Starting my second year of high school brought a considerable shift to my daily life.
I'm Nakamura Mio, the girl who's had the top grades since high school started, so it was no surprise that I was placed in the advanced class.
While the class was composed entirely of the highest-achieving students, the members themselves were surprisingly varied. My friend Hayakawa Ryouko was with me again, not to mention the light music club's mascot, Shichino Miku, and the "landmine-type" otaku, Kaga Kaede. There were more people than I expected who could match my energy, so I had a feeling this year might be pretty fun.
However, among them were a few individuals who seemed a bit difficult to approach──
"──My name is Asanagi Umi. Since there's no one from my first-year class here, I'm a little nervous, but I'd be happy if you'd all feel free to talk to me. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The girl who bowed with a gentle smile was Asanagi Umi, the first name on our attendance list. In a class where the boy-to-girl ratio was skewed due to selecting students purely by rank, she immediately captured the attention of the few boys we had.
A blouse buttoned up to her collar, a blue ribbon tie, a skirt just a touch shorter than most, and beautiful, shoulder-length black hair──she was the very picture of a model class president. She didn't have a stuffy air about her, and I could tell the entire class already viewed her favorably. To be honest, she was the complete opposite of someone like me, who tended to give off a more eccentric vibe.
However, my experience told me that girls like her always have a hidden side. What kind of deep darkness is she hiding behind that honor student mask?──My interest just a little piqued, I decided to observe her carefully, starting the very next day.
First, during the morning commute.
She was walking intimately down the hall with a stunning, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty──the kind that made even me do a double-take. They say beautiful girls flock together, but this was the first time I had ever witnessed it on such a blatant level.
It was because of scenes like that, for better or worse, that she was becoming a little isolated in class. She probably didn't intend to put up a wall, but perhaps because she and her friends shone so brightly, our classmates felt intimidated.
In fact, for the time being, Asanagi-san often spent her time alone in the classroom.
However, the girl herself, who must have sensed this atmosphere, seemed completely unfazed and was always smiling.
During morning homeroom, between classes, at lunch, and after school──she would secretly play on her phone, careful not to let the teacher notice, giggling happily to herself. It was completely obvious to me, who was always watching her, but she was skilled enough that the teachers never found out.
…I see. So she has a cunning, or rather, a shrewd side to her after all.
For now, I decided to be the one to finally break the ice.
"Hey, Asanagi-san."
"! Ah, yes. You're Nakamura-san… right? What is it?"
"Well, you looked a little lonely all by yourself, so I was just wondering."
"Ahaha… I'm sorry to make you worry. But, it's fine. I'm okay."
"Oh? If you say so."
"…"
"? What's wrong?"
"Ah, n-no. It's… n-nothing…"
Is that someone's catchphrase or something? There was no way I could miss the subtle way she reacted to my words, "If you say so."
I decided to hold off on bringing up the phone thing until I'd done more research, but I had a feeling things were about to get very interesting.