Absolute Choice Ayanokoji

3. My Ordinary Life

"My, look who it is. Uh...my name is...uh. Did you even forget your name, Ayanokoji-kun?"

Horikita mimicked the polite applause Class D had given me from across the shopping aisle. It seems that Horikita had the same idea as me. She was carrying a basket filled with various necessities such as soap, shampoo, and plastic utensils. Although the items she was carrying were light, there would be a mess if they fell out of her shopping basket.

Suddenly, a second-year, evidently in a hurry, crashed into Horikita, knocking her down along with her shopping basket. Despite being an unathletic high school student, I somehow caught her before she fell.

"Are you alright, Horikita?"

Horikita gasped, surprised at how a second-year bumped into her and even more confused as to how I caught her so quickly.

"How did you catch me, Ayanokoji-kun?"

"What do you mean? I was standing right next to you."

"No. You were on the other side of the shopping aisle. You suddenly just appeared right next to-"

"Horikita. A person just crashed into you without warning. It is understandable that you would feel somewhat disoriented."

"No, but I-"

"Let's clean up this mess created by your falling basket. We could inconvenience the other customers."

I began to gather up Horikita's belongings and place them back inside the basket. They had not gotten far, meaning that I was able to perform the cleanup with Horikita still in my arms. Horikita's body had an interesting texture. I glanced at a selection of cup noodles on one of the shelves. An especially large one was labelled G-cup, and just looking at it nourished me. Ah, world peace feels so great today.

Horikita seemed to have come back to her senses, so I released her, allowing her to stand up on her own. In the meantime, I collected all of Horikita's purchases and handed them to her. She clumsily grabbed the basket while averting my gaze, trying to hide her face behind her beautiful dark hair. As our hands touched for a brief moment, Horikita made a high-pitched sound I could not believe emanated from her mouth. She snatched the bag and turned away, clearly embarrassed.

3.3

I would like to say that after Horikita's experience with that second-year, we became best of friends, or rather, that she at least treated me like a human being. However, I am not a liar.

Horikita was clearly infuriated that I had seen her moment of weakness, and she did not speak to me for the rest of our stint at the supermarket. We paid for our respective items at the cashier, where the scanner seamlessly turned our points into Japanese yen. Being a thrifty consumer, I strolled out of the convenience store with just one G-cup. I turned to the girl silently walking beside me who still kept her face hidden. No, perhaps I had two.

Horikita continued walking with me as we approached the dorms. Most high school dorms came in a variety of the house type "stuffy, dilapidated shack". Not at ANHS. Each student received an entire small apartment, replete with a small kitchen, private bathrooms, and a limitless amount of electricity and water. I would collect my keycard at the reception desk, but there remained a task I had to complete first.

With my explorations earlier in the day lasting several hours, the sun was starting to set as I considered the first move I was about to make at this school. Would you believe me if I told you that I had only witnessed 200 sunsets? Of course you would not; the average person my age must have seen at least 5,500 by now.

I angled my head in the direction of a small park opposite the lobby, silently nodding goodbye to Horikita. But before I reached the park, I heard footsteps behind me. The figure reached up and grasped by shirt, tugging at my sleeve. I turned to look at it. It was Horikita, panting and somewhat out of breath.

"Ayanokoji-kun...t-thank you for today."

She pulled away almost immediately, and swiftly walked in the direction of the dorms, never turning back. However, just for a moment, I thought I saw her smile.

3.4

The cold exterior of the ice princess was finally starting to melt. Wonderful. Yes, I thought it was wonderful.

I sat alone on the bench in the park, waiting for her to arrive. She was late on our second meeting. How disrespectful.

But then again, how much respect could the average high school student even command? If I could smile, I would. But if I did, the second-year girl silently approaching this bench would see. Therefore, I would not smile, even if I was capable of it.

The girl walked the last twenty steps leisurely, as if trying to evoke some kind of reaction from me. Would I chide her? Laugh? Shout? I did none of them, just simply waited for her to arrive within earshot. At long last, she spoke.

"The mystery man arrived, huh? He looked so plain and boring; I can't believe he is capable of being devious."

Is she trying to be funny by referring to me in third person? I stayed silent, instead waiting for her to continue speaking.

"You really just payed me to bump into that girl for you, huh? You're so petty. You know with your looks and smarts, you could do a lot more in this school. You know, Nagumo-"

She trailed off, somewhat confused by my lack of speech, but then resumed once more. It is strange how people keep rambling about the most pointless things. 90% of speech concerns either the person who speaks the irrelevant words, or things beyond that person's control.

"Ugh, I hate you, why did I even bother doing that? You seriously negotiated with me until I did your dirty work for 10 yen. You're such a cheapskate, you know that? And now you won't even speak to me?!"

I rose from the bench and patted her shoulder. I suppose private points can even buy relationships. This school is really something.

"Thank you for your help."

She sighed and turned away, clearly annoyed. But by the time she turned back, I had already started walking to the dorms, leaving her alone in the park.

3.5

I collected the keys for room 401 from the receptionist. My relationship with that girl was an issue that could threaten my school life, but she was my only anchor in this realm of madness, making her necessary.

Once she outlived her purpose...

I opened room 401 using the keys, and rapidly finished all the routine tasks such as exploring, eating, and brushing. I then laid down on my bed, facing the view of the campus I saw through the window.

This was freedom. If I wanted to do something, I could do it without having chains bind my hands and force me to do something else. I could eat, sleep, and even talk at my own leisure. Granted, the school itself imposed its restrictions, but this was far better than my junior high.

However, one problem was still left. A massive problem involving the control of my choices by some bizarre otherworldly being.

Yes, I thought, as my mind drifted and eyes closed. I want to talk to the god.