109 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

**Chapter 109** The classroom grew restless as the end of the day approached. Homeroom felt perfunctory, with the teacher seemingly devoid of enthusiasm. I shifted my gaze from the teacher, searching for words to close out the day, and looked over to Umina. The exams, which were akin to entrance tests, concluded without incident. Whether she was entirely sincere or not was unclear, but Umina claimed the exams were easy for her. Mariko also laughed, saying she'd managed somehow. I couldn't declare with absolute certainty, but I felt things went well for me too. But as for Miyagi, I had no idea. Since the day we did that charm, I hadn’t seen or heard from her. Normally, under such circumstances, one might reach out, saying how they did on the exams, but Miyagi and I don't have that kind of relationship. Still, it bothers me that Miyagi seems indifferent. I turned my attention back to the front of the classroom. The teacher concluded homeroom by making a trivial matter seem significant, ending it quickly. The room buzzed immediately, marking the arrival of the afternoon. "Hazuki, there's a place I want to visit today. Will you come with me?" I heard Umina’s voice and hesitated to reply. Though I got to my feet, I couldn’t bring myself to say, "Sure." "Oh? Do you have plans or something?" Umina placed her bag on my desk, questioning me with a less-than-pleased expression. Even at this point, I knew I should say I’ll go. I forced a smile, trying to raise the corners of my mouth. Just as I was about to say I'll go, I heard Mariko's voice from beside me. "Let's just go the two of us today." "Oh, come on." Mariko, sounding dissatisfied, tugged Umina along. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you next time." As I called out to their retreating figures, Mariko waved her hand in response. Reluctantly, I took out my smartphone. I didn't particularly feel the urge to meet Miyagi. But the fact that I hesitated when Umina invited me—perhaps that’s my true self. ‘Hurry up and call me.’ I typed out a message. My hand stopped before pressing send. I’m the one reaching out to Miyagi, even though she hasn’t contacted me. This dynamic bothers me, but if I don’t take the initiative, perhaps we’ll never communicate, so it can’t be helped. I sighed, pressing the send button, waiting five minutes but receiving no response. As expected, Miyagi didn't reply. Debating whether to call her to the music preparation room, I abandoned the idea. If she won’t respond to the message, she likely wouldn't come even if I called. Her class was right next door. Catching her in person would be quicker. Clutching my coat and bag, I stepped into the hallway. The adjacent classroom's door was closed, though through the small window, I saw Miyagi preparing to leave through the back with Utsunomiya and the others. I shifted my gaze to the corridor. Our eyes met. But before I could speak, Miyagi called out, “Forgot something,” and returned to her classroom. My phone rang shortly after. ‘Come by my house after a while.’ The message lit up on my phone, plucked from my bag. Sent perhaps because it was preferable to being called out in front of Utsunomiya and the others. It irked me, making me want to pull her out of the classroom. I wished I could proclaim to them that Miyagi and I had spent countless afterschools together, even meeting during summer and winter breaks. Doing something like that could lead to upheaval in what little remained of our high school life, so I refrained. ‘How long is a while?’ Leaning against the wall between the classrooms, I sent my reply. As I looked around absentmindedly, Utsunomiya and the others returned to the classroom, perhaps because waiting in the cold corridor was tiresome. During that time, another message arrived on my phone. ‘I mean after I leave the classroom.’ ‘Got it.’ ‘I’m leaving now, so don’t call out to me.’ ‘Okay, okay.’ I sent the message affirming I’d uphold the nearly-broken promise not to call out at school, then glanced into the corridor. Not long after, Miyagi emerged, walking with Utsunomiya and the others. ‘A while’ was vague, but enough to render waiting in the hallway unbearable. Not wanting to re-enter my classroom, I left the school after waiting for five minutes. On the path to Miyagi’s place, I walked at a pace neither hurried nor too slow. The scenery moving slowly past was dull. The street trees were bare, and passersby seemed to wear drab clothing. Such a colorless ambiance dampened my spirits merely by being part of my view. Though I intended to pace myself moderately slowly, I increased my speed inadvertently. Despite leaving five minutes later, I spotted not just Miyagi’s apartment but her actual back. "Hey, Miyagi." I called out, mere moments before we’d reach her apartment. Yet she didn’t halt. I walked alongside her as she entered the apartment. "Sendai-san, I asked you to come over after some time had passed, right?" "I left school after a bit, but I caught up." We exited the foyer and entered the elevator together. "Isn't it odd to catch up? You must’ve hurried." "Maybe it’s just that you walk slowly." "I don’t. It’s you, Sendai-san, who’s fast." Ignoring her complaints, we stepped out of the elevator, walked to her door, and followed her in after she unlocked it. Miyagi vanished into another room, reappearing shortly to hand me 5000 yen. "Thanks." There was a slight tug as I took the bill but it came into my hand quickly. Miyagi seemed to have a complicated expression after handing it over. "Miyagi?" "It’s nothing." We repeated the same exchange as last time, and Miyagi disappeared into the kitchen. I entered her room ahead of her, taking off my coat and blazer. Undoing one of the blouse’s buttons, I grabbed a manga from the bookshelf guarded by a black cat. As I lay on the bed, flipping through the manga, the door opened, and Miyagi placed barley tea and soda on the table. "What should the air conditioning be set to so it’s not too hot?" She asked while hanging up the coat and blazer from the floor. "It's like a habit to take off my clothes, so any temperature is fine. If it's too hot, I’ll say so. —And Miyagi, you have something to say to me, right?" I closed the manga I’d been reading and sat up. "Something to say?" Miyagi, with a clueless expression, settled into her usual spot and looked over. "How did your exams go? Did you do well?" "Do I need to tell you? I said I'd tell you if I passed, but I didn’t say I’d talk about how the test went. Besides, there’re still more exams." "You can at least say if it was good or bad. Stop being stingy and just tell me." I playfully bopped Miyagi’s head with a pillow. More exams remained, and this wasn’t the end. She wasn’t obligated to report to me how they went. Unpromised, my desire to ask was somewhat selfish. Nevertheless, my curiosity couldn't be contained. "Miyagi." As I playfully bopped her head with the pillow again, Miyagi furrowed her brows. "...So-so," she mumbled after a brief pause, her words vague. "So-so? What does 'so-so' even mean?" "Even if you ask me that, it's just how it was. How about you, Sendai-san?" "So-so," I replied, echoing back her words. Miyagi turned her back on me. Even though I couldn’t see her face, it was clear she was peeved. She picked up her glass, taking a sip of soda. Half-empty, the glass clinked softly as it met the table again. I was used to the silence between us. After all, I’d replied with ‘so-so’ fully knowing it might annoy her. But the oppressive air hanging over the room urged me to break the quiet. "Miyagi, are you planning to do a graduation trip or anything?" It was a mundane question, lacking excitement, but it was something to say. "I’m not. How about you, Sendai-san?" "It’s not a full-on trip, but Umina and the others planned something." "I see." Her response came in a slightly lowered tone. She turned back to me, then stood up, snatching away the manga from the bed as though to claim it. "But I’m still reading that," I protested, though I wasn't particularly keen on continuing. "You closed it. You weren’t reading." "I was about to." "You can finish it later. I'm giving orders now," she said, putting the manga back on the shelf. "So, what are we doing today?" "Sit properly over there," came her command from by the closet. “On the bed?” “Yes.” Following her instructions, I settled onto the bed like sitting on a chair. Miyagi opened the closet and pulled out a light blue towel. "Here, catch." She tossed the towel my way, but it fell short, landing closer to her than to me. Still, she didn’t seem to mind. Before I could even reach for the towel, her next order was issued. "You know what to do with that, right?" Her voice was calm as she pointed at the towel, subtly directing me.