“Well, you saved me from a tough predicament. Unlike some supposed friends I could mention. Ah, you’re like a ministering angel!”
“I wasn’t asking for you to make your case for grabbing my hand… Oh, you know what, forget it. It’s too embarrassing to explain.”
Shibuya sighed.
“What’s with this guy? Acts like he’s useless around girls, but then starts getting all touchy-feely… Maybe he’s just an airhead…,” she muttered.
I didn’t really understand what Shibuya was trying to say, but I understood enough to tell that I was being dissed.
It sounded sorta like she was implying lower-class people were all too handsy.
It wasn’t nice to hear, but perhaps she did have a point. Recently, I felt like I have been acting kinda overly friendly with people.
It was hard to open up at first, due to the walls I’d built up around myself, but once we’d all started getting along, the distance between us just seemed to naturally close, and any lingering awkwardness on my part was the kind of thing I really hoped wouldn’t be a big deal. But Shibuya was under no obligation to play along with a guy who she felt was acting creepy, of course, so I decided to quietly let go of her hand.
Anyway, having Shibuya accompany me… That would be a huge help.
I had zero taste, so I was sure I’d be a fish out of water in the Fashion Department by myself. With Shibuya, though, I’d be able to sort of blend in.
At any rate, she’s the most fashionable girl in the Music Department. Just walking next to her would raise my apparent social status.
Or it might just emphasize my dorkiness, as if I was trailing along after her like goldfish poop. Oh well. Just let me live in denial.
These days, everyone wants data and evidence. But some people just need to rely on blind faith. Some can’t be saved by the truth. Like me.
“If Erio’s going, maybe I should go, too.”
Komae volunteered himself now.
Ah yes, another fashionable boy the whole Music Department could be proud of. That would be the ultimate form of reassurance! Or so I thought, but just as I was about to say he would be more than welcome to join, Shibuya interrupted me.
“Hold on. You can’t come, Nokia.”
“What?” Komae said, looking dumbfounded by the unexpected rejection.
I’m sure my face looked the same as his. I blinked at Shibuya. Why did she say no?
“There are a lot of girls in the Fashion Department. There’s no way we can bring a playboy cad like Nokia in there with us.”
“Hey. That’s a terrible thing to say, Erio. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d just start hitting on girls randomly?”
Komae, looking disgruntled, objected to Shibuya’s abrupt dismissal.
Shibuya just stared in response.
“So, then, if we bring you, you won’t try to hit on a single girl?” Shibuya asked.
“Of course not. I only have eyes for you of course, Erio. Well, and Shiika.”
You’re contradicting yourself.
“What would you do if a girl called out to you and said, ‘Hey, you’re cool. Could you be our composer, Nokia?’…?”
“Well, it would only be polite to respond by taking her out for coffee after school or maybe suggesting exchanging contact details, heh. ☆”
“And with that, you’re disqualified. Just stay behind and be good, you failure of a man.”
“Whaaat?!”
Komae was cut to the core by Shibuya’s relentlessly harsh judgment.
Either way was fine with me. I mean, it’d be more reassuring to have as many fashionable people with me as possible, but I certainly didn’t want to bring a source of potential trouble, as Shibuya said.
If we ended up upsetting Azusa Harajuku in any way, the collab might be in jeopardy.
“All right, it’s decided. Gakuto and I will go to Azusa Harajuku’s classroom during lunch!”
Shibuya grinned mischievously at Shiika.
“I’m going to borrow your brother, but don’t be jealous.”
“That depends. If you get too snuggly, I’ll get annoyed.”
“We won’t get snuggly!”
Bing, bong.
The morning bell rang, as if to compete with Shibuya’s loud protests.
Well, that seemed to be decided, then.
All that was left now was to get ready for lunch break. In order to find as many materials as possible with which to persuade Azusa Harajuku, I’d have to watch her streams thoroughly during the morning class.
I needed to acclimate myself to the sexy, wealthy-seeming Azusa Harajuku character!
…
…Acclimate. Yeah. Didn’t seem likely.
It was now lunch break.
Shibuya and I left the classroom after quickly eating the sandwiches we’d bought in advance for lunch.
We passed through the Music Department hallways and entered the part of the building where the Fashion Department classrooms were.
Even the corridor here felt like another world.
First off, the students’ clothes were different.
Their uniforms weren’t just customized—they’d been reworked to the extent that they no longer resembled uniforms at all. Novel color combinations and avant-garde, incomprehensible designs. Ryouran High has a lot of stylish students across all its departments, but the fashion-savvy students here were on a whole other level. A layman like me can sort of appreciate the stylish outfits worn by the other students, but this…this kind of thing was beyond me.
It was like the Paris collection of everyday life. The hallway looked like a red carpet.
Feeling overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere, I headed to Azusa Harajuku’s classroom.
The inside of the classroom was just as unique as the hallway:
Mannequins dressed in the latest stylish branded gear; walls bare of posters or calligraphy, and covered instead in simple black-and-white shelves, laden with perfumes and accessories.