All that could be heard in the room was the sound of a pencil writing on a sheet of paper, and you could barely hear the breathing of two people, one calm, playing with a pencil, and the other nervous, risking his life with a pencil.
Either I finish this on my own or I'm not getting up from this spot!
After having a few snacks, we left all the food except the water and glasses on the other table, so they wouldn't be in the way.
Otsuki decided to start with math, which she figured would take me the longest. At first, I started showing off a little.
"Remembering what I last covered in class before leaving, I don't think the new stuff will be too complicated. I've never had to spend more than a day on math."
"What a death flag."
And after filling an entire sheet doing 2 exercises, and solving the first one by pure luck, I started to think it was time to ask for help.
But I can't do it! I should be able to do this… and then…
"How come I'm left with a negative root?!" He was completely defeated after failing once again to solve the equation that Otsuki had taken from an exercise.
"...You really don't want me to help you?" She was somewhat worried about my mental health, and a little annoyed at how stubborn I was.
" No." I rejected his proposal without thinking, and when I started to continue the exercise…
"Ouch!" The wound started to hurt again. I waved my right hand away from the table to relieve some of the tension, and then rubbed it a little with my other hand to see if that would help ease the pain.
"Ehhh, so no…" Otsuki was looking at me, not with disdain, but with disbelief. At this rate, you're going to get blood on the blade , her face seemed to say. Or at least, that's probably what she was thinking at that moment.
After my pain subsided, I "finished" the exercise.
My head was completely sprawled on the table, on top of the book and the sheet of paper, and I was holding my head in my hands, tired after having received such a beating.
"I don't understand how we've seen something so confusing in such a short time." I guess that was my luck.
"…" Otsuki looked at me with a hint of disappointment as I stood with my head down. I caught a glimpse of her gaze when I lifted it, and obviously I did the only thing I could have done.
"Go ahead, sensei."
"Don't call me sensei!"
She must have felt uncomfortable when I called her that, which angered her, although she took the sheet with the hand exercise out of my hand when I handed it to her.
With the pencil she had in her hand, she began to do the exercise. And, although it was something I hadn't expected, she started to explain it to me.
I never understood what she was doing. According to her, it wasn't that I was doing it completely wrong, it was just that she was making it much harder for me by choosing the most complicated option.
"…And, if you put the value of Y into the equation, you get X, and without any weird negative numbers. Oh, and the teacher says that whenever you take a square root, you should put a minus and a plus sign next to the result."
"…And I'm supposed to do that on my own?"
"It's not difficult once you understand it."
"Well, that's the problem I have!"
Otsuki looked at me again, a little disappointed, and this time she didn't bother to say anything to cover it up.
"How awful!"
"Uuuuggghhh, it took me ages to explain that. Pay attention this time, please."
"Yes, sensei."
"I kill you."
"Please."
An hour later, we were finally able to finish math. After that, the rest of the subjects I had to review were much easier. All I did was write down the pages I had to study, and that was about it. No matter how much she read everything here, I wouldn't retain anything. If I don't study on my own, I don't achieve anything.
When we finally finished, it was almost one o'clock.
"And that would be all the duties related to the national language."
"It seems like a pain in the ass... With how badly I write, I don't think anyone will even understand everything that comes out here when I write it down."
"Yes, it is. And… yes, you write… well… it's not so bad. Although I haven't seen worse handwriting."
"See!"
I didn't know if she didn't care about hiding the truth or if she did it without thinking.
"It doesn't matter, I know my handwriting is bad anyway. Every teacher tells me so…" As I spoke, I began to gather up all the books I had left on the table as I took them out, and now I had to put them all in my bag.
"Do you really not need to read things beforehand to study?" Otsuki suddenly asked, as if it seemed absurd to him not to glance at things before studying them.
"Well, that's how I manage. And I don't even use my notes; I have to make my own summaries. And no outlines, I can't manage with outlines." Right after that, I finished putting things away. I had planned to get up and collect all the bags that were left on the tray at the other table, but since Otsuki was talking, I decided to wait.
"Mmm, yes, I agree with what you say about outlines, but I need to rely on the book. I'm not good at making summaries, although I haven't tried. For now, the book is working fine for me."
