Chapter 20 - New home caught on fire
Position in the classroom is a mysterious thing.
For example, if you make something like a poll among all of the students, most probably, number one popular seat would be window-side seat at the back. This region, where you can always look outside when you are tired during lesson, is an everlasting workshop for creating pictures of a protagonist and a heroine sitting next to each other. It is written so in the work of my great aunt.
However, in reality, it is a place where students as popular as the place itself tend to gather, so special attention is required.
For example, if my seat was at window-side and there was a sociable guy sitting close to me, and during lunch break there is sociable guy B who came to have a chat with him, he would pressure me with silence as if saying "Move". I had that experience. Yet at that time, I haven't moved and without a word we had a threatening mood between us thereafter. It was too absurd.
Well, all that glitters is not gold.
Therefore, I'm not a fan of window side.
Rather, as a loner, my ideal is the corridor side.
The fact that there is a wall beside me, that alone gives me a mysterious sense of security. Also, I can easily go in and out of the classroom. Moreover, my seat is at the front row, so as long as I don't look around there will be no one in my view. Despite about 40 people being stuffed inside the classroom, it feels as though I am alone.
In other words, no matter where your seat is, it has both pros and cons.
Different people have different preferences. Well, I'm not deciding it by myself, so after all I have no choice but to get used to it wherever it may be. Don't they say home is where you make it, yeah.
… ……But.
…That is excluding the case where that Tachibana Karen is my neighbor.
So, at the long homeroom during the last period on Friday, Shiraishi-sensei quickly entered and announced change of seats, exciting the class. Swiftly conducting the lottery, new seats were decided… And then, my new home (lol) caught on fire before I even started living in it.
Even though lately things got delicate, just what should I do now?
– Eh… This is amazing… I'm soo happy…
Blonde girl sitting at the desk in front of me said so in a low voice, while turning around.
With an ever cheerful smile, while looking me in the eye.
– Just as always, we'll be getting along extremely well. Now that we are neighbors, it's only natural, right?
Bringing her face close, she almost whispered.
Even she pays attention to the surroundings?
-… It's not like we always get along well…
– Hmm. Then… should we get along even better? But in that case… we will draw everyone's attention, you know? Although I am okay with it.
– Hey, you …
– Fufu… Bookworm, you're acting too suspiciously.
Still… Seriously, stop this.
You're emitting a happy mood a bit too much. Something like that can be easily noticed even if it is not me…
– Haa… Am I not too lucky?
Watching Tachibana's smiling face, I had no choice but to keep silent and freeze my body.
In front, there were still many people who haven't finished leaving their place. Class was full of clatter coming from desks and chairs being moved.
But, she is right in front of me?
Not next to me, not behind me, of all things she is one seat ahead of me.
Even if it is an adjacent seat, it wouldn't have mattered as long as it wasn't a seat in front of me.
Whenever I study, I always obstinately face only what is in front of me, so what is at my sides or behind me can be ignored. But now that Tachibana is in front of me… ironically, if I do what I always did, she will now enter my field of vision instead of being out of it.
As an understatement, I can say that with this, a lethal wound left on my previous deluxe loner life. It is definitely clear that immediate measures must be taken.
Sick of facing the reality, I reached out my hand towards the vocabulary flashcards,… no.
Haa… Calm down, let's sort out my state of affairs.
There are two rows between my new seat and the corridor, it is also last seat in the line.
Taking into account only the position, it is actually not that bad. Just as before I can smoothly go in and out of the classroom, and there is not much danger of getting threatened out of my seat during breaks.
Also, my other neighbors are…
To the left is that class head, who made a delicious paella at the school trip. Heave-ho, she put down her desk. It is Tenjuin-san. Speaking of the neat and clean aura of diligence gushing out of her red eyeglasses, there is probably three times a normal person's diligence and it is awesome. Despite all of that, she is sociable and popular, so having her sitting next to me, I feel like I lost as a human being.
– Oh, isn't it Karen?
– Ah, Momoko. Yay!
Superbly grinning once again, Tachibana stretched her hand towards Tenjuin-san.
I see… yet, what is this?
This girl look like a quiet person, but perhaps, she can draw Tachibana's attention to herself. And she should get along with her much better than me, yeah.
Magnificent main tank. With this, victory is mine… or is it? Honestly, I have doubts, but if I do not grasp everything in a way convenient for me, I'll go mad and die.
– Oh, isn't that Ichijou-kun!
Hm? I turned around.
And there was a guy who makes me think "So it was you"
Iidzuka, member of the football club with a duelist-like hairdo, apparently has a seat to the right of mine.
– Hehe… Well, please treat me nicely.
– Y-, yeah…
Iidzuka patted me on the shoulder with a pop. He brightly smiled, showing his malocclusion like a youth. You sociable guys like to make body contacts, don't you?
Still, this Iidzuka personage, is he a type of character that is noisy but actually gives a feeling of a simply good guy?
And if he is, am I going to act in the framework of the close friend and play card games in this classroom?
It's okay as I have a deck at home, but please spare me from being addicted by it and being led to some solitary island via a boat. Rather, why do I have cards despite being a loner…
While I was having stupid thoughts, everyone in the classroom finished setting up their desks.
Once again I saw my own position, and once again I shivered.
Damn it! I'm surrounded… I'm completely encircled by the company of sociable guys.
I often have some inappropriate thoughts, but this many at once is the first time in my life.
What is going to happen to my lunch breaks? Will I be able to study?
From now on, people from the same category will not be gathering at one place, that is at the window-side. Up to now I have never used the taboo move "escape to the toilet and have a meal", but now I have to seriously consider using it.
Thus, first change of seats of our class came to its terrible conclusion.
In the blink of an eye, I have lost my place, on top of that,
– Ah… Ichijou-kun, so you're behind me. Please take care of meee♪
This time, Tachibana said it in a clear loud voice, so that everyone could hear it.
Well, now there is this incomprehensible blonde girl in front of me. Things will probably not go as they did in the past. God, this girl is the harbinger of the destruction of my stability.
Still, I… It would be wrong to say that it is unpleasant to me.
Somehow, my back felt itchy, and out of embarrassment I scratched the back of my neck. It's not like I'm feeling happy. Isn't it just having someone who recently became your friend as a neighbor? I'm too conscious of it. Tachibana doesn't care about it too much, probably.
Haa…
The real problem is not my new position, but this something illness at Stage 1. It harshly messes up the lifestyle, just where does it originate from?
Next time, I have to indirectly get the information on how to cure it out of my aunt, yeah.
Ah, by the way, Komatsu-kun ended up one seat ahead of Iidzuka.
He is Tachibana's neighbor too, but it is much less anxiety inducing than mine.
Bro, please help me, give me that seat. Ugh… If exchange is a no go, then let me buy it at your price! I tried to convey all of it with my facial expressions, but he hasn't turned in my direction at all.