Contact Methods

On the second day of school, the teachers briefly explained their lesson plans, then moved straight into teaching the first page of the textbook.

Whether to pay attention in class was up to each student, but the lessons here were so relaxed that Konoe almost got the impression this wasn't a top school. Someone like Sudo slept through nearly every class, and even when the teachers noticed, they made no effort to admonish him.

The students gradually tested the teachers' limits, but those limits seemed bottomless, and almost all the students in Class D grew increasingly unruly.

Some secretly played on their phones, others openly took out their tablets to read manga, some snacked, and still others whispered to each other.

Was this really a top school?

After the easygoing morning, lunchtime arrived. The students went their separate ways, heading off to eat with people they had only just met.

The promising young man Hirata stood up and said, "Uh... I'm thinking of going to the cafeteria. Does anyone want to come with me?"

"I do!"

"Me too!"

Konoe had been about to answer Hirata, but when he saw girls gathering around him, he gave up. Besides, Hirata seemed easy enough to approach, so he could talk to him later.

"Uh... Ayanoko—"

Hirata seemed to want another boy to come along. He had just started to call out to Ayanokoji when—

"Come on, Hirata." A Gal-style Girl grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

Seeing that, Konoe went over to Ayanokoji. "If you don't mind, want to go grab something to eat together?"

Before Ayanokoji could respond, the girl beside him shot Konoe a surprised look.

She was... Horikita Suzune, wasn't she? She had ridden the same bus as Konoe on the way to school.

She was an exceptionally beautiful girl, with waist-length black hair and foxlike eyes. But she seemed terribly aloof, giving off a constant "don't talk to me" vibe. Her long, slender legs were often clad in black over-the-knee socks, and she was a real ice queen.

Being stared at by such a beautiful girl made Konoe's heart pound. Since Horikita seemed to know Ayanokoji, he asked, "Would you like to come too, Horikita?"

"No. I prefer eating alone." Horikita replied in a frigid tone without hesitation, then immediately stood and left the classroom.

Konoe had only invited him out of kindness, but the sudden rejection made him feel as if his body temperature had dropped a few degrees.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go," Ayanokoji said, trying to comfort him.

"You're Ayanokoji and Konoe, right?"

Just as Konoe and Ayanokoji were about to head to the Student Cafeteria, another beautiful girl called out to them. It was Kushida from their class.

She had straight, neck-length brown hair and wore a very short skirt, giving her a distinctly girlish look.

"I'm Kushida, from your class. You haven't forgotten my name, have you?"

Konoe felt a little awkward thinking about what had happened before, but still replied, "Hi, Kushida."

"Hello." Ayanokoji nodded in greeting.

"Could I borrow a little of your time? There's something I'd like to ask Ayanokoji."

"Do you need me to leave you two alone?"

"No need, Konoe. It's just a little thing, and there's something I wanted to ask you, too. Ayanokoji, are you close with Horikita?"

Konoe also looked up at Ayanokoji. He was curious, too.

"No, I don't think we're particularly close," Ayanokoji replied.

"But you're the only one who can talk to Horikita. I want to be friends with everyone at school, so I went to ask Horikita for his contact information. But... he turned me down." As she spoke, Kushida grew dejected. "He said he wasn't interested in making friends with anyone."

Hearing that made Konoe feel a little better. He wasn't afraid of Horikita turning him down; he just didn't want to be the only one.

"That's just the way he is," Ayanokoji said reassuringly.

"But I want to be friends with Horikita. Can you help me?" Kushida stepped closer to Ayanokoji. He raised both hands to signal that she should keep her distance, but she caught hold of them instead.

Then Kushida realized Konoe was watching, and quickly let go.

"I understand what you mean, but I only met Horikita yesterday myself, so I can't help you," Ayanokoji replied.

"Oh, I see... Sorry for asking such a strange question out of the blue. But we can exchange contact information, right? Actually, that was my main reason for coming over. And I wanted to exchange it with you too, Konoe."

"Come to think of it, we don't have each other's contact information either. What do you think, Ayanokoji?" Konoe asked politely.

Ayanokoji nodded and took out his Student Terminal. The three of them exchanged contact information.

"But I'm a little surprised. I thought you'd be hard to approach, Konoe, but I guess I was wrong," Kushida said sweetly.

"Why did you think that, Kushida?"

Seeing that Konoe's question seemed sincere, Kushida answered honestly. "It's because there's something about the air around you that makes you seem hard to approach... I mean..."

"Cold and distant?" Konoe interrupted.

"Haha... But now that I know what you're really like, I think the girls are going to like you a lot, Konoe."

"Thanks," Konoe replied politely.

"Anyway, I look forward to getting along with you both, Ayanokoji and Konoe." Kushida looked delighted.

"Likewise, Kushida."

"Likewise..."

After exchanging contact information, Kushida left. Someone as popular as her must be busy most of the time, Konoe thought.