TSCEIAB Ch. 35

 

“……!”

 

There was no pitch in his voice. He pressed me to answer, “Hm? Tell me honestly,” as I only bit my lip.

 

“…… Honestly, it’s little……. No. It’s quite uncomfortable.”

 

“What’s making you so uncomfortable?”

 

One of Hugo’s eyebrows twitched up. His mood, which had been relaxed recently, suddenly became sharp and incisive.

I swallowed dryly, telling myself not to be afraid.

If I just walked away from here, I would be stuck with him for a semester.

 

“The kids staring at me, and the rumors, it bothers me…….”

 

“Do you care so much about what the other kids think?”

 

He asked cautiously, but the nuance was that he didn’t understand. At least, that’s what it sounded to my ears.

 

‘I don’t want to care either.’

 

But what can I do about that?

Emotions welled up. Before I knew it, my face was crumpled and my speech quickened.

 

“Yes, I care. I want to go to school quietly as if I didn’t exist and then graduate. But I can’t do that when you’re around…….”

 

“…….”

 

“So I’d like it if we just act like strangers…….”

 

Was I too harsh?

My words trailed off and glanced at Hugo’s face.

I thought he would be looking down at me with an expressionless face like before, but when I saw him again, his expression was completely different from what I expected.

 

‘No way, did I hurt him……?’

 

He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder, staring into the air.

I could see that he was gritting his teeth, and his jaw muscles were tense.

His throat bobbed as if swallowing his emotions.

The discomfort I felt at the sight of him faded. Instead, regret and guilt suddenly rose and stabbed my heart.

 

“Uh, Hugo…….”

 

“Ha…….”

 

At my hesitant call, Hugo sighed with one hand covering his eyes.

Then he said in a cracked voice:

 

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to be close to you and I overdid it. I’ll admit it.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I won’t bother you again. So don’t bother changing your schedule.”

 

He lowered his hand. His blue eyes turned to the timetable I was holding.

 

“…… I’ll stay out of your sight.”

 

“No, I mean……!”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

He turned around. Before I could stop him, he walked away down the hallway, his steps filled with impatience.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

As I pondered Hugo’s words in the empty hallway, the timetable in my hand crumpled up.

His face, clearly wounded, lingered in my thoughts, and I couldn’t take a step.

I stood there for quite some time, and it wasn’t until my legs started to hurt that I managed to get out of the hallway.

 

Even though it turned out the way I had hoped, I didn’t feel good.

I felt ashamed I hurt Hugo again and still cared what others thought.

 

‘This isn’t what I wanted either…….’

 

Blood formed on my lips that I had bitten out of habit. Even so, I couldn’t stop biting my lips.

 

‘…… This won’t do. I’ll apologize when I see him later.’

 

It was true that I wanted to distance myself from him, but not this way.

His eyes, narrowed as if they had been hurt, and his clenched mouth caught my eye.

I think it was a bit harsh to ask him to act like a stranger.

I wanted to apologize and explain that while I did suggest we distance ourselves, it wasn’t his fault.

But despite my resolve, Hugo stopped appearing in front of me since that day.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

After parting ways in front of the teacher’s office, Hugo stopped attending class altogether.

I couldn’t tell if he had changed his timetable back or if he simply wasn’t coming to school at all.

Judging from the stories I heard about him here and there; it didn’t seem like he had entirely stopped showing up at school.

 

‘…… Is he avoiding me?’

 

At other times, I would have thought it and was being overly self-conscious.

But something he said before we parted made me think otherwise.

 

‘He said he’ll stay out of my sight.’

 

It seemed like he was keeping his word.

And my thoughts were right.

 

After the morning class, Melissa and I were on our way to lunch.

Melissa, who had been chatting with me, pointed somewhere with her eyes shining as if she had found something.

 

“Oh? There’s Hugo.”

 

“……?”

 

I turned my head in the direction she was pointing and saw a tall, chiseled boy in the distance.

He was leaning against the wall, listening to some boys talking.

He must have spotted me too, as our eyes met.

His expressionless face contorted slightly, and he left, leaving the boys behind.

 

“…….”

 

Anyone could see he was avoiding me.

Melissa, next to me, also tilted her head as if she felt something wrong and glanced back and forth between the direction Hugo had gone and my face.

