Weekends—the only days without classes and a rest period for students. Many would use these two days to relax or enjoy some leisure pursuits. But as for me…
Over the past two days, I had planned to laze around and do nothing but read web novels. Yet here I was, heading out on this precious day. All because of yesterday's arrangement.
Yesterday, I explained my plan to Escuro. The plan was simple—straight out of a web novel cliché. Our math teacher had been absent the whole week due to a personal matter, and to make up for the missed time, we were given a long homework assignment due next week. Taking advantage of this, Escuro will arrange a sort of group study as an excuse to help with the homework.
Originally, this arrangement was meant for just the two of them, but Escuro didn't have the courage to ask or be alone with Manzano.
What's the point of confidence if there's no courage?
Saying she couldn't handle being alone with Manzano, she persuaded—no, that's not the right word—she forced me to join the arrangement. With me there, she said, she'd feel calmer, and I could support her more easily. I had no way to refuse, so I revised the plan a bit.
And so, my Saturday would be spent in a study group.
***
The meeting place was the park in the afternoon.
On my way there, I saw a boy's silhouette—it was Francis Manzano, the target of this operation.
When he saw me arrive, he looked surprised.
"You're Dalino, right? What a coincidence to see you here. Are you heading somewhere?"
"Huh?"
His question baffled me. Something felt off.
"Didn't Escuro tell you?" I asked to confirm.
"Escuro?" He looked confused at the mention of her name, but it didn't take long before he realized, "Wait, are you perhaps the friend Escuro was talking about?"
The friend? What exactly did she tell him?
"Last night, she messaged me that a friend of hers wanted some help with the homework."
Are you for real? Escuro said she would try asking Manzano, but I never expected her to use me as an excuse. And she messaged him instead of talking directly? I guess she still doesn't have the courage.
"T-that's right. So, where's Escuro?" I decided to go along with the story.
"She hasn't arrived yet."
That's odd. Earlier, I received a message from her saying they had already arrived at the meeting place and that I was the only one left waiting. But now that Manzano and I are here and Escuro is nowhere in sight, there's only one thing I can think of.
Just as I suspected, I heard a voice approaching us.
"Sorry for making you two wait."
It was Escuro herself.
"It's fine, I didn't wait too long," Manzano replied.
Sensing my gaze, she looked at me.
Smiling, she said, "How about you? Are you mad at me for being late?"
This girl… She probably arrived early but hid somewhere, waiting for me to show up before revealing herself.
Really, how much of a coward are you?
"Not at all. I just got here, after all."
"Alright, with that settled, let's head to our next location."
Following her lead, we went to the place where we were supposed to have our study group.
Since neither Escuro's nor Manzano's house was available, the study group had to take place elsewhere. Following my advice, Escuro suggested to Manzano that it should be somewhere indoors and away from outside noise.
Of course, Manzano didn't know I was behind that suggestion. After discussing it, they decided on the karaoke hub.
Arriving at the planned location, we paid and entered one of the rooms.
Inside was a sofa that could seat six, a long table, and a TV with speakers. There were also disco lights flashing different colors, but we turned on the regular lights instead. After all, we were here to study, not to sing.
Once inside, we put down our bags and laid out our study materials on the table.
"So, how far are you guys with the homework?" Manzano asked after sitting down.
Escuro was the first to answer.
"M-mine is already half done."
"And you?" he asked, turning to me.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but honesty might help—after all, I came here for a reason.
"Actually, I haven't started yet."
"What? For real?"
"Yeah."
"You do know the deadline's on Monday, right? And the math problems go up to 100 items."
"I know. I was planning to cram it on Sunday. But here I am—thanks for having me in this study group."
Truthfully, I wasn't sure I could finish it on Sunday, so this arrangement was a big help.
"Okay, let's not waste time then."
With that, we started working on our homework.
The reason this arrangement was called a study group was that, aside from homework, there was also a lesson included in the printout they gave us. That meant we were self-studying alongside completing the homework.
But that wasn't the real intention behind this arrangement. The real plan was to clear the awkwardness between Escuro and Manzano—and to make Manzano conscious of her.
Following the plan, I noticed the awkwardness between them had somewhat eased. Just like I had instructed Escuro, she tried to talk to him. Though there were some hiccups, and I sometimes had to butt into their conversation, even so, she could manage to speak to him normally. Perhaps it was because they were distracted by the homework, but that was exactly what we wanted.
Seeing the plan go smoothly, it was time for phase two: making Manzano aware of her.
I knew these two phases contradicted each other, but while the awkwardness was still fresh, I wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
The reason I chose a private place instead of the outdoors was simple: I didn't want to bother anyone, and Escuro would only get more embarrassed if someone were watching her.
Furthermore, our arrangement in the room worked perfectly for my plan: I was on the left, Manzano on the right, and Escuro in the middle. This position favored me.
"Hey, Manzano, can you help me with this part?"
"Where?"
Before leaning over, I whispered to Escuro, "Get ready."
"Eh?"
Leaning closer, I stretched my arm to show my paper to Manzano.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Escuro, in shock, whispered to me.
But I ignored her fuss and continued leaning.
The reason she reacted that way was simple: as I leaned toward her, I also nudged her closer to Manzano.
"Right at this part, I don't quite understand it," I said to Manzano.
"Ah, this one. What you need to do here is like this."
As Manzano explained how to solve the problem, Escuro was squeezed between us.
Being in that situation, her face turned bright red, while Manzano seemed completely unfazed.
