I made my first friend. And she's a girl from my class.
Six months into high school, I'd spent every day in the classroom without saying a single word. My days were peaceful, yet tinged with a bit of loneliness. Then, she was the one who approached me.
Her name is Asanagi Umi. It feels a bit strange for me to say this, given I've avoided people until now, but I think her name, surname included, is quite beautiful.
…Of course, I've never said anything that embarrassing to her face, and I have no intention of ever doing so.
Maybe.
Our secret friendship began by chance, but the time I spend with her, sharing our hobbies, has become one of the few things I genuinely look forward to.
"──See you then, Maehara. See you on Monday."
"Yeah. See you."
On a Friday night, I walk Asanagi to the entrance of my apartment building, seeing her off as her curfew approaches.
We're in a rural residential area with few passersby, but the scarcity of streetlights plunged our surroundings into darkness.
To me, Asanagi is just a 'friend,' but she's also a girl.
And from my perspective, a very cute one at that.
Her house isn't far, but should I take responsibility and walk her home? …No, if I did that, her parents would find out about me, and they might get the wrong idea about our relationship.
Being friends is so complicated.
"Hey, Maehara, there's something I want to ask you, by the way."
"? …What is it?"
"I just said, 'See you on Monday,' right?"
"?? Yeah. You've been saying that a lot lately."
"Then why do you always run away when we actually see each other on Monday? Honestly, Maehara, you're avoiding me, aren't you?"
"…Well, that's just how it has to be."
She should already know this, but the friendship between 'Maehara Maki' and 'Asanagi Umi' is, a complete secret right now. We hide it from everyone—not just our classmates, but our parents, and even her best friend.
Since it's a secret, we have to act in a way that doesn't give our relationship away. Fun conversations are reserved for weekends, and only at my house. At school, we're supposed to avoid talking as much as possible, not even making eye contact if we can help it, acting like total strangers. That's the ideal approach──and yet, the selfish girl in front of me is trying to give me another impossible task. How troublesome.
Although, in the end, I'll probably just do whatever she says.
"…So, what do you want me to do?"
"Oh, you catch on quick. As expected of my friend."
"Yeah, yeah. Just get to the point."
"Okay, okay. …It's not that hard. From next Monday on, let's just make sure to greet each other whenever we meet. That's all."
"Without anyone finding out?"
"Yep. Ehehe."
"Don't 'ehehe' me."
Asanagi laughed as if she had just thought of a brilliant new game, but for me, this is an incredibly difficult mission.
First of all, just greeting her is a huge hurdle. When we're alone, we exchange friendly (by my standards) 'yos,' but doing it with people around still presents a significant psychological barrier.
A simple nod wouldn't be a problem, and we already do that from time to time.
"By the way, Asanagi-san, can I ask something?"
"Hm, permission granted."
"When you say 'see each other,' does it count if I go to your house?"
"Hmm, that wouldn't be much different from how things are now, so that's a no for this time. …Well, maybe a little later… or rather… if we get to know each other better…"
"? Uh, I couldn't quite hear that last part."
"A-Anyway, meeting up is a no-go! Even if we happen to see each other on the way to school, the greeting only counts once we're in the classroom. Got it?"
"R-Roger."
It's unusual for Asanagi to trail off like that, but in any case, deliberately creating a situation where we're alone is out of the question.
There were other rules as well:
• We must greet each other out loud (gestures or writing notes don't count).
• If one of us is greeted, they must return the greeting properly.
• Both of us have to initiate the greeting at least once.
Those were the rules we decided on.
The challenge runs until the end of next week, and whoever fails to meet the conditions has to treat the other to a meal over the weekend.
I already pay for our meals, so it's not a big deal for me. Still, I don't want to just give up; that would be rude to her.
…I guess I'll give it a shot.
"Well then, let's try this again. …Maehara, see you next week at school."
"Yeah. See you."
"Hehe. Even though it's the weekend, I think I'm already looking forward to Monday."
"Really? I'm hoping for an endless loop of Saturdays and Sundays."
"Ehh? You want to see me too, Maehara. Don't be so dishonest."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, it's getting late. Go home already."
"Am I a dog or something? …Fufu, well then, for real this time, bye-bye."
