I was dressed in a jersey at the gym, holding my knees tightly as I trembled.
Gouda-sensei, our PE teacher, barked out his orders without any malicious intent in them. But to me, those words brought out nothing but hell.
I guess he’ll never be able to understand the feelings of a loner.
“There are 3 absences in both classes today, so the number of students should be even~! You and your partner are going to compete against other pairs in a badminton match, so choose your partners wisely~!”
Yep, today’s PE class was a joint session between my class and another one.
Gouda-sensei laughed innocently with a manly voice.
This kind of blade, thrust without any ill intent, really stung at me.
Eventually, everyone in the class got into pairs with their close friends.
Which left me… all alone.
“Alright, has everyone gotten a partner? If you haven’t gotten one yet, then please come up front! The remaining people will team up with each other so that everyone has a partner!”
Great, a full course including public shaming at the end.
I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.
Lightheadedly, I walked up to the front.
When I did, everyone around me started making a commotion.
Eh, what is it? Was it so unusual seeing a loner all by himself?
That’s what I’d thought, but it looks like the commotion wasn’t actually about me.
I was so self-conscious that it made me feel disgusted.
Even my inner self started cursing at me. At that moment, I, who had been staring down at the ground, finally looked up.
Then, I saw a small, silver-haired girl right before my eyes.
She looked like a junior year student… No, I couldn’t see her being any older than an elementary student.
“Alright, then the leftovers of the class, Suda and Shiina, form a pair together~ Your pair is a mixed pair, so get along well, okay?~ Gahahaha!”