Chapter 49: Normie

“Bocchi, not knocking is not a good thing, you know.”

As soon as Hitori squeezed into the small space formed by the desks and chairs and poked her head in, she heard Ishikawa Hayato’s voice.

“Ah… ah…”

Because it was so sudden, her mind didn't process it. She squatted there, looking at Ishikawa Hayato, who was smiling at her from inside, and opened her mouth.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't continue to tease her. He said calmly,

“Welcome back.”

Hitori gasped in surprise, a strange blush appearing on her face, then she lowered her head and said,

“I’m back.”

Saying that, she crawled into this small, dark corner… “Hayato, how did you know the name of the video I uploaded?”

“Of course, I can see Bocchi’s thoughts clearly.”

“Eh…”

“Haha, just kidding. I knew it was fake from the account creation time, and it’s easy to find by searching for similar videos.”

“Ah…”

Kita stood in the corridor, looking into the corner, where the two were completely out of her sight.

She was surprised.

Hayato… Gotou-san also calls Ishikawa-kun by his first name.

And when they are together, that timid Gotou-san, who is nervous about everything, can speak so naturally.

She felt a sense of being excluded.

This place seemed to not welcome her, as if she had become an outsider.

She had become a passing character in a strange love story.

She felt a bit resentful. After all, she’d even taken his hand that led her onto the stage that day of the performance—couldn’t she be the protagonist to start this wonderful story?

After standing there for a while, she left without a word.

...

When it was time for her appointment with Hitori, Kita Ikuyo parted ways with her friends and went to the storage room alone, carrying her Guitar.

Before coming here, she had a lot on her mind and was also nervous about what arrangements Hitori would have in store for her.

After knocking and getting a response from Hitori, the door opened.

What met her eyes was Hitori sitting on a chair, holding her Guitar.

She was looking down at her Guitar, as if not knowing what to do, gently swaying a pick near the strings.

Speaking of which, Gotou-san is also a very unusual person.

She plays the guitar very well, and although her personality is timid, when she holds her guitar, it always seems like she is lost in her own world.

Quietly playing her own notes in the corner.

Kita stepped into the room with hushed footsteps and said cheerfully,

“Gotou-san, you’ve worked hard.”

Hitori quickly looked up, her eyes, hidden by her bangs, looked at Kita, and she gently shook her head.

“No, not at all…”

Kita saw that a chair had already been placed facing Hitori, and although there were chairs everywhere in this storage room, that particular chair had been wiped spotlessly clean.

'Did Ishikawa-kun help with that?'

She walked over, unzipped her Guitar case, carefully took out her Guitar, then stood up next to the chair and asked Hitori,

“May I sit here?”

“Ah… please.”

Kita sat down without much formality, then smiled and said to Hitori,

“Then, Gotou-sensei, please teach me.”

“Go… Gotou-sensei?”

Hitori was startled, then her face softened as if, as she giggled, carried away by her excitement.

“Yes, Gotou-sensei, please teach me strictly.”

Kita repeated it again.

Even if one path closer to her goal was lost, she wouldn't stop.

She still wanted to break free from her boring life, to become interesting, to stand out from the crowd, and to work with her friends to do exciting things.

And… she looked at Hitori.

Hitori had already recovered from her excitement, and a little flustered, she held her phone and said instructively,

“Kita-san, let’s start practicing from this section…”

“Yes.”

Kita responded with a smile.

The story… hasn’t it just begun?

...

After school.

Ishikawa Hayato finished tidying up his things, stood up, and naturally walked towards Kita, who was packing her school bag.

He patted Kita’s shoulder in a very familiar way and said,

“Kita, let’s go, let’s go to STARRY together.”

Kita, who had been in a good mood, froze. She secretly glanced to the side and said in a hurried whisper,

“Ishikawa-kun, you go first. Gotou-san and I will practice for a while and then go.”

“Hmm, why?”

Ishikawa Hayato didn't understand the situation. Today was a work day, wouldn't it be better to just go to the store to practice and wait for Nijika and the others to arrive?

Kita’s expression was conflicted, her gaze darting to the side, a little absent-minded.

“Ijiichi-senpai isn’t here, so it wouldn’t be good to use the store’s rehearsal room freely.”

“It’s fine, just treat it like your own home.”

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato say this, Kita blinked blankly, then looked away before turning her gaze back to him. Seeing his confident expression, she immediately felt helpless.

“That’s not your home, Ishikawa-kun!”

She raised her voice slightly as she burst out, then quickly glanced at the expressions of the surrounding classmates, lowering her voice and saying urgently,

“Also, didn’t we say not to be so close at school?”

Ishikawa Hayato thought about it. It seemed Kita had mentioned something like that in Line, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it and couldn't remember when it was said.

He looked around and saw many classmates who were about to leave suddenly seemed to have something to do, sitting back down in their seats and perking up their ears to eavesdrop. Combining that with what Kita had just said, in an instant, his face broke into a wide smile. He said loudly,

“Kita-san, today we…”

His loud words were cut short as a flustered Kita quickly covered his mouth.

“What are you trying to do?!”

Kita covered his mouth, calling out in a low, urgent voice.

“You owe me a meal.”

Ishikawa Hayato took advantage of the situation.

“Gulp… I know, Ishikawa-kun, please hurry up and go!”

Kita didn’t hesitate and quickly agreed, then quickly released her hand to prevent misunderstandings from her classmates. At the same time, she paid attention to the expressions of the other classmates in the class, as well as her friends, urging Ishikawa Hayato to leave.

And this pervert, who had scammed a meal from the girl, finally closed his mouth in satisfaction, and coolly slung his school bag over his back.

He snapped his fingers with a bright smile, walked gracefully to the classroom door, and left the classroom with a dramatic spin.

“Bye~”

Kita watched him leave, feeling both that he was cool and that her blood pressure was rising because of this guy.

'Is this guy really someone she should like!?'

But, the next moment, without the pervert’s suppression, the classroom instantly erupted.

A beige ocean suddenly pressed in, almost all the classmates rushing towards Kita.

“Kita-san, what stage are you and Ishikawa-kun at? Is it A, or B, or C!?”

“When did you start dating!?”

“How did you two get together?!”

“Who confessed first?”

Kita looked at the chaotic scene, like a group of reporters desperately crowding in, and immediately froze.

Oh no…

Although she had guessed this possibility and tried her best to avoid it.

But how could paper possibly cover fire? On the very first day back to school, this matter was exposed.

'What to do... what to do...?'

Should she say that there was actually no relationship between them?

And then let so many classmates leave disappointed... Then her normie path would die.

If she didn't meet others' expectations and went against her friends...

For a normie, everything she had would disappear!

She didn't have the courage to make such a big step to change yet.

At this moment, she could only go with the flow... go with the flow...

Kita, with a stiff smile, went along with her classmates and said: "Um... actually, we just started dating..."

What was she saying?!

"Wow!" The classmates in the class burst into surprised cheers when they heard Kita's personal confirmation.

'It's over...'

Cold sweat trickled down Kita's face.

Gotou-san, I'm sorry! Later, when this matter dies down a bit, she would clear up the misunderstanding.

I'm sorry, but normies have all sorts of difficulties they must worry about as well!