Classroom 1-B.
"Hello everyone, my name is Tomori Asahi, I'm 15 years old, and my hobbies are....."
"Hi everyone, I'm Ishikawa Tooru. I love sports. Nice to meet you all."
"Hello, I'm Hori Kyoko. My hobbies are studying and watching movies. Pleased to meet you all."
"Yo! I'm Yoshikawa Yuki-desu! I like reading and movies. Let's be friends, desu."
"....."
As he watched his classmates step up one by one to introduce themselves, Miyahito rested his chin on one hand, his expression slightly dazed. His name hadn't been called yet.
Even now, his mind was still filled with the realization that he and Utaha were in the same year.
Everything was a mess. Everything had changed.
Letting out a soft sigh, he watched the gloomy-faced, long-haired boy in front of him step up to the podium. Miyahito's gaze shifted, his attention unconsciously drawn to the back door in his peripheral vision.
In the past, the distance between us had been so far it felt unreachable.
Now, the only thing separating us was an ordinary concrete wall.
On this side of the wall was me, Aragaki Miyahito.
On that side was her, Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Next student, please come up. Come on, who's next?"
Hearing the overly enthusiastic call from the teacher at the podium, Miyahito snapped out of his reverie. The long-haired boy had already returned to his seat.
Placing his hands on the desk, he stood up, carefully pushing aside his lingering emotions.
He returned to his usual bright and gentle demeanor.
"Hello everyone."
Standing straight, he greeted his classmates, then turned around, picked up a piece of chalk from the tray, and...
"Haa..." Taking a soft breath, he carefully wrote his name on the blackboard, stroke by stroke.
"My name is Aragaki Miyahito. My hobbies are music, sports, and..."
He paused mid-sentence, lowered his gaze slightly, then quickly looked back up, his smile growing brighter.
"...reading novels."
"I look forward to getting along with all of you."
With that, he stepped down.
Perhaps because of his good looks, or maybe because his introduction felt genuinely comfortable, as he walked back to his seat, several classmates were already greeting him warmly.
Both boys and girls—Ishikawa Tooru, Yoshikawa Yuki, Hori Kyoko, Tomori Asahi, and others—all waved or nodded at him.
Naturally, Miyahito couldn't hide his smile. Nodding and returning every friendly gesture, he finally settled into his seat comfortably.
However, as his gaze returned to the front, he noticed...
Why is the guy in front of me avoiding eye contact?
Feeling slightly confused, Miyahito still offered a friendly smile to the classmate sitting in the row ahead (Wait, what was his name again?), then pulled out his chair and sat down.
"Alright, next student, please come up for your introduction."
"Hello everyone, my name is..."
He didn't know why, but even though the voices echoing in his ears belonged to his new classmates, and the faces he saw were the girls in his class,
when the sounds and images blended in his mind, all he could see and hear was another person's silhouette and voice.
「My name is Kasumigaoka Utaha. My hobby is reading. Nice to meet you.」
At the same time, in Classroom 1-C.
"My name is Kasumigaoka Utaha. My hobby is reading. Nice to meet you."
Standing at the podium, Utaha delivered her one-sentence introduction and stepped down without lingering.
Leaning against her desk, she could feel the classroom atmosphere grow slightly colder.
She was well aware that her brief introduction came off as cold and indifferent.
But she didn't care.
This was exactly how she had gotten through middle school.
She had hoped high school would be different, but was disappointed to find that, in reality, nothing had changed.
She hadn't done anything wrong; she was just sitting alone.
Yet, the so-called "classmates" around her were already starting to distance themselves, just like in middle school.
But it didn't matter.
Alone, free from exhausting, doll-like social obligations, she could quietly immerse herself in her novels.
Besides, Utaha knew that her high school life wouldn't be completely like her isolated middle school days.
Because here at Toyogasaki, in a classroom separated from Class C by just a wall, sat the only peer who truly understood her.
Perhaps, having a like-minded companion was enough.
Being alone... it actually wasn't so lonely.
Gazing out the window at the same blue sky that covered the person in her heart, the corners of Utaha's lips lifted into a faint smile.
It held a glimmer of anticipation, excitement, and a touch of little-devil mischief.
I wonder what kind of expression Aragaki-kun will make...
when he finds out that the author of Love's Metronome is in his class.
This is truly something to look forward to.
Aragaki-kun.
....
After the self-introduction session, the classroom atmosphere grew much warmer.
Smiling at the students chatting below, the newly hired English teacher at Toyogasaki raised her hand and clapped softly.
"Hey, hey, everyone, please settle down a bit."
Hearing the teacher's request, the new high school students obediently stopped their whispers and looked toward the podium.
"Mhm, you're all such good kids." Using a coaxing tone for children, the young teacher winked playfully.
Seeing a few students chuckle, she laughed along with them. Her attitude instantly bridged the gap between teacher and students.
At the very least, Aragaki Miyahito considered having a young and cheerful homeroom teacher to be a stroke of luck for them.
"Ahem."
Clearing her throat to calm the room, the teacher put on a serious expression.
"Everyone, please pay attention. We're going to do something very serious."
"It's... um... choosing a Class 1-B representative!"
The room fell silent for a few seconds. Then—
"Haa... I thought it was something important. Don't scare us like that, Tachibana-sensei!"
"Yeah, exactly."
Facing the "protest" from her students, Tachibana-sensei chuckled and joked along.
Seeing this, the students' playful grumbles grew louder.
Realizing the situation was getting slightly "out of hand," the teacher quickly spoke up to calm them down. Collecting herself, she smiled at the now-quiet class.
"So, are there any volunteers who'd like to step up and nominate themselves as class representative?"
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