The two friends avoided looking at me to an almost unnatural extent and were patting Barato-san on the back as they encouraged her. “Good job, Nanami. Good job!”
If I didn’t already know the circumstances, I might have misunderstood. It was as if it had taken her a great heap of courage just to talk to me. Actually, since she wasn’t used to guys, she would probably be nervous no matter who she was talking to.
From that point on, she and I had no contact at all until after school.
I tended to sit alone by default, only speaking a couple of words here and there with some of my classmates. She, on the other hand, hung around her friends or with the extroverts in the class. Our meeting after school never came up.
Still, it was impossible for me to put it out of my mind, so I stole glances at her from time to time. Maybe she felt similarly, because there were a few times when our eyes met. Each time, she would turn away, seemingly flustered and blushing. If I wasn’t already clued in, I could have easily misunderstood her reactions.
She had to be nervous. I was nervous too, but perhaps thanks to all the advice from Baron-san yesterday, I was able to remain somewhat calm.
And just like that, school ended, and the fated moment arrived.
“Thanks for waiting, Misumai. So, um, can you maybe come with me for a bit?”
Everyone else had left the classroom, so it was only me and Barato-san. Even her friends weren’t there. Since it was only a dare, I had thought that she’d confess to me right there in the classroom, but it seemed she wanted to do this somewhere else.
Neither of us spoke as I followed behind her.
This wasn’t looking good. I’d been so sure I was calm, but with every step I took, my nerves intensified. Not only that, but Barato-san’s hips were shaking as she walked, making her short skirt sway and my gaze travel toward... Oh shoot, this is not good! Remember what Baron-san told you yesterday.
Baron: Now listen, women are more sensitive to eye contact than men think. When she’s confessing, make sure you look her straight in the eyes. No matter what, don’t look at her cleavage, her legs, or anywhere else you shouldn’t be looking.
Right, stay calm. Stay calm. Look straight. As I remembered Baron-san’s advice, I felt my composure returning.
We eventually arrived at the back of the school building, where the surrounding wall kept students from leaving the campus. The place was empty, so there was no danger of being seen. Instead, it was dangerous in the sense that there was no one there to keep an eye on you, and the random scrap lying around made the place seem like a health and safety hazard.
“Okay. This should be good!” Barato-san muttered to herself as she stopped and turned to face me. Her skirt fluttered as she spun, making it impossible for me not to stare.
Even that small act made my heart jump, but I had to remain calm. It’s just a dare. Don’t misunderstand. But even knowing that, I couldn’t help but feel my heart race.
Barato-san began speaking after putting a considerable amount of distance between us. I didn’t know if that distance was there because she was wary of me or because she was wary around guys in general, but I waited quietly for her to finish before answering.
“Thanks for coming, Misumai. I, um, had something I wanted to say. Do you...know what that might be?”
“I’m sorry, uh... I’ve never really spoken to you before, Barato-san, so I’m not sure why you wanted to see me. If it’s money you want, I don’t really have much,” I said, feigning naivety.
“I’m not trying to get money out of you or anything like that!” she cried.
Though I wasn’t sure if I’d successfully duped her, things seemed to be going okay.
“Um... Well, I...uh... I...”
She continued fumbling for words, failing miserably to get to the point. She was the epitome of a girl gathering her courage in order to confess to someone. It didn’t seem like a dare at all.
Even though I was nervous, despite knowing that it was a lie, I looked her square in the face, too afraid to take my eyes off hers for even a moment.
That said, the more I consciously did so, the more my gaze faltered.
Remember, Baron-san said to look up a little bit, not down in times like these.
If I looked down, it would seem as if I were staring at her body, but if I looked up, that could be avoided. Upward... Up...
Following his advice, I raised my eyes.
And so, it was thanks to that advice—but also by complete coincidence—that I was able to see it.
“I...l-l-like...you, so, um, will you...go out...with me?”
Even before she’d finished speaking, I broke into a run toward her.
