AS soon as she entered the classroom, the pair were stopped by Nozomi Hashimoto and Keiko Fujieda. The two of them were sitting in the seats belonging to students who’d yet to arrive.
Their hair was against school regulation. Their shortened skirts gave everyone a view of their legs. And their ties were undone, a look that never changed throughout the year. Their faces were plastered with ravenous smiles.
Camped out by the door, they quickly met Yura and Tomoko as soon as they entered.
“Morning, Sugano-san.”
The overly loud voice startled Yura. The bag she carried on her right shoulder slid down, as if slinking back on her behalf. Tomoko faced the pair cautiously.
“We have math today. Do us a favor and don’t fall asleep again.”
Yura literally flinched at their words. As she hung her head reflexively, they stared down at her with twisted smirks.
They always acted like this, but Yura’s exhaustion had her wilting immediately at the sight of them.
Nozomi Hashimoto was the vice-captain of the track team. She was as tall as any of the boys, and her body was in much better shape than Yura’s. She had a bad vibe to her and was often late or absent. Because she seemed the type to suddenly fly off the handle, she was exactly the sort of person Yura found hardest to deal with.
“Well, I guess since Hatada-san’s back today, she can wake you up.”
“You know, you really should try to make some actual friends.”
They both burst into laughter at this exchange.
Yura escaped to her seat, shrinking away from the attention to the best of her ability.
Nozomi Hashimoto and Keiko Fujieda did not get along with Tomoko at all.
The reason was obvious.
If Tomoko could be considered a positive presence, then they were definitely negative.
Among the eight classes in year three, the two of them would always loiter in stairways or off in some corner of the campus with a similar kind of girl from a neighboring class named Miki Osakabe. Their purpose in life seemed to be to pick their own personal targets and harass them for fun. But their smiles always seemed to be hiding some deep-seated hunger.
Yura had seen them smiling and laughing many times, but never once seen them look happy.
From the time they’d entered third year, they had their sights set on Tomoko. As someone with both good grades and strong athletic skills, they deemed her the most intolerable person in class. They seized any opportunity they could to go after her.
Despite being the target of their cruelty, Tomoko merely brushed it off.
Yura knew it was only a matter of time before the brunt of their anger turned to her since she was always at Tomoko’s side. They endlessly mocked her with their words: lazy, lame, childish, loser.
Lately, they’d chosen to try and crush Yura in Tomoko’s place and seemed satisfied that they were finally pounding her into submission.
This ridiculous form of psychological torment seemed to have no end.
Yura had gotten so used to it that she no longer cried on her way home from school.
“It’s all just so utterly stupid.”
Yura wondered how Tomoko could say that so plainly. She wished she could brush the whole thing off like that.
She didn’t have to interact with them often, and when she did, it was always in the same places. But what in the world dredged up such hatred for her within them? How had such malice overtaken them?
Perhaps all they knew to do was take out their boredom on someone else. They no longer cared how their actions looked. How others saw them no longer held power over them.
What kind of adults would they become? What kind of happiness could they hope for?
Yura let out a sigh as she listened to their snide remarks and mocking laughter.