The next day, the bell rang to signal the end of afternoon classes.
The classroom was instantly filled with various noisy sounds. Imaizumi Keita, long since used to this, slowly and methodically organized his backpack.
For him, waiting until the flow of people in the classroom had mostly thinned out before leaving had become a habit.
This allowed him to maximally avoid the congested area in front of the shoe lockers built by the "socializing of Outgoing People."
Even though he now had a connection with Yanami Anna, he didn't have any intention of changing his habits for the time being.
Just as he zipped up his backpack and prepared to head to the Literature Club's activity room in the West Building, a figure suddenly appeared from the front door of the classroom and walked straight toward him.
"Hey, Imaizumi, I remember you're a member of the Literature Club..."
Imaizumi Keita looked up. What met his eyes was a boy wearing black-rimmed glasses with clean, short grey hair, waiting for his answer with an inquiring look.
This boy was Ayano Mitsuki from Class D next door. He was a classmate who had come from the same Junior High School, and they had even attended the same cram school.
"Yeah, what's up, Ayano?"
Imaizumi Keita nodded, somewhat curious about the other's purpose.
"That's great!"
Ayano Mitsuki gave a bright and polite smile, then explained his reason for coming. "I heard from a teacher that your Literature Club seems to have the complete works of Kobo Abe. Would it be convenient for me to borrow them next time?"
Kobo Abe?
Imaizumi Keita's mind flashed to the bookshelf in the Literature Club that reached the ceiling.
He really hadn't looked closely at the collection on the pure literature side, but since it was a teacher who said it, it probably existed.
Although he felt that the President and Vice President of the Literature Club wouldn't care about such a thing as borrowing books, Imaizumi didn't want to cause trouble for others, so he gave a relatively conservative answer.
"It should be fine, but I can ask the President or Vice President for you first."
"Of course." Ayano Mitsuki immediately nodded understandingly. "Then I'll trouble you to help me ask. Thanks."
He gave his polite thanks and prepared to turn and leave.
However, just as he turned around, another energetic figure popped out from nowhere and blocked Ayano Mitsuki's path.
"Kouki! Wait a second!"
The newcomer was the athletic girl, Shioyaki Lemon.
She seemed to have just finished training with the Track and Field Club, and her body still carried a scent mixed with sweat and antiperspirant spray.
"My Track and Field Club activities finished early today! Want to go to that new crepe shop in front of the station and get something to eat?"
Shioyaki Lemon's eyes were sparkling, and her face was full of undisguised anticipation.
Imaizumi Keita leaned against the back of his chair and watched this classic "after-school invitation" scene, unable to help but sigh in his heart.
These so-called "Outgoing People" could always burst forth with amazing initiative when facing someone they were interested in.
But at the same time, they also tended to take for granted the feelings of everyone else around them.
Yanami Anna was like this, and so was Shioyaki Lemon in front of him.
The difference was that after being 'fed' by Yanami Anna for a while, he had developed a certain resistance to this kind of trouble, and could even catch a whiff of a familiar... scent of a loser.
"Sorry, Lemon."
Facing Shioyaki's enthusiastic invitation, Ayano Mitsuki's face showed a somewhat troubled apology, and he pressed his hands together in a gesture of apology.
"I have cram school classes tonight, so I have to head over there now."
"Eh—" Shioyaki Lemon's cheeks immediately puffed up in dissatisfaction, looking just like a squirrel that had its nut snatched away.
"It's only the first year of high school, you don't need to work so hard, right? If you're always studying, your brain will turn to mush."
"I think the one who needs to read more books is you."
Ayano Mitsuki teased with a smile, "If you keep going like this, you're really going to be held back after final exams."
"Ugh... shut up!"
As he watched the two of them start their daily flirting back and forth with no intention of stopping.
Imaizumi Keita, who was blocked in his seat, sighed in his heart, having lost the patience to continue waiting.
