[The Energetic Ichinose Honami Makes Her Appearance]
[Monday Morning, Gotou Household.]
Ring, ring~
Ring, ring~
"Hitori-chan, aren't you up yet? If you don't get up soon, you'll be late!", A voice called out from downstairs. Gotou Hitori curled up in her blanket, revealing only her eyes, silently staring at the ticking clock on the table.
Watching the clock's hour and minute hands inching closer to the deadline for being late to school, Gotou Hitori, who had specifically taken an ice bath last night but still hadn't caught a cold, felt utterly hopeless.
She really didn't want to go to school.
Why did Monday come so early.
Why hadn't she caught a fever.
Making her first true friend in life was something to be overjoyed about. Her friend taking her to meet more friends on Monday was also something to be happy about.
Both should have been joyful and celebratory occasions.
So why did the combination of the two make her so scared?
Gotou Hitori recalled the excitement of being greeted in PE class, then thought about the scene she witnessed in the Student Council's guidance office. Her uneasiness started to creep back in.
Although her new friend, Hachiman, seemed like a good person. Gentle and kind to her even when she misunderstood things.
But, the Service Club seemed to have a lot of extremely popular girls. The former "untouchable flower" Yukinoshita, the elf princess Iris and many more.
How could someone like her, a mere dirt clod, become friends with those high-status girls?
Even though Hachiman repeatedly assured her that they were all nice people who would be willing to be her friends.
Gotou Hitori was still panicking. She wasn't just worried that the girls in the Service Club wouldn't like her. She was also afraid that those girls, like the introverted Sakurase Shino or the elf princess Iris, would, right in front of her, with her dear friend Hachiman…
"Hitori-chan~ You're really going to be late~"
"I know, I'm getting up now…", Hearing her mother urging her again, Gotou Hitori, seeing the alarm clock ringing again, had no choice but to struggle out of her warm blanket. She reached out to turn off the ringing alarm, slowly opened her wardrobe, and took out her Sobu High uniform.
As she changed, she listened to the sounds outside the window, praying for a miracle. Like a sudden typhoon or a heavy storm, so that school would be canceled.
However, after getting dressed and opening the curtain, she saw that the weather was still bright and clear, with no signs of a miracle happening.
"…Mom, I think I might have a fever and can't go to school…", Gotou Hitori walked downstairs in despair. Seeing the slender, pink-haired figure at the dining table, she reached out from behind and hugged her.
"A fever? What nonsense are you talking about? You're already a high school student. You can't lie just to skip school," Hearing the word 'fever,' Gotou Michiyo quickly turned around and touched Gotou Hitori's forehead. Finding nothing unusual, she immediately realized her problematic daughter was just looking for an excuse to avoid school. Helplessly, she said: "Alright, after breakfast, remember to put your dishes in the sink."
"I'm taking Futari-chan to kindergarten, so finish your breakfast quickly and head to school."
"Bye-bye, Onee-chan~", Holding the hand of a little pink-haired girl carrying a red backpack and wearing a yellow hat, Gotou Michiyo waved to her older sister before hopping away excitedly to school.
Unlike her sister, who had no friends and could stay at home for ages, she had lots of friends at school and couldn't bear to miss a day of playing with them.
But yesterday, her sister said she made a friend at school.
'Hmm… Must be a lie, right? If Onee-chan has friends at school, why does she not want to go and play with them?乛?乛?'
"Ugh…", Watching her mother and little sister leave, Gotou Hitori groaned and sat down at the dining table. As she ate her mother's delicious breakfast, she imagined all sorts of terrifying scenarios about going to school and facing the Service Club.
'What if all the girls in the Service Club are like the elf princess? What should I do…'
'If I end up being dragged into another situation… or worse, became directly involved and got pregnant, won't I get expelled?'
'Though getting expelled doesn't seem so bad, won't that mean I will have to get a job?'
Between school and work, she'd definitely rather stay in school.
Thinking about the hardships of working, dealing with unknown numbers of people, failing at jobs due to her incompetence, and eventually being blacklisted from all companies. Her entire life a tragic mess—
Gotou Hitori felt a wave of despair wash over her again, nearly drowning in another bout of self-induced delusions.