"Hey, you look like a bully who fails everything..." Shit . It happens to me every time I relax, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. I got a good number of punishments for that when I was little.
"A bully?! Me?!" She couldn't believe that. Even less that she'd been told that to her face. That said, she didn't seem angry, at least not at the moment.
"S-sorry, I exaggerated… All… This… You stand out , yes, you could say you stand out."
I didn't mean to say it in a bad way, but deep down I knew that saying things like that is having bad intentions and little else.
"I-it's not because of the ponytail, is it?"
No way! The ponytail is the least of it!
"No not at all."
She wasn't exactly a metalhead, though. With 50 piercings, 10 tattoos, and all black, it wasn't extravagant, she just stood out. I can't say she was dressed completely like a "rebellious girl" either, but it was close to what one might wear. The fact that she wasn't wearing ripped jeans was a bonus.
Even though I told her no, she, a little annoyed, took off the headband holding her hair back, placing it all behind her. "Is this better?" she said at first, though then she corrected herself in a low voice, talking to herself, "Wait, I don't even know why I'm asking you."
The ponytail didn't look bad on her, but honestly, I much prefer her with her hair down. It suits her much better, period. This time, I said the first thing that came to mind of my own free will.
"Well, it suits you better, yes."
"Just so you know, it wasn't me who wanted to go like this, it was my mom… My mother who wanted me to wear a ponytail. She kept saying, 'Oh, but you look so cute like that!' and I kept telling her I looked better without it, but in the end I had to give in. No one can beat her when it comes to insisting."
I started wondering if Otsuki was blaming his mother, but I doubt he would elaborate on the excuse just to make it more believable.
"Putting my hair aside… Sorry if this bothers you, but when do you plan to go back to class?"
I was surprised he asked, considering we barely know each other. He couldn't be worrying about me; he was up to something. The question didn't bother me, but it did make me a little anxious. I momentarily abandoned the slightly more relaxed tone I'd been using.
"I don't know." I paused, trying to think of a possible answer, but I couldn't even guess. It was completely uncertain, something I hadn't taken the time to decide. In the end, I gave up.
"Yeah… I'm not sure. I'll try to come back next Monday, if that works." I regretted not being able to give an honest answer, and also regretted missing so much class.
"It's okay, it was just to… know if I should keep coming or not."
"What for?"
"Well, to give you your homework."
"Oh, yes, I forgot." So that was his intention... It doesn't sound like an excuse to me.
And he was right. At some point, he had to come by and give me everything we cover each day, or at least at the end of the week. Whenever I've missed school—and I've missed very little—they'd just give me the homework over the phone, and that was it.
That reminds me…
"Can't you send them to me over the phone?"
"I could if you gave me your number." Without thinking about what she said, Otsuki covered her mouth. Ah, yes, my favorite! The moment when the main girl asks the guy for his number without even realizing what she's doing! This reeks of romance the way the ocean reeks of sugar! "...If you don't mind," she said, briefly removing her hands from her mouth, a light pink blush rising to her cheeks.
"Huh? Didn't your mother give it to you?" I assumed last weekend that she already had my number, and I spent the rest of the week preparing for the moment when she would send me a message.
"Does he even have it?" She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
And I've been drowning in paranoia all week for nothing!
"Your mother should have it… and she should have given it to you."
Otsuki removed his hands from his mouth, and returning to his normal expression, said, "Oh. But, since we're here, pass it to me."
"Well, when you are-"
"I'm here."
"Wow, that was fast!"
And so, my nightmare came true. My nightmare from yesterday, because now I didn't care. I still didn't want him texting me like we knew each other, but now at least I wouldn't feel so awkward.
"So, if I don't go, can you send me the homework on my phone?"
"I was planning on coming here." She was a little annoyed just hearing my suggestion, and this isn't like in anime, where everyone pouts and looks cute; she's scary. If she doesn't kill me, her glare will.
"You can come then, yes. I was just curious."
"Okay, I'll come back after lunch to give you your homework, what we've covered, and if you don't understand something, I could stay if I feel like it, although don't even think about it, blah blah blah."
So now she's being picky… Although, first of all, she said she was doing it because she wanted to, rather than out of obligation. I might not buy that.
"I'm not going to ask you either, I can manage on my own."
"I've seen how well you manage before."
