It's been a long chain of unfortunate events after I left my house this morning.
When people I know notice me, they look at my hair in surprise. Then they start whispering between themselves.
Everyone's cutting their hair or letting it grow.
It shouldn't be a big deal.
But it was still fine with people from other classes.
The problem was this. When I entered the classroom, all my classmates had an even bigger reaction.
«S-Suzune...? You, eh, hair... what happened to your hair!?»
Sudou-kun, who was merrily talking with Ike-kun and the others, looked at me and raised his voice.
The students who hadn't noticed me yet thus also directed their glances at me.
It was also the same for Kushida-san, who despised me.
«Horikita-san, you really went through a total image change... what a surprise.»
«Is it that weird to change my hairstyle?»
I tried asking Sudou-kun who seemingly had the strongest opinions about it.
«N-no well, it's not weird, it's just, it just surprised me... you just changed your image with that hair... well, it's not that it doesn't suit you or anything. Short hair is fine too, you know. R-right? Kushida?»
Cutting your hair leads to a change in your image.
That's certainly true after all.
«It, sure does. I think it suits you. But... has something happened?»
It seems Kushida-san was more interested in why I cut my hair rather than my change of image itself.
I'm not sure I can use this as reference for later, but I'll remember it just in case.
«What do ya' mean, something happened?»
«For example... unrequited love?»
«U-u-u-unrequited love!?»
It was to show my resolution to separate the me from the past with the me from now, I'm not heartbroken in the slightest.
They made such a bad guess that I had to refute it at once.
«It's more like showing my resolution if I have to say it.»
The biggest reason is because I don't want my best memory of my brother tainted with descriptions such as unrequited love.
«I-is that so, yeah, no way you're heartbroken, yeah?»
«We are 2nd years now so we shall soon have to fight to raise our class up. That's why, I want to do all the things I possibly can do.»
Yes. I... want to become a person who can support everyone in my class.
And then we shall reach Class A—.
I lightly stroked my short, flowing hair while once again hardening my will in my heart.