"Mm."
We joked around, stretching out our time together until the very last second before waving goodbye and parting ways.
Talking with Asanagi like this is genuinely fun. It might be because she's a good talker and an even better listener, but when I'm with her, I can chat without my usual shyness, almost forgetting that I'm typically a reserved, tongue-tied person.
"I wish I could talk with Asanagi all the time, but…"
I wonder if I'll be able to talk to her as casually as I did tonight once the weekend is over.
Just as Asanagi said, I'm a little excited, but I'm also a little worried.
After a surprisingly uneventful and boring weekend, Monday arrived.
Asanagi sent me a short message early in the morning.
(Asanagi) Greeting game, start!
And with that, the game had apparently begun.
I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into my futon, but I had to make breakfast for my busy mother, so I couldn't afford to be lazy.
I handed a piece of buttered toast to my mom as she hurriedly changed into her suit, then saw her off to work. It was almost time for me to leave for school, too.
I drank my usual warm coffee and left my apartment. Around this time, I usually run into Asanagi on the way to school.
"…Ah."
After about a ten-minute walk, as I approached the intersection under the bypass, I spotted a particularly conspicuous group of girls.
"Hey, hey, Umi! I have a super, super, super important favor to ask of you, my dearest best friend."
"If it's about Friday's homework, I'm not showing you my notes."
"Geh… Ehehe~ c-c'mon, please~…"
"Nope. How many times has it been this month? Too bad, but this time you really need to learn your lesson."
"Ehhhn! Umi, please! Based on the pattern, it's my turn to be called on in math today. Ugh, being forced to stand in the hallway is way to embarrassing as a high schooler~"
"Oh dear. My condolences, Yuu-chin. Well, I haven't done it either. But based on the pattern, my attendance number won't even be close."
"…Nina, you'll get what's coming to you one day."
A group of three girls brought a lively atmosphere to the morning, centered around one with long, sparkling golden hair.
Asanagi Umi, Amami Yuu, and Nitta Nina.
They're my classmates and the most popular girls in our class.
Well, when I say 'they,' about eighty to ninety percent of that popularity is probably directed at Amami-san. With blonde hair like a beautiful doll, blue eyes like glasswork, and a bright smile like a sunflower──she's the perfect embodiment of a 'heroine.'
But without giving a second glance to her, as she unconsciously spread her charm in every direction, I was only focused on the girl next to her──Asanagi Umi.
We were on our way to school, so it didn't count for the greeting game, but the situation around her would be pretty much the same once we were on school grounds.
At school, there's always someone by Asanagi's side. It's usually Amami-san sticking close to her, but even if Amami-san is away for some reason, Nitta-san or other female classmates are always talking to her.
Her popularity is a bit understated because of Amami-san, but… Asanagi is well-liked by her classmates too.
It would be easy for Asanagi to greet me, but it's incredibly difficult for me to greet her without being noticed.
In fact, even getting close is risky.
As I watched Asanagi from a distance, wondering what to do, she suddenly turned and looked right at me, as if she'd sensed my gaze.
"…Fufu."
"? Umi, what's wrong? You suddenly started laughing. Thinking of something funny?"
"Yeah, something like that. A lot happened last Friday."
"Really? Was it about someone in your family?"
"Well, yeah. …Fufu."
I broke into a cold sweat when Asanagi suddenly looked at me and laughed, but it seems she managed to cover for it.
In stark contrast to me, who's strangely nervous about this game, Asanagi is clearly enjoying the situation.
Our relationship getting exposed shouldn't be a welcome development for her either… It's not really my place to say, but I get the feeling she's quite the eccentric.
The day passed with me trying to find a chance to talk to her and Asanagi giggling as she watched my suspicious behavior. Before I knew it, lunchtime arrived, and I still hadn't accomplished anything.
(Asanagi) Maehara, it's chance time.
(Asanagi) C'mon, hurry up and come over here.
As soon as the bell for lunch rang, a message from Asanagi arrived.
She calls it 'chance time,' but as usual, she's surrounded by a group of admirers.
…What am I supposed to do?
(Maehara) Impossible.
(Asanagi) You sure? You'll never be able to greet me at this rate, you know?
(Maehara) Then please shake off the people there and be alone.
