Palette (Part 1)

"So much stuff. This should be more than enough to last the entire school year."

I was carrying two huge bags of things.

They had some weight to them when I tested them.

"Once I get my Personal Points next month, I'll pay you back."

I set the things in my hands on the ground and rubbed my temples.

"I'm not rushing you to pay me back. Why do you look so stressed?"

Ichinose, who was standing in front of me, turned around, full of enthusiasm.

I'd never realized before how intense girls could be when shopping.

We'd already walked all around the second floor, and now she was dragging me around the first floor.

She was buying things for me, yet somehow she seemed even more excited than when she was buying things for herself.

Was this a girl's urge to shop?

"By the way, Ichinose, why are you at the supermarket at a time like this?"

The supermarket was by the entrance to Zelkova Shopping Center. When I'd come in, most of the students had gone straight inside, since there were more things to spend money on there.

It was the middle of the afternoon. Enjoying afternoon tea with a few friends was a lovely way to spend the day.

Besides, Ichinose clearly wasn't the sort of person who never got invited anywhere.

Looking at the lively, charming Ichinose walking ahead of me, I felt sure of that.

"Everyone had already planned to meet up for a group activity at Zelkova Shopping Center. When Yume Kobashi saw you going into the supermarket, I thought I'd invite you along too."

"A group activity? Is there anything in particular planned?"

"Mostly just chatting together. We might also walk around the shopping center, or sit together and have dessert."

"There's no pressure or requirements. I just think we're all classmates, so getting to know one another better would help bring the class closer."

"Ah... Of course, it's not mandatory, so whether you go or not is up to you, Hajima-kun."

If I could, I'd like to go.

After all, these were classmates I'd be spending the next three years with. There was no reason to rely on reports when I had the chance to meet them in person.

"I'd be happy to join a group activity like that."

"Then let's go together!"

Walking side by side with Ichinose, I couldn't help feeling that we were attracting an unusually large number of glances.

Looking around, I saw plenty of people, both male and female, stopping to look back at us. People were also glancing our way quite often.

Before long, we reached a huge zelkova tree.

I'd assumed it was just a name, but there really was a zelkova tree planted at the center of the shopping center.

So there really was a zelkova tree in Zelkova Shopping Center.

The surrounding area had been arranged like a little campsite, with the tree right in the middle.

Quite a few couples were sitting on the lawn beneath the tree, enjoying the last day of their holiday.

"Over here."

I nodded.

Following the direction Ichinose pointed, I saw a café.

I looked up at the sign:

Palette.

It had a fairly minimalist design, yet they'd named it Palette.

That made me a little curious.

"Everyone's on the second floor. We picked a spot by the window, so we can enjoy a nice view of the shopping center."

We went up to the second floor via a spiral staircase.

Five or six Class B students were seated around two tables pushed together.

There were cards that looked like they were for a board game on the table. It seemed they'd just finished playing.

Ichinose introduced the students there one by one.

A purple-haired boy with a rather stiff expression was named Ryuji Kamizaki. He was staring silently at the mobile device in his hand. Although he was there, he didn't seem to be participating much in the others' conversation.

A slender boy sat among the others, smoothly helping the conversation along like a mediator.

His name was Sou Shibata, and he seemed to have pretty good social skills.

Another boy was someone I'd met only that morning: Tetsuya Hamaguchi.

It wouldn't surprise me to see him here.

He seemed to have an endless supply of things to talk about and energy to burn.

But I couldn't see Ryota anywhere. Knowing Tetsuya, he wouldn't have left Ryota behind to come alone.

I sat beside Tetsuya. Ichinose, who'd come with me, sat on my other side.

Among the girls, there was also Shiranami Chihiro, whom I already knew. She was quietly participating in the conversation.

Most of the time, she seemed to be there to agree with the others.

The girl with short blue hair was Yume Kobashi, whom Ichinose had mentioned earlier. She struck me as someone who was carefree and spoke her mind.

The girl with long blue-gray hair was named Asako Amakura, but I hadn't paid much attention to her yet.

That was because a commotion had broken out downstairs.

A red-haired boy who looked like a delinquent seemed to have caused a stir.

