MachinedLinguist

Chapter 14     I woke up from the sunlight shining from the window. A gentle breeze flew in through the window screen, just enough to ruffle my hair and shake the curtains.   When I checked my smartphone, it was already 8:35. I had a meetup today with Takagaki at 10. Although I was still a bit sleepy, I should get ready and leave early. For the time being, I should probably go see my mother, who was probably cooking that wonderful-smelling breakfast.   ☆☆☆☆☆☆   "Morning, Mom." "Oh, morning. You always sleep late on days off, but you're early today." "I have stuff to do."   When I entered the living room, my mother had already finished her breakfast and was relaxing on the sofa, watching a news program. On weekdays, my father and mother worked as corporate slaves, so on day offs where there was nothing to do, they were incredibly listless as a result of that. This was just the usual occurrence.   "You have too much...

Chapter 13     That evening, I was laying on my bed in my room reading a manga, when my phone rang a message. I wondered who it was, and there, was a cute dog icon with Takagaki's name on it. And then ―――   "What was that earlier?"   As I read that sentence, I remembered Takagaki's sharp glare from before, as if she wanted to strike me dead. I was scared. I was really scared. My hands were shaking because I was too scared to answer. But if I didn't answer, then I might really be swimming in my own pool of blood at the first day next week. Namusan ! I recited out a prayer and sent a reply.   "I apologize for the delay in the report. I have come up with a plan to make people around admire them ―――"   ☆☆☆☆☆☆   "Are you an idiot?"   This was the reply to the long message I had sent about today's events and motives. I could picture Takagaki being all fed up on the other side of the screen with just this. But...

Chapter 12     Sometime after that study session in the library. I made use of my day offs as I prepared for the midterms. And now, tests were being returned for each class, and our homeroom session went on our individual tables to inform us of our rankings.   As our tests were returned, the reaction from the students as they saw their test results varied. Some guys would strike a slight guts-pose in front of the teacher's table, while others would shrug, perhaps because their scores were much lower than they expected. I always thought about this, that since students were at an age where their emotions tend to appear on the surface, others could tell which subjects they were good at by looking at their reactions. It wasn't human observation done in bad taste.   My two best friends, looking satisfied with their test results after they received their papers, seemed like they were feeling good and would probably brag to me later about their rank. I hadn'...

Chapter 11     The sound of pages being turned over, pens writing, and curtains rustling from the wind was all there was as everybody worked silently in this quiet library without any conversation.   In the middle of all this, I was doing something a little different from those around me. I just kept staring at my two best friends writing something on their notebooks in front of me, then nodding their heads in satisfaction as they confirmed with the textbook.   Although they invited me to teach them, I couldn't play my role because of my stupid suggestion to hold it in the library. However, I was optimistic, thinking that this was a rather good situation.   Yes, two well-matched couple doing their best to study. This could a page of our youth. It was stored in a permanent folder in my brain. Good job, past me! I wanted to shout that loudly, but that wish couldn't be fulfilled here. So, I just kept staring.   Come to think of it, ...

Chapter 10     I was able to get Takagaki's, a girl's, cooperation which I had never done before. Having her was reassuring, but I wasn't going to put her on the spot. I had to get her advice, and be the one to put them into practice. It really wasn't because I was too afraid that she'd lash out at me if I relied on her too much.   That aside, it was currently the first semester. Soon would be the our first ever midterms as high school students. If one was to get a poor result, their character would be established (prejudice) up until the next exam.   And so, it was very easy to read that from my best friends who were showing those concerns from their behavior.   "Help me study for the test. I was too absorbed in tennis that I haven't been able to review." "Please teach me, too!" "No problem. But Tasuku, please move that notebook away from me first."   It was currently after classes, and Tasuku, who had the...