"Good morning! Ayanokouji-kun!"
"O-oh, hey. Good morning." Kushida greeted me looking incredibly bright and energetic. I was taken aback by her radiance.
"Thanks for yesterday. You really saved me."
Well, I suppose her dazzling face made me happy, but something else was bothering me that I couldn't remember. I'd gone on an outing for the first time, and it had been with girls like Kushida and Sakura. Ah, it was almost too much. Well, I guess for the time being, things were great...until Ike and Yamauchi got to school, that was. If they heard about this, they'd definitely hold a serious grudge over it.
"Let's hang out again sometime, okay?" Kushida said.
"S-sure."
Even if she'd only said it to be polite, my heart thumped a little faster. Well, that wasn't a bad thing.
"Did you spend your day off with Kushida-san?" an icy voice asked.
"Yeah, I did," I answered quietly. "Kushida wanted Sakura's cooperation, so she asked for my help. I didn't have much of a choice."
"I see."
"Was there something wrong with...that?"
I looked over at my neighbor, and saw an expression on Horikita's face that I'd never glimpsed before.
"Wh-what's the matter?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you just had this really weird look on your face."
"Really? I didn't intend to make any kind of face. I should look the same as I always do. However, I will say that I admire how freely you've been moving. When I ask you for help, you're often reluctant, but when Kushida-san asks you, you accept readily. I was calmly and discretely analyzing the difference between us."
She did not remotely look calm and discreet.
<Illustration>
Just then, someone lightly tapped my shoulder, and told me to go over and see Kushida. Horikita wore a tremendously puzzled expression as I went over to the hallway, where Kushida briefly peeked into the classroom.
"I have a feeling I just saw something really incredible!" she said.
Did Kushida understand the meaning behind Horikita's expression? She seemed both delighted and surprised.
"Something incredible? That's creepy... I think that Horikita was a little angry."
"That's not it. I think she feels alienated and lonely over not being invited."
"Horikita? No way!"
"She probably doesn't know how she feels... I'm sure she's probably noticed how much fun it is to spend time with friends and talk to them, though. That's a good thing, a good thing."
What a bizarre thought. Horikita didn't have a good opinion of Kushida. Even so, it was strange for Kushida to say that Horikita felt alienated over not being invited.
"Perhaps you're realizing something fundamental, Ayanokouji-kun. Horikita-san is upset that you didn't invite her to come along."
No, no, that couldn't be it... I mean, Horikita was a girl who loved solitude, after all. She wasn't supposed to enjoy going out, certainly not with a guy like me.
In that moment, I had come to a rather baffling realization.