On a typical day at home, I would often either play games or lift weights while watching videos. I’d never heard anything about lifting weights making you run faster, and honestly, I’d never really run before, but...if it’s this short of a distance, I should be able to make it!
Believe in yourself even if you have no basis for that belief! Make it in time!
What I’d spied by sheer coincidence was a large bucket peeking out of an open window. It was a bucket used for cleaning on campus, peeking out from the open window.
The moment I saw it, I remembered that this was the exact spot where students tended to toss the dirty water when they were too lazy to take it out. And at that same moment, Barato-san was under that bucket.
At this rate, she’s gonna be drenched by filthy water.
The moment I thought that, my body moved without me thinking.
It wasn’t like you’d get injured by being doused in dirty water, but you’d sure get drenched in filth.
Some would say it was a well-deserved punishment for confessing to me on a dare. But I couldn’t feel that way. Even though it was a dare, seeing her standing there with that blush across her cheeks, trying to weave her words together...
Maybe it was all an act. But for Barato-san to get drenched in water when she was mustering up her courage to talk to a guy... Somehow, I just didn’t want that.
“Huh? Eeeeeeeeek?!”
Barato-san screamed when she noticed me closing the distance with such speed, but I covered her with my body without hesitation. Thank god. I made it!
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, cold water slapped across my back. Gah, it’s more painful than I thought! It’s cold, and it’s dirty, and it hurts! The cold water soaking into my uniform knocked down my body temperature immediately, turning me into a quivering mess.
Damn you! Don’t clean with such cold water! Use warmer water! No, wait—don’t toss it out the window in the first place!
“Huh? Wha...? What?! What is this?! Water?! Why?!”
Opening her eyes, Barato-san looked around from under me as if finally grasping the situation. Looking down at her, all I could think were out-of-place thoughts, like wondering if her shirt had gotten dirty because the ground wasn’t paved or thinking her disheveled clothes were too tempting to the eye.
And then, before I could say anything, I received a blow across the back of my head. At the same time, I caught sight of the bucket at the edge of my vision. Apparently, the person who’d tossed the water from the window had been startled by Barato-san’s scream and dropped the bucket. At least keep hold of it, would you?
There was a little bit of water left inside it, which spilled out onto the ground. Good, if that had hit her, she might have been hurt, I thought. I looked down at Barato-san’s face and frowned when I saw a red spot on her cheek. Oh, wait. Did she get hurt?
“Are you okay? Barato-san...? Are you hurt?”
“I’m...okay. I mean, are you okay, Misumai?!”
“I’m okay, my body’s just cold and damp. No injuries.”
“You are injured! Your head’s bleeding!”
It was then that I realized that I did in fact have a small cut on my head where the bucket had hit me and that the red spot on Barato-san’s cheek was actually my blood.
“Oh, sorry... I shouldn’t bleed on you. I’ll move. You didn’t get wet, did you, Barato-san?”
“Who cares about me?! It’s you who’s...!”
Those were the last words to reach my ears.
The moment I stood up, moving away from Barato-san, my body swayed. It seemed the impact of that bucket had been greater than I’d thought. I was suddenly overcome with that dizzy feeling that comes with standing up too fast, and all at once, the strength drained from my body.
“Misumai! Misumai?!”
The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was Barato-san’s worried voice screaming my name.
♢♢♢
“Huh...? Is this the nurse’s office?”
When I came to, the ceiling above me seemed somehow familiar. It was the ceiling of the nurse’s office. It was reassuring to know where I was, but...
Why was I in the nurse’s office?
If I remember right, I’m pretty sure I was talking to Barato-san, and...she’d just confessed to me... Oh, that’s right. A bucket fell on my head, didn’t it?
Just then, my thoughts were disrupted by a voice calling my name.
“Misumai?! Thank god! You’re awake!”
It was a girl’s voice, Barato-san’s voice, and it was coming from next to me. Was she the one who’d carried me here?
“Oh, right. Did you bring me to the nurse’s office, Barato-san? Thanks... I’m not exactly the lightest,” I said.
“Thank goodness, you’re awake! Thank goodness... Ugh...”