I went to the library with Tohko to apologize for “accidentally dropping the book and it just ripped!” (Tohko said she was too scared to go alone and forced me to go with her). The day after, Takeda came to my class just as she always did.
“You making any progress with Shuji? Has he suggested going out or anything yet?”
We’d gone into the hall and stood there talking.
“Oh gosh, thank you for worrying about me! You’re sooo nice, Konoha. I’m touched!”
I blushed. I was just sick of writing letters and wanted them to hurry up and get together already.
“Actually, thanks to your letters I’ve gotten tons closer to Shuji, so I’m thinking maybe just one more little push…”
“You have to keep ramping things up like that,” I said with conviction. Takeda nodded, rapt.
“Okay! I’m gonna take it to the limit! I’ve been keeping notes for my report, you know. Look!”
She gleefully held up the notebook she’d been hugging to her chest. It was about half the size of a school notebook, and it had a picture of a yellow duck on the cover. Takeda had sworn she was an awful writer, but she was sure gung-ho about it.
“It’s a little embarrassing, but it’s actually so much fun writing about someone I like. Oh, but I’d feel so dumb showing you my notes. I wrote such lame stuff. I have to reread them and make a clean copy.”
“If that’s how you feel, maybe you should try writing the letters yourself?”
Takeda hid behind her notebook and shook her head fiercely.
“Oh, I couldn’t do that! I’d be so embarrassed! But you’re right. I’d like to write for Shuji myself eventually. But until then, Mister Inoue, I know I can count on you!”
Sigh. I would have to keep ghostwriting these things after all.
Just then Takeda looked at me uneasily.
Cheeks flushed, peering over the edge of her notebook and looking completely unsure of herself, she hesitantly asked, “Um… do you think I’m annoying?”
I jumped. “What? N-no, not at all! I think it’s kind of fun writing these love letters, too. Ha-ha!”
Before I could stop myself, I’d told an outright lie.
But Takeda smiled innocently at it, like a little puppy. “Great! I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s letter!”
She’d cheered up instantaneously and, waving her hand instead of the tail she lacked, she ran off, looking like she might tumble over at any moment.
Sigh… I’m such a fraud.
When I went back to class, shoulders slumped, the boys started teasing me. “Your girlfriend is over here every day,” and “Way to go, scoring one of the new girls so fast! I didn’t think you were the type.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Geez, guys, it’s not like that,” I retorted weakly, laughing.
I didn’t want to draw people’s attention or hear their reactions. I was done exposing myself to unnecessary risks by standing out. If heaven dropped an extravagant gift into my lap, I wasn’t strong or shameless enough to act like I deserved it.
As I was sitting down, I felt someone’s eyes on me. I turned around and saw a girl staring at me.
Nanase Kotobuki.
She had bleached brown hair and a knockout figure. She was one of the girls in our class whom everyone noticed because of her flashy, cosmopolitan style and her tendency to say exactly what she thought.
Boys were always gossiping about her. “Kotobuki’s so harsh, but I’d still go out with her.”
I was under the impression that she hated me. That’s because ever since classes had started in April, she would sometimes grace me with this same frosty look.
I don’t remember doing anything to deserve the glares, though. Oh wait, maybe yesterday…
I was zoned out when Kotobuki came toward me with a haughty expression pasted on her face, stuck her hand out at me, and brusquely demanded, “Four hundred and sixty yen.”
“Wha—?”
“That’s how much it’s going to cost to replace the book you dropped that ‘just ripped’ yesterday. We collect fines for books that are lost or damaged.”
“Hey, hold on! Yesterday you told us not to worry about it!”
When I’d gone to the library yesterday with Tohko to apologize, Kotobuki had been the one at the desk.
I’d thought to myself, Ack, why did it have to be Kotobuki’s shift? I’d prepared myself to get put through the wringer, but despite her severe expression, she released us without a fight. “You didn’t do it on purpose. Try to be more careful next time.”
So why this thing with the 460 yen? And why ask me? Tohko was the one who’d ripped (or rather, eaten) the book.
Kotobuki’s eyebrows hiked dangerously higher.
“I can’t exactly send Amano a bill. She pulls a lot of weight at the library. She can find books better than the librarians. Plus a lot of the student aides owe her favors. When I was a first-year student and didn’t know where a book went, she helped me out, too. So you have to pay for her, Inoue.”
“Um, Kotobuki… don’t you think that’s a little unorthodox?”
“Not at all,” she replied crisply.
Man, and she didn’t hesitate at all when she said that. I didn’t want things to escalate, so I got out my wallet and placed a five-hundred-yen coin in her hand with a deep bow.
“I sincerely apologize for any trouble my club’s president may have caused.”
Closing her fist around the coin, Kotobuki frowned. “I’ll give you your change later. If you tell Amano, I’ll hit you.”
Geez, how come I had to clean up Tohko’s messes?
I’d expected Kotobuki to be done with me, but she still didn’t go away. Instead, she just kept glaring at me.
“So that first-year student who keeps coming to see you all the time… is she your girlfriend?”
“You mean Takeda? No, we’re not going out.”
“Oh really? She works at the library, so I know a little bit about her. She strikes me as clumsy but totally natural, and it seems like she could be the victim of some guy’s Lolita fantasy pretty easily. Are you sure you’re not dating?”
Victim of a Lolita fantasy? What a horrible thing to say. But since arguing would just encourage her, I smiled instead. “I’m just helping Takeda out, since Tohko asked me to.”
Kotobuki’s eyebrows went up even farther and a look of rage came over her face.
Er… did I mess that up somehow?
Kotobuki sucked in a breath, then frigidly replied, “I don’t actually care who you’re dating. But if you’re not going out, you should lay off the lovey-dovey meet-ups in the hallway. It’s pathetic how blatant you’re being.”
She let loose what venom she had, then left.
I had history class next. While I was copying the notes on the blackboard, I thought about how badly I needed to shove Takeda off on Shuji, and fast.
I was still thinking about all the harsh things Kotobuki had dumped on me, after all.
How was I going to get out of this? Maybe I should stand up for myself and write a letter full of real passion….
The clear sky had clouded over, and drops of water began to spatter the window.
It’s raining… I wonder if I left an umbrella in the club locker.