I Quit the Going-Home Club for a Girl with a Venomous Tongue - Chapter 115

Chapter 115 – Last Spurt

It was currently mid-August. I planned to meet up with Tsuru at a Starbucks in front of the station.

Our houses were far away from each other, so it was more convenient for us to meet up in this area. She was the one who invited me today.

“Long time no see, Arina.”

She was wearing a summer robe. Since the table was filled with my notes at this point, I made some room for her and placed some of the notes away.

“You tanned yourself?”

“Well, I went back to my parent’s place. It was near the sea, so might as well. Your skin is as pale as ever, Arina.”

“I don’t feel like going outside.”

“I can’t imagine you going outside either.”

She put down her iced coffee and laid out her study materials and notes.

Our plan for today was catching up with each other and studying for the exam while drinking some coffee.

“So, how’s it going for you?”

“Same as always. What about you?”

“Same old, same old.”

“Studying is boring isn’t it? I can’t believe that there are people out there who unironically enjoy it.”

“Right. Funny enough, I know one person who does. Remember one of the guys in your team back in the sports festival? He’s always getting second place in the exam ranks.”

“Namakura Takazo?”

“Yeah, that guy! Can you believe that guy? During the festival, I was just chilling in the broadcasting booth, but suddenly he and Sui– Ah…”

There was a discomfort on her face as she stumbled on her words.

“What happened?”

“Um… He just started rambling something incomprehensible! Seriously, that guy is a weirdo. I guess that makes sense, only a weirdo would enjoy studying.”

“Why don’t you try to study together with him? He seems to like you.”

“W-What?!”

“Think of the benefits. The definite first and second ranker studying together, both of your grades will definitely improve.”

“NO. WAY. Doing what with who? That’s impossible for me!”

“Poor guy…”

Tsuru’s choice remained unchanged, the Faculty of Law somewhere in Tokyo. Meanwhile, I would be trying to go to Tohoku University’s Faculty of Arts and Letters.

That was where it hit me. Everyone wouldn’t be together anymore.

My classmates were planning to leave the prefecture. Everyone would be scattering all over the country. I started to realize that, soon, I would no longer be a kid anymore.

I wonder what kind of future I would have as an adult? What kind of job would I be getting? Where would I live? Would I live a happy life?

As I imagined my future, I started to think about Sui. He always crept into my mind lately. Whenever I looked at the back of someone with a similar height as him, I would stare at that person, thinking that it was him, walking in front of me. Of course, that was just an illusion. The real person was still in a deep sleep inside that white room.

Perhaps noticing the state of my mind, Tsuru suddenly called out to me.

“Arina, have you visited Sui?”

I moved my hand that had been stopping for a while.

“I have. What about you?”

“I haven’t… I want to visit him, but I don’t want to bother Ugin-chan… How was he?”

“I don’t know what to say… He was just sleeping peacefully there…”

“Really? You aren’t trying to hide anything from me, are you?”

“Of course not. Don’t worry about him too much, he’ll wake up before we know it. And the first thing he’ll do is to piss us off again like usual.”

“If you say so then… By the way, have you tried kissing him?”

“W-What?!”

“Maybe he’ll wake up if you kiss him. You know, like Sleeping Beauty? Only this time, the gender is reversed!”
“There’s no way that would ever happen, dummy!”
“You won’t know unless you try! ”

“Ugh, you…”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry. You’re so cute when flustered like this~ You really love him that much, don’t you?”

She then laughed while holding her stomach.

Seeing her smile for the first time in a while made me feel like smiling too. Come to think of it, Sui wouldn’t want to see my gloomy face when he wakes up, would he? I should try to cheer myself up more often.

“Thank you, Tsuru. My chest feels a little lighter now.”

“Really? They still look heavy. Can I have some of them?’

“…You know that’s not what I meant.”

*   *   *

For the rest of the summer vacation, I did nothing but study.

Such was the day of students preparing for exams. My whole summer was only filled with studying, occasional walking and sometimes, reading a random novel. 

Once the vacation was over, I could feel that everyone would be all tense because of the upcoming exam. Other than that, the only thing that they would be talking about would be something like job hunting.