Is it because he's focused on helping me? I thought. Well, then I'll keep doing this until he notices.
Again and again, I asked Manzano questions, and Escuro remained sandwiched between us. It was only a matter of time before she'd explode.
Then, during another nudge, it happened. Escuro's hand landed on Manzano's thigh.
Realizing it immediately, she pulled her hand back in panic.
"I-i-i'm sorry!"
Manzano was also surprised, but he stayed calm.
"It's fine. It was just an accident."
Having had enough, Escuro glared at me, and I smiled in response.
"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom." Standing up, she tried to leave.
But I wasn't going to let this chance slip away. As she was halfway to standing, I nudged her.
"Oopsie."
"Aah!"
And so, Escuro fell onto Manzano's chest. The situation now looked like this: Manzano had fallen flat on the ground while Escuro lay across him.
When she realized her face was close to his, she became flustered.
Quickly getting up, she shouted;
"Sorry! I can't handle it anymore—gotta go to the bathroom!"
And with that, she ran out of the room.
She was probably overwhelmed.
Before leaving, Escuro had a somewhat pleased expression on her face, but what about Manzano? Did it affect him?
I looked at his reaction, and he seemed normal—or at least, that's what I thought. Maybe what just happened had an effect because his eyes were slightly dilated, and his breathing was heavier than before.
"You okay?" I asked.
Finally realizing he wasn't alone, he sat up straight and replied;
"Y-yeah. I was just shocked for a moment."
Well, that was something. Phase two of the plan seemed to be going smoothly.
As I thought that, my phone suddenly vibrated. Checking it, I saw a message from Escuro stating:
[What the heck is that for?!]
[Sorry, that's also part of the plan.] I replied.
[What?! I haven't heard of that!]
I hadn't told her because if I did, she wouldn't have agreed. Plus, it's more effective if it's sudden.
[The plan worked, tho.]
[W-wait, really?!]
[Yep, he's totally overthinking it right now.]
After sending that, Escuro didn't reply. Seconds turned into minutes, but no response came. Guess she wouldn't reply for a while.
Putting my phone in my pocket, Manzano calls me.
"Hey, Dalino."
Hearing my name, of course, I looked back.
After getting my attention, he continued his sentence.
"When did you become friends with Escuro?"
His question made my mind race.
How could I answer him? Also, why did he ask that? Out of Jealousy? I doubted it.
"Why'd you ask?"
Questioning a question seemed the safest move.
"Well, it's just that during the semester, I haven't seen you talk to anyone else. So the chances of you and Escuro being friends were nearly zero. And as a friend of hers, I haven't seen you guys talk at all."
From his perspective, there was nothing wrong with that judgment. Not long ago, I was just a stranger to Escuro, but since I met her two days ago, we somehow ended up in this weird relationship.
"Oh, we got close just recently."
'Got close' was a lie. And by 'recently,' I literally meant just yesterday. But he didn't need to know that.
"Really? Just recently? But I've never seen you guys alone together."
Oh, we've been alone together—in the back of the gym, planning this arrangement.
"Ah, sorry for meddling too much. If it's a secret, I won't force you anymore."
It was a secret, but not what he thought it was.
"It's fine. It's nothing, really," I said.
Before the misunderstanding could escalate, Escuro finally returned from the bathroom.
Great timing.
Entering the room, she looked at us. When she looked at me, she appeared normal, but when her eyes met Manzano's, she started to blush. The same happened with Manzano when he saw Escuro turning red.
Seeing Manzano's gaze, she quickly averted hers and landed on me. But I was also staring at her.
Unable to handle the situation any longer, she walked toward us.
"Okay, let's resume our homework!" she remarked before sitting beside me.
She didn't return to her original spot in the middle. Instead, she sat on my left, far from Manzano. With the huge gap Escuro left behind, I, of course, adjusted by moving closer to Manzano—and Escuro followed suit.
Manzano didn't seem to mind Escuro's behavior, as if he had reached an understanding on his own.
I was a little curious about what Manzano thought of Escuro's earlier behavior, but I couldn't just ask him outright. Also, with Escuro here, she would be devastated to hear his opinion.
I just hoped that what I did earlier wasn't for nothing.
Sighing, I grabbed my printout and pen.
That's when I suddenly heard a subtle whisper from my side.
"Good job."
It came from Escuro.
I didn't know if she was praising me or being sarcastic. But I chose to believe the former.
Now, since our seating arrangement had changed, I couldn't continue what I had been doing earlier. So we quietly resumed our homework.
I could still ask Manzano some questions, though the only difference now was that I was closer to him—and I couldn't shove Escuro anymore. Therefore, the plan I had made earlier no longer works.
And so, this normal study group continued until the end.
It was agreed that this study group would end at 4 p.m. Before the time struck 4, we started tidying up, gathering our belongings, and putting them into our bags. When the clock finally hit 4, we exited the room and left the karaoke hub. After saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways and headed home.
Arriving home, I flopped down on the couch.
Today was exhausting.
As someone who usually spends most of his time at home, I never expected going out to be this draining—especially when it involved using my brain and helping someone else. It completely sapped my energy. So, I was glad it was finally over.
Letting out a sigh, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
Looking at it, I saw a message from Escuro.
[Thanks for today,] she wrote.
I replied, [No problem.]
With that, everything was over.
This marked the end of our strange relationship. The contract was now severed; no more connection—just back to being nothing more than classmates.
I had already helped her enough. From this point on, it was up to her.
I wished her luck.