Chapter 7: What If I Heard the Grating Voice of a Traitor?

Morning classes were over, and I was leaving the classroom with just my thermos of soup when it happened.

「Kou-kun! I finally found you~ Geez, why haven't you been contacting me at all lately? I've been so lonely, you know?」

Just as I stepped into the hallway, Meari hugged me from behind.

What an overly familiar woman. Just being near her after finding out she cheated makes me sick to my stomach. The old me who used to be happy about this kind of thing was a complete idiot.

「It's nothing, I just didn't have a reason to. We see each other at school anyway, so there's no reason to call every day, is there?」

「But I'm still lonely. Don't you feel that way, Kou-kun? I was waiting for you in front of my smartphone all day yesterday!」

(I want to lay it all out right here, but with her being so damn popular, I'll just be made out to be the bad guy. I don't like it, but I have no choice but to play along.)

Now is the time to be patient, but it will be over soon.

I told myself that and decided to smooth things over with a suitable lie.

「...My battery has been draining really fast lately. I can't be on my smartphone for hours.」

「Is that so? But that's inconvenient, isn't it? Why don't you just get a new one?」

「Easy for you to say, but it's not a cheap purchase. And I like the one I'm using now.」

The one I have now was a present from my old man for getting into high school. I have no intention of changing it anytime soon.

I'm pretty sure I told her that, was she always this insensitive? Or was she like this from the start and I just didn't notice? Either way, it doesn't matter.

While feeling inwardly irritated, I tried to end the conversation by playing along.

「Well, see ya. I have plans to meet someone. Why don't you go eat with your usual friends?」

「I-I was hoping I could eat with Kou-kun today. Is that not okay?」

「I said I have plans, didn't I? Are you telling me to break my promise with my friend?」

「That's not what I meant... hey, is that person really a friend? Maybe you're cheating on me.」

「Ha?」

It was so sudden that a lower voice than I expected came out.

Putting her own actions aside to suspect her partner of cheating. What a disgusting woman.

Laila and I aren't officially dating yet, I mean, I can't move forward until I settle things with this woman. I'd just be sinking to her level.

Though my irritation was building, I suppressed it as much as possible and continued the conversation.

「It's a guy. You might not know him well, but he's my friend. There's nothing for you to worry about.」

「But...」

「We're done here, right? See ya.」

I turned my back and walked down the hallway. I feel like she said something from behind me, but it's probably meaningless.

「Yo, been waiting for you. You're a little late.」

「Got held up by someone weird. Well, that doesn't matter, let's eat.」

The place I met up with Yuu was the vending machine corner in the building two wings away from our classroom.

Not many people come here at this time, so we use it as our meeting spot.

「Oi, I'll buy you a drink to commemorate your heartbreak.」

「You've got a way with words. …I'll have a cocoa.」

Yuu put money into a paper cup-type vending machine and pressed a button.

With a clunk, a paper cup drops down.

Cocoa pours out with a gurgling sound.

As soon as the sound stopped, Yuu thrust it in front of me.

「Here ya go. You really like this stuff, you've got the taste buds of a kid.」

「It's my preference, don't knock it.」

I tilt the cocoa to my lips and quench my thirst.

The cold milk cocoa seemed to cool my heated body to the core.