 

“What’s going on……? Did you two fight? Not long ago, he couldn’t stop trying to talk to you.”

 

“Um, I don’t know…….”

 

Even as I glossed over it by saying I didn’t know, I remembered Hugo’s frown as soon as he spotted me.

 

‘…… I was going to apologize. Does Hugo hate me now?’

 

Perhaps, it might have been rude to even try to apologize.

I swallowed the sigh that threatened to burst out and urged Melissa on.

 

“Let’s go and have lunch. It’s hard to find a seat if we’re late.”

 

“Oh, right. Let’s go quickly.”

 

Thankfully, Melissa walked without any suspicion. I shook my head and tried to shake the image of Hugo out of my head.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

I never thought the school was small.

 

Hugo and I ran into each other from time to time. And every time we did, he would frown and avoid me first.

After this happened a few times, the rumors surrounding Hugo and I died down.

No, maybe another rumor was made.

Whatever the case, it was fortunate that my surroundings became quiet, but I felt bad when I thought of Hugo’s face frowning as he spotted me.

Even though it was all my own doing.

 

“Haa…….”

 

I didn’t run into Hugo today.

The weather was clear since morning, and the meticulously written assignments received good grades.

In many ways, it was a “good day”.

Until the end of the class.

 

“…… It’s raining.”

 

It was definitely a clear, cloudless day moments ago.

As soon as I stepped out of the building to go home, raindrops began to fall.

When I looked up, I saw a drizzle from an otherwise dry sky.

 

‘There must be an umbrella in my locker.’

 

Standing by the entrance, I hesitated for a moment. Should I go get the umbrella or just run to the car?

There was no parking space this morning, so I parked my car in the fourth parking lot, the farthest from the building.

The rain wasn’t too heavy, so instead of going to the cabinet, I shielded my head with the file I was holding and ran to the parking lot.

Water splashed out from shallow puddles. Not only my shoes but also the hem of my pants got wet – it was uncomfortable.

 

“Haah, hah…….”

 

The rain that had started light began to get heavier. I tried blocking the rain with the file, but it wasn’t enough.

 

“Whew…….”

 

Still, I was able to get to the parking lot before getting completely drenched. I didn’t look away and jumped straight into the car.

 

Clunk-!

 

I felt relieved as I sat in the driver’s seat and closed the door.

Before I knew it, water was dripping from my wet hair.

I ran my hand through my wet, split bangs, and started the engine.

I was going to turn on the heater to dry myself off.

 

Rrrrr- Rrrrr-

 

“Huh……?”

 

But things didn’t go as planned.

My old car made a strange rattling noise and went off.

 

“Why…….”

 

I tried to start it again, but it didn’t work. It won’t start.

 

‘I need to get home…….’

 

My face grimaced. My phone’s battery was dead so I couldn’t call anyone for help.

 

“Haa……. ”

 

I let out an irritated sigh as I slammed my head into the steering wheel.

I was at a loss as to how to get home and how to get my car fixed.

To make matters worse, the wet body was cooling down, and the cold was creeping in.

 

‘…… Let’s check the car first.’

 

It might not be a big problem.

I don’t know much about cars, but if I open the hood, I might find something.

 

“Ugh…….”

 

Shivering once, I got out of the car. Luckily, the fickle rain had thinned out again.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I approached the hood. But with my hands on it, I thought for a moment.

I didn’t know anything about cars and I wondered if it would be okay to open it.

 

‘Hmm, I should ask someone…….’

 

I looked around to see if anyone was there.

And then.

My eyes spotted someone entering the parking lot entrance at a leisurely pace.

 

“……!”

 

It was Hugo Alexis.

He, too, looked surprised and stopped in his tracks as if he didn’t expect me to be there.

But even that was only for a short time. As usual, Hugo’s expression hardened, and he turned to walk away from the parking lot.

I also looked away and stared at the hood as if I hadn’t seen him.

It was a corner of the 4^th parking lot and it was already well past school hours, so there was no one to call for help.

 

‘I guess I’ll have to open it.’

 

I was sighing in despair.

 

Thud- Thud-

 

Suddenly, I could hear footsteps over the sound of rain.

I looked up at the sound growing closer.

 

“Huh……?”

 

Hugo Alexis, who I thought was leaving, was walking towards me.