Chapter 31.


    <b>Chapter 31. The First Snowfall of the Year. (2/2)</b>


    <span style="font-weight:400">Snap.


    <span style="font-weight:400">When I heard a shutter sound go off for the second time, I turned around and verified that Rosa had taken the opportunity to climb down thedder and sneak out the exit while I’d distracted this girl.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I’d been far enough that Rosa wouldn’t have made out anything I’d said to the girl.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Ah. Uhm. Sorry... I ended up taking another picture of you without permission.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Haaaah. Well whatever, just don’t show it to anyone else. It’d be troublesome if I get in trouble because I was caught up here because of it being seen by anyone else.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uh… yeah, sure. Sorry again.” She averted her eyes to the side and shied away.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Seeing as my objective wasplete I walked back toward the exit and passed by her side without another word.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Just when I thought I was home free, a hand grabbed onto mine from behind.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uh. Wait. Sorry if I annoyed you by taking a picture. I’ll delete it I promise.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It’s really fine. You don’t need to. I’m not one to make a fuss.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Aren’t you leaving because of it though?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No, I just figured it was about time to head back.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“But lunch break only just began, right? Weren’t you here to watch the first snowfall as well? If it’s because I ruined it for you I can leave.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You really don’t need to. I just figured you’d probably rather not be around a gloomy guy like me while watching the first snowfall of the year. It’d probably end up being an unpleasant memory after all.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No, it’s fine. I don’t think that at all. Please stay, I’ll leave.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll leave.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No, I will.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Haaaah. Whatever, let’s just both stay. This will just go on forever at this rate.” She seemed like the very persistent earnest type and if I tried to leave at this point she would just end up leaving as well and she wouldn’t get to enjoy her memory of this year''s first snowfall as she’d originally intended.


    <span style="font-weight:400">It seems I’d inadvertently grown acquainted with quite the annoying type. She’s too nice for her own good. She probably couldn’t hurt a fly even if she tried.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The two of us walked over to the edge where I originally stood alone. She took a few pictures of the scenery together by my side while I watched her in silence.


    <span style="font-weight:400">When she was content with the number she’d taken, she looked them over one by one with an overly satisfied smile on her face. She wasn’t trying to hide them either.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It’s like I thought.” She mumbled that to herself.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Hearing her curious words, I couldn’t help but ask, “What’s like you thought?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It’s a shame.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Huh? What do you mean? What’s a shame?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That only my eyes will be able to see the best picture I took today.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Why would only you be able to see it?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What do you mean why? It’s precisely because you told me I can’t show it to anyone.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I only said you can’t show the first two you took that has me in it. You can show the other ones you just took without any need to worry about that.” I seriously didn’t understand how she came to that misunderstanding.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you just ying dumb? It’s because the first two turned out the best that I’m troubled.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I raised one brow at her iprehensibly.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“The lone first-year boy under the year''s first snowfall with his hand extended out to catch a single snowke atop the palm of his hand while he muses to himselfparing his life to it in sorrow. You said you don’t look good in pictures, but Ipletely disagree. The air of solitude in the picture is great! Good enough to be a wallpaper I’d be willing to buy. Haha, I might even fall for ya if I’m not careful.” She joked while lightly tapping my side with her elbow.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You‘d just have weird tastes if you did.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Says you. I bet you’re actually pretty popr with girls.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Who? Me? Not in the slightest. Anyway, I think I should start heading back to ss. There are only five minutes left for lunch.” I didn’t bother to say goodbye. I just abruptly turned around and left.


    <span style="font-weight:400">When I was a few feet away she suddenly called out, “Hey, I never got your name.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I just pretended I didn’t hear her. I didn’t want to be acquainted any further than this.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“My name is-”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There’s no need to tell me. It’s not like we’ll run into each other or talk again in the future. Besides, I''m pretty bad with names and wouldn’t remember even if you told me it anyway.” I intentionally cut her off mid-sentence and gave such a hateful reply to ruin any sort of favorable impression she had toward me. It was easier that way. If she disliked me, we wouldn’t ever interact in the future.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Receiving the cold response that she had, she didn’t know how to respond. I was able to make it to the exit before she could think of what to say back.


    <span style="font-weight:400">It was a relief.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I returned to the ssroom and found Rosa seated eating her lunch on her own.


    <span style="font-weight:400">When she saw me sheined, “What took you so long?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It was more troublesome to get away than expected. That girl’s a pain to deal with.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I’d expect as much. She is the most popr girl in the school. Even I know about her.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Most… popr girl in the school?” I raised an eyebrow doubtfully as I repeated what Rosa said. Why don’t I have any recollection of such a person? Well, it was naturally because I never cared enough to pay attention to those sorts of things back then. That part of me hasn’t really changed though so I guess that’s why I still don’t know her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What? You mean to say you didn’t even know who she was?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No. I don’t pay enough attention to these kinds of things.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“She’s quite popr among all years. Both among boys and girls. I’ve heard among the guys she’s the number one girl guys would want to date. Isn’t that nice? You got to interact with such a girl.” She mocked me with a smile on her face.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What’s even more surprising is that I’m personally acquainted with her myself. You know how I hardly interact with girls in our ss?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. What about it?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“She’s so outgoing she’d even interact with me more than them. It’s sad to say that I recently got her phone number. She’d even try to befriend a pitiful girl like me who can’t befriend the other girls in her own ss. Haaaah. It’s just a testament to how nice she really is. If you weren’t my boyfriend, I might have started ying for the other team and wanted to date her myself.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I looked at her with a weird expression.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“If you like her so much, do you want to break up so you can date her?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Hmm…” she was seriously considering it.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Was my position as her boyfriend so weak that it was suddenly being threatened by not another man but a woman instead?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No. I’ll stick with you. I feel like I’d defile such a pure sweet girl like her if I so much as touched her.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Right… I had that same sort of feeling when talking to her.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Besides that, right now I’m looking to be defiled rather than being the defiler.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Is that really something a girl should be saying?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Whose fault do you think that is?” She looked me directly in the eyes as though she were ming me.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I sat down in my chair awkwardly and awaited the beginning of ss.


    <span style="font-weight:400">It was only a bitter in the day during my shift at work that I realized what day it was today. I suddenly understood my bad luck encounter back on the rooftop. That cursed day of the month on Friday that I’d coincidentally encountered such an unreasonably popr girl.


    <span style="font-weight:400">If I’d only been a bit warier of the date, I could have entirely avoided this particr fateful encounter. I cursed myself for my naivety.