Chapter 41 Overlapping Sighs

Overlapping Sighs

The sports festival ended, and time passed in the blink of an eye.

Summer had begun to show its true colors.

Our uniforms had changed from blazers to shirts.

The sunlight streaming in during the morning felt even fresher.

However, for someone like me, who isn’t a morning person, mornings only became harder.

“…Fuhwaa.”

I yawned as I walked down the hallway.

As I did, I noticed students either talking with their friends or passing by, occasionally glancing in my direction.

“Hey, look at that.”

“It’s Kyogoku-kun.”

“His face looks scary again today…”

“Doesn’t he seem kind of annoyed?”

“Seriously, don’t make eye contact with him!”

“Act like you don’t know, act like you don’t know…”

Being stared at while walking down the hallway and being feared—this was the same as always.

However, there was one big change.

“By the way, what’s up with Kyogoku and Irara-san’s relationship?”

“They won the Best Pair Award, right?”

“Apparently, they walked home together after that!”

“Could they actually be dating!?”

“What kind of couple would that even be!”

Since the sports festival, rumors about me and Irara had noticeably increased.

That said, I was still being feared as usual, but I could tell that some of the looks I got now carried a “Why him?” kind of vibe.

“They’re definitely dating, right?”

“Even if they’re not yet, there’s still that ‘jinx.’”

“…!!!”

I unintentionally glanced at the male student who mentioned the jinx.

He let out a terrified “Hiik!” and twisted his face in fear before running off as if fleeing.

“…”

Ahem.

I cleared my throat and resumed walking.

But the male student’s comment had reminded me.

The jinx that had arisen between Irara and me during the sports festival.

And…

“I’m so happy I got to be the Best Pair with you, Kyogoku-kun! So happy!!”

“…”

Since then, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.

What exactly Irara meant by those words back then.

Maybe there wasn’t any deeper meaning behind them.

But because of the jinx, I…

Wait, what am I even thinking!?

There’s no way!

Stop it with these ridiculous delusions of a loser!

Yeah. Just imagining that Irara would think of me like that is disrespectful to her.

After all, it’s me—Kyogoku Arata.

Back in sixth grade, I made a first-grader cry during playtime.

Don’t get the wrong idea. Absolutely don’t, me…!

I took a deep breath and prepared to enter the classroom.

But as I was looking down, I didn’t notice the person entering the classroom at the same time.

“Ah!” “Oh!”

Our heads lightly bumped into each other, and we hurriedly looked up.

“S-Sorry!”

“N-No, it’s my fault… wait…”

““…!!!””

Our eyes met perfectly.

Her eyes, as always, were large and sparkling like jewels.

Irara Akari looked at me, her face turning bright red, completely frozen.

Realizing what was happening, we both quickly averted our eyes.

“G-Good morning… Irara.”

“Good morning… K-Kyogoku-kun.”

I was so conscious of her that I couldn’t even look at her properly.

Seriously… what’s wrong with me?

After that, pushed into the classroom by the students arriving behind me, I spent the time until Suzaku-sensei arrived quietly at my desk.

A little after the chime rang, Suzaku-sensei sluggishly entered the classroom.

She placed what appeared to be handouts on the teacher’s desk and began speaking sleepily.

“Okay, so… we’ll be having a periodic test soon.”

“““““Eeeeeeeeeehhhhh!!!!”””””

The mood in the classroom instantly turned heavy.

For students, the word “test,” no matter the scale, always brings a feeling of dread.

“Make sure you study systematically. As for the test scope…”

Suzaku-sensei began handing out the printouts.

My classmates, grumbling about the test, passed the handouts around.

A test, huh.

I’m not exactly great at studying, but if I work at it steadily, it’s not that large of a scope, and it shouldn’t be too hard.

There aren’t many topics I struggle with this time either.

“Well, I’ll just chip away at it bit by bit.”

One week later.

With a clunk, the vending machine dropped a can of coffee.

But before picking it up, I let out a sigh.

“…Sigh, I haven’t studied at all.”

I underestimated it.

The speed at which a week passes.

I kept telling myself I’d start tomorrow, and before I knew it, seven days had passed.

I hadn’t even looked at the test scope.

What “chipping away bit by bit”?

““…Sigh.””

Our sighs overlapped.

When I looked up, there was a girl slumped over in the same way.

And this situation… it felt like déjà vu.

“Irara?”

“Ah, Kyogoku-kun.”

Our eyes met again.

Irara and I, who had won the Best Pair Award and were the center of attention at school, found ourselves face-to-face in front of the vending machine.