"The first time you explained it to me really fast. It's like watching a video on repeat."
"Anyway, I'll see about helping you when I'm back here."
Meanwhile, she began packing both her file folder and her pink pencil case into her bag after clearing things up, as if she were getting ready to leave. Seeing this, I took the opportunity to get up and, this time, collect the tray with all the food bags from the other table.
"Okay, I'm going to pick up the tray and take my backpack upstairs. You can wait here for a moment, then I'll come back for the pitcher and glasses."
To be honest, I could carry both glasses and the pitcher on the tray, but I hate carrying heavy things on trays, especially liquids, because I always think they're going to fall because I'm so weak. And sure enough, they always do.
Seeing me get up, she did the same, and as I put my bag on my shoulder, she interrupted me.
"Before that, could you tell me where the bathroom is?"
"Ah, yes. There's one down here, although it's a bit worse, mainly because it's narrow. There's a bigger one up there."
It would be too strange to point out that's the one I usually go to; it's like saying I do dirty things in there that nobody wants to see, although the fact that I use it might bother him. Women, I suppose?
"Ah, I'll go to the one upstairs then."
Mmm, a dick… I see, I see.
And so, while I was carrying the tray to the kitchen and throwing all the bags and crumbs in the trash, she went upstairs to the bathroom. That's when I realized the grave mistake I had made.
If it goes upstairs… Did I leave my bedroom door open? I hope not… no, it shouldn't be open, I think I closed it, I really hope I closed it!
It was too late to stop her. Not that she'd made it to the bathroom yet, but I'd feel bad telling her halfway there to go downstairs.
I also realized how silly I was to grab my bag, because I still had to get the pitcher and glasses. I'm not going to go upstairs, downstairs, and then back upstairs again.
After picking up everything I had taken out, I left the living room as it was, storing the cushions under the table, assuming that after this, she would go home.
Now all that was left was to carry the bag to my room. I started thinking about the catastrophe that could have befallen me if I'd been unlucky while climbing the larches.
"Seriously, your dad lets you have your room this dirty?!" "Ew!" "It smells like death in here!" "Men, I guess?"
I picked up the pace until I reached the second floor, and luckily, my bedroom door wasn't wide open. Although she might be inside, I dismissed the idea as soon as I saw the bathroom door was closed.
I hurried into my room, put down my bag, and tried to make it as presentable as possible.
Fortunately, the bed was made, although it was all wrinkled from me lying on it before Otsuki arrived. All the drinks, snack bags, and anything else cluttering up the floor or my desk were either thrown away or put in a drawer. I couldn't do anything about the floor, since I wasn't about to sweep and mop right now, so this had to do the trick. Finally, I opened the window to try and air out the room a bit.
I got a little tired from moving so fast, so I sat down on the bed for a moment. I looked around my room, and the problem wasn't just the dirt, but also what was in it.
The whole shelf was full of manga and anime figures, and I don't think any girl would like to see a figure of another girl half-naked. Mind you, I'm not buying it because it's half-naked; it's just that there aren't any other cheap figures. Then there was the computer, which was actually completely normal. It didn't have a weird mousepad; it was just black. I shouldn't have worried, but I thought I'd be judged for having a computer and little else.
I had no choice but to accept my fate, and let Otuski laugh at me and call me otaku for the next 3 weeks every time he comes to my house.
When I opened the door, I saw that the bathroom door was also open. I approached slowly, just in case Otsuki was still inside, but when I peeked in, there was no one there. What's more, I didn't hear a single sound as I approached.
I peeked out from the top of the stairs and didn't see her downstairs either, and I was too lazy to go down. So I called her, hoping she hadn't left without saying goodbye. I don't think she'd be capable of it, but who knows…
"Otsuki, are you downstairs?" I called out down the hall, right in front of the stairs, hoping my voice would reach the bottom. And I did get a response, though the voice didn't come from downstairs.
"I'm here." A female voice came from the room at the end of the hall, and I was stunned, so much so that I didn't react for a few seconds.
I dashed down the hallway, which wasn't very long, so I reached the door quickly. I didn't hesitate to open it, and when I did, the silhouette of a girl came into view. It was the one I was expecting, not the one I wanted to see.
Otsuki was kneeling in front of the altar of ^[Ç+?.