But time was really running out. To avoid being late and getting caught by the disciplinary committee at the school gates, she quickly finished breakfast, placed her dishes in the sink, grabbed her bag, and hurriedly caught the train to Sobu High.
.
.
.
"Phew! Just in time! Almost late!"
When she got off the train and walked towards Sobu High's school gate, she saw the disciplinary committee members and a few scattered students. She let out a sigh of relief.
Luckily, her house wasn't too far from Sobu High. Getting off the train, she could quickly reach school. Otherwise, she really might have been late today.
Since the disciplinary committee had to check for contraband, students didn't need to rush in; they just had to line up for inspection.
However, when Gotou Hitori checked the time, she realized there was only one minute left before they closed the gate. Panicking, she clutched her bag and sprinted towards the line.
Finally reaching the queue at the gate, she exhaled deeply.
"That was close… almost late…"
"It's great that we're not late…"
"Eh?", A voice echoed her sentiments. Startled, Gotou Hitori turned and saw another pink-haired girl, breathless, hands on her knees, chest rising and falling.
"Hello, I'm Ichinose Honami, a transfer student joining Sobu High today. Nice to meet you." [T/N: Tf? COTE?]
The pink-haired girl, noticing Gotou Hitori staring at her, straightened up after catching her breath and smiled warmly.
Like Gotou Hitori, she had long pink hair, but instead of long bangs that covered her eyes and gave off a gloomy vibe, this girl, Ichinose Honami, looked incredibly bright and cheerful.
Outstanding looks, a curvaceous figure, long fair legs, a dazzling smile. And on top of that, she was a transfer student, wasn't this the classic heroine of manga and novels?
Gotou Hitori trembled at the sight of the radiant Ichinose Honami. She felt like an insect meant to live in dark, damp places. Just standing next to her was enough to make her melt away.
"You're also a transfer student who miscalculated the time? I thought I had plenty of time, but when I saw hardly any Sobu High students on the way, I realized I had misjudged and rushed over."
Seeing Gotou Hitori lost in thought with a (6д9) expression, Ichinose Honami hesitated before smiling and asking again.
"N-no, I just overslept…"
Seeing Ichinose Honami's slightly awkward expression, Gotou Hitori quickly muttered, then softly added, "Oh, right… My name is Gotou Hitori… Nice to meet you…"
"Gotou-san, is it? Nice to meet you. I need to go get some learning materials from the teacher, so I'll be going now. Bye-bye~"
Seeing that Gotou Hitori seemed to be the shy type, Ichinose Honami didn't continue the conversation. After the disciplinary committee finished their inspection, she waved with a smile and quickly walked towards the faculty office.
"Mm...", Gotou Hitori watched Ichinose Honami's departing figure, then clutched her backpack tightly and walked to her own classroom, quietly sitting in the corner of the last row.
Unlike the confident and cheerful 'normie' she had just met, she was an invisible nobody in her class.
'If only I can have that same confidence and outstanding appearance… then I will surely be able to make a lot of friends too...'
At the very least, if she could be like Touma, who sat beside her, doing her own thing without a care, not fearing others' gazes even if she was seen as a delinquent. That would be nice too...
Gotou Hitori silently glanced at the long-haired girl beside her, who had arrived at school earlier than her and was now already fast asleep on her desk.
She suddenly felt like she was just a background character in a light novel or manga.
Whether it was the radiant "normie" or the rebellious delinquent, they existed right beside her, yet had nothing to do with her life.
Maybe... joining the Service Club could change her situation, help her become someone who shines brightly, and allow her to make lots of friends.
After all, she was already friends with Hachiman. He even said he would introduce her to the elf princess Iris and the others so they could all be friends together.
The long-haired girl sleeping on the desk heard a strange, inexplicable chuckle from beside her. She lifted her head slightly, glanced at Gotou Hitori, who was giggling in her own fantasy, and then laid back down to continue her nap.
———
[On the other side, in Class 1-F]
"Good morning~ Hiki-chi~"
"Hiki-chi, did you have fun over the weekend?"
