Chapter 4 Club Manager's Betrayal

Club Manager’s Betrayal

I fell to my knees in despair. I missed the entire class.

I guess no one cares if I’m gone.

I felt sick, so I went to the infirmary and asked the nurse for permission to rest on the bed.

Of course, there was no way I could sleep. Humiliation, fear and despair. I spent my time shivering on the white bed, trying to somehow hold on to my battered mind and body.

“Just in case, I’ll tell your homeroom teacher.”

The school nurse told me so, and I told her shortly, “Please do.” The homeroom teacher is probably busy right now teaching the class, selecting class committee members for the second semester, and deciding who will be on the committee for the cultural festival. So I sure that she wouldn’t come to see me.

Why is there no one to help me?

Of course, because of Miyuki’s attitude and her academics, plus she was class vice president last semester and had excellent grades. Her words are very strong.

The teachers must believe her more than my words. So I can’t talk to anyone about it. Not even my mom or brother.

They’re working as hard as my late father to send me to school. If I let them know about my current situation and let them down….

I can’t live anymore.

When I betrayed by Miyuki, who was supposed to be my childhood friend and lover, I completely at a loss. How am I supposed to survive in this living hell for another year and half?

Suddenly the phone in my pocket, vibrated.

It from a SNS account that I had never seen before. An account name made up of a random string of characters that I didn’t understand.

I opened it without a second thought. There might be help from someone there. I clinging to such a fleeting hope.

But….

[Drop out of school, You Criminal!]

[You skipped the classes and now you’re acting like a victim? Hey! The person most hurt was Amada-san, you damn stalker!]

[If you hurt so much, die stalker!]

No kind words there.

Only human malice.

Ah, there’s nothing left now.

And then my phone vibrated again. It was manager Tachibana-senpai from the literature club.

She’s a kind Senpai who always has a gentle smile on her face.

Maybe she could….

The hope that I had put aside earlier began to come back to my mind.

But….

[I’m sorry. I thought I should tell you verbally.]

[Actually, because of what you did to Amada-san, all the members of the club seemed to be scared of you.]

[I’m really sorry, but I don’t want you to come to club activities anymore.]

[Sorry!]

When it was marked as read, the messages from her stopped.

No, I didn’t do that…

Just when I was about to write that, I realized that I could no longer press the send button.

[You are blocked from this account.]

Instead, such an error message was displayed repeatedly.

As if to add salt to the wound, I could hear the students returning from the gymnasium after the class.

“Hey, manager? Did you say it correctly?”

“Yeah, I just sent a message.”

“I’m still afraid to meet him.”

“Me too.”

“But what should we do with the manuscript he wrote? The magazine to be sold at the school festival…’’

“I’m going to throw it away. If it’s made public. The honor of the club will be tarnished.”

“That’s for sure, isn’t it?”

“It can’t be helped.”

“What a shame. Even though he has no talent, he works hard on the manuscript.’’

They probably don’t know that I’m here. Manager Tachibana was talking to someone from the club.

Tears flowed silently. I wrapped it in the white futon so that the teacher would not find me, I trembled silently with despair.

Even Senpai, who had always been kind to me, ended up not believing in me.

Now, what should I do?

I could only utter despair at the unanswerable question.

If I stay in the infirmary too long, I’ll look suspicious.

My mom will probably be messaged too. So, feeling a little better, I tell the nurse I’m going back to class and leave the infirmary.

If I was in the hallway, the teachers would find me immediately.

So, my mind just focused on one place.

I went to the stairs. It looks like the class has already started. So no one is here. I climb the stairs, feeling a bit relieved.

I stopped at the landing that led to the rooftop. I don’t have to worry about anyone finding me here.

I sat there. I’m just going to have to wait for time to end here.

Today, let’s get used to it. People’s malice. Be patient until one day my mind can be more solid.

But somehow, I put my hand on the knob of the door leading to the rooftop. The knob, which would normally be locked for safety, moved easily.

I found myself thinking that this could be an opportunity. It will be resolved easily… by jumping off the rooftop.

When I opened the door, a cloudless sky spread out. It still has the smell of summer.

I noticed that there was already a someone before me in this place where no one was supposed to be.

Her short black hair was swaying. Perhaps noticing the sound of my opening the door, she looked back at me as if startled.

“you?”

A well-dressed girl with a well-defined face looked at me warily.