Chapter 22:

Conclusion Nigh

Good Luck in the Golden Classroom: The Golden Waltz


After returning to my room to shower and change my attire, I went to the restaurant in the mall for my breakfast.

Yesterday, I had my last supper. This time, I want my last breakfast. I need to have my fill beforehand.

There, I bumped with Chinatsu.

“Oh! What a coincidence!” she gleamed. Surprisingly, at seven in the morning, the airhead Chinatsu has dressed up appropriately. I expected her to be in her pajamas with bedhead.

“Coincidence? Ever since you talked to me yesterday, I knew you were stalking me.”

“S—s—s—stalking!? Me!? Me!? The Kana Chinatsu stalking youuuuuuuuuuu!? No way!” She laughed. “No way!! Because you’re a—”

“Mere scholar. Yes, yes, I get it. You don’t have to rub it in my face.” On a side note, I now knew her full name. The chore to ask around for her name was finally fulfilled.

“So, what brings you here again today?”

“Do you have to ask every reason why am always wherever?”

“Of course! I want to know about you more! Is something wrong with that?”

Wasn’t that just stalking? Well, whatever. I should take this a chance.

“Oh, right!” Chinatsu brought out from behind her my neatly folded hoodie. Just from where she was keeping that thing?

“Ah, thank you. You even washed it for me.” I tugged on my hoodie for a bit, expecting her to release it, but I felt a slight resistance. I pulled harder, but her hands weren’t releasing.

What was this? Why was she not releasing my hoodie? Was there something wrong with it?

“Chinatsu, please give me it.”

She groaned.

“Chinatsu?” Still, no budge.

If a Chinatsu had my hoodie given to her by yours truly, and she was stalking the same guy for some reason, then…

“Ah! I forgot! I planned to throw that hoodie away!” I blurted out. “My closet is filled with those hoodies anyway; I’m planning to buy new ones. Could you please give this to someone? You can throw it away if you like.”

“R—really!?” Her eyes sparkled like diamonds.

Goodness gracious, I had a bonafide stalker in my area. Oh, my grace.

“But, I’m running low on money right now so—”

“I’ll buy new clothes for you!” she said excitedly. “I know the latest trends that’ll look good on you!”

“No—no, you don’t have to do that.” I pointed to the restaurant I was about to enter. “I just want a hearty breakfast.”

“O—oh! Sure! I’ll treat you! I mean, you treated me last time—oh!” She gasped. “I’m soooooooo sorry!! I forgot you were poor!!”

Wait, what the—

“I made you pay the bill! Don’t worry! You can order as much as you like!”

I was laughing in pain. She needed not to mention my financial situation. But, I now laughed in victory, because now I have control over my meal where money was just a concept.

So, we ate together. And as shameless as I was, I had twice the servings than hers. It may have looked bad seeing that a male was hogging all the food while the female had only half.

Even worse they didn’t know: the fact that she was paying for all this food, and I had no burden of it.

But, for me, that was comical.

When we were nearing our breakfast’s end, I asked a question, “Chinatsu, what do you like about me?”

This made Chinatsu choke on her food.

“Woah, you alright?” I offered my clean napkin.

She coughed a bit and drank her glass of water before she spoke, “Yeah—yeah, I’m alright.” She waved her hand once, seemingly pondered, then took my napkin. “Thanks.”

“I should have offered you water.”

“No, that’s fine. I had mine—” she stopped herself and stared at my glass of water.

I looked over to hers; it was empty. “You want more water?”

“Yes—yes, please!” In comparison, I gave it to her nonchalantly as she took it excitedly. She liked water very much because she gulped it in one go. “Ah! It tastes heavenly!”

Not what I would describe water unless I was in a desert, but, fine.

Though, now, I was feeling quite thirsty. I haven’t drank yet besides the over-expensive, generic 3-in-1 coffee they served. I wasn’t complaining though; it was free.

