interrupted by something else. A teacher might've called her, or a classmate.

But that theory was very shaky. It was hard to imagine someone from the school calling Horikita in the middle of the summer, especially at night. She didn't have any friends who'd contact her that way.