Chapter 17: CH 17

Ex-Girlfriend and Current-Girlfriend

When I arrived at the gymnasium, there were a lot of students there. Some looked happy, some looked dejected, probably from their result.

“Oh, those are the girls from our class.”

As Takadera said, the girls from our class were going around the measurement event in groups.

“Takane-san and Asatani-san really stand out from the crowd, don’t they? Even the seniors are paying attention to them.”

Takane-san and her group were waiting for their turn to do the repetitive side jump, the last exercise to be measured in the gym.

When we left the classroom, all of the students were wearing the school jersey, but most of the students had taken them off probably for easier movements. Takane-san was in the minority and kept her jersey on. Asatani-san was dressed the same way, but she seemed to take it off when she was measured — I thought that I shouldn’t look too closely.

But in spite of my self-restraint, I noticed some figures watching Takane-san and the others from a distance.

“Aren’t those seniors staring at her like crazy?”

“Wow, they’re really staring at her… I wonder if repetitive side jumps are really that exciting.”

The ones who were staring at Takane-san and her group, to the point that Takadera and Ogishima were taken aback – as expected, it was the senior boys from the tennis club.

“Oh, hey, that guy…”

There were two guys wearing third-year numbers. One of them looked at me and said something in a hurry. The other looked as if he had seen something bad.

When they realized that we were also there for our measurements, they looked at each other as if relieved and started walking towards us.

(They’re grinning… I hope they’re not thinking of something strange. Well, looks like we’re screwed.)

“First years, you’re here for measurements, aren’t you?”

“We’ll help you out with the seated forward bend.”

The boy who tried to step his foot on me, and the other one – the one who grabbed Takane-san’s bag and tried to force her, they were in the same class, both in Class 3-D.

“It’s an annual tradition for the older students to teach the younger students. Come here.”

The teacher in charge of physical education actually told us that. Our group was instructed to sit by the wall, three by three.

It was my turn, and the guy who grabbed Takane-san’s bag would be the one who was going to ‘teach’ me.

“Hey, you’re not hurt or anything, are you? We didn’t do anything to you.”

It didn’t feel good at all to be whispered to by a man, and the content – apparently, he was concerned that I might tell the school or something.

“What are you talking about? I don’t recall…”

“I see… If you’re in good shape, I’ll help you get a good score.”

I knew that was his intention from the beginning, but when it was really confirmed, I felt pity for him.

“Senpai, you shouldn’t push from behind, right?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. If you do it like that, you’ll have a better score.”

Takadera tried to warn him, but was stopped by another third-year.

In the seated forward bend, it was against the rules to have someone push you. But the senior pushed me as hard as he could. There was no restraint at all.

–But I stayed in my initial position and didn’t move an inch.

“Hey, hey. What are you doing…?”

“It’s not me… This guy, he’s…”

The third-year boy next to him, who was helping Takadera with the exercise, exclaimed in surprise.

I knew what they were doing, but I had no obligation to let them do what they wanted.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

“You…!”

“You over there! You can’t push him like that when he’s bending forward!”

“This is bad…”

The teacher noticed and blew the whistle. The boy who was assisting me got a small lecture from the teacher and scooted out of the gym.

“Sometimes there are kids who play pranks like that, good grief… Even though they’re already third-years.”

“No, we’re sorry too. Sorry to have bothered you.”

“If you have any trouble, just tell the teacher, okay? The measurement, can you do it again?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

The teacher laughed in relief and went back to measure the repetitive jumps. After the third-years left the gym, Takadera called out to me with a guilty look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Senda. I couldn’t stop him because of the senior who guided me…”

“I’m sorry too, I could only watch… Senda-kun, did you know those seniors?”

“Well, sort of. Don’t worry about it, nothing happened.”

” You’re saying ‘Nothing’. You were being pushed by a really tough senior… Was that senior not as strong as he looked?”

“I don’t know. More importantly, I don’t have anyone to measure me. Can you do it?”

“Even after being pushed so hard, I didn’t think Senda’s body would be so stiff, you wouldn’t be able to move…”

When you do groin splits in the gym, you’re naturally good at exercises that require flexibility.

I leaned forward until my face was on my knees, stretched out my fingers, and pushed the measuring device until it was over my toes.

“How’s this…?”

“How flexible are you… Are you a mollusk?”

“No, my family is even more flexible…”

When I said family, I meant my sister, but it was kind of hard to say that I have one. When you have a brother or sister, there will come a time like this.

