Chapter 120: I Don't Want to Repeat a Year! [side Mishima Satsuki]
...Yukari is amazing.
She managed to bring me and Osada Ai—who I get along horribly with—together, and made her promise to help us study...
Honestly, I really didn't want to bow my head to Osada.
The whole thing started just because I dissed Osada's boyfriend a little.
And she totally lost it? We've been in a bad place since then, but could she really agree to help us study just because I apologized a little? Wasn't Osada ranked about 10th in the year?
...One thing that bugs me is that she also seems to think highly of Kousuke? Does she owe him something? She kept reminding me and Yukari not to trouble Kousuke.
But is it really so bad if Kousuke gets bothered a little?
Yukari "...That's not good. ...If you do that, Satsuki, I'm done with you."
I need Yukari.
Don't worry, I wouldn't do something like that.
So, I get a copy of Osada's notes, and look them over at home...
They really are neat and easy to understand.
...I remember back in the day when I saw Rena Kashii's notes—they were so neat and easy to follow, it really impressed me. This is definitely a kind of talent.
...If I manage to move up a grade, I'll use these notes as a reference to improve how I take notes.
And then, starting the next day? At the family restaurant in the neighborhood?
We order stuff to snack on and drinks from the drink bar while we have our study group.
Yukari "...When you fry French fries in oil, the calories fry up too... ZERO calories...!"
This is the one quirk of Yukari's I'll never understand...
If there's something I just can't figure out on my own, Osada or one of her honor-student followers will help.
Maybe Osada told them in advance, because even if they don't act friendly, they still teach me without complaining.
When it's just Yukari and me helping each other, one of us always ends up stuck.
...Yukari's decision that we'd both go down if things stayed this way was spot on...!
We studied together for two hours. Well, half an hour was just chatting.
...Here, I get to see how Osada is the center of her own faction, is liked and relied upon, and she doesn't just take it for granted—she puts in the effort, but she also lets herself lean on others when she needs to...
I... always thought the relationships in my own faction were just a hierarchy disguised as friendship...
But now I can tell: if something happened to Osada, these girls would definitely stick with her.
Osada "Keep working on it at home, okay? If you don't get something, come ask tomorrow, all right?"
"...Thank you..."
When Yukari and I head home and go our separate ways at Toko Station, Yukari gives me a gentle smile and says,
Yukari "...Satsuki, let's become second-year students together, okay?"
I nod vigorously,
I want to move up with Yukari! Repeating a year would be way too lame!
I seriously don't want to repeat a year!
We keep up the same pace from the next day on.
Two-hour study group after school, study at home, ask about what I didn't get the next day, then another after-school study group—repeating that endless loop.
Yukari told Kuzu she was doing a study group, but he didn't seem interested and just brushed it off...
What a jerk...! I seriously think Yukari is too good for him.
Once we get through these finals and if we move up a grade, I'll have to talk about this with Yukari at least once, right?
The timing was good, too.
Thanks to the intense study group and test prep we kept up for half a month before the exams, I feel more prepared than ever!
Right before the exams! Sunday morning, we have our last study group at our usual family restaurant for one final push!
Of course, I'll do more review and prep after I get home, but this is my last chance to ask about anything I don't get!
Yukari and I have gotten a lot stronger over these past two weeks.
With this, we can do it...!
But don't let that confidence turn into cockiness... Actually, seeing Yukari looking a little anxious here, I realize it's when you get overconfident that you end up failing.
...Yukari really is an amazing girl...!
When our study group is more than halfway done, some new customers come in...!
Isn't it a guy and a girl? Isn't a family restaurant not really a place to hang out?
*It's not a study space either, it's a place to eat.*
Ah! Nagase Aya!
That Nagase Aya just walked in!
Our eyes meet, but she ignores me like I'm just a pebble on the ground!
That girl...!
But then, I can't believe my eyes.
Kousuke...!
Kousuke doesn't notice me?
Why? Is he ignoring me?
Clatter! As I start to stand up from my chair, Yukari holds me back.
Yukari "...Don't bother Kousuke-kun."
Osada "...Mishima, if you do that, you're seriously getting banned, got it?"
"Kousuke? There's no need to be so careful about him, right? He barely talks, doesn't show any emotion. Back in middle school he was high-spec, but now? Not so much, right?"
Osada looks at me like she's fed up and says,
Osada "Mishima. When was that assessment of Saito-kun? And whose was it? ...At the very least, he's been in the top ten on two final exams. And he joined the basketball club with zero experience and in just one year was basically a regular and a key player in getting to the prefectural top 8 in the winter tournament, you know?"
"...Well, that's..."
Wasn't that just luck? Or maybe coincidence was on his side?
I start to say it, but it doesn't feel like the time.
Osada "The ones who judged Saito-kun like that were Yamamoto and you, Mishima, right? One of you already has to repeat a year and got a bad rep with the guys, and the other is on the verge of repeating and got kicked out of the top clique. Can you really trust the judgment of a girl who switched from her excellent boyfriend to the previous guy? I don't think so, right?"
After laughing, Osada says,
Osada "I lost to Saito-kun by a narrow margin twice. Just seeing his face makes me so frustrated I can't stand it!"
...I guess I don't really feel frustrated about studying anymore.
I think I learned a lot of things during this time.
Soon, the last final exam of my first year will begin...!