Palette (Part 1)

"With this much stuff, it'd be more than enough to last the whole school year."

I had two big bags in my hands.

I weighed them—still had some heft to them.

"I'll pay you back next month when my personal points come in."

I set the bags down on the ground and rubbed my temples.

"I'm not rushing you to pay me back, so why do you look so overwhelmed?"

The eager Ichinose in front of me turned around.

This was the first time I realized how intense girls could be when shopping.

We'd already done a full lap of the second floor, and now she was dragging me around the first floor at random.

She was buying stuff for me, but she seemed more excited than when she shopped for herself.

Was this the female shopping urge?

"By the way, Ichinose, why are you at the supermarket at this hour?"

The supermarket was at the entrance of the Zelkova Shopping Center. When I'd come in, most students were heading straight inside—after all, there were more spending options in there.

It was the middle of the afternoon. What better way to enjoy it than having a leisurely tea break with a couple of friends?

Besides, Ichinose clearly wasn't the type who lacked invitations.

Watching the lively, cute Ichinose walk ahead of me, I felt sure of that.

"We all agreed to have a group activity at the Zelkova Shopping Center. When Yume Kobashi came by and saw you go into the supermarket, I thought I'd invite you along."

"Group activity? Any specific plans?"

"Mostly just chatting together, maybe wandering around the shopping center, or sitting down for some desserts."

"No pressure, no requirements. I just thought since we're all classmates, more interaction would help with class unity."

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

If possible, I'd like to go.

No matter what, these were classmates I'd be spending three years with. Having a chance to interact with them directly was better than learning about them from files.

"I'm happy to join group activities like this."

"Then let's head over together!"

Walking side by side with Ichinose, I felt like we were getting an unusually high number of glances.

Looking around, both boys and girls were stopping to turn their heads, and sidelong stares were frequent.

Before long, we arrived under a massive zelkova tree.

I'd thought the name "Zelkova Shopping Center" was just a name, but they'd actually planted a zelkova tree right in the center.

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

The area around it was set up like a small camp, with the tree at the very heart.

Quite a few couples were sitting on the grass beneath it, enjoying the last day of the holiday.

"Over here."

I nodded.

Following the direction Ichinose pointed, I saw a café.

I glanced up at the sign above:

Palette.

The design was simple, yet they'd named it Palette.

It piqued my curiosity a little.

"Everyone's on the second floor. I picked a spot by the window—great view of the shopping center."

We went up the spiral staircase to the second floor.

Around two tables pushed together sat five or six Class B students.

Card game-like cards were laid out on the table, as if they'd just finished a round.

Ichinose introduced each classmate present to me one by one.

A boy with purple hair and a somewhat stern face was named Ryuji Kamizaki. He sat silently staring at his mobile terminal, present but not really engaging with the others' conversation.

A slightly slender boy who wove through the topics like a lubricant.

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

There was also a boy I'd met that morning: Tetsuya Hamaguchi.

If it was him, his being here didn't surprise me.

He seemed to have an endless supply of topics and boundless energy.

But I couldn't find any trace of Ryota. Knowing Tetsuya's personality, he definitely wouldn't have come alone and left Ryota behind.

I sat down beside Tetsuya; on my other side sat Ichinose, who had come with me.

Among the girls, I also recognized Chihiro Shiramami, who was quietly participating in the conversation.

More often than not, she played the role of someone offering affirmation.

The girl with short blue hair was Yume Kobashi, whom Ichinose had mentioned before—she struck me as the carefree, straight-talking type.

The girl with blue-gray long hair was named Asako Amakura, but I didn't pay much attention to her for now.

Because a commotion came from downstairs.

A red-haired boy who looked like a delinquent seemed to have stirred up a wave of trouble.

Ignoring the several people waiting in line behind him, he walked straight up to the counter to place his order.

"Hey, you're a freshman, right? When you buy something, you line up properly. Don't you get that?"

A boy who seemed to be an upperclassman stepped forward on his own, trying to stop this situation.

The spiky-haired redhead turned around.

"I am lining up properly, baldy."

He brushed back the long hair covering his eyes, a sneer on his face.

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

"Looking all old and worn out, you're probably a senior, right? But don't go running your mouth on your own, and especially don't act like you're above it all and falsely accuse a junior."

I took a closer look and noticed that the left side of the long-haired guy's face was slightly swollen in an unnatural way.

What a restless one.

I wondered if that "baldy" remark had provoked the boy who'd stepped up to mediate. The somewhat burly senior moved closer, and their bodies lightly bumped.

Even though he had no advantage in build, the long-haired boy showed no fear, standing his ground straight on.

I didn't know if the long-haired guy had launched another verbal attack during the contact, or if the senior was angered by his physical advantage failing to budge the other, but he raised his fist, ready to swing it at his face.

The red-haired boy didn't even flinch, arms crossed over his chest, watching the incoming fist with a mocking look in his eyes.

It was about to hit his face, but it stopped just before contact.

For some reason, the bald upperclassman gave up on the idea of teaching the long-haired guy a lesson.

But he was still relentlessly taunted.

"Are you a coward? Did you work out that bulk just to attract the same sex?"

"Little bald punk, where's that arrogant attitude from before?"

That was way over the line compared to before, but the bald senior seemed to have calmed down and didn't respond to the provocations anymore.

So that's how it is. Besides me, there were other freshmen testing the waters in their own areas of expertise.

Testing the true limits of the rules within their own domains.

A very thoughtful peer. The slight bruise on his face was probably the price he paid to verify his own expertise.

He didn't touch the coffee he'd just bought, just sat quietly in his seat.

Had he formed his own unique insight?

"That red-haired guy gives me a bad feeling."

Tetsuya, sitting beside me, broke the silence first.

Sou Shibata picked up the thread and continued.

"He doesn't seem to care about others' feelings, and he's pretty stubborn too."

"He's probably a first-year. I saw a similar student today too."

There were more students like that? I was a bit curious.

"Could you tell me more about that similar student?"

Sou Shibata thought back.

"I remember, it was when I passed by the school store entrance. A guy with short red hair, looked tall and sturdy, got into a conflict with a couple of second-years."

Why were all these types of guys red-haired? Were delinquents all cast from the same mold?

"Even though he was alone, his attitude was still really tough, like he was very confident in his physical abilities. In the end, it seemed like a girl from his class stepped in to stop the fight."

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

"I didn't look into it closely, but from what I could tell, it was probably just something trivial."

"But..."

"One thing the upperclassman said before leaving stuck with me."

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

"A defective product from Class D, right? I don't want to get into any dispute with someone like you. A student like you should prepare to welcome three years of hell from now on... oh, you might not even last three years."

"And with that sneer, she walked away."

Ichinose was somewhat puzzled. Why were the upperclassmen acting like this?

"Why that tone of voice? It feels like they're discriminating against Class D students."

"I get the feeling this school is much more complicated than I imagined. I wonder if it's just my imagination."

Ichinose rubbed her cheeks and let out a worried sigh.

"Aren't we all here together, though?"

"No matter what happens, we can just face it together and do our best, right?"

Chihiro Shiramami, sitting next to Ichinose, quietly spoke up to comfort her.

"If we're talking about going it alone, I think that boy fits that word the best."

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

His legs propped up on the desk, holding a mirror as he admired his own blond hair.

Seeming quite satisfied with his appearance, he hummed happily to himself.

How come this school seems to have no shortage of strange people?

Or rather, the memorable ones all seem to have their own unique way of thinking.