Hachiman and Gabriel arrived at the classroom early. However, as soon as they sat down, three girls who hadn't seen them over the weekend, Yuina, Minami, and Rin, gathered around.
"The weekend was pretty good. The Service Club also had a club activity. But why didn't you all come looking for me?", Looking at Minami, who sat right on his desk without hesitation, and Yuina and Rin closing in, Hachiman could only give a helpless smile.
He had thought they would come to find him over the weekend, though he had been quite busy himself.
"We had to work. Lately, our pocket money runs out too fast," The blonde gyaru Minami stretched out her fair, slender legs and pulled Hachiman into her arms, hugging him tightly. Hearing his question, she sighed in exasperation.
They had just recently gotten a taste of something new and had wanted to indulge again over the weekend.
But while their families weren't poor, they weren't super rich either, so they didn't get endless pocket money. If they wanted to go shopping, eat out, or buy cosmetics, they had to work part-time at convenience stores or restaurants.
Since weekend part-time jobs paid more, just working for two days would allow them to hang out and 'train' with Hiki-chi for the next five school days after classes.
Although they didn't all need to work at the same time and could take turns while the others went to find Hiki-chi, weekends were only two days long. To avoid one of them taking advantage of having extra money to monopolize him, they decided to work together and keep each other in check.
"Part-time jobs, huh...", Hachiman, hearing that they were still honestly working for money, couldn't help but ponder how he could give them pocket money himself.
According to the report from Iris last night, Rurikawa Tsubaki had taken over the assets of the Poiman family. Even if they didn't have the connections to maintain its growth, it wasn't like Minami and the others, who had a special relationship with him, needed to work for money.
But his relationship with them was indeed special. It wasn't romantic, but it wasn't a sugar daddy situation either. Just handing them money outright seemed inappropriate. He had to figure out a way to make them happy without making things awkward.
"Forget about part-time jobs for now. How's it going between Hiki-chi and Gabriel?", Yuina waved her hand dismissively, then glanced at Gabriel, who was quietly taking out her stationery for class. Leaning in close to Hachiman's ear, she whispered with curiosity.
Unlike the oblivious Minami, she had noticed something was off the moment Gabriel entered the classroom.
To be precise, Gabriel seemed very aware of Hiki-chi's presence. Deliberately avoiding looking at him yet sneaking glances when she thought no one was watching.
'Their interactions has always been normal before, so did something happen between Gabriel and Hiki-chi? Something indescribable? Otherwise, why would she suddenly act differently?'
"What do you mean 'how's it going'? Ahem! Nothing like that has happened, obviously. Gabriel is focused on studying, so how could I have the heart to disturb her?", Hachiman was momentarily stunned before realizing what she was getting at. He almost forgot how Yuina and the others had once mistakenly thought he had a thing for Gabriel.
But for him, keeping things the way they were was best. He was still growing, after all. He wouldn't want to get involved with Gabriel and then have to deal with her older sister, Zelel.
If Zelel came down to "inspect" him and found out he was entangled with so many girls, he'd be doomed.
"No progress? But last week, Gabriel was asking us what kind of girls you like. I thought maybe she was starting to have feelings for you," Rin was a little disappointed to hear that nothing had happened.
If she could personally set up a mutually affectionate romance, how satisfying would that be? Even more fulfilling than grooming a pretty boy.
"She asked what kind of girls I like?", Hachiman turned to look at Gabriel, just in time to see her looking his way.
Their eyes met.
Gabriel quickly turned away, refusing to make eye contact.
"Hmm?", Hachiman blinked in confusion. He didn't believe Gabriel had feelings for him. They hadn't had any deep interactions. She was probably just a kind person who wanted to help.
But her reaction wasn't quite normal.
'Has she discovered my relationship with Iris and thinks Iris isn't suitable for me? Is she trying to find me a better match?'
'That won't be good.'
He thought Iris was amazing. He doubted anyone else could treat him as well as she did. Fulfilling his needs in every way.
"Alright, everyone, back to your seats. We have a new classmate joining us in 1-F today."
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