Free Web NovelChapter 85: Girl’s Talk
"Whoa! You brought snacks?!"
"I’m so excited!"
"Here, pass this along."
"I brought some game consoles hehe~"
"Hey, don’t finish my chips!"
The bus was enwrapped with a lively atmosphere as soon as it drove off, causing Akamine-sensei to stand up from her seat from time to time to remind everyone. Still, it was a joyous occasion, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that every senior high schooler would go through that would etch permanent memories in their lives. Not a single student complained when it came to Akamine-sensei’s nagging. And as for the teacher in question, she was in one heck of a good mood that she didn’t bother telling her students repeatedly to quiet down.
"Oi, Shoichi, did you bring the goods?" Kichiro called out, nudging at Shoichi who was seated to his left.
The last row of the bus had four seats and quite conveniently, Hajime and his group were seated there. Hajime was assigned the far right seat, next to him was Kichiro, then Shoichi, then Shinji. Well, Hajime couldn’t ask for a better seating arrangement since he was by the window seat. The indifferent Shoichi also felt the same. At the very least no one would question him if he ignored everyone else in the best— that’s one of the many perks one could avail when they’re seated by the window seat.
"Yes, I did," Shoichi said, snickering, lifting the flaps of his jacket, and showing a couple of water bottles in its large pockets.
One glance and Hajime could tell that Shoichi and Kichiro were both screaming trouble but Hajime flat out ignored them. He couldn’t care less if they get in trouble or not even though they were in the same group.
"Now that’s the stuff. All right... how about that other thing I told you to bring?" This time, Kichiro smirked. Even Hajime was disgusted by the creepy expression on his face despite being one of the handsome ones in class.
’What’s wrong with him?’ Hajime said to himself, stealing a glance toward their direction before resuming his indifferent gaze out the window.
Shinji also got a bit curious as to what they were talking about so he would glance from time to time as well. He got teased once or twice because of that but he didn’t react too much.
"Of course I did... it was quite a risk bringing her over but it was worth it... you know." Shoichi continued, jerking a thumbs up towards Kichiro before the two of them did a high five.
"Whoa, are you sure about that? And where did you put her?" Kichiro’s eyes widened.
"Don’t be noisy! I put her in... whisper whisper..."
Hajime strained his ears but even he couldn’t overhear what they were talking about. ’Well, as long as I don’t get in trouble. It’s fine if they get in one or something.’ Hajime said to himself, sighing.
’I wonder what Megumi was doing right no— ’
A gasp followed by a hiccup escaped Hajime’s lips as his thoughts were interrupted. Right there, on the glass, was a reflection of Megumi, staring at him with contempt. Apparently, she was sitting one row ahead of Hajime. ’How could I not notice?’ Hajime said to himself, returning the same contemptuous gaze at Megumi.
What he didn’t know, however, was that Megumi didn’t mean to glare at him like that. The only reason why she was doing that was that he accepted the bento that Natsumi gave him... and adding to that, Megumi actually prepared a bento for the two of them to share. That’s why she was contemplating whether she’d give the bento to Hajime or not.
’Why is he giving me a stare down? You wanna fight?!’ Megumi thought before turning around. She berated herself for waking up too early and cooking food for Hajime. Why did she even do that when she wasn’t capable of giving it to Hajime? In the first place, why would she give him a bento box? What for? Megumi’s thoughts really questioned her existence as Hajime’s friend. And even that relationship status was beginning to blur the more Megumi thought about it.
’No, even acquaintances give each other bento boxes. This is normal for a friend! That’s right!’ Megumi said to herself before twiddling her thumbs. ’But how do I give it to him?’
"Megumi-san? Moshi moshi~ Megumi-san?" Megumi’s seatmate called out to her, waving a hand in front of her eyes so she could get her attention.
It took Megumi’s seatmate a couple of seconds before Megumi finally snapped back into reality. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Ah, Kaori-san, what is it?" Megumi responded in a calm tone, even though a moment ago she was on the verge of panicking.
"Are you all right? You look like you were thinking about something serious just now." Kaori responded.
In front of Kaori was the ashen gray-haired Matsushima Shizuka who nodded at Kaori’s comment. "Megumi-san, we’re all fourth years here so you don’t have to hold back. You can tell us if something’s bothering you." Shizuka gently said as she lost her composure in her thoughts. After all, Megumi has a high social standing and she’s the smartest student in their batch. Furthermore, she’s one of the most popular girls in school.
That’s why Shizuka wondered if they’d been bothering Megumi at all. Even though it was their homeroom teacher who picked the groupings, they somehow felt like it was their felt that Megumi was acting so stiff-necked around them.
Megumi hung her head down since she didn’t know how to explain it. Furthermore, Hajime was right behind them so he’ll hear their conversation if he strained his ears hard enough. Besides, how could she tell her classmates that she was having a hard time giving a guy a bento? Of course, they’d jump to multiple layers o misunderstanding when she talks about that. "Nothing, I was just preoccupied with something."
"Well then, you can have some M&M’s and cheer up, okay?" Shizuka continued, offering her a bag of chocolates to which she obliged.
"No no no, Shizuka... you got it wrong." Kaori then turned her head towards Megumi, eyeing her into her very soul while she wore a sinister smile on her face. "I got it! It’s a guy... isn’t it? You were thinking about a guy, right?"
"Eh?!" Megumi exclaimed, almost choking on one of the M&Ms she popped in her mouth.