“Oi, oi. The girls from our class are looking…”

“Huh…?”

When I looked up, some of the girls from our class, who must not have noticed us earlier, were looking at us.

Among them were Takane-san and Asatani-san.

Takane-san looked away when her eyes almost met mine, and Asatani-san, who was also looking, smiled in an annoyed way, as if she was doing so to a friend.

“I knew it, Asatani-san is so kind. She was worried because Senda looked like he was getting tangled up.”

“Well… maybe so…”

I was so preoccupied with dealing with the seniors from the tennis club that I hadn’t noticed how long they had been watching me. My body temperature went through the roof.

What bothered me more was the fact that Takane-san and Asatani-san were looking at me ‘together’.

(Should I be rather relieved that things didn’t turn sour between them… Do they get along while working together or something?)

‘For the time being, I am Nagi-kun’s ex-girlfriend… Isn’t that right?’

‘From now on, I’ll be the one going out with Senda-kun, so I’m his ‘current-girlfriend’.’

Even though Takane-san and I hadn’t started dating yet at that time, I thought that was practically a declaration of war.

However, I couldn’t imagine that Asatani-san would compete with Takane-san after she dumped me so easily. The fact that she even said ‘ex-girlfriend’ was already unexpected in itself.

It was unlikely that Asatani-san said it to upset me or Takane-san. Takane-san and I had certainly grown closer, but it was hard to imagine that Asatani-san had noticed or even cared about that.

Should I have taken Asatani-san’s decision to come to the library as an indication of her intentions? But I thought it was wrong to imagine that she was still interested in me after dumping me.

“Senda, let’s go to the next measurement soon. It looks like they’re going to start measuring the girls, too.”

“Takane-san and Asatani-san are going to take the measurements together. It was a pity that those seniors wouldn’t be able to see it.”

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Looked like Ogishima also had some thoughts about the seniors. Takadera shrugged his shoulders and seemed to be concerned about the girls’ measurements, but he asked the rest of the group to join him and headed for the grip strength test.

“Senda-kun, did something happen with those seniors?”

“It’s amazing. If someone pressured me like that, I’d be freaked out.”

It was true that my classmates seemed to be nervous in front of the seniors. It was a good thing that didn’t make me stand out from the rest of the class. If I had shown a challenging attitude, it would’ve drawn attention to me.

I wondered what Takane-san and the others thought about it as I looked back at them while waiting for my turn to be tested for grip strength.

“Wow, both Takane-san and Asatani-san are very athletic… And their styles are both badass.”

“A beautiful girl will look pretty no matter what she does.”

I could understand why Takadera lost his vocabulary. Takane-san, who had taken off her jersey and was now only in her gym clothes, was the most agile in the class.

Asatani-san was also very athletic and was as fast as Takane-san. The way the two of them competed with each other was really picturesque. It was no wonder that everyone in the gym was looking at them.

“I’m proud to be in the same class, but I feel like I shouldn’t look at our idol, Noarin too much. It’s a complicated feeling, right Senda?”

“Ah…? Yeah…”

“Senda-kun seems to be more interested in Takane-san. No two-timing, okay?”

“… No, that’s not possible.”

I was sure Ogishima was just joking, but I couldn’t help but get upset, although neither Takadera nor Ogishima seemed to notice.

For some reason, there was a round of applause after the measurements were taken. Takane-san wore her jersey back as if she didn’t care, and Asatani-san waved her hand affectionately.

We, too, were next to do the repetitive side jumps, but Takane-san and the others were already leaving the gym to head outside for other exercise measurements.

Finally, Takane-san looked at me, and when her eyes met mine, she gave me a sly smile.

Takane tried to wave at me, but Asatani-san waved at me from the side.

“Oh, hey… Noarin, she’s waving at me, right?”

“It’s Senda-kun, no matter how you look at it. They went to the same middle school. They must’ve been close.”

“Well, that’s normal… Or rather, everyone is too upbeat.”

“That’s because we have a real celebrity in school. Though, Takane-san is amazing too. She stood out even when she was with Noarin…”

“Yeah…”

I just realized it. I haven’t decided what stance I should take when talking about Takane-san with my friends.

I couldn’t talk about her from the perspective of a boyfriend yet, so I realised it was best to think of her as a classmate. Although it was not really a secret, if anyone asked me outright if we were dating, I would have to answer with determination.

