The lunchtime bell rang.
In Classroom 1-C, Eriri rested her chin on one hand while idly twirling a pen with the other.
The slender pen danced swiftly between her fingers as Eriri's thoughts drifted far away.
'This time, I think I've really pissed off that gloomy girl...'
Recalling the morning's events, Eriri's mood instantly soured.
Oversleeping had led her to bump into that gloomy girl and that scheming Luo Shu in a compromising position, with Kisara in tow.
Though it was unclear whose 'moment' she'd interrupted, both undoubtedly thought she'd sabotaged them.
Luo Shu was one thing—getting back at him for scaring her before was fair game—but Kasumigaoka...
Eriri's pen suddenly stopped spinning as her face twisted in distress:
'She'll hate me... hate me, yell at me, and then cut ties...'
'Though I don't particularly like being friends with that gloomy girl either, being the one who got dumped still feels a bit embarrassing...'
Eriri pressed her lips together and slumped onto her desk, resting her hand on a textbook while hesitantly thinking:
'Should I... go and apologise?'
'But how should I apologise?'
'"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought Kisara and Yukinoshita to see that scene and caught you in the act..." Would that apology get me roasted by that gloomy girl for a week? No, make that a month?'
'But if I don't apologise... wouldn't that be bad too?'
Just as Eriri was agonising over this, her increasingly sharp ears caught voices from the corridor.
"Is it Class C?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's here. Look, third from the back row, the one slumped over?"
Hearing this, Eriri froze.
'Are they talking about me?'
At that moment, the conversation continued.
"How pitiful, having her boyfriend stolen by a second-year senior. Slumped over her desk, probably crying secretly, right?"
"Must be crying. Damn those second-year seniors, bullying people just because they enrolled a year earlier. Absolutely despicable."
'Ah, they're not talking about me!'
Eriri immediately relaxed, even feeling curious enough to discreetly glance around.
She wondered which classmate had their partner stolen by a second-year senior. As the centre of the girls in her class, usually maintaining the graceful image of a diplomat's daughter, Eriri was quite knowledgeable about gossip.
None of the girls in her class who were dating could escape her notice.
But among those in her row currently dating a boy... was it Riko?
Eriri glanced at Riko, who sat by the window, and noticed she seemed to be flipping through a magazine.
Eh? She's not slumped over her desk. So it's not Riko they're talking about. Then who?
Eriri blinked, raised her head, and looked the other way.
In this row, third from the back, there were only her and Riko among the girls. So the person the corridor voices mentioned was...
Eriri turned towards the corridor and spotted three girls hiding there, apparently staring right at her.
"Oh no, oh no, Sawamura's looking this way. Let's hide for now."
"Yeah, yeah, let's hide. Even if we want to cheer her on, it's better to do it privately."
Watching the girls duck behind the wall, Eriri blinked:
"Huh?!"
"HUH?!!"
"What's wrong, Eriri?" A familiar voice spoke up—Riko had come over. "Were you just looking at me?"
At that moment, Eriri muttered to herself: "That unlucky girl whose boyfriend got stolen by an upperclassman... was actually... me?"
Hearing this, Riko froze, then gently reached out to pat Eriri's head:
"Still not over the shock, huh?"
"I heard about it. Your boyfriend was third-year Senior Luo Shu, right? And the one who stole him was second-year Senior Kasumigaoka..."
"Though you might not accept this right now, I think a guy who'd easily get seduced by a senior isn't worth caring about at all!!"
"Exactly, exactly!" The girl sitting in front of Eriri turned around, her face filled with indignation: "Boys are all terrible! Even when they have girlfriends, they still flirt with other girls. No manners at all! It's so not worth being upset over someone like that!"
Hearing this, the boys in the class immediately felt somewhat awkward, but they couldn't help casting encouraging glances at Eriri.
"I... I..." Eriri opened her mouth, her expression dazed, her gaze unfocused.
Just then, another girl who was close to Eriri walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder and saying:
"Don't be sad over that kind of guy. Hang in there, Eriri, you're the best!!"
Finally snapping out of it, Eriri clutched her head and let out a shriek like a groundhog:
"Ahhh—!!!"
In an instant, Eriri bolted out of the classroom, holding her head, never to return for days.
"Wait, Eriri! Hey, don't do anything stupid!!"
Riko was shocked by this and tried to grab Eriri, but failed.
Finally, another girl shouted:
"Go after her!!"
"Right!!"
Immediately, several girls rushed out of the classroom in pursuit of Eriri.
After charging wildly down the corridor for some distance, Eriri suddenly spun around and barged into the art room, leaning against the door as she gasped for breath.
Finally, she slid down the door to the floor, her eyes wide with bewilderment as she cried out:
"What on earth is going on here!!!"
After Eriri's outburst, a soft, timid voice spoke up:
"Even if you ask what's going on... I wouldn't know either..."
Hearing this, Eriri froze for a moment before looking up. There, by the blackboard, she saw a short-haired girl holding a blackboard eraser.
Recognising the vaguely familiar face, Eriri stammered:
"You're..."
"Megumi Kato from Class D?"
"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be under Yukinoshita's care?"
Running into someone she shouldn't have, Eriri—already thoroughly confused—was now completely lost.