The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
A lot has happened, but it’s been about two weeks since Kanade transferred here.
“Hehe. Hehehehe.”
At first, she got caught up in all sorts of trouble, like her rivalry with Kadokura-san, but now she’s completely settled in with her classmates.
In fact, she’s settled into this class even more than I have.
……Oh, wait, maybe that was already the case from day one.
Anyway, for whatever reason, Kanade has completely settled into this class.
Last week, she only came over to my place five out of seven days, and it seems she’s gradually drifting away from me, which has left me feeling a little lonely.
In any case, I’ll have to put those melancholy feelings aside for now, as a pressing matter is looming on the horizon.
“Alright, everyone. Since we’re entering exam period next week, club activities are prohibited in principle.”
That means the first-semester final exams.
“…Ugh. Exams are such a drag.”
“I’m way behind on my studying.”
Once the short homeroom session at the end of the day was over, my classmates left the classroom, muttering pessimistic comments about the exams.
……Amidst all that, what kind of reaction am I showing?
Believe it or not, I pride myself on studying harder than anyone else at this school on a daily basis.
That’s because I have the lofty ambition of becoming a doctor in the future.
……For someone like me, the school’s achievement tests are nothing more than a stepping stone.
Therefore……
“……Ugh. My stomach hurts.”
Naturally, come exam season, I end up with stomachaches from stress.
You there, thinking, “Wait, wasn’t that setup just a show of how cool and collected I am?”
You’re naive.
Think about it calmly.
If I, with my lofty ambition to become a doctor… were to be tripped up by something as trivial as a school proficiency test, what would happen?
It’s obvious.
Death (exaggeration).
If I don’t come in first place in the final exams, I’ll die.
Socially and mentally…
“I hate exams…”
So, just like my classmates who were expressing their anxiety about exams a moment ago, I hate exams too. I even wish they’d just disappear.
“…Hehe.”
…But my fifteen or so years of life so far speak volumes about the fact that running away from things I hate accomplishes nothing.
“…Hehehe.”
…So, no matter how much I hate it. No matter how painful it is. I can’t run away.
“Hehehe.”
If it’s to make my dream come true.
“Hehehehe”
To never be tormented by that sense of helplessness again…!
“Akkun”
“Whoa!”
Startled by Kanade’s voice from behind, I jumped.
W-wait, Kanade, when the heck did you get behind me?
I didn’t notice at all…
“Akkun. Let’s go home?”
“Oh, yeah…”
Prompted by Kanade, we headed home.
“By the way, Akkun, aren’t you going to study in the library today?”
Kanade asked me on the way home.
“Uh, yeah… I tend to get a sharp tongue during exam periods.”
“Really? But Takagaki-san is so kind.”
…Well, yeah, the atmosphere gets pretty tense during exams, so my mouth gets a bit sharper too.
That’s why, during the last midterm exams, we got into a back-and-forth argument where we were basically trying to trip each other up, so we ended up making a gentleman’s agreement.
……Oh. Come to think of it, Kanade had successfully given Takagaki-san a gift meant to help us bond.
[Oh, thanks… I’ll… take good care of it, okay?]
Takagaki-san looked really happy, wearing a slightly forced smile.
“Hey, A-kun.”
“What?”
“If you’re not going to study with Takagaki-san, why don’t you study with me instead?”
“……”
“Huh?”
Kanade tilted her head, as if she’d expected me to agree. Cute.
“Well, it’s just… exam season is like a battlefield. I don’t have the bandwidth to keep an eye on other people’s studying, you know?”
“Oh… I see.”
Kanade looked down, her face falling in disappointment.
“…It’s not about you teaching me, though.”
“Hm…?”
“If possible, I was hoping we could work together… I was thinking we could push each other to do better.”
“……Mmm.”
I wish she’d stop with those tearful appeals.
……I’ve already gone through a painful breakup with someone once, so I really hate anything too sentimental.
“Okay. Let’s study together.”
“Yay!”
Kanade’s joy was obvious.
…What? Was that emotional blackmail just an act?
I’m glad it was just an act.
“…Well then, A-kun.”
“Yeah.”
“Is it okay if we study at your place?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
Kanade smiled.
“Well then, before we study, let me check to see if you’ve moved that teddy bear I gave you the other day.”
…The light faded from Kanade’s eyes.
I’d placed the teddy bear she gave me on the very top shelf of my five-tier bookshelf at her request… but it had gotten dusty in just a few days, so I felt sorry for it and moved it down one shelf.
…That was, I’m pretty sure, three days ago.
It was, how should I put it, a remark that seemed almost calculated.
“Hey, Kanade, are you spying on my room or something?”
“Hmm? I am, actually.”
“Right. You’re not, are you?”
I decided to brush off Kanade’s strange joke.
She’s the last person I’d expect to be doing something so borderline criminal.
Still, for that to be the case… the timing is a bit too good.
Maiasa