Monday mornings always come with a sense of lethargy, especially for high school students.
Imaizumi Keita rested his chin on one hand, quietly listening to the people around him exchange anecdotes from the weekend while waiting for the school bell to ring.
Just then, an energetic figure walked in through the front door with a greeting and stopped by his desk.
"Yo, Kin-chan, good morning!"
Shioyaki Lemon tossed her bag casually onto the empty seat in front, plopped down, and then turned around.
"Good morning, Yakishio."
Imaizumi Keita responded flatly, but Shioyaki Lemon clearly didn't mind.
"Um,"
She rummaged through her bag for a while, then pulled out a somewhat casually folded piece of A4 paper and handed it to Imaizumi Keita.
"Here, this is for you. I forgot to hand it in yesterday."
"Hmm?"
Imaizumi Keita took the paper with some confusion and unfolded it.
On the paper was a simple sketch with slightly rough lines and a somewhat crooked composition.
In the drawing, a stick-figure girl was carrying a school bag and sprinting along the path next to the train tracks in an exaggerated pose.
Behind her was a train already moving away, and next to it were several large characters with an arrow pointing to them—"I overslept and missed my stop! It's over!".
"Is this... the manuscript you mentioned yesterday?"
A look of surprise appeared on Imaizumi Keita's face.
He had originally thought that the task assigned by the Literature Club would be difficult for Yakishio to complete.
To his surprise, she had actually handed in a result, though the format was a bit unexpected.
What he found even more interesting was her composed and natural manner.
She didn't seem embarrassed at all about her poor drawing; instead, it was as if she were sharing a funny, embarrassing story.
"Yeah,"
Shioyaki Lemon looked at her "masterpiece," a slightly sheepish smile appearing on her face.
"I accidentally fell asleep on the train on my way home before and ended up missing my stop. By the time I woke up, I had to run back along the tracks with my backpack on. I almost missed dinner."
As she spoke, she exaggeratedly mimicked her running posture.
"In other words,"
Imaizumi Keita looked at the drawing and couldn't help but chuckle. "Lemon, what you've submitted is a picture diary."
"A picture diary?" Shioyaki Lemon paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Mhm! You could say that!"
"If you had a few more of these unlucky incidents, Yakishio,"
Imaizumi Keita's tone carried a hint of teasing, "you might not even need to write a novel. You could just gather them all together and turn them into a gag manga."
"Hey! Kin-chan!"
Shioyaki Lemon immediately puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and glared at him, her voice full of resentment.
"You jerk, are you actually wishing more bad luck on me?! After I was kind enough to help you yesterday!"
"Help me?" Imaizumi Keita asked curiously. "What did you help me with, Yakishio?"
"Ha... haha..."
Shioyaki Lemon's eyes flickered, as if she suddenly realized she had let something slip.
She laughed it off, stood up from her seat, grabbed her backpack, and ran toward her own desk.
"It's nothing, nothing! I was just talking! Anyway, class is about to start!"
She waved her hand without looking back and hurried to her seat, leaving Imaizumi Keita alone in deep thought.
Help me?
She meant...
Imaizumi Keita shook his head and didn't dwell on it any further.
He turned his gaze back out the window, letting his thoughts drift once again.
Before long, he felt a familiar gaze directed at him from the other side of the classroom.
Imaizumi Keita slowly turned his head and saw Yanami Anna, sitting several seats away, staring at him unblinkingly with her bright, sparkling eyes.
The moment their eyes met, a brilliant smile immediately appeared on her face.
Then, she opened her mouth and silently mouthed a few words.
Although he couldn't hear her, Imaizumi Keita easily understood her meaning from the shape of her lips and her subsequent actions.
—"Check. Your. Phone."
She pointed at her phone and then at him, her eyes full of expectation.
Imaizumi Keita took out his phone and unlocked the screen.
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