Monday was here, and I languidly dragged myself to school alongside Fushimi.

I didn’t know when we’d fallen back into our familiar friendship. Or maybe it was just me.

My status as the childhood friend who always accompanied Hina Fushimi (important: not boyfriend) had already spread throughout the entire school, and I was receiving fewer envious glares.

That day, as on any other day, I largely let the information from all my classes go in one ear and out the other, while also fulfilling my duties as class rep.

Another nothing kinda day, I thought right before lunchtime.

Someone knocked on the door of the physics room.

I turned to look at Torigoe across the room, and we both tilted our heads.

“If you’ll excuse me!” The door opened, letting Fushimi in.

“…What’re you doing here?”

“C’mon, Ryou—that’s no way to greet a friend. I just came here because I promised Torigoe I’d have lunch with her.”

She stuck her tongue out and walked over to Torigoe.

I worried her followers would be here, too, but there was no sign of them.

“What about everyone else?” I asked.

“Ah… Ha-ha. I said I’d go to the restroom to get them off my tail.”

Good call—otherwise they’d be here, too.

“Poor guys,” I joked. I had no sympathy for them in the slightest.

“What else am I supposed to do? I want to spend the break in peace, too.”

I didn’t even have to see her to know she was puffing out her cheeks.

Promised to have lunch with her…? What are you, a grade-schooler?

I could hear their conversation while I made steady progress on the lunch Mana had prepared for me.

Isn’t this the first time they’ve talked face-to-face? As far as I know, at least.

Fushimi had come well prepared for her meeting—she talked about things Torigoe would find interesting, which were mostly novels.

This is the first time I’m hearing Fushimi talk about books.

She probably never brought up the topic with me because I wasn’t much of a reader.

“The movie was so good I had to read the book, and once I got to the middle, I couldn’t put it down!”

“Yeah. That author is pretty good at suspense. Even when it’s scary, you get so invested you have to know what happens next.”

“R-right? It wasn’t like that in the movie… I stayed up until two in the morning because I had to finish it…”

“Same!”

They were having so much fun.

Fushimi could never talk so excitedly about books with her followers, so I imagined she felt some kind of special kinship with Torigoe.

…Have I ever had someone I could talk with like that…?

…Oh no. The first person who came to mind was Mana.

I thought Torigoe was similar to me in the few-friends department, but at least she could have fun talking to people about her hobbies…

It was kinda…depressing…

They gave each other recommendations to keep the fun going.

I see. So she agreed to have lunch with Torigoe because she wanted to talk about novels.

This wasn’t her princess facade—it was much closer to her true face than what she showed in the classroom.

I’d been thinking she’d have a much easier time if she just acted like that with people other than me, but now that it was happening, I felt a little left out.

Not that I want to keep the real Fushimi all to myself. She needs friends.

I’d finished my lunch and started playing games on my phone for lack of anything better to do, when I heard people approaching in the hallways.

I checked the clock, and there were still twenty minutes left until fifth period started.

Right away, I recognized the voices.

The door opened loudly, revealing three girls and two boys.

“Hina, we looked everywhere for you!”

“What are you doing here?”

Fushimi’s hangers-on had arrived. They must’ve gotten tired of waiting for her.

A cloud crossed Fushimi’s face for just a second before turning into the elegant smile she always showed in the classroom.

“Sorry. I remembered I had something to do while I was in the bathroom.”

They formed a circle around her like always, not even giving Torigoe the time of day.

“What were you talking about with Torigoe?”

“This place is really quiet, huh? It’s nice.”

“The cafeteria is always so noisy. We should come here all the time instead, too.”

“Huh? But then…” Fushimi panicked.

Torigoe silently grabbed her stuff and left the room, while Fushimi seemed troubled, shocked, and full of regret.

I winked at Fushimi and stood up. I’ll handle her.

I didn’t know if she got what I was getting at, but she moved her head slightly. I was gonna take that as a nod.

Their voices echoed loudly throughout the quiet physics room.

I wandered around the school, searching for Torigoe, until I found her at the library’s counter, reading a book.

I grabbed a book from the shelves and put it on the counter. “…Is this what you recommended to Fushimi just now?”

“Hey, Takamori.”

I leaned on the counter, supporting myself with my hand behind my back. “This stuff’s complicated,” I said. “It’s not like they did anything bad.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I do wish they’d pay attention to how the rest of us feel, but they always act like that, even in the classroom.”

“Plus, we’re using the physics room without anyone’s permission. They should be free to use it, too.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

That was the kind of people they were, and this was the kind of people we were. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. No single piece is good or bad—they only either fit or don’t.

“I kinda saw it coming when Fushimi asked me to let her join for lunch.” The novel I was borrowing was placed next to my hand. “You have two weeks. May third will be during the Golden Week holidays, so please return it on the sixth,” she told me in a near monotone.

“You should’ve turned her down if you didn’t want her coming.”

“The only one brave enough to do that in the hierarchy we live in is you, Takamori.”

“Hierarchy…? Don’t be so dramatic.”

I knew Fushimi cared about that sort of thing, but it was a bit surprising to find out Torigoe did, too.

“Even if you did turn her down, Fushimi wouldn’t go talking behind your back.”

“I know. She abandoned her followers to come be with us because she knew we wouldn’t get along with them.”

“That’s the kind of person she is. She may be stubborn and uptight at times, but she’s a master at reading the room. Please cut her some slack this time.”

I heard Torigoe snort behind my back. “I’m not mad—don’t worry. This always happens.”

People like us only wanted to spend time in peace and quiet, but we always ended up being driven away.

“Yeah, it’s just… You know. I don’t want you to rethink it after this and stop talking about books with her.”

“Takamori, what are you to her?” There was a slight laugh in her voice.

“I’m her childhood friend.”

“Well, childhood friends don’t usually worry that much about each other.”

Really? I tilted my head.

“When you get along really, really well and end up feeling like family, I don’t think you usually notice those kinds of things.”

…True, maybe I wouldn’t have worried that much if “childhood friend” was the only label for our relationship.

Back then, I saw her as the popular girl who could get along with anyone, so I would’ve just concluded she’d be able to take care of it by herself.

“Damn…,” Torigoe muttered. “She’s more friendly than I thought. She’s cute and kind and can keep up with my conversations about books… Dammit…”

Apparently, Fushimi far exceeded what Torigoe had expected out of her.

I turned my head around, and Torigoe immediately returned her focus to her librarian work.

“…Torigoe, there’s only five minutes left until the break ends, you know that?”

“I know.”

She gathered a few books to her chest to return them to the bookshelves. I volunteered to help her out.

I placed the books in alphabetical order by author, just as she said. We were standing back-to-back, placing books on opposite shelves, when she suddenly spoke up with some tension in her voice.

“T-Takamori…is there anyone you like?”