“We’re in the same class, so it would be nice if we could get together sometime. Don’t you think so, Senda?”

“Well… We have lots of events coming up.”

“Unless you’re in the same club or in the same committee, you probably won’t have much contact.”

“Don’t say that. I can’t change my club anymore… Ah, I wonder which club Noarin will join…”

Asatani-san said she wanted to be in the light music club, but I wondered if she had really joined that club.

I was thinking of joining the reading club, but I haven’t submitted my application yet. I promised Takane-san that I would let her know when I decided which club I would join, but I wondered how she would react if I told her I wanted to join the reading club. I also wondered what club Takane-san was thinking of joining.

 

After finishing the measurements in the gym, we were given an early lunch break.

Takadera and Ogishima were called by a senior member of the club they just joined, so we decided to split up for lunch. This would automatically mean I’d be eating lunch alone–

On sunny days, the cafeteria opened out onto a wooden deck. There were tables for dozens of people, but I chose a place where the sun didn’t shine directly on me and sat at the end of the table.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Nagito-san…”

“I’ve just arrived too.”

As soon as she saw me waiting for her, Takane-san was extremely excited.

When I received a message from Takane-san while I was changing, I thought she was going to tell me about what had happened in the gym, but after a short exchange, I understood her intentions.

[I brought my own lunch today.]

[If Nagito-san also has his own lunchbox, why don’t we eat together?]

The thought that someone from my class might notice made a lot of thoughts go through my mind, but I was more than happy to eat with her.

“Um… When I saw you at the gym, I really wanted to talk to you…”

“I wanted to do the same, but it would have been too obvious.”

“Even if It’s a physical fitness test, it’s still in class.”

We had been trying to be inconspicuous, but we had been going to school together as usual, and other students could already see that. If I talked with her in the gym with the whole class present, I was sure everyone would guess what was really going on.

“I’m sorry… Because of me, something happened with the seniors from the tennis club…”

“He seemed to remember me, but he didn’t do anything serious.”

“Yes, you are very flexible aren’t you, Nagito-san? When you were being measured, you didn’t move when the senior pushed you… Asatani-san was also surprised.”

“…Is that so? Well, I always stretch so that I don’t get hurt at the gym.”

“Asatani-san is also very flexible. I took ballet lessons when I was a child, so I was quite confident, but our seated forward bends were about the same.”

Asatani-san’s name came up a few times already now, but I wondered if it was okay to ask her about it. It was a thought that was not easy to ask. I was also curious about Takane-san’s ballet experience, but I wondered if I would be pushed away if I asked too much.

“What events were you good at, Takane-san? The repetitive side jump was awesome.”

“Asatani-san asked me to compete in that, so I did…”

“Oh, really? Asatani-san is… quite competitive.”

“I was a little confident. I won some and lost some, and we didn’t settle it until the end. We had the same number of repetitive jumps, but I had the better grip strength…”

Takane-san said in a halting voice. I wondered why, and it hit me quickly this time.

“Maybe it’s because Takane-san used to play tennis.”

“Yes… My dominant hand is the one to grip the racket and I needed to put a lot of effort into it…”

“I’ve got a pretty good grip, too, not that there’s much use for it though.”

The fact that she won from Asatani-san with her grip strength… I thought it was probably a complicated feeling for a maiden to say. Apparently, I was right.

“Then… How about we compare them?”

I didn’t expect she would ask to compare grip strength here. That would mean holding each other’s hands.

“Um… If Takane-san is okay with it…”

“Fufu… I’m sorry. I just wanted to see Nagito-san’s surprised face.”

“Ta-Takane-san…”

Takane-san smiled happily. I was about to put my hand out naturally, but I pulled it back as if nothing had happened. The movement was not natural at all.

“Compared to boys… I’m not that strong, you know?”

As I looked at Takane-san smiling at me, I thought of the situation I was in. It was probably the time when people would say ‘Riajuu should explode’. 

( T/N : Riajuu is a term for a person with high social skills. The idiom is an expression of jealousy and hatred towards them.)

“I’m glad we have a long lunch break today. This way we can talk more slowly…”

“I also have a lot of things to talk about. I’m glad you contacted me, Takane-san…”

“Yes, me too. I have something to tell you, and I’m sure Nagito-san wants to hear it right now.”

What did Takane-san and Asatani-san talk about? Not that that’s all I wanted to hear, but I would like to know if possible.

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