Chapter 7: Persona Non Grata
Just like before, Tomoya sat at his desk and gazed out the window. I don't plan on going to a university, so I don't care about the lessons…Tomoya thought. Sunohara just left…so it's boring…Tomoya just ignored the entire lesson. To him, the topic was all the same anyways. Takahashi paid more attention to the lesson than Tomoya, but he too was also obviously troubled by something. Takahashi took notes from the blackboard while sporting a frown on his face. He also shot a few glances at Sunohara's empty desk every now and then.
….
The end of morning lessons had finally arrived. Tomoya left his desk and went into the hallway as soon as the class was adjourned. Takahashi followed along. After walking to the stair way, Takahashi parted ways with Tomoya. "I'll go check on Sunohara. He might be pushing himself a bit too much." Takahashi had said.
Tomoya nodded and continued on his way. How dare these people here spend every four hours of their morning with lessons…He thought bitterly. Enduring each period for many days… Tomoya made his way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria, as usual, was crowded.
"Hmm…" Tomoya saw someone standing in the cafeteria's entrance. "That girl…" He muttered.
Nagisa stood at the cafeteria's entrance, waiting patiently for the crowd to break up.
Well…she'll definitely end up with anpan… Tomoya thought. I'll approach her. Tomoya walked up to Nagisa.
Nagisa didn't notice Tomoya, even though he was practically standing in front of her. It was as if she hadn't expected to meet any acquaintances at all.
"Yo!" Tomoya raised a hand to catch Nagisa's attention.
"Eh…wah!" Nagisa steped back a little after Tomoya surprised her. "Ah…Okazaki-san. You're also here, aren't you?"
Tomoya nodded, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah."
"Are you going to eat bread too?" Nagisa asked.
Tomoya nodded again. "Yeah."
"Is that so…" Nagisa said thoughtfully. "Well, I think bread is a good choice. "
"How about you?" Tomoya inquired. "What are you getting?"
"Me?" Nagisa blinked.
She's purposely behaving more cheerfully than usual. Tomoya noted. Even I would want to show her my good side.
"Well…" Nagisa turned her gaze to the crowd. "I was thinking of buying something different from anpan, but…I guess it's impossible…"
"Did you do your best?" Tomoya asked.
"Yes." Nagisa gave Tomoya a confident look. "I was the first to leave my classroom." Nagisa's gaze returned to the crowd. "But the lesson ended late, so…It was already like this when I came."
"Yeah…" Tomoya scratched his chin as if there was an invisible beard there. "Unless the lesson ends fast, cutlet sandwiches are probably impossible for a girl."
Nagisa looked down. "I'm a little disappointed." She murmured.
"…I'll go there for you." Tomoya offered.
"Eh?" Nagisa shook her head quickly. "No way…that's a problem for you!"
Tomoya gave her a thumb up. "This is one of my specialties, so leave it to me." Tomoya looked at the cafeteria menu. "What bread do you like?"
"No, this is inexcusable." Nagisa refuted. "I don't want to cause you tr-."
"Is cutlet sandwich fine with you?" Tomoya interjected.
"By cutlet sandwich…" Nagisa looked back at the crowd. "Do you mean the one that is rumored to be the most popular?"
"Rumoured…" Tomoya snickered. "They're just exaggerating. Cutlet sandwich, right?"
Nagisa still looked hesitant. "…I wonder if it's alright for me to have something that good."
"Whether it's good or bad...you should just eat it if it's in your hand." Tomoya reassured her. "You want to eat one, right?"
"Yes, I guess I'll try it!" Nagisa said firmly and closed her eyes.
"All right then, I'll be going there." Tomoya said.
"Yes, please!" Nagisa responded, her eyes shimmering with determination.
Tomoya charged towards the counter and to the jumbled breads. Forcing his way through the crowd of people, Tomoya finally reached the display case. But it was too late. There weren't any cutlet sandwiches left.
…..
"Pant…pant…" Tomoya returned to Nagisa from the sea of students, completely out of breath.
