Chapter 3 (1/2)
During earlyhomeroom, when our teacher—nicknaht that girl into the classroom, the atmosphere of the class instantly froze At the ti to e in the atmosphere [TLNote: 水戸黄門, title character of a drama Wiki if interested]
It was only after Chiaki, as sitting in front of me, had turned around and prodded ardless of whether it was homeroom or not, the classroo But, at the ti
”Hey, she is”
”Yup, should be”
”Ebisawa—”
”Eh~? That very person? Didn't they say her whereabouts were unknown?”
I took a look at the lecture stand My discirl at the stand wore her hair back, and because it was the same exact hairstyle as that seen in the advertisenized her instantly It was, indeed, Ebisawa Mafuyu herself She earing our school unifor a joke on us What's with this? I didn't catch what Retiree had said, and for a mo into our school
”Let's have Ebisawa do an introduction of herself”
Retiree said that leisurely and passed the chalk to Mafuyu She pinched the chalk with only her thuer, and stared at it uneasily for some time As her face turned pale, she spun around to face the blackboard; but in that ers, and the unexpectedly sharp shattering sound broke the silence of the classroom
An asphyxiating silence followed Mafuyu just staredhis prized goatee slowly, and even though we had only been in school for a n that he was uncertain of as happening
”Mmm, well” Our teacher barely made a sound and picked up the chalk—which had broken in half—to hand to Mafuyu But when Mafuyu took the chalk, her fingers were already treht for all to see
At last, Mafuyu looked at the floor and shook her head She placed the chalk on the chalk holder
”I do not want to write my name”
As she said that, it felt like the air in the classroom had been electrified Wait, what exactly is that lass saying?
”It's just a naht?” Retiree said He was speaking slowly and in a low tone; he was obviously at a loss at what to do, since his hands were fidgeting next to his thighs
”I do not want to”
”Mmmmm Why?”
”I do not like my family's name”
Mafuyu's words had an effect si liquid air into the already frozen classroom I noticed Mafuyu's expression as she bit her lower lip It was the same as on that day, the day we first met—the expression she e parted
But, of course, I didn't say a word The one to save the day was a fe at the front of the classroom
”It doesn't matter, teacher We all know her name already”
”Yeah Her naht?”
”Yup—”
The ate Whispers like ”She's that pianist” and ”I've seen her on ads” were shooting off one after another I noticed Mafuyu's slender lihtly in response the reaction of our classns of danger
”Ah, mmm, if so” Retiree looked at Mafuyu and said cal to say to your classmates?”
A girl suddenly raised her hand and asked, ”May I ask when you'll be releasing your next album?”
I couldn't quite reirl's name, but I did remember her to be a chatterbox That question spearheaded an onslaught of questions
”Didn't you say you'd be studying at the College of Music?”
”There aren't any new advertisements with you in them Why is that?”
Souys ere still confused about the situation asked, ”What advertisements?” ”It's that insurance ad You mean you don't know?” ”Ah, that ad I do” ”Hmm? Really?” The classroom suddenly became noisy
Mafuyu was looking at the ceiling with a stern face, and it was then that she suddenly spoke with a sharp, ringing voice
”Please forget everything”
The silence that engulfed the classroom was like the frozen surface of a lake
Mafuyu's strained voice continued to reverberate in the classroom—just like back then
” I'll be disappearing in June anyway, so please forget me”
Not one person spoke after hearing Mafuyu say that, nor did anyone knohat to say The thing that saved us fronaled the end of homeroom
”Ah, i-is that so? Then Mafuyu, please take a seat over there”
Retiree pointed towards the back of the classroom, and as I came to my senses, I realized there was an unoccupied seat to my left
”The class representative is Terada, so feel free to clarify any doubts you may have with her”
Terada was the very first classmate that had asked Mafuyu a question Retiree then clipped the attendance records and the already bundled lecture notes under his arms, and briskly walked out of the classroom
Mafuyu gulped and regulated her breathing slightly She then surveyed the classroo down from the lecture stand The classroom was dead silent Everyone stared at her every movement as she walked down the aisle between the desks Could it be that Mafuyu would disappear in an instant should the stares stop for a brief moment? Nah, that sounds incredibly stupid It's impossible, but I still joined in anyway Perhaps it was due to all the staring, but Mafuyu deliberately hid her face as she passed by my seat The sound of footsteps suddenly stopped next to me—
”—Ah!”
She noticed Mafuyu pointed her slightly shaking finger at ed my head with my arms, and lay on the table I realized that everyone in class had their eyes set on me Give me a break
”What? You two know each other?”
Chiaki looked at Mafuyu, and then at h I wanted to wipe the table clean with my forehead
”No no no, I don't know her Sheperson”
But Mafuyu said, ”Why are you lying!?”
”You're the one anted ht?”
”See, you reet me!”
Ahhhh I don't know anymore
”M already Who are you again?”
”Liar!”
I guess our conversationour class louder and louder, while Chiaki's curious stare beca Second period was olden literature, which I hated the e teacher was like a saving grace
Even if I factor in her unbelievably beautiful face and that celebrity status of hers, Mafuyu is the type of girl I don't want to willingly get close to Every day since she transferred here, she had been surrounded by groups of curious girls, who bombarded her with questions But, except for the occasional ”Don't know” and ”I do not wish to answer,” she hardly answered any of the questions
”Why did she transfer here at such a strange time?”