“So, about my question—”

“Oh, yes! I forgot. Yeah, what do I like about you?” Her eyes widened as she said that. It seemed like she forgot the question in that short time and recalled it. “Where should I start?” she giggled then took a deep breath. “Amahiko Yajima is handsome, smart, intelligent, knowledgable, wise, athletic, kind, charismatic, caring, thoughtful, sexy, mature, bold, hot, exquisite, strong, powerful—” then she quickly took a deeper breath.

“Alright, stop,” I said as it was getting too overwhelmingly cringy to me. What kind of person should list the most generic compliments ever? This much praise was making me a person that I wasn’t. Moreover, this was just hypocritical; everything she listed down was the traits of the most perfect man in the world, which I was not, and nobody will be. “I understand now.” I’ll stop asking her these questions. Nothing informational came from it.

“I had more if you want!”

“No, please. Just thank you.”

“If you say so, but that doesn’t show how much I like you.”

If I ask a similar question, ‘Why do you like me?’ I bet she’ll list the traits of a perfect human being again. I was having none of that.

And this was a perfect excuse to take my leave.

“You know, Chinatsu, I’m thankful for your kindness—this breakfast and such, but, I think we just have to break off.”

“What!? Why!?”

“I don’t think we’ll hit it off.”

“I think we would!”

“That’s your opinion, and mine’s a—” No, shouldn’t arouse any more of her feelings. I should trample on it. “Here’s the thing, Chinatsu,” I wiped my mouth with the napkin and rose from the chair. “My feelings towards you.”

“F—feelings!? Wait, this is too early!”

“Indeed, it is too early, but I have to tell you now. I can’t keep it in any longer.”

Her face seemed to loom closer to me. Her eyes shimmered. Her mouth quivered in anticipation. She was expecting an answer that—

“I… don’t like you.” I wasn’t going to say. “You’re honestly annoying, and I’d like you to stop stalking me, but I won’t disallow you from talking to me, but we can’t be friends. Sorry, and excuse me.” I left the table, but she blocked my path and knelt before me.

“Yajima! Please!! I’ll do anything! Please don’t cast me aside!”

This woman has gone overdramatic and desperate.

“Excuse me, but I must leave now,” I looked at my watch. Surely, time was ticking. An hour before my lunch with Miyazono, I had to burn these calories.

“I—I won’t let you go!”

I sidestepped and walked past, but she grabbed both of my ankles.

“I won’t let you go until you become friends with me!!”

Her loud pleas of friendship were catching the attention of some onlookers and severely concerned the staff. I was receiving all the humiliation because this woman didn’t seem to know shame.

“Chinatsu,” I lifted one foot, but her grip was strong. I could overpower it, but I feared hitting her. “Chinatsu! Let go!”

“No!!!”

“Fine, fine! You know what? If you let me go, I’ll become friends with you, but stop stalking me, please!”

“R—really!?”

“Yes, really,” I sighed.

“For real!? Really!?”

“Yes, yes, for real, really.” That was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life.

“Yay!!! Yes!!” Chinatsu released my ankles and lifted her hands in victory. I took this opportunity to escape, but once again—!

“Thank you so much, Amahiko! I love you!!” She hugged me from the back.

“Oh my gracious, when will you—” I paused for a second. There was this feeling that was massaging me. It was soft, but I felt cloth between me and the softness.

“Amahiko, I love you!!” She pressed even harder, and the soft things compressed even harder.

I had no idea how to react. I had no idea what they were. Did she carry water balloons everywhere? I supposed she did since she was an airhead.

But something else troubled me. She called me by my first name and said that she loved me.

How was I supposed to react to that? For me, ‘like’ was reserved for things or animals, but ‘love’ was…

Did she still have delusions about me? I had to clear it up, but I had no time.

“Excuse me, Chinatsu,” I pushed her away and faced her. “We can pick things up where we left off, but I have to go now.”

“May I come with you?”

“No—and don’t you dare follow me. If you do, this friendship’s over.”

“Aww, fine.” she sulked. “You’re a harsh man.”

“That’s a one to seventeen, an insult to compliment ratio.” I was aiming for it to be one-to-one.

“What?”

“I have to go now. Excuse me,” and I fled from her voracious grasp.

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