Nagisa gave Tomoya a worried look. "Are you alright?"
Tomoya sighed. "Sorry…I ended up buying Takoyaki bread…"
"No, I don't mind at all." Nagisa smiled. "It looks really delicious."
"Is that so?" Tomoya looked at the pastry he held in his hand. "Well, it's fine if you say so…"
"This will be my first time eating this, so I'm looking forward to it." Nagisa nodded to herself.
"Here you go." Tomoya handed the pastry to her. "It's 150 yen."
"Yes, please wait a moment." Nagisa took out a cute-looking green purse and gave Tomoya a few coins. "150 yen, right? Thank you very much."
Ah…Tomoya suddenly made a face. I just realized. I forgot to buy my own... He hung his head down from exhaustion. What am I doing…
"Is something wrong?" Nagisa asked.
"Haha…" Tomoya put his hand to his forehead. "I haven't bought my own yet."
"Eh…" Nagisa looked worried again. "If so, please eat this." She offered Tomoya the Takoyaki bread in her hand.
Tomoya raised his hand in protest. "No, it's alright. I'll just wait for the crowd to break up."
"Only anpan will be left then." Nagisa murmured. She looked at the crowd of students again. "I'll go buy one for you instead."
"Eh?" Tomoya was surprised.
"Which do you like?" Nagisa inquired.
"Well…" Tomoya relented. "Those bread that you usually eat."
"Croquette or yakisoba bread, right?" Nagisa looked at the cafeteria menu to make sure.
"Yeah." Tomoya nodded.
"Well then, I'm on my way." Nagisa walked to the crowd of students, and goes to the last row of the line.
She doesn't worry at all, unlike before. Tomoya remarked mentally.
…
Nagisa returned after a while, looking somewhat sad. "I'm sorry…" She apologized. "It ended up being anpan…"
Without thinking, Tomoya gave a bitter smile. "Nah, I'm fine with anpan."
Nagisa offered her bread to Tomoya. "Do you want to switch with my…"
Tomoya held a hand up in refusal. "It's alright. I'm quite tired of eating that anyway."
"You don't eat anpan than much?" Nagisa asked.
Tomoya nodded. "Yeah, I don't eat it that much. Anpan…" Tomoya eyed the bread strangely. "I guess it's been a long time…"
"Then…" Nagisa looked relieved. "Please eat it as if it's been a long time. It's delicious."
…I'm not fond of sweets though. Tomoya thought.
…
The two of them moved to the courtyard to eat their lunch after that. After a period of silence, Tomoya decided to break the ice.
"I'm the same too." Tomoya said suddenly. "Always late. A delinquent."
"…Eh?" Nagisa looked at Tomoya.
"I'm quite famous here." Tomoya continued. "I always stay up late at night. Though today I wasn't late by chance…But thaks to that, I'm quite sleepy."
With that Tomoya showed Nagisa a big yawn.
"Really?" Nagisa asked curiously.
"It's true." Tomoya looked up at the sky. "Even last night, I went home at around four o'clock."
"Do you also smoke cigarettes?" Nagisa inquired.
"Nope." Tomoya looked at Nagisa now. "I'm a delinquent that doesn't smoke."
"That's good then." Nagisa said cheerfully. "I can't stand cigarette smoke. My dad smokes a lot. I can't go into my dad's room. It stinks of cigarettes."
"I see…" Tomoya took another bite out of his anpan.
"Even his clothes smell like cigarettes, so they have to be washed immediately." Nagisa continued, smiling. "It's really terrible, haha…"
I have a feeling that this is the first time I've seen her smile. Tomoya thought. I wonder if she always smiles like this at her house. She has a tender family. I feel relieved knowing that.
"What are you going to do now?" Tomoya asked.
"Yes?" About what?" Nagisa replied.
"Well…" Tomoya scratched the back of his head. "About the drama club, how it ended up…"
"It became a storage room, didn't it?" Nagisa thought about it for a bit.
