Chapter 17: Apology

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Translator: Soafp

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Monday.

I usually arrive at school at the same time, but today I happened to wake early and got to high school a little sooner than usual.

So I thought I'd have a coffee in the courtyard. But beside the vending machines, I found Shinonome trembling with her small back turned toward me. Three empty cans lay at her feet.

“I-I'm nervous… Calm down, me.”

She gulped down an energy drink, then bought another one.

I took the energy drink from her hand and pressed the change into her palm.

“That's enough. You'll end up hiding in the bathroom all day.”

“H-Hatsukade!? H-Hey, what should I do? I want to go home right now, sit in a dark room, and read forever.”

What was she, Amanatsu?

I took a sip of the energy drink for the first time in a while. It was actually pretty good.

I wanted coffee, but it was caffeine either way, so whatever.

“Just be yourself. Don't try to cover things up. What matters is telling the whole truth honestly.”

“But the usual me is just a piece of trash with an awful personality.”

“…At least you're aware of it.”

Shinonome took a deep breath. Clutching the coins I had given her in both hands, she relaxed her tense body.

“Watching you stay exactly the same makes me feel safe. I'm calming down a little.”

“Good for you.”

“Hey… will you walk to the classroom with me?”

“…Fine.”

I followed behind her as she started walking without saying anything.

I thought she might have something to talk about, but apparently not.

Every so often, she looked back at me and repeated the process of steadying her breathing.

We reached the classroom entrance.

She hunched her back and stopped moving, so I gently pushed her from behind.

“You're blocking the way.”

When I complained like that, Shinonome relaxed her face in exasperation and took a step forward.

A few classmates watched the two of us.

Once we took our seats, I faintly heard a cluster of girls in the corner whispering and laughing.

“Hehe, what's with that? Did those two become friends?”

“They're perfect for each other—both are hated.”

“They should just date already.”

The girls who had lied to the teachers during the overnight training trip gave Shinonome cold looks as they laughed.

I opened my paperback as usual. Then I happened to look up and noticed something strange.

Shinonome, seated at her desk, was staring at me so intently it looked unnatural.

Amanatsu and Hiiragi, who had arrived before us, widened their eyes, wondering what was going on.

The classroom was noisy.

For a while, Shinonome and I looked at each other.

The people around us gradually noticed and fell quiet.

Seriously, she was such a handful.

I nodded once toward her tense face.

From here, there was nothing I should do.

It only meant something if she did it herself.

Shinonome gave a faint smile.

Then she turned to Amanatsu.

“…Nakina.”

“Eep! W-What is it!?”

“I'm sorry for pressuring you into that fake confession!!!”

Shinonome bowed deeply, and Amanatsu jumped to her feet in panic.

“W-What's gotten into you, Shi-chan!? You already apologized for that!”

“No. That wasn't an apology. I didn't tell you the truth at all.”

When she lifted her head, Shinonome's face tightened with guilt.

“That day, it was exactly what Hatsukade said. I wanted to date Masaki-kun, but then I heard he liked you… and I got jealous of you, Nakina.”

“…Shi-chan.”

“So I thought it would be good if you dated Hatsukade through the fake confession and Masaki-kun lost interest in you. I knew you didn't want to do it, but I forced you. I did it with clear malice.”

The classroom, so noisy moments ago, fell utterly silent.

Only Amanatsu and Shinonome were speaking now.

Then the girls' group deliberately let comments carry across the room.

“Pathetic.”

“So she's just openly admitting it now?”

But Shinonome ignored them completely and continued.

“I realized my last apology was only me lowering my head. I'm sorry, Nakina… I'll do anything to make amends. I swear I'll never betray you again. So… I want to be your friend again.”

A sniffle echoed.

Amanatsu was crying, her face crumpled up.

“Ugh… Shi-chan.”

“Why are you the one crying?”

Shinonome pressed her lips together in a troubled expression, and Amanatsu hugged her.

“Because I'm happy. I want to make up too, Shi-chan.”

“Yeah.”

“We'll always be friends.”

“Thank you, Nakina.”

Shinonome gently rubbed Amanatsu's back as if soothing a baby.

After they separated, Shinonome turned so that she could face the whole class and bowed again.

“I'm sorry to everyone too. I made the atmosphere awful because of me. I dragged all of you into that situation, but never apologized—I only tried to let it become vague and assumed time would solve it if I did nothing.”

The classmates seemed unsure how to respond.

Shinonome glanced toward the girls' group in the corner and showed a fleeting smile.

“I'm not really the kind of person everyone thought I was. I can be pretty calculating, and maybe I have a bad personality. It's hard to change everything about myself, but I'll try not to trouble anyone anymore. Please forgive me.”

Then one of the boys hesitantly raised a hand.

“I wasn't that bothered from the beginning, so I'm not mad.”

“She apologized, so maybe we don't have to keep saying things about Shinonome anymore.”

The tense atmosphere gradually loosened.

They were right: not everyone had hated her.

Of course, many people still sat silently and awkwardly.

Some people here must have shared and mocked the video of her online.

It would be difficult for Shinonome to have a cheerful relationship with everyone from now on.

But if she apologized properly like this and continued demonstrating that she was reflecting on what happened, it would become harder for people to openly criticize her.

And Shinonome probably did not even want to reconcile with everyone.

Emiri Shinonome did not seem like someone so weak that being disliked by a few people would make her uncomfortable.

She had been unable to act because guilt and awkwardness had trapped her in place.

She had Amanatsu and Hiiragi, who cared about her.

She had a kind family who would support her.

It did not matter if people she did not care about pointed fingers at her.

What mattered was where she placed her own values. That was what I thought.

The girls who had mocked Shinonome glared at her with clear resentment.

They looked like nothing but losers now.

No—calling them dogs would be insulting to dogs.

Was that the end of it?

Just as I was about to lower my eyes back to my paperback, Shinonome signaled at me and gave a nasty little grin.

What?

Was there still something left unfinished?

She walked over to the desk in front of mine—Masaki's desk—and spoke to him.

“Masaki-kun, do you have a moment?”

“What is it?”

“I have something I want to tell you.”

With a voice full of resolve, Shinonome looked directly into Masaki's eyes.

“Please let me finish what I should have done that day.”

Someone said it.

“Could this be… a public confession!?”

The development was so unexpected that I sat there with my mouth half open.

Shinonome looked at my face and smiled as though she were enjoying herself.

What was she planning?