I entered the classroom for the first time in a month. All my classmates seemed to have tanned a bit. Except for me, it seemed like they were able to enjoy their vacation.

Of course, Sui wasn’t here. His seat was empty as he was still sleeping peacefully inside that pure white room.

“Hiwa, do you have a moment?”

When I was packing up my stuff, Makoto approached me. Based on his grim look, I knew that he was going to ask me about Sui. I stood up silently and went out of the classroom with him. We went outside the school building.

“Is Sui really?…”

“Yes. He’s still in the hospital as we speak.”

“So everything was real… No way…”

He squatted down as he held his head in his hands.

“Ugin-san didn’t tell you?”

“No. I heard everything from Tsuru, but I didn’t believe her words… I thought it was just an elaborate prank from the two of them, but when I tried to get in touch with him, I couldn’t reach him… I tried to get Ugin-chan’s contact information from Tsuru, but I got scared… What if everything was real? What if I’ll never talk with him ever again?…”

“Don’t worry, he’s sleeping peacefully. He’ll be okay.”

“Is he really in a coma?”

“I tried to call his name and he never responded, so yeah, he still hasn’t woken up yet. At least he is okay for now.”

“Ugh… F**k… How could this happen to him?!”

I explained Sui’s condition in detail to him. He kept looking at the ground with a frustrated look.

“There’s a chance he won’t wake up… Haha… That’s gotta be a lie, there’s no way…”

“Yeah. He’ll wake up, don’t worry. Believe in him. All we need to do is to wait for him, okay?”

“…Yeah, I guess you’re right. He’ll wake up eventually. If the earth is in a crisis, he’ll surely return like a hero. And the first person he’ll come to would be you, Hiwa.”

“I’m surprised. So you can make a smooth line like that, huh?”

“In any case, can you contact me if there’s a change in his situation? I would ask Ugin-chan myself, but I don’t know her very well and I don’t want to be a bother… Sorry, this request must be troublesome for you. You’re going through a rough time and–”

“Don’t worry, I won’t feel troubled by that much. I don’t have your contact information though.”

“…Right. Could you tell me yours?”

“Yes. Fork up the cash first. 100 million.”

“Sui’s bad habit is rubbing on you…”

After this, things became slightly more difficult for me.

The homeroom teacher talked about today’s schedule and our future plans like usual, but at the end of the session, they also mentioned Sui’s condition. Not in detail, of course, only the part where he had to be hospitalized because of a certain illness and it would be hard for him to attend school. When they heard about it, the whole classroom went into an uproar and I could feel their gazes suddenly focusing on me.

We had to prepare ourselves for the opening ceremony, but everyone walked up to mine or Makoto’s seat instead. It was because we were the one closest to Sui, they started to bombard us with various questions about him. I only parroted what the homeroom teacher said without adding additional information.

I wonder what would happen to Sui?

Would he become a drop out? Or would they still let him attend classes later when he wakes up? School without him felt boring. Maybe because he was the one who brought color to my life. I know it sounded cheesy, but that was how I truly felt. If my life was a romance movie, my daily life without him would be painted in monochrome.

After the opening ceremony, I saw Shirona walking out of the gym. I contemplated on whether I should call out to her or not. I knew that she liked Sui and I knew that he rejected her because he liked me instead. I had been feeling awkward around her before the summer vacation started and now, that feeling has become stronger.

As I contemplated, Shirona approached me.

“Are you okay, Arina-san?”

“Yes, I am okay…”

“You sure? You look so pale…”

“Is that so? I’m feeling alright, though.”

“If you’re worried about Sui, don’t. He won’t like it if you worry about him, Arina-san. Besides, he will be fine, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

“Yeah, you’re right, he’ll be alright indeed. Thank you for worrying about me, Shirona.”

She was clearly crying inside, yet she still managed to put up a strong face. This girl had been loving him since they were in middle school, the pill she had to swallow must have been even more bitter than mine.

I envied that strength of hers. I should try to be more like her. That way, I wouldn’t look so pathetic when a certain idiot wakes up from his long sleep.

The summer was ending. The last spurt of my high school life began.

TL: Iyo

ED: Dodo

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