Gotoh Hitori's expression gradually darkened.
She lowered her head, her hair covering her eyes, avoiding eye contact with Saiki: "It's fine, and besides, when I eat alone, no one can see me anyway!"
[Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that kind of question!]
"It's really okay."
Gotoh Hitori comforted him: "Because I don't want to eat in the classroom either, and…"
[And?]
Gotoh Hitori [And if in the future, when I become a super popular guitarist and appear on "Music Stage" and the host asks about my school days, I can say "I didn't have many friends at school, I always ate alone in a mysterious space" and talk about that huge contrast, haha… just kidding, hehe.]
(She looks kind of happy about it, doesn't seem like a joke at all.)
[Well! Whatever.]
Saiki had just stood up to leave when the sound of girls chatting came from the stairs above.
"That karaoke session last time was so much fun."
Gotoh Hitori immediately went on alert [Someone's coming.]
Then she hugged Saiki around the waist from behind, reached up to cover and clamp his mouth, and pulled him backward to hide.
(Why do we have to hide?)
"Kita's singing was really good. Even though she quit, I heard she used to be a guitarist in a band too!"
Gotoh Hitori listened to the conversation above, her right hand still covering Saiki's mouth while her left hand supported her chin in thought.
Gotoh Hitori [A band… I remember Nijika was looking for a lead vocalist/guitarist! As a member of the band, I should help out. But where am I supposed to find someone? Saiki?]
(This topic is long over, you know.)
"Kita."
"Ya-ho!"
Gotoh Hitori heard another sound, looked at Saiki, and they exchanged glances.
(For real?)
...
Saiki was standing on the desk, with Gotoh Hitori perched on his shoulders. Both of them had their hands braced against the wall, peeking out with just their eyes to spy on the situation above.
(Yare yare daze, if we get caught in this position, it's instant social death. For someone as socially anxious as me, if this spreads around the whole school, I'll have no choice but to transfer.)
Gotoh Hitori, holding onto the wall, caught sight of a cute girl with yellow eyes and red hair.
Kita Ikuyo's picture →
Gotoh Hitori was once again stunned [She must be such a good girl—cute, super athletic, loved by everyone, and she can even play guitar. Can I really invite someone like her?]
(This kind of character setup… we already have three in our class alone. As for the guitar…)
Gotoh Hitori felt her head swelling. She clutched her head, her whole body trembling, seemingly forgetting she was still riding on top of Saiki's head.
[Hey!! Calm down!]
Saiki felt someone rubbing against his neck and something pressing on his head. Feeling uncomfortable, he tried to remind her, but Gotoh Hitori clearly wasn't listening at that moment.
Gotoh Hitori [Even worse… my special trait will… my special trait will take a huge hit.]
Right now he could even hear the sound of the balloon labeled "special trait" in Gotoh Hitori's mind getting popped.
(No! I think your special trait is the kind that can't be shaken no matter what.)
Saiki got down to the ground and gently set Gotoh Hitori back on her feet.
Looking at Gotoh Hitori curled up with her head in her hands, Saiki's mouth twitched. He raised his right hand, charged up, and "lightly" flicked her forehead with his middle finger.
"Bonk!!!"
(´;ω;`) "Wahhh, it hurts!!!"
Gotoh Hitori clutched her forehead with both hands and dropped to her knees.
Saiki nodded in satisfaction.
[Yep, looks like she's back to normal. That's good.]
"That wasn't good at all!"
Gotoh Hitori looked at Saiki with teary, aggrieved eyes: "Saiki, why did you flick so hard?"
[Wasn't it to snap you out of it quickly? I just used a tiny bit of force, that's all.]
"That was way more than a tiny bit, okay?"
[Seriously, I get it, my bad. Alright? So now what are you planning to do? After seeing that girl just now, you want to invite her to join the band as the lead vocalist, right?]
Gotoh Hitori said in surprise: "How did you know!"
[I could tell. Don't worry about it. If you want to invite her, then just go do it.]
"Saiki, do you also think Kita-san joining the band as lead vocalist would be good?"
[Yeah, probably.]
"Then earlier you said there was someone suitable…"
[That doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, you can go invite her first.]
"Um…"
The moment Gotoh Hitori thought about going to invite someone all by herself, her fingers started twitching and tangling like crazy. After thinking for a while,
"Right, Saiki, please come with me to invite her…"
[No way, you go by yourself.]
"Why? You also think she's suitable, don't you? Otherwise, otherwise I could just tell Nijika and the others that I found a good candidate, that way it would count as…"
[No, you can't tell them.]
"Why not?"
Saiki patted Gotoh Hitori on the head.
[Stuff like this is better if you do it yourself.]
"But…"
[Come on, come on, I'll wait right here for you. Go invite her, hurry up and go.]
Saiki pushed Gotoh Hitori from behind.
Gotoh Hitori still wouldn't give up: "But…"
Saiki cut her off directly.
[Hitori, you don't want your band to end up without a lead vocalist, do you…]
...
In Class 1-D's classroom, Kita Ikuyo was sitting at her desk, absentmindedly reading a book.
From time to time she glanced toward the door, where a tiny crack had been opened, and Gotoh Hitori was peeking in at her.
Gotoh Hitori [Even though I secretly followed her all the way to the classroom, I still don't know how to start the conversation.]
(Just go in already.)
Kita Ikuyo spoke first, looking at Gotoh Hitori who was still staring at her from the doorway: "You're Gotoh-san from Class 1-C, right!"
Gotoh Hitori heard that Kita Ikuyo actually knew her name, and in an instant her favorability toward the girl in front of her skyrocketed.
Gotoh Hitori [She actually knows my name…]
Kita Ikuyo interrupted Gotoh's thoughts: "Um, are you here looking for someone?"
Gotoh Hitori instantly tensed up, sweating profusely [Say it, say it, Hitori! Just say I'm looking for a lead vocalist/guitarist for the band, are you interested in bands? That should be enough. Are you ready? 1, 2, 3.]
Gotoh Hitori swallowed hard and said: "I, band, lead."
Kita Ikuyo: "Why'd you suddenly start doing beatboxing?"
(Don't abbreviate it like that, no one can understand!)
Gotoh Hitori also realized she had failed again and said the wrong thing. Her face instantly turned bright red, even letting out the sound of a steam engine.
"Um…"
Kita Ikuyo seemed to see through the person in front of her—she was clearly very nervous. She wanted to comfort her, but for a moment didn't know what to do.
So while making calming gestures with her hands like sign language, she tried to soothe the other side, worried she might not understand words: "Um… uh, natchu da…"
(Ah! This girl is so kind. She's even using hand signs to try to calm Hitori down.)
Who is Gotoh Hitori? A top-tier social anxiety sufferer. After saying the wrong thing, she could no longer face the person in front of her.
"S-sorry…"
Steam-engine Gotoh Hitori overheated, her face bright red, and she quickly ran away.
"Wait, wait a sec…"
...
[Yare yare.]
Saiki stretched out both hands, grabbed Gotoh Hitori as she came running down from upstairs still wanting to bolt off somewhere unknown, lifted her up, calmly held her in place, and set her down.
Saiki faced Gotoh Hitori.
[Calm down…]