Five Days Earlier

Class was just about to start, but the morning hustle and bustle of class faded into the background as my manga sucked me in.

Ever since I’d heard about it on social media sometime during middle school, I’d enjoyed yuri manga. It made me feel all warm inside — I didn’t need a dictionary to understand the love it presented. Even though such love was foreign to me in the real world.

Because I was all alone.

And that day, I’d dared bring my favourite manga to school for the first time.

I was really nervous. What if people thought I was weird? They probably already thought so, but knowing about my weird interests would worsen their impressions tenfold. I already heard their whispers in my head: “Eww, is she an otaku?”

“I didn’t expect the class outcast to be into romance~ As if she’d ever find love!”

I shuddered at those thoughts, but i kept reading. Every now and then, my eyes darted around; no one was giving me any weird looks. But my anxiety wasn’t soothed.

I don’t know what ultimately drove me to bring my manga that day. It had probably been a completely random decision. But if I’d known that a certain someone would come up to me and eventually turn my life upside down, I wouldn’t have brought my manga. In fact, I might never have gotten into the genre at all.

I heard footsteps.

So I perked up with a sinking feeling.

“Do you also like yuri manga?”

Mai. She was one of the most popular girls in class — or maybe the whole school. With her lustrous blonde hair, beautifully grey eyes, and her slim figure, her looks were greatly admired by girls and guys alike. Of course, that wasn’t all. Her personality and grades were impeccable as well.

Or so I’d gathered over time.

If anything, Mai was the number one girl I could never even walk up to. The kind of girl who screamed of perfection.

But now, she was looking at me with a dazzling smile.

I could faint.

My mind was busy analyzing the situation, so she went on before I managed to conjure up a reply.

“This is the manga that’s been popular recently, right? I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.”

I nodded meekly.

“… Yeah.”

“Is it good?”

“… Yeah.”

“The protagonist is so pretty, isn’t she?”

“… Yeah.”

Why was she even talking to me? Was this some sort of prank?

I looked around, head racing. None of her friends were watching or giggling quietly, though. They didn’t even seem to be present right now.

In any case, I was stuck humoring her for now. I supposed I had to deal with the rest later.

Frantically, I tried to come up with something to say.

“I didn’t take you for the kind of girl to enjoy yuri manga...”

When her brows furrowed, I trailed off. Had I said the wrong thing?

But then she gave another smile, toying with a strand of her hair.

“I guess I really don’t seem like the kind of girl to enjoy yuri, huh? Well, anyway, I’ve only been into it for a few months,” she said.

“Ah.. I’ve been into it for maybe two years now,” I said.

“Really!?”

She wore a look of comical shock. I chuckled awkwardly, nodding.

“Yeah, really.”

“I didn’t take you for the kind of girl to enjoy yuri, either. Well, I guess even I can be wrong sometimes~” she continued.

“Yeah, I guess the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is true, huh...” I said.

“Exactly!”

“Haha...”

I laughed, but I was panicking internally. This wasn’t making any sense.

Why am I able to hold a conversation with Mai, anyway?

... Just as I thought that, we reached a point of silence.

I couldn’t have that. And so I scrambled to continue the conversation.

“S-So... how come you’re talking to me?” — There I went, saying something stupid.

The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I recoiled.

Surprisingly, though, Mai wasn’t fazed.

Her expression seemed to simply say, “Ah, the expected question.”

“Well, you see, both of my best friends called in sick today. And then I happened to see you reading this manga I recognized, so...”

Ah. So I was the backup option. I couldn’t say I was offended; in fact, I figured I should consider myself lucky to have a genuine conversation at all.

But she continued, “Well, it’s a lucky coincidence, actually. I’ve been pretty curious about you lately. Recently, I spotted you reading manga on your phone, too. During lunch break. I thought, like, ‘OMG, I gotta befriend her sometime!’ And the fact you never talk to anyone really made me curious as well. It adds a sense of mystery.”

Huh!?

She’s been wanting to talk to me?

So she was genuinely curious.

I blushed. It wasn’t just because she’d been wanting to talk to me; it was also embarrassing that she’d noticed me reading manga on my phone. I had never read anything naughty in public, but it was still embarrassing to think some of my classmates might have already noticed I was into manga. They just hadn’t said anything.

I should’ve been more careful.

“Well,” I began hesitantly, “I’m, uh, honored? Wait, no...”

She laughed. It was a sweet, gentle laugh — one that easily made my blush triple in intensity.

What is she, an angel?

“No need to be so nervous. You can just be yourself around me.”

Then she took both my hands. She caressed them gently.

My eyes widened.

I could only make weird stuttering noises.

If I wasn’t confused enough before, now I was really confused. She was suddenly talking in a way one might talk to a friend, and then she even took my hands. It was a concept so foreign to me my brain ceased to function.

When was the last time I’d been touched?

And what was her deal, anyway?

I looked down at our hands.

Hers were soft, and yet they were cold. But it still felt good to have them caress mine. What was most apparent was the fact mine were calloused and bruised (I neglected skincare even during winters like these), while hers were impeccably smooth (they seemed to have just recently been taken care of).

Once more, she laughed.

“Let’s be friends, Anthea.”

“S-Sure!”

But my shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

I wasn’t actually so sure. Part of me still believed — part of me hoped — this was all nothing more than an elaborate prank. Everyone could see I was the total opposite of Mai. Could a friendship between a total introvert and a total extrovert really work out? I doubted it. Deep in my heart, I was convienced Mai would be bored of me soon enough anyway. Even if it somehow happened to take a while, I would surely be hurt in the end.

Isolation was safer.

But how could i say no to her? It would be a huge pain. Throughout this whole ordeal, I’d noticed some classmates already turning to look at this spectacle. If I refused, I’d be known as ‘The Girl Who Shouldn’t Have Rejected Mai’ for the rest of the year — hell, maybe the very rest of my school years.

And I had admittedly hoped every now and then that something like this would happen someday.

I should take this chance and run with it.

Even if I got hurt in the end, I could enjoy my friendship with Mai while it lasted. Maybe I’d even make some more friends in the process...

“... Anthea?”

Apparently, Mai had noticed the thoughtful look on my face.

“Ah, i-it’s nothing!” I said.

“Hehe, if you say so...”

She let go of my hands; there was an odd glimmer in her eyes.

Maybe it was just my imagination again, though.

“You should take better care of your hands, Anthea,” she scolded me gently.

“I know,” I said meekly.

It was then that I noticed the teacher walking through the door. 

He seemed bored as ever.

Ugh. Back to reality.

This teacher in particular wiped the smile right off my face.

“Ah, guess class is about to start,” said Mai.

“Yes,” I said.

“What a pity,” Mai went on, “as I find myself wanting to talk a lot more... Let’s exchange numbers during lunch break, ‘kay?”

“Okay.”

Mai went over to her seat.

When the bell signaling the start of class chimed, she flashed me one last smile. It was sweet like sugar, polluting my very soul.

Ah...

I buried my head in my arms; my heart wouldn’t calm down.

It seemed that I, completely average loner, had been chosen to be Mai’s friend.

I had to be careful.