If this continued, by the time they finished chatting, Koma Chihana might have finished her reading and be preparing to lock the club room and head home.
I was in too much of a hurry yesterday and completely forgot to ask Koma for a spare key...
Keita Imaizumi stood up, holding his schoolbag with one hand, and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Um, excuse me, could you let me through?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was surprisingly clear within the subtle atmosphere created by the flirting in this small area.
"Ah!"
Yelling in surprise, Shioyaki Lemon snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. Upon seeing it was Keita Imaizumi, an expression of apology that seemed to say 'Oops, I accidentally forgot about you' immediately appeared on her face.
"Sorry, sorry, Kin-chan! I totally didn't notice you! I'll get out of the way right now!"
As she spoke, she clumsily shuffled to the side, clearing a path wide enough for one person to pass.
After leaving his seat, Keita Imaizumi inconspicuously waved towards Anna Yanami in another corner of the classroom.
Anna Yanami had already packed her schoolbag and was casually chatting with a friend who was about to leave.
Noticing Keita Imaizumi's signal, Anna Yanami was first taken aback for a moment, then her face immediately showed an understanding expression that seemed to say 'I get it'.
In fact, from the moment Shioyaki Lemon appeared, half of her attention had already drifted over to this side.
While distractedly chatting with her friend, she was observing her 'boyfriend' who was blocked in his seat, and the athletic girl next to him, out of the corner of her eye.
After urging her friend to leave, Anna Yanami immediately shouldered her schoolbag and hurriedly followed Keita Imaizumi's steps.
"Let's go."
With perfect tacit agreement (tacit understanding), the two of them walked one after the other around the still-entangled Shioyaki and Ayano, exiting through the classroom's back door.
Just as they stepped out the back door together, a slender girl also wearing an Ishibuki High School uniform appeared before the two of them.
"Good afternoon, Classmate Imaizumi."
The other party also seemed surprised to run into Keita Imaizumi here, a look of slight astonishment appearing on her face.
Keita Imaizumi nodded politely in response to her greeting: "Good afternoon, Classmate Asagumo."
Back when they were in the same cram school, Chihaya Asagumo and Kouki Ayano were top students in the advanced class, and they could often be seen discussing problems together.
"Mhm."
Chihaya Asagumo responded with a smile but didn't engage in further small talk with Keita Imaizumi.
She also had a general understanding of Keita Imaizumi's personality, so she directly made way for Keita Imaizumi and Anna Yanami to pass.
Chihaya Asagumo's gaze went over Imaizumi and Yanami's shoulders, looking into the classroom where Kouki Ayano and Shioyaki Lemon were chatting, and she called out in a gentle, concerned, and intimate tone:
"Kouki, if we don't leave soon, we'll be late for cram school."
"Ah, Chihaya. I'll be right there. Well, I'm off then, Lemon."
Hearing this voice, Kouki Ayano inside the classroom couldn't help but show a resigned expression. After bidding farewell to Shioyaki Lemon, he quickly walked a few steps to Chihaya Asagumo's side.
"Sorry, sorry, Chihaya, I kept you waiting."
"It's fine, let's hurry."
Chihaya Asagumo naturally took the schoolbag from Kouki Ayano's hand, and the two walked side by side towards the stairwell.
At the classroom entrance, Shioyaki Lemon still stood there dumbfounded, watching the two receding figures. The excited expression on her face slowly turned into one of loss and melancholy.
Keita Imaizumi, standing in the hallway, took all of this in.
He looked at the athletic girl inside the classroom, now drained of color and enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere, then glanced at Anna Yanami beside him, who wore an expression that also seemed to say 'Ah, I think I understand something'.
The same scene.
The same self-absorbed childhood sweetheart.
The same situation of having the person they loved taken away by a more dominant 'newcomer' without their knowledge.
Ah!
I just saw this plot not long ago.
The scriptwriters for this Earth Online are really not putting in any effort, are they? They don't even bother changing the template?