(Asanagi) No way.
(Maehara) Stingy.
(Asanagi) Oh~ you're making me blush~
(Maehara) That wasn't a compliment.
The game continues until the weekend, so there's no need to force it here… but if I don't, I'll just be dancing in the palm of her hand, and I don't like the sound of that.
…I realized I'm getting a little fired up.
For now, I'll try to observe them casually for a bit longer. If I stare too much, I'll be seen as a creep, so I'll just steal glances.
"The center of the conversation is… Amami-san, as expected. Asanagi is participating, but she's mostly listening."
Amami-san would start a topic, and the cheerful Nitta-san would jump in, causing the conversation to gradually expand or go off on a tangent… It was a completely normal conversational scene, but then I noticed something.
(…Maybe they're not really looking at Asanagi?)
It happened when Amami-san brought up a topic and Asanagi responded.
Even though Asanagi was the one speaking, I felt like the other girls' eyes were still fixed on Amami-san.
I could tell they weren't ignoring Asanagi. It was more like, while listening to the conversation, they were unconsciously waiting for Amami-san's next reaction…
I was somewhat terrified of Amami-san's charm, to think she could command everyone's attention like that, but if my guess was correct, then this situation was also a chance for me.
Maybe that's what Asanagi meant by 'chance time.'
…That feels very lonely in a way, so I can't be purely happy about it.
Still, not wanting to miss this opportunity, I pretended to head for the bathroom and slowly walked towards the entrance where they were all gathered.
An idea for a conversation starter had just popped into my head. It might get exposed, but I'd have to trust Asanagi's ability to cover for me.
"──Oh, that's right! Hey, hey, Umi, what about after school tomorrow? Let's go to karaoke, it's been a while. The place in front of the station has a student discount campaign until tomorrow."
"Hmm, I wonder~ I've been a bit busy with things at home recently…"
"Muu… so, is that a no?"
"…No, it's fine. I want to let off some steam too."
"! Wow, thank you! I love you, Umi!"
The moment the overjoyed Amami-san hugged Asanagi, I, pretending to walk past their group, secretly dropped a ballpoint pen from my pocket at my feet.
My plan was to pretend that the pen Asanagi always kept in her breast pocket had fallen, and then casually exchange a few words with her while picking it up.
"Geez… Yuu, I know you're happy, but you're squeezing me too tight. Let go for a second."
"Ehehe, sorry, Umi. …So, about tomorrow, what's everyone else doing?"
"If you guys are going, I'll tag along. I'm bored at home with just my older sister around."
As Amami-san turned the conversation to the others, and everyone's attention shifted completely away from Asanagi, I offered her the ballpoint pen I had dropped.
"──Um, you dropped this."
"! Oh, yeah. Thanks."
After exchanging words at the perfect time, I immediately leaned in.
"…Morning, Asanagi."
I whispered to her, then walked away towards the bathroom I didn't even need to use.
I might have been a little quiet, but it should have reached Asanagi's ears.
The look on her face seemed to confirm it.
"? Huh? Hey, hey, Umi, isn't one of the pens in your pocket different from usual? You usually have a colorful and cute one, but this one is just silver and strangely plain."
"Really? I ran out of ink yesterday, so I stole… no, borrowed a usable one from my brother's room."
"Oh, really? It looked strangely used for a new one, so I was wondering."
"Yeah, yeah. This one's easy to use, though, so I like it."
It seems Amami-san didn't notice, but the moment I dropped the pen, Asanagi, realizing my intention, had quickly hidden her own ballpoint pen deep in her pocket.
I got some help from her, but with this, today's quota was complete.
As I left the classroom, trying to calm my racing heart, the phone in my pocket vibrated.
(Asanagi) Maehara, you did well. Good job, good job.
(Maehara) You have no idea. By the way, I need that pen for the afternoon class, so give it back later.
(Asanagi) No way.
(Asanagi) Because I'm the one who dropped it, right?
(Maehara) That was just an act for the greeting…
(Asanagi) Fufu, what should I do~?
(Maehara) You little…
The ballpoint pen was taken hostage to complete the quota, but it was a long time after the greeting game ended that I was finally able to get it back from Asanagi's hands.