"The club was disbanded." Tomoya said. "I remembered hear about it afterwards."
"Disbanded…" Nagisa murmured, looking sad again. "That means…there's no drama club in this school anymore?"
"Yeah." Tomoya nodded. "There isn't."
Even her last hope in this school…
Nagisa sighed. "I guess it can't be helped…It's not anyone's fault."
"That's right…it's not anyone's fault." Tomoya tried to affirm this. "It was just bad luck."
It suddenly becomes quiet. After a while…"Cutlet sandwich!" Nagisa suddenly said.
"…Too bad you couldn't get one." Tomoya replied with a small grin on his face.
"Ah, no…" Nagisa shook her head, her face turning slightly red. "Just now, umm…It's not that I'm saying it selfishly…It's just that I thought it would be nice if I could eat one someday."
…I remember. She does that to push herself forward. Which means she's enduring the reality of what I just told her. Tomoya recalled the day before when they ascended the slope in front of school together.
"Ah, someone is watching us." Nagisa looked up. She was looking at the window of the school building.
"Hmm…You're right." Tomoya looked up at the window as well, and saw a few students there.
"I wonder if we're a bother here." Nagisa said softly.
"No way." Tomoya assured her. "We've been here for a while now, right?"
"That's…right." Nagisa responded.
"I know." Tomoya held up his hand. "Try waving at them."
"Eh?" Nagisa looked back down at Tomoya again.
"Wave your hand at them and smile." Tomoya tried again. "If you do so, it might motivate them to talk to you, right?"
"Me? Alone?" Nagisa asked uncertainly.
"Well, I don't know what to do. They're all girls." Tomoya replied.
"I think it would be fine if you tried." Nagisa looked down at the ground in front of her.
"Wouldn't that make me a flirt?" Tomoya chuckled. "Do it alone. Come on."
Tomoya lifted up Nagisa's hand. "Well, smile, right?" Nagisa still looked hesitant.
"Yup, smile." Tomoya replied, putting on a smile of his own.
"Um, ehehe…" Nagisa waved her hand as she smiled. Then, the figures at the window disappear.
"Aha..." Nagisa's smile froze. "Cutlet sandwich!"
"…Sorry about that." Tomoya apologized, notice how tense Nagisa was.
"Ah, not at all…" Nagisa quickly responded. "Just now…it's not that I'm saying it selfishly…"
Nagisa repeated the same explanation to Tomoya. Munch, munch…
Nagisa looked at the bread in her hand. "This is surprisingly delicious. "Ehehe…"
Tomoya and Nagisa both gazed up at the sky for a while. I wonder if, someday, there'll be someone who'll come down for her. Tomoya thought.
"Well, if I can…" Nagisa began to speak. Tomoya's gaze shifted to her. "I want to make another drama club."
I feel glad. The first time I met, I wondered if she would be able to speak positively. "You can. It's simple." Tomoya said.
"Really?" Nagisa looked at Tomoya with hope.
"Yeah." Tomoya nodded. "If you have the motivation to do it."
"But, I think it would be difficult." Nagisa said in a small voice. "So if possible…will you be the club president?"
"…Katsudon." Was Tomoya's reply.
"Huh?" Nagisa looked at Tomoya in confusion.
"No, I was just thinking that I liked the katsudon in the cafeteria." Tomoya folded the anpan wrapper he held in his hand. "Anyway, you will be the club president. I'm not interested in drama, as you can see."
"…Is that so? That's too bad…" Nagisa said sullenly and looked down at the ground again.
"Even so, don't say you'll stop." Tomoya added.
"But it would be lonesome doing it alone." Nagisa pointed out.
"Would it be alright if you search for members?" Tomoya suggested.
"…." Nagisa seemed troubled, closing her eyes. Or rather, she looked like she was regretting something she couldn't back out of.
Noticing this, Tomoya couldn't help but feel like he should do something. "But you know…" He said slowly. "I won't join the club, but I will help you out by collecting members."
