Price of admission

Price of admission Part 15

Nishikata could feel his heart stop as his mouth fell open and the broom dropped from his hand. 'I ... I hate Takagi?'

"So ... you don't mind if I asked her out?"

"I COULD NEVER HATE TAKAGI!" He exclaimed as he marched over to the door.

"Hey, take it easy." The other boy said as he began to back up. "I was just telling you what I-"

Nishikata grabbed his collar and looked him in the eye as if he was about to lose it. "Who told you that I hated her?"

"A few people, it's just something that's been going around is all, I have no idea who started it." He pleaded.

Nishikata let him go and began taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't hate her, and yes, I do mind if you ask her out."

"Wait, so, you do love her?"

"No, you just pissed me off and bothered to ask. Now get lost."

The other boy slowly backed away as Nishikata went back to cleaning. "Hamaguchi, Takao, I don't know which of you did this, but I'm going to make you regret it." He paused as he remembered his confrontation with Takagi earlier. "I totally blew her off earlier, didn't I?" He sighed and leaned on the broom. "That's probably going to come back to bite me later."

He put the broom down and pulled out his phone. "I really need to call her and set things straight."

Elsewhere, Takagi was making her way out of the school while trying not to think about the interaction that just took place. "That can't be right, it just can't be. What they said can't be true."

Flashback

"I've got it. I'll ... I'll see you tomorrow." Nishikata said before leaving Takagi by herself.

"Nishikata." Takagi said softly

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be true." Came a voice from behind her. Takagi turned around and saw a girl she knew from class. "I'm sorry Takagi."

"Huh?" Takagi replied. "Sorry for what?"

"Well ... I heard a rumor ... that Nishikata hates you."

End flashback

"That has to be wrong." She said as she began to walk faster. "It's probably just people making assumptions based on limited info, Nishikata would never hate me." She continued to attempt to rationalize it, though no matter what, she still felt hurt. "But why do I feel like it's true?"

"Takagi!" Shouted Takagawa who was running towards her. "Takagi, I heard the rumors."

"I'm ... I'll be okay." She said as she resumed walking. "I know it's not true so ..." She shook her head. "I'm ... worried."

"You?"

"Yeah, I think we might actually be starting to drift apart." She rubbed her arm. "He's been pushing me away a lot lately, and even if he doesn't hate me, the rumor had to come from somewhere."

"I'm sure it's just a rough patch is all."

Takagi sighed as the two of them left the school. "If only that girl didn't give him that letter." She sighed and shook her head. "No, if only it wasn't broadcast to the entire school."

"I'm ... sure that it's not what it looks like." She smiles and jumped in front of Takagi. "How about we go to the mall and get something to eat, that'll make you feel better."

"That does sound nice." She reached into her bag and looked for her phone. "Just let me tell my mom so she doesn't worry." She pulled out her phone but paused as she looked at the screen. "I don't remember turning it off." She messed around with it a little causing the screen to light up with a red battery. "How ... I forgot to charge it last night."

"That's okay." Takagawa said as she pulled out her phone. "Just use mine."

"Thanks." Takagi said as she received the Takagawa's phone. She began typing in her phone number, but before she could finish, there was a ping signaling the phone received a text message. "Oh, you have a message."

"Who's it from?"

"It's from-" Takagi's eyes went wide as she saw the name.

"Takagi?" Takagawa asked. She was confused at first, but she soon began to worry about what was going on. "Takagi." She asked, a little more concerned. "Who is it?"

"Sumire?" She began as she turned the phone around. "When did you get Nishikata's contact info?"