I was still sitting waiting under the big tree, a little over an hour had passed since I arrived at the meeting place.

"No doubt about it, this was nothing more than a simple bad joke..." Disappointedly I muttered to the air with a blank stare pointing to the ground. Of course, I had already concluded the above about half an hour ago, even so, a certain part of me had the hope that someone could appear at any minute. That's why I never wanted to stand up and leave the place. It was a pretty obvious joke, and I was stupid to even hope to believe that there was a person in this school who had a different mentality than the others.

I looked up as I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking home. Then as I turned the first corner around the right side of the main school building, I ran headlong into a metal object.

I immediately looked up to identify the object with which I had collided.

—Ah…!

It was a female APA.

[I-I'm so sorry! Are you alright?]

As I listened to the APA voice, I realized that it sounded somewhat distorted. I immediately looked up at his head, however, no name was projected on it.

—D-don't worry, that hit didn't hurt me at all! You must be the person who wrote me the email..., right?

She took a pause to respond.

[Y-yes...]

After that little exchange of words, we both decided to walk until we were right under the big tree, then, we stood in silence facing each other.

[…]

—…

The silence that was present in the environment was different from the one I was used to feeling in my day-to-day life as a student; how could I describe it? Something like uncomfortable and desperate.

"Doesn't she intend to say a word? After all, she was the one who brought me to this place…" I had no choice but to move forward myself and get straight to the point.

—H-hey, I would like to know..., what is the reason you sent me that email and cited me here?

Realizing that I had spoken to her, she was quick to respond.

[Y-you see..., for quite some time now I..., I-I've been watching just you...]

Automatically my face turned red as I looked away almost instinctively, then we both fell silent once again.

[I-Ichikawa-san…]

The APA of that girl timidly pronounced my last name in her distorted voice.

[The truth is..., I've never had this feeling for anyone before… Every time I see you, I feel like my chest hurts and my heart doesn't stop pounding.]

A strong wind came out of nowhere from behind me. Because of it, the leaves of the big tree began to fall like raindrops. The glow of the evening sun peeked out from the side of the main building and rested beautifully on the girl's APA. That scene that looked like something out of a movie stuck in my eyes.

Even though I didn't know what her real face looked like, at that moment she managed to captivate me.

[From the first day I saw how you approached to talk to the students in your classroom, and even to me, from that day you started to catch my attention... I don't know if it's because you are the only person in the whole school who doesn't use an APA. I don't know if it's because of your way of addressing others, always showing a kind smile on your face. I don't know if it's because of your way of addressing others, always showing a friendly smile on your face.]

Each of the words that his APA reproduced were indescribable to me, and made me wonder over and over again if all this was happening and was real.

[Or maybe because despite always being rejected by others, you never give up and keep trying. That's why, I think that...]

Here and now, really someone.

[I'm in love with you.]

Someone had just confessed their feelings for me.