Huh? Did I mess up again?
—That’s what I was thinking to myself.
I was looking at a paper posted at the front of the classroom. It showed the “Grade Rankings” from our latest tests. And right at the top was my name, Suda Ritsuki, in first place.
Haha! I didn’t spend all that time studying alone for nothing!
While everyone else was having fun talking with friends, I was studying by myself!
Wait… why do I feel like crying even though I should be happy…?
“……”
As I was thinking that, suddenly a bunch of girls surrounded me.
Huh? Really!?
Does being good at studying make me this popular!?
Then one of the girls grabbed my collar out of nowhere. Whoa, bold!
“Hey, you’re Suda Ritsuki, right? Meet me after school. We need to talk.”
Suda Ritsuki… it’s okay to cry now.
～～～～～～～～～～
I got dragged into the girls' bathroom by a group of scary-looking girls. This… definitely feels like I’m about to get beaten up.
The girl in charge stood in front of me with her arms crossed. Her attitude was big, and… so was her chest.
Does crossing your arms make it easier to carry them…?
“I’m Hikage Rinka from Class 2-A. I need something from you.”
She introduced herself. This must be a confession, right? Or maybe a duel…?
“I know you’re that nerd who always gets first place on the tests.”
By the way, I’m also #1 in annual CD sales. Thank you for your continued support!
“Because of you, Yoshiharu-kun can’t be number one!”
Oh, right… Fujimiya Yoshiharu.
He’s the soccer team captain, super smart, and super popular. So this girl probably likes him. And the girls around her are cheering her on. And they’re mad at me because I keep taking first place away from him.
I feel kinda bad, but… it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong. I should speak up!
“S-s-s-s-so... w-what d-d-do y-y-you want me to d-do...?”
I said it! Even if they’re popular, I won’t back down!
Rinka saw how weak I looked and probably thought she’d won. She smiled in a scary way, let go of her arms, and grabbed my collar again.
Her chest almost touched me, even though we weren’t that close.
Aaaah.. How am I supposed to fight this… threat!?
With a fierce look in her eyes, Rinka finally dropped her unexpected request on me.
“Just teach me how you study. Then I’ll tell Yoshiharu-kun.”
“—Huh?”
Her request was way cuter than I expected. I was confused.
Then the girls around her spoke up too.
“R-Rinka! We should just make sure he can’t study at all!”
Yeah… I figured they’d say that.
“You idiots! That’s too much! If we learn his methods, Yoshiharu-kun can beat him fair and square!”
Wow… she’s honest.
“B-but Rinka… he’s a serious nerd. He even got first place on the national exams.”
“S-still! Cheating isn’t the answer!”
“Wait… Rinka, are you scared—”
“Fine! I’ll make sure he can’t study anymore!”
Rinka faced me again while holding my collar. She looked really sorry, like she didn’t want to do this.
...So she’s doing this because of the pressure from her friends? Maybe she doesn’t even really like Yoshiharu.
That’s kind of sad.
Then Rinka, trembling a bit, came at me.
“These lame glasses—bet you can’t study without them, right?”
“Nooo! Don’t take my glasses! I’ll be helpless! Please stop!”
I kinda guessed what was happening, so I played along. (The glasses are fake, so I’m totally fine.) Rinka pushed up my bangs and grabbed my glasses.
—Right then, she whispered, “Sorry, I’ll give them back soon.”
And then… she saw my real face up close.
“—Huh?”
She froze, her face turned bright red as she stared at me. Like time had stopped.
“Rinka? Nice job! …Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Did she freeze from seeing Kitaro’s creepy face?”
“His face is like a monster’s! LOL”
Her friends laughed, and Rinka finally snapped back. She quickly pulled my bangs back down to hide my face.
I can’t see anything now…
“D-don’t look at his face! I got the glasses, let’s go!”
“Whoa, he’s really that ugly!? LOL”
“Kitaro, lucky you! Rinka touched you! Best memory ever! LOL”
“Later, freak! Stay here and cry for a while!”
I stayed in the bathroom, stunned, listening to their voices fade away.
“So… I really was being called a monster behind my back.”
And I cried… on the inside.
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