Chapter 9: Aya’s side.

“Hah…”

I moped to my room after bathing and sighed as I thought back to what happened these past few days. My boyfriend, Kenichi, thankfully didn’t have any misunderstandings. We were also able to talk during this whole mess.

My mind went back to last week, and I lost myself once again in these thoughts.

I was just sitting at my desk when it happened. A commotion emerged out of nowhere and cackling, Hirano spat that she falsely confessed to Wada. Panicked, I turned my head straight to Maika, his childhood friend, and—

Huh? Why are you laughing?! I’d screamed in my mind. I thought you were his precious childhood friend!

Still dumbstruck, I looked around just to see many other girls laughing at that so-called “prank.” While my eyes meandered, Kenichi suddenly put himself in between Wada and the other girls.

“You girls are pitiful, playing around with people’s feelings. The others joined the circle too, I saw it. You all laughed at him. C’mon dude, grab your bag. Let’s go,” he then walked out of the classroom while pulling Wada along.

This vibe… huh? Kenichi is really angry.

“Hey, the way Kenichi just said all that… Are all the girls being treated as accomplices?!”

“N, no, it couldn’t be…” Maika answered, stunned as I was.

“Hold up! Why were you even laughing in that situation, huh?!” I inquired, but she didn’t seem to hear me. “H, hey, Maika?” I called out again and again, but my words went through one ear and left the other. She then stumbled out of class.

Whatever. I still have to clear up this whole misunderstanding with Kenichi…

I looked back at our relationship. We both met in high school, and my first impression of him was rather poor. He was just so unapproachable. But as I got to know him, I noticed he was one hell of a friend. He was kind and not a playboy, which was a huge plus in my book. Many guys used to approach me with ulterior motives, so I found his presence refreshing, and it took no time for me to start liking him.

After many unsuccessful attempts, we finally managed to get into a relationship. That’s why I don’t want to ruin this nice thing we have.

Prepping myself back up, I rang his phone several times to no avail and sent messages trying to clear up any possible misunderstanding he might have. However, I was left on read.

I went home while agonizing over the situation, but managed to receive a reply before the day was over.

“Srry. We all went to karaoke with Kyohei.”

“Calm down for now.”

“I know you weren’t laughing and that you weren’t part of it.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll have to cover someone’s shift on my part-time, so I won’t have time for this.”

“We’ll have a proper talk on Sunday, k?”

From my time with him, I know that whenever he sends me quick messages in succession it means he’s worried and is trying to reassure me. As I read, a weight seemed to leave my chest, as I had expected the worst.

Relieved, I tried to focus on the situation at hand. There was someone I had to talk to before anything else.

“Hirano-san, could we talk for a bit?” I called out to her when she was alone after school.

“W, what?”

“It’s about yesterday. We need to talk.”

She flinched, unnerved and fearful, but I didn’t care.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on with the class right now?”

She answered me with a few moments of silence as if to collect her thoughts, then spoke her mind. “I get that I’m to blame for the atmosphere there now. The guys and the girls are in conflict, right? …I know that if I don’t do something, it’ll just stay like that.”

With the way she answered, it was safe to assume she wasn’t dumb. So why do all that…?

“So you’d do something about it without being told?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, I’m really sorry for what I did. I reflected a bit…”

“I understand. Just do it as soon as possible,” I left her with these words.

On Sunday, Kenichi came to my house and relayed what he knew. That day was also the first time I ever heard that Wada was Kenichi’s friend since elementary school, which was the reason for his anger.

Also, isn’t it too early to have brought your sister to Wada, considering Maika? Well, I’ve completely lost track of what’s going on in her mind, so I can’t really bring it up.

“How does Maika feel about Wada after all?”

“I don’t know either. I thought I had a pulse, but if she’s a tsundere or whatever, I’m not so sure anymore. From a guy’s point of view, I don’t get that at all. In fact, Kyohei thinks he’s hated.”

“I just hope she doesn’t think anything of it. But isn’t it too soon to switch to your sister?”

“I don’t deny I set it all up right now, but she’s always liked him. I didn’t do anything on that front. Well, if he keeps his feelings for Ayatsuji, no unnecessary trouble will be caused.”

“Maybe so, but still…”

I wasn’t qualified to say what I was about to, so I stopped.

Then, on Monday, Maika skipped school.

I sent her a message during lunch break and got a few replies back, but still couldn’t understand her. After school, I finally managed to give her a call. She answered with a tear-ridden voice what had happened that day, and that she had feelings for Wada, something she had just realized.

Ahhh! You’re late, so late!

Moreover, it seems she happened to see Wada and his “friend” walking together… Though I knew otherwise from Kenichi’s intel. However, it wasn’t right for me to be the one to break the news.

“Stop your whining and talk to him! You know what? I’ll ring him up. What’s his number?”

“I only know his landline. He doesn’t have a phone.”

“Huh…? Okay, I’ll do something. Just, don’t be stubborn and speak clearly, okay?”

“… Got it.”

I’ll just ask Kenichi for now.