Episode 1: I’m Studying Because I Want to Be Fashionable

The day Kase Mitsuki finally fell from the top spot, my name shone at the very top of the ranking chart posted in the corridor for the first time.

Asami Nana.

　My name, one I’d seen until I was sick of it.

Amidst the crowd gathered to see the top performers in the mid-term exams, I simply stared straight at my own name.

　Simply being one name above Kase Mitsuki, the absolute, unshakeable champion, made my name shine like that of a great figure.

“Nana, that’s amazing! Top of the year! Beating that Kase-san, that’s crazy!”

Maki grabbed my shoulder and shook me excitedly.
I put on an expression of indifference and replied haughtily, “Well, yeah.”

　I glance around the corridor.
The crucial Kase Mizuki hasn’t come to see the freshly posted rankings yet; it seems she still doesn’t know she’s been beaten by me.

Since we started school, Kase Mizuki had always monopolised the top spot in our year. Not once had she ever dropped in the rankings.

Even the ‘New Student Representative Speech’ at the entrance ceremony was given by Kase Mizuki, who entered as valedictorian.
　Therefore, there wasn’t a single person in our year who didn’t know her name.

She was someone I’d admired endlessly since my first year.

“Nana, you know, you don’t look smart at all, but you can study, right? I was shocked. You dye your hair, wear piercings, you just look like a total idiot.”

I shook off the hand tugging my earlobe and glared at Maki.
　If we’re talking about looking daft, Maki’s no slouch either. Her skirt’s shorter than mine, and her makeup’s thicker.
I keep mine fairly low-key with brown hair, but the only one in our year with golden inner highlights is Maki.

“Don’t be rude. I study so I can dress up. As long as I get my work done, no one complains if I let my hair down a bit.”

“Is that how it works?”

“That’s how it is. You don’t study, Maki, so Sakata keeps an eye on you and summons you.”

“I studied my whole life just to get into this school. I don’t want to study anymore.”

Sakata is that scary old teacher in charge of student discipline. His eyes are always darting about, and he’s got a face like a toad.
　I’d never been called in myself, but Maki’d been under Sakata’s care numerous times because of her flashy appearance.

Our school was a relatively high-level girls’ school within the prefecture, but it had a fairly liberal atmosphere. There were rules, but they weren’t overly strict.

Still, when Maki suddenly dyed her hair blonde last month, she was summoned to the guidance office and given a proper telling-off.

　I thought it suited her and was actually rather cute, but even this school, which usually turns a blind eye to minor rule-breaking, apparently couldn’t overlook that.

Maybe Maki learned her lesson from the long lecture, because she’s given up on full blonde now and just keeps it as an inner colour. She’s in her third year already, and she still does this.

“Sakata’s got time on his hands, eh? I’ve no intention of changing, no matter what anyone says. You only get one shot at high school life – you’d be a fool not to enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Sakata’s not idle; it’s his job.”

More importantly, where on earth is Kase Mizuki?

What will her reaction be to finally being knocked off the top spot in our year – a position she’s held since we started school, only to be beaten for the first time in our third year?

I couldn’t care less about Sakata. That was my primary concern.

Returning to the classroom, Kase Mizuki sat by the window, her cheek propped up in her hand, eyes closed, quietly asleep. The breeze blowing in through the window gently swayed her long black hair.

Hmm, feels like indifference.
I tried pretty hard… but competing over test rankings clearly doesn’t capture Kase Mizuki’s interest. I felt rather deflated.

After glancing sideways at her, I pulled out my chair a little way from hers. Maki, who seemed to have noticed me watching her, narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to me.

“…Right. Hey, Nana. Heard the rumours about Kase-san? I wonder if they’re true after all. What do you think?”

　Maki brought her lips close to my ear and spoke in a whisper only I could hear, so I immediately realised it wasn’t good news.

Those outcasts who don’t fit into the class are easy targets for rumours.
This all-girls school, where romantic gossip doesn’t really happen, is far too peaceful and idle, always starved for exciting topics.

“What rumour?”

“About Kase-san. Apparently she’s got a child. Someone saw her walking around holding a baby, and it’s all the talk right now.”

“A child? No, no… surely it’s someone else? Besides, if she were pregnant, you’d know straight away. Your tummy gets huge. When would a perfect attendance student give birth? If she were pregnant, she couldn’t possibly come to school. There’s no way she could hide it.”

　The utter lack of plausibility made her shoulders slump.
She couldn’t care less where the rumour started, but if they were going to spread something, couldn’t they at least make up a story people might actually believe?
Like, she’s dating the teacher? Or secretly doing sugar daddy stuff behind her serious facade?
Where on earth did this ridiculous rumour about her having a child even come from?

　Is this school full of idiots? Who on earth would believe such a completely baseless rumour?

“…Oh, so the rumour was a lie after all.”

Maki pouted her lips in boredom.

Well, I can understand wanting some gossip about Kase Mizuki.

A striking beauty.
　A solitary girl who doesn’t associate with anyone.
If there were any sensational gossip, it would surely spread like wildfire.

Kase Mizuki stands out in the classroom.

Like an oil painting of Venus set against a background of ballpoint pen doodles, her very presence seems utterly mismatched to this classroom.

She doesn’t have any particularly close friends, but she isn’t bullied either. She has an overwhelming presence that draws attention.

　She doesn’t feel like a lone wolf either. She seems normal when you talk to her. But she never opens up to anyone.

I thought if I knocked her off the top spot, she might take a little interest in me.
But my hopes were dashed; Kase Mizuki seems utterly unconcerned about her ranking.
She doesn’t even bother checking the leaderboard, just idly doodling on her desk.

Lately, it’s always like this. She sleeps through every break between lessons.
　I thought she must be studying so hard she was sleep-deprived, but judging by her test results, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Because this time, in the mid-term exam, Kase Mitsuki was truly uncharacteristic.

Because the reason I won this time was—not that my score went up, but that hers went down.

I find myself constantly preoccupied with her.
It’s driving me absolutely mad.

I want to force those inscrutable dark eyes of hers to look this way, no matter what.

Look at me.

Don’t just lie there snoring away at the back of the classroom like you’re shutting out reality.

I wish I could say that, but today, once again, I couldn’t bring myself to speak to her.

＊＊＊

After school, I go to karaoke or the arcade; I have plenty of time to play.

　Raised as a treasured child by loving parents, I have not a single complaint about this world.

Play when I play, study diligently when I must, get into a decent university in Tokyo, enjoy four full years of youth, then slip into a job at a major corporation with generous benefits and a respectable salary.

That is my dream for the future.

So, what is that girl’s dream?

　Since being in the same class as Kase Mitsuki, I’ve hardly ever seen her speak.

I’ve never once heard her mention playing with anyone after school.

As soon as lessons end, she gathers her things and dashes out of the classroom.
It’s as if she only comes to school for the lessons; she seems utterly disinterested in anything else.

Because she avoids interacting with anyone, people start spreading unfounded rumours, like she’s pregnant or something.

　I think it’s such a waste to live only for studying during your precious high school years, but I suppose she doesn’t see it that way.

The bell rang, and with a snap, she opened her heavy eyelids.

As always, Kase Mizuki looked perpetually sleepy lately—utterly exhausted.

Her skin was pale and bloodless, and she looked as if she might collapse any moment.