Chapter 43 Finally, Were Alone

[Maehara: Dear Asanagi.]

[Maehara: I have your chemistry textbook.]

[Maehara: Im waiting for you in the courtyard, if you dont want to be embarrassed in class, come and get it from me, idiot.]

I sent that to her. Of course she still hadnt replied, but I knew she had read it, so I was pretty sure that she would come to me.

So I waited for her in the courtyard.

Why isnt she coming yet? Damn it, Asanagi

The clock was ticking, the ten minute break passed by quickly.

Five minutes left until the break ended Three minutes One

If she didnt hurry, I would be the one who embarrassed myself instead. This is bad.

But, whatever, she would have it worse than me anyway.

Huh! She replied!

She finally sent me a reply.

I immediately opened it and found a message with an attached image on it.

[Asanagi: Idiot.]

[Asanagi: I can always borrow the book from someone, you idiot.]

The image attached to the text was an image of a chemistry textbook. She probably borrowed it from her friend in another class.

Did she just outplay me?

T-that girl

I forgot that this kind of strategy would only ever work on someone like me, a hopeless loner. I could never borrow something from someone else because I didnt have any friends.

Unlike me, Asanagi was a part of Amami-sans group, of course she would have friends from another class.

Ive been seeing her sloppy side so often that I forgot she was one of the more popular girls in school.

[Asanagi: Come on ~ Youll be late if you dont move your ass ~]

[Maehara: B***h, youll pay for this!]

[Asanagi: Ill pay for nothing, idiot ~]

After sending her my villainous catchphrase, I immediately dashed to the chemistry lab.

Fortunately it was close by, so I barely made it in time. But since I was the last to arrive, everyone in the lab, including the teacher, stared at me.

Seriously, why did I do something stupid like that? Now I have to bear with this embarrassment.

Uhm, youre? Ah, right, Maehara. Youre late.

Im sorry.

I hurriedly sat down at an empty desk and turned my gaze towards Asanagi, who was seated far away from me. She was curled up by her seat, and I could see her body trembling while her seatmate, Amami-san, was giving both her and me her worried looks.

Okay, now Im mad.

I swear Ill catch that dumbass later and pay her back for this.

Maehara-kun, why do you have two textbooks?

Ah, right, I accidentally brought a spare.

I continued to glare at Asanagi as I gave Ooyama-kun a random excuse. I placed Asanagis textbook on the desk.

The rest of the classes proceeded smoothly, and the end of the school day arrived.

Since the sketch was pretty much done, all we needed to do was to make the art for real this time.

It wasnt difficult to make a mosaic. All you needed to do was to make holes in each can, organize them according to the sketch we previously made, connect them with a string, then hang them up.

Our only problem would be time. If we were to dawdle too much on it, we would have to work overtime.

But the only time when the school allowed us to work at night was the day before the festival. In other words, overtime was not an option.

Then again, that could change depending on the decision made by the committee. Nevertheless, I would still need Asanagis cooperation to finish this by the deadline. Whether she could even cooperate with me is the real question.

Heya, Maehara-kun.

Huh?! Asanagi-san

Why do you look so surprised? We have a lot of work to do, right? I just want to make sure that youre actually starting to work.

A-ah I see.

That caught me off guard. She suddenly called out to me, but her tone was formal, so it seemed that she wasnt planning on letting our little drama hinder our project.

God, I wish I could do the same.

Lets use however many cans we currently have for the time being. So, where are the cans?

There are some in that corner, the rest of them should be in the storage room outside

Ah! Then We need to carry them here

Thats it. I could corner her this way since it would only be the two of us who would go. If I were to press the topic, she wouldnt be able to dodge it even if she wanted to.

Yuu, got a minute?

Mm? What is it, Umi?

Can you go with Maehara to check on the cans? I have to watch over everyone, so I cant go with him.

Well, if I could think of a plan like that, she would also be able to, of course. She immediately called Amami-san over to go in her stead.

Still planning to run away, huh?

No, no, dont bother Amami-san. She has work to do here. Cmon just lets go already.

Eh, but we were the ones who made the sketch. At least one of us should stay here to watch over the others.

It wont take long, it doesnt matter. Right, Amami-san?

Mhm. Were just making holes in these empty cans, after all. We dont need supervision for this kind of trivial work, Umi.

Amami-san answered as she secretly winked at me.

Amami-san was on my side. We had been cooperating all day. She had been making sure that Nitta-san, Seki-kun and the others wouldnt interfere with my plan.

Anyway, Im going to get the storage room key from Yagisawa-sensei first. Asanagi-san, wait for me there, okay?

Wait, dont decide it by yourself

Well, if you dont want to come, I can do it aloneBut I would be glad if youd come.

Eh

T-then, Im going.

I whispered the I would be glad if you do part to her. I walked out of the room and headed toward the staff room where Yagisawa-sense was.

I couldnt hear any footsteps behind me, so Asanagi shouldnt be chasing me, but I knew that she would come to the storage room since I asked her to help me in front of everyone in class.

She must have had her own reason to avoid me. Nevertheless, I still wanted to know why.

I took the key from Yagisawa-sensei and went to the storage room. It was located near the smoking area for the teachers Yes, the place where we previously had lunch before.

Suddenly, the scene from back then came to mind.

Back then, we were really awkward with each other, but we managed to break the ice by exchanging our side dishes. After that, we started talking about cooking and the walls between Amami-san and I started to crumble.

Sorry, Asanagi. I was late

Seriously you idiot

It seemed like she had been waiting for me for a while. As soon as she heard my voice, she immediately turned around. The tone of her voice was curt, she was clearly sulking.

I guess this meant that she wasnt planning to run away anymore.