◊◊◊
That day, after school, homeroom was over and I was packing up my stuff to leave.
“Yashiro-kun!”
“Yashiro!”
But all of a sudden, Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san surrounded me with fierce looks on their faces.
“Uhh, what’s up?” I asked.
Hanamizawa-san smacked her hand on my desk and leaned forward. “Don’t give me that! What in the world did you say to Yuzu-chan?!”
“I don’t know what you mean...”
“We saw you two leave the classroom together for lunch, and then when you came back, Sato-san looked totally depressed. We asked her what was wrong and she brushed it off and said, ‘Nothing.’” As Ido-san explained the sequence of events, I finally understood.
They wanted to know what happened today at lunch. “Okay, I get it now. Let’s wait until more people leave though. I doubt Sato-san wants everyone to know her business.”
“Oh, right.”
“Fine.”
Both of them agreed, so we waited until our classmates had left for club activities or went home. Hadori-kun came by and said, “I’m going to LABI 1, wanna come?” Both of them answered in unison, “We’ve got something important to take care of!” and turned him down. Hadori-kun was a bit intimidated by their menacing attitudes, but he glanced at me and winked with a grin. He seemed to be saying, “I have no clue what’s going on, but take care of those two.”
Yeah, yeah.
Finally, the last person left the room, and it was just the three of us. I explained how Sato-san had come to me for advice. I’m sure she wouldn’t want everyone knowing about it, but I thought it would be in her best interests if I let these two know.
“Hm, so she doesn’t wanna be a loner anymore.”
“That’s how she really feels, huh?”
They both shared their reactions once I was finished explaining the situation.
Hanamizawa-san tilted her head to the side. “But why did you tell her no?”
“Because I’m pro-loner here. How am I supposed to help her?”
“Ohh, good point.”
“You didn’t have to be so harsh, though.” Hanamizawa-san frowned at me.
“Yeah, couldn’t you have heard her out in a nicer way?” Ido-san asked.
“No, I couldn’t.”
“But why not?”
“Because if she wants to quit being a loner, she should steer clear of me.” I looked right into Ido-san’s eyes. “She wants to stop being a loner and be a part of the whole group. And if that’s what she wants, then I want to support her. I’m not trying to say what she wants is wrong. And no one should interfere with her wishes. Right?”
“Right.”
“See? So that’s why I can’t get involved.” I leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh. “I’m the kind of guy who enjoys doing things alone. I feel like there’s absolutely no reason for people to deny who they are just to fit in with a group. What do you think would happen if someone like me tried to help her? What if she starts to think, ‘Maybe I’m better off alone after all’? I wouldn’t be able to deny that, and then I’d just end up ruining her dream.”
Neither of them said anything. They couldn’t. I decided that meant they accepted my reasoning, so I continued. “If someone genuinely enjoys being alone, it’s nothing more than a nuisance if someone tells them they’ve got bad social skills or calls them a loser. Just like how it would be completely uncalled for to look at someone who enjoys being part of a group and say they have no sense of self, or are just a poser. Nothing good can come out of it.”
“Is that what you really think, Yashiro-kun?”
I nodded. “I’ll help anyone who wants to learn how to spend time alone. But I should stay away from people like Sato-san, who want to learn how to be part of the group. Otherwise I’d just be interfering with her wishes.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Ido-san said, crossing her arms over her chest. “But that’s what you believe, Yashiro. It’s still okay if we help her, right?”
“Of course. Actually, I think she would’ve been better off coming to you or Hanamizawa-san or Hadori-kun for advice first.”
“Well, the answer here is simple.” Hanamizawa-san smiled. “We’ll just have to give Yuzu-chan a lesson on how to spend time in a group, just like you gave us lessons on how to have fun alone!”
“Ooh, that’s a good idea.” Ido-san nodded with a smile. “Sure it can be fun spending time alone, but you can have fun with everyone else too. We just have to show her how!”
The two of them were really pumped about this. I was certain I could leave this one to the girls. “Oh, but don’t tell her that I told you all of this. Keep it a secret.”
“Ah ha ha. Duh.”
“We never heard a word from you, Yashiro.”
Their responses were playful; I just nodded with a slight chuckle.
Now that I was free from the two of them, I headed down to the lockers to get ready to go home. A certain someone was there, leaning against the lockers. Now it was my time to smile. “You waited for me.”
She didn’t answer, but glanced up at my face. I smiled despite myself at her gesture. Apparently I’d have to explain myself. “I’ll tell you all about it while we walk. Promise.”
I changed into my outside shoes and started walking, hearing light footsteps behind me. I slowed down to let her catch up. It feels good to walk slow like this, I thought with a grin on my face. But then she kicked me in the shin.
◊◊◊
The next day during break, I saw Hadori-kun, Hanamizawa-san, and Ido-san bring Sato-san into their group to chat with her. I don’t know what they were talking about exactly, but I overheard little snippets.
“...Can you believe that? I didn’t know what to do!”
“Ah ha ha... That’s so funny.” Sato-san had a forced smile on her face as she listened to whatever dumb story Hadori-kun was telling. Her expression was tense and she didn’t seem to know when to laugh, but she was staying put and not running away. She really did want to change.
I silently cheered her on. Hang in there!
“Jeez! You keep telling those weird stories and making Yuzu-chan uncomfortable!”
“Yeah! Read the room, Hadori!”
Luckily, Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san were there to give her backup. Hadori-kun seemed to pick up on their feelings and gave an exaggerated pout. “Huh?! I am reading the room!”
“I-It’s all right,” Sato-san said timidly.
“It’s okay, Yuzu. Tell him how you really feel!”
“Nobody asked you, Chikaze!”
“Shut it!”
“R-Really, I’m fine. It doesn’t bother me at all.” Sato-san tried to smooth over the situation while Ido-san and Hadori-kun glared at each other. They were both allowing her into their space to intervene. I’d expect nothing less from the superior social skills of the cool kids. Hanamizawa-san grinned as she watched over the three of them.
I’m sure Sato-san will be fine now. She wanted to be a part of the group, and they were letting her. Everything was going smoothly, so it just had to keep going at this pace. I was still a bit curious, but I looked back down at my book anyway.
◊◊◊
“And so then Yuzu-chan agreed to join our booth for the school festival!”
“Yeah, and the boys all started flipping out because we’re gonna wear cheongsam!”
Whether I liked it or not, Hanamizawa-san and Ido-san had come to give me a full report on their conversation. Wait... School festival? Cheongsam?
“Huh? We’re doing the school festival?”
“What?!” they both exclaimed in unison. Looking rather freaked out, I might add.
“Listen, I know you’re not interested in social stuff, but still...”
“Right? I’m kind of weirded out that you’re that clueless.”
They both looked extremely disappointed in me...but hey, I had my own reasons for all that.