I woke up with a pounding headache and peeled myself off the table.
“Ow…”
Sleeping in a weird position had left me stiff as a board. My arms, shoulders, and back were all killing me.
How long had I been out?
I turned my bleary eyes to the window and saw that it was much brighter outside than before. The sun had now fully risen. A heatstroke warning had been issued this morning. It was only going to get hotter from here.
“…Huh?”
That was when it hit me…
It wasn’t hot in the clubroom at all. It was actually pretty nice.
I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus my vision.
No one else was here, but the AC was on. It had been off when I arrived, and I hadn’t turned it on. There could be only one explanation.
“…Did someone else swing by?” I muttered. Then my hand touched something, and I heard a noise.
I looked down and saw what it was—and the shock almost made me throw up.
My pulse went into overdrive, and my mind cleared in an instant.
My wishful thinking no longer seemed so unrealistic. Next to me was a pack of cookies left over from our party—and a notebook.
It was open to a new page, with “Brought you these, Natsume,” written on it.
“Kurumi?!”
I leaped out of my chair and bolted to the door.
The long hallway stretched off toward the main building, but I couldn’t see a soul out in the gloom. I looked around in vain, calling her name. The only answer was my own echo.
When did she get here? How long had it been since she came? Why hadn’t I woken up?
I went back inside. Kurumi was an incorrigible tease. Maybe she was hiding somewhere, watching me overreact. I might find her if I looked.
I checked under the table, inside the drawers, behind the curtains. I searched every nook and cranny, but Kurumi was nowhere to be found.
When I was done ransacking the place, I flopped back down on my chair.
“…What the hell?”
Why wasn’t she here? Hadn’t she come to school to talk to me? Why hadn’t she woken me up?
Was she going to end things like this? Had she just come here just to drop off a gift for me to remember her by? A smooth gesture to satisfy herself before she headed off for good? Was this the sentimental conclusion to our story?
I couldn’t let that happen.
I… I still hadn’t told her I was sorry.
“……”
No, this isn’t over. I’m not letting it end this way.
I picked up the notebook and looked at the yellow cover. I’d know this book anywhere. It was Kurumi’s Notes on Revenge.
…Let’s peek inside. Maybe I’ll find a hint about how to see her again.
In hindsight, I’d never actually read the notebook myself.
I opened it to the first page.
As it turned out, the notebook was a collection of plans for our rebellion…but it was also Kurumi’s diary.
May 15:
My parents don’t even care that I’m planning on dropping out of high school.
They only said, “It’s fine,” just like they do whenever I get bad grades.
It doesn’t make sense.
I can never manage to catch up with my brother. How is that fine? Dropping out of high school isn’t fine. But neither of them batted an eye.
I want them to look at me. I want them to see how messed up I am.
That’s why I swore vengeance against the world—the world that refuses to see me for who I am. I’m gonna make everyone see me and realize that I’m not fine.
I’m nowhere near fine, and I need my parents and my brother to know that.
So starting today, I’ll be writing in this notebook. My Notes on Revenge. These pages will be the sole evidence that I fought to be myself.
May 16:
Getting vengeance against the entire world is a tall order, so I’ve decided to limit my scope to this school.
If the teachers weren’t allowed to hurl insults at us students, I would have been fine with my life here. Maybe I would have simply learned my limits, resigned myself, and led a mediocre life.
The question now is how do I fight a school? I’m gonna work on that for a while.
Currently, my best idea is to try to get everyone to do imitations of our teachers.
June 2:
Yesterday, I caught an older boy smoking on the roof. I probed further, and it turns out he smokes because he hates the school and smoking makes him feel rebellious.
I called him a pussy. But when I kept digging, it turned out he had fought back.
Today, I forced him to join my cause. If his hatred is that strong, I can probably get him to help me take on the school. I could certainly use the support.
We’ll have a proper meeting tomorrow. I’m thinking of a nuisance tactic involving eraser stamps. I call it the “Student Insult Redistribution Campaign.”
June 11:
Natsume was awful at making stamps but pulled off the plan without a hitch.
He seemed to really enjoy striking back. Listening to him describe what he’d done and hearing everyone in school talking about us was a lot of fun.
The juice we drank to celebrate tasted way better than it usually does. I know that’s a trick of the mind, but it felt special.
Now that I think about it, my classmates back in junior high used to throw parties at the slightest excuse. I wonder if they felt anything like this? I wouldn’t know, since I never went.
I was invited, of course. I just chose not to go. No biggie.
June 16:
I kissed Natsume.
I did it on impulse, nothing more. I was just curious.
It was my first time, but… It was very, uh, stimulating.
I feel like I’m starting to get why he smoked.
I kissed someone I’m not even dating. At school!