"Ah…" Nagisa opened her eyes and looked up at Tomoya. "Really?" She asked.
"Yeah, I promise." Tomoya smiled. "I'll help you out until you become a fine club president."
"Then…I'll try my best." Reinvigorated with determination and hope, Nagisa smiled again.
"All right." Tomoya nodded, feeling relieved. I wonder what I'm glad about. I just promised to waste the rest of my time on something like this. At a time when everyone is striving to study for upcoming exams. Tomoya asked himself that, but in his heart, he already knew the answer.
"I'm one of the others as well…" He mused silently.
"Did you say something?" Nagisa asked.
"Nothing…it would be good if at least half of all the students becomes a member of the drama club."
"That's too many." Nagisa responded.
"I see." Tomoya tossed away the anpan wrapper. "Well, it's better to aim high. Let's go with that in mind."
"Yes, that's too many, but I understand." Nagisa affirmed.
"Do your best then, Furukawa." Tomoya gave her a thumb up. It's the first time I called her by her name…He thought.
"Okay!" Nagisa held her hands to her chest, as if making a resolution.
…..
Right before lunch break ended, Nagisa and Tomoya parted ways. Tomoya returned to his classroom to find Takahashi chatting with Ryou about something. Tomoya could make out tiny snippets of their conversation.
"…That's an interesting hobby you've got." Takahashi said. "What made you take that up?"
"Haha…" Ryou smiled and held up her deck of cards. "You can call it a maiden's inspiration!"
"Hey, Takahashi-san…" Tomoya called out to him.
"Oh? Okazaki-san?" Takahashi waved at him. "I see you've returned from the Great Journey."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Tomoya said, walking over to Ryou and Takahashi.
"Don't be shy now, my friend." Takahashi said calmly. "I saw you and Furukawa eating lunch together. So, how did it go?"
"…How do you know her? And what do you mean how did it go?" Tomoya asked.
"Well…I buy bread from her family's bakery. I never knew her too well, only said hello every now and then." Takahashi explained. "And by how did it go, I mean did you two do something special?"
Ryou suddenly joined the conversation. "What do you mean?"
Tomoya suddenly raised both hands and made a pushing motion. "Just stop right there. We've just met. What do you take me for? Oh by the way, Fujibayashi, if this was the encounter you were talking about in your fortune, I'm inclined to say that "fiery impact" wasn't quite the way to describe it."
"Ah...I see." Ryou nodded, giving a small smile.
Takahashi placed a hand on Tomoya's shoulder. "I'll ask later then. There'll be another time."
"Anyways…" Tomoya brushed Takahashi's hand aside. " How's Sunohara?"
"Oh, that…" Takahashi pushed up his glasses. "He's trying to put himself through some extreme conditioning. I suggested against it since he's really pushing his body, but he refused to listen to me. I figured I'd only bother him if I stayed there, so I came back to the classroom."
"He's really serious about trying Tomoyo again?" Tomoya sighed. "He's so hopeless."
Takahashi shrugged. "Sakagami-san probably won't pull any punches either, so this'll be tough for me. I want to monitor them to make sure things don't get out of hand."
"Pull any punches?" Ryou asked with a concerned look on her face. "Is there going to be a fight or something?"
"Ah no, nothing of the sort." Takahashi quickly asserted. "We're just talking about some friendly competition, that's all."
At that point, the bell rang, signalling the start of the afternoon classes.
"Ah, I guess we should get ready for class." Takahashi quickly fixed his hair. "Well, Fujibayashi-san, I'll talk to you later, alright?"
"Ah…yes." Ryou's voice was barely audible.
Takahashi and Tomoya both returned to their desks. As Tomoya sat down, he noticed that Ryou was blushing a bit, as if she was embarrassed about something. I'll ask Takahashi about this later. He thought.
Tomoya looked down from the window to see a male student in uniform hopping forward while squatting. It was Sunohara. If you would put such effort into sports or studies, you would succeed…Tomoya thought.