She glanced at my foot, narrowed her eyes, and looked like she couldn't bear to look at it.
"Yeah, just a little injury."
I really couldn't bring myself to say I'd tripped over my own feet. That was just too lame. Besides, saying that would sound like the excuse of a domestic abuse victim. Like, "You've got it wrong! I really fell down by myself!" I couldn't let her think I was being abused at home and worry unnecessarily.
I answered briefly and closed the locker.
When I turned around, Yukino was staring worriedly at my foot.
"Did you bandage it yourself?"
"Ah—no..."
I looked at the rather ugly knot in the bandage and considered how to explain it. Before I could say anything, Yuihama let out a slightly exaggerated laugh.
"Ahaha—y, yeah, we probably should've tied it again—! I'm not good at this kind of thing, so I couldn't make it look neat..."
Seeing her with her hair in a bun and that uncertain expression, Yukino smiled calmly, shook her head gently, and said softly:
"No, this is fine."
"I'm the injured one, you know?"
Why was she deciding the condition of my injury on her own? I mean, if you said something like that to the doctor near my house, he'd chew you out. The last time he asked what symptoms I had, I said, "I think it's a cold..." and got yelled at. "Whether it's a cold is for me to decide. Besides, a cold isn't a disease. Do you understand?"
Anyway, my injury really wasn't a big deal. As long as I didn't suddenly stretch my legs out or squat down, it wouldn't hurt. So I had to be careful when sitting...
I pulled over the round stool beside me and sat down at tortoise speed.