My midterm exam results were a mess.

      I was never a fan of studying, but I usually crammed right before exams, hoping to at least be able to memorize concepts like math formulas and historical events. Naturally, I attempted the same approach this time, but nothing seemed to stick in my memory.

      Because of that, my grades – which weren’t particularly high to begin with – plummeted.

      Sendai-san was the reason behind all of this.

      I couldn’t concentrate on studying because of what had happened before our exams.

      As June rolled in and we officially switched over to summer wear, Sendai-san, appearing more refreshed than ever, casually flipped through a magazine beside me. The cover featured flippant phrases like “tips for looking cute” or “how to lose weight”. It looked a lot like the same type of magazine I had seen her purchase the first time I gave her five-thousand yen at the bookstore after she had forgotten her wallet.

      I wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.

      After we shared those kisses, Sendai-san, who I hadn’t even considered a friend, turned our relationship into something even more incomprehensible.

      『It’s only going to feel awkward for the first little while.』

      Sendai-san was the one who said that, but she didn’t seem awkward at all, even though this was the first time I’d called for her since then.

      Maybe I shouldn’t have summoned her.

      I put the manga I was reading back onto my bookshelf and pulled out another book.

      Nothing good happened today. Nothing bad happened either.

      And yet, for some reason, I still called for Sendai-san.

      I didn’t want her to start thinking I stopped calling for her just because we kissed, and I thought I’d be able to act like nothing happened, but I was already starting to regret my decision.

      I took a sip from my soda and leaned my back against my bed.

      As usual, Sendai-san was sticking close to me.

      Usually, she’d be lying on top of my bed, but today, she was sitting right next to me as if she belonged there.

      「Do you like these kinds of magazines?」

      Sendai-san, who was flipping through the pages so quickly I wasn’t sure if she was actually reading them or not, raised her head and asked.

      「No, I don’t.」

      「You’ve been staring over here for a while, so I thought maybe you were interested in it.」

      「I wasn’t staring at you, and I don’t care for those types of magazines.」

      I understood from the way her lips were curled that she was just trying to tease me, so I gave her a curt answer.

      「I don’t really like them either.」

      「Even though you go out of your way to buy them and read them?」

      「Yep, I go out of my way to buy magazines that I don’t even like.」

      She said as a matter-of-factly while closing the magazine.

      I could understand why she wasn’t reading through them thoroughly, but she refrained from telling me the reason why she bought them in the first place. However, considering who her friends were, I felt like I could hazard a guess.

      The flashy catchphrases that adorned the covers seemed like the sort of words that Ibaraki-san liked.

      People-pleasers sure had it rough.

      If Sendai-san had acted that way around me, maybe I would have found it easier to be around her. However, I wouldn’t have invited her to my house so many times if that were the case.

      「Oh right, how did your exams go?」  

      Sendai-san asked while taking a sip from her barley tea.

      I didn’t want to admit that my scores weren’t great.

      But if I didn’t say anything, then she’d end up assuming they were bad.

      「The same as usual. How about you, Sendai-san?」

      「Same here. What was your average score?」

      「Why do I have to tell you that? Besides, if you’re going to ask someone that, then you should say what yours was first.」

      「Sure, I don’t mind. Pass me my bag. I brought the test papers we got back today with me.」

      Sendai-san said as she touched my arm.

      Now that we were in our summer uniforms, our blouses became short-sleeved as well.

      With no fabric shielding my arms, I could sense the warmth of her skin against mine. Even though I was closest to her bag, having her hand on me – which seemed to be her way of telling me to hurry up – made my body tense up.

      How ridiculous.

      I let out a small sigh as I pushed Sendai-san’s hand away.

      「I don’t need to see it. I already know you got good marks.」

      「They weren’t that good. They’re average.」

      「Whatever you perceive as “average” is probably what I would consider really good.」

      「That’s not true. Come on, hand me my bag already.」

      Sendai-san tapped me on the arm once again.

      I doubted she even cared about our test scores.

      She was probably getting a kick out of this simply because I said I didn’t want to look at hers.

      She was always up to these sorts of things.

      I grabbed the magazine Sendai-san had on her lap and tossed it towards her bag.

      「Go get it.」

      And get your bag while you’re at it.

      「Yes, yes. That’s an order, right?」

      No matter how many times I had told her to answer with just one “yes”, Sendai-san never listened to me. She rose from her seat, grabbing just the magazine, but she didn’t hand it back to me.

      「Hey, what if you tried wearing a hairstyle like this?」

      Sendai-san flipped through the pages of the magazine and then showed me a picture of a girl with loosely curled hair.

      The hairstyle looked cute, but it didn’t really suit me.

      「Should I do it for you?」

      As she extended her hand out towards me, a certain memory suddenly came to mind.

      Right before we kissed, Sendai-san had lightly combed through my hair with her fingers.

      Softly and gently.

      Before her hands could even reach my hair, I shut her down by saying 「You don’t have to.」

      I wasn’t sure if she was doing it deliberately or not, but Sendai-san was touching me a lot today.

      I thought it was rather mean of her to do things like this – which she often did.

      She was being mean to me on the day we kissed, too.

      Even though I doubted she had feelings for me, she kept pushing me into issuing her those orders.

      I didn’t think she hated me, nor did I think she was making fun of me or anything, but I couldn’t understand why Sendai-san was so insistent on kissing me.

      However, one thing was clear: Sendai-san treated me kindly. I wanted to touch her too, and unlike the Sendai-san who always put on a front at school, I didn’t dislike the real Sendai-san. Yet, it was frustrating for me to feel this way at all.

      I stared at Sendai-san.

      Her hair color was slightly brown, but it wasn’t light enough for the teachers to care.

      I could see her ears through her hair.

      「You don’t have any piercings, huh? Even though you look like the type to have them.」

      Sendai-san’s appearance wasn’t exactly flashy, but it wouldn’t have been strange to see her wearing earrings. Ibaraki-san’s ears were pierced and she would often get scolded by the teachers.

      「I wouldn’t want the teachers to notice them. Are you ever going to get any piercings, Miyagi?」

      「No.」

      I answered curtly.

      When I tugged at her earlobe – a spot where an earring wouldn’t seem out of place – Sendai-san appeared slightly taken aback.

      I ran my fingers behind her ear.

      「Hey, that kind of tickles, you know.」

      「Then stop moving around.」

      Today, I wasn’t going to let her order me around.

      I’ll follow my own desires and do as I please.

      As I moved my index finger along the back of her ear, gently brushing against its base, Sendai-san grabbed onto my arm.

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