Chapter 5.5: 28 Days Left
I shouldn't have stayed up last night. I feel awful…
The girl can't help but yawn once again, trying to stay awake. Resting her elbows on the desk, Akane is surprised by how it feels just as soft as her bed. All she would have to do is just bring her head further and further down and enjoy the sweet comfort of-
"Ms. Nishino?"
"E-Eh?!"
She snaps to attention, sitting straight and looking ahead at the woman who called on her.
"… Are you okay? This has been the third time you-"
"Yes. Yes I am. Don't worry."
Akane hastily nods at the teacher. Trying to stay cool, she grabs her pen again.
Considering the number of classmates that are still looking at her after the instructor carried on with the lesson, it is clear that she is failing.
Come on. Don't you have better things to do…
Sighing to herself, Akane tries to get her mind back on whatever her teacher is saying.
It doesn't take long for her attention to start wavering again. Turning her head to her left side again, she's met with the source of her exhaustion.
His desk is still empty…
He can't really be dead, can he? What are the odds that he really did die? How could he have died? It was quite literally two days after he saved her life. A day after he finally got her name right.
…Am I the only one that's noticing this?
It's been one week since the incident. One week since Akane Nishino had a decent night's sleep. One week since Minoru Kageno-
Akane takes a glance at the other students, observing their behavior. They seem to be doing what they were 'supposed' to be doing, actually paying attention to the lesson. Under most circumstances, she'd be right there with them, but this…
No one said anything after he stopped showing up to class. Even when the news came out, the atmosphere didn't even sour for a day. Everything is going along as if nothing happened…
How can these people not care one bit about him? He sat with them for two years. Even if I barely saw him talk during that time, how could they still…
…
…Don't they care about why he's dead?
"Ms. Nishino? You're getting distracted again."
Akane immediately turns her head back to the teacher, seeing her look mildly annoyed.
"R-Right. Forgive me."
The girl feels herself being scrutinized by the woman's eyes. This time however, her initial embarrassment is replaced with a hidden resentment.
If only you cared as much about your own students' lives as their attention.
"…Do… you need to go to the nurse?"
…
"… Yes…"
Akane can't bother with this lesson, not today. She'll just ask a classmate for the notes later. Getting up from her desk, she doesn't waste any time in leaving, ignoring the odd looks coming from the others.
He must have never bothered with these people for another reason besides wanting to stay irrelevant.
AN: Normally these will be a lot longer, but I don't want to give too much away rn, so the lengths of these in between chapters will increase over time. Next chapter is shaping up faster than I thought so maybe it won't be another two month wait. Have a good day.
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