He ignored the people lined up behind him and went straight to the counter to place his order.

"Hey, you're a first-year, right? When you're buying something, you line up like everyone else. Got it?"

A boy who looked like an upperclassman stepped forward, apparently trying to stop it from happening.

The red-haired punk turned around.

"I am lining up, bald guy."

He pushed aside the long hair covering his eyes, a sneer on his face.

"I'm the only one in this line. How can you say I'm not lining up?"

"You look old enough to be an upperclassman. But don't go making assumptions, and don't pull rank to pick on a younger student."

I took a closer look and noticed that the long-haired boy's left cheek was slightly swollen in an unnatural way.

He certainly seemed like a troublemaker.

Maybe the "bald guy" remark had angered the boy who'd stepped in to uphold the rules. The well-built upperclassman moved closer, and their bodies bumped lightly.

The long-haired boy was clearly at a physical disadvantage, but he wasn't the least bit afraid. He stood there and met him head-on.

I wasn't sure whether the long-haired boy had said something insulting when they made contact, or whether the upperclassman was angry because his size hadn't intimidated the other boy. He raised his fist, ready to punch him in the face.

The red-haired boy didn't even seem to consider dodging. With his arms folded across his chest, he watched the fist coming toward him with a mocking look in his eyes.

The fist was about to hit his face, but it stopped just short of making contact.

For some reason, the upperclassman gave up on teaching the long-haired boy a lesson.

But the boy kept taunting him relentlessly.

"What are you, a coward? Do you work out just to attract other guys?"

"Bald little runt, where'd all that swagger from before go?"

That was much worse than what he'd said earlier, but the upperclassman seemed to have calmed down and didn't respond to the provocation.

I see. I wasn't the only one. There were other first-years testing the limits in areas where they felt confident.

They were testing just how far the rules could be pushed in the areas they knew best.

A very interesting classmate. The slight bruise on his face was probably the price he'd paid to test his theories.

Rather than ask other first-years who were unfamiliar with the school's rules, he'd analyzed how upperclassmen behaved and worked backward from there.

He hadn't touched the coffee he'd just ordered. He simply sat there calmly.

Had he come to his own conclusions?

"That red-haired boy makes me uncomfortable," Tetsuya said, breaking the silence first.

Sou Shibata picked up the conversation.

"He doesn't seem to care about other people's feelings. He seems pretty stubborn, too."

"He must be a first-year. I saw a similar student today."

There was another student like that? I was curious.

"Could you tell me a little more about that student?"

Sou Shibata thought back.

"I remember seeing him when I passed by the convenience store. He was a red-haired boy, tall and built. He got into a conflict with a few second-years."

Why were boys like that always redheads? Were delinquents all made from the same mold?

"He was alone, but he was still very aggressive. He seemed quite confident in his physical abilities. I think a girl from his class stepped in later and prevented a fight."

"I see... Do you know what they were arguing about, Shibata?"

"I didn't look into it closely, but I'd guess it was something minor."

"But..."

"What one of the upperclassmen said before he left made a strong impression on me."

Sou Shibata imitated the upperclassman's expression as he spoke.

"You're the defective one from Class D, right? I don't want to get into a fight with someone like you. Students like you should get ready for the next three years of hell. Oh... you might not even last three years."

"Then he walked away with a mocking look on his face."

Ichinose seemed confused about the upperclassman's attitude.

"Why would he say something like that? It sounds like he was discriminating against the students in Class D."

"I get the feeling this school is much more complicated than I imagined. Maybe it's just me."

Ichinose rubbed her cheek and let out a worried sigh.

"But we have everyone here, don't we?"

"No matter what happens, we can face it together if we all work hard."

Shiranami Chihiro, sitting beside Ichinose, spoke softly to reassure her.

"If we're talking about someone who's stubborn, I think this boy fits the word best."

Yume Kobashi gestured toward a boy in the middle of the second floor.

He had his legs up on the table and was holding a mirror as he admired his blond hair.

He seemed quite pleased with his appearance and was humming happily.

I was starting to think there were quite a few strange people at this school.

Or maybe everyone who made a strong impression just had their own unique way of thinking.