She didn't remember those boys until she got home that evening.
The mushroom-haired girl hadn't even noticed them in class...
Clearly,
the boys hadn't paid any attention to her in class, either.
They hadn't tried to bother her at all the day before.
She'd thought the whole thing was over.
Though she still didn't know why they'd suddenly stopped her that day.
The little girl had appeared just in time.
She hadn't expected...
Was it because school let out early on Friday?
The mushroom-haired girl suddenly realized why.
The boys must have gotten home late that day and been scolded by their families, so they hadn't bothered her yesterday.
Instead, they'd chosen to come after her today, Friday.
The mushroom-haired girl's heart began pounding wildly.
She looked at the boys.
Her mouth opened.
"Y-you..."
"What do you want?"
The mushroom-haired girl tried hard to make her voice heard.
But to the boys, it sounded like a mosquito buzzing.
The boys dug at their ears.
One asked the others, "Hey, did you hear what this mushroom head said?"
"No."
"Did you hear her?"
The boys' teasing laughter made the mushroom-haired girl feel even more uncomfortable.
She gripped the straps of her backpack.
Then she turned to leave.
But the mushroom-haired girl was stopped again.
"Hey, hey."
"Where are you going?"
"Did we say you could leave?"
"Didn't you see we called you over?"
"We must have something to talk to you about."
The mushroom-haired girl couldn't help taking a step back.
The boys had nearly surrounded her.
Fortunately,
they'd left her one side open, with a wall behind her.
The mushroom-haired girl took another small step backward.
The touch against her back made her pause.
It was a wall.
The next second, she leaned her whole