Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330662545387095/episodes/16817330665348423777
The first weekend after the New Year.
◆Four people Chat room◇
[(Ari) We’ve arrived at the venue, Ranryo High School !]
[(Ryoko) Good morning〜. It’s finally time for the big day.]
[(Ryoko) Relax and don’t be nervous.]
[(Kingo) Don’t get too serious on the day. Just do what you’ve practiced.]
[(Kingo) That’s what a live music club owner once said.]
[(Shino) Always be normal, right !]
[(Ari) Thank you, all three of you ! I’ll do my best to show what I’ve accumulated so far.]
–About an hour later.
[(Ari) Social studies is over〜]
[(Ari) At least I’ve answered all the questions !]
[(Ryoko) Keep up the good work ! Don’t forget take a rest.]
–After two subjects in the afternoon.
[(Ari) I finished Japanese ! It was super easy !]
[(Ari) Maybe I got all the questions right !]
[(Kingo) That’s great !]
[(Shino) You did it ! Keep up the good work on English !]
–In the evening, after the last subject.
[(Ari) English is over too ! Listening was difficult〜]
[(Ari) But I was able to answer all the questions in the written test.]
[(Kingo) I’m sure you’ll make up for it in the written exam.]
[(Kingo) Good work on the first day. Please go home early today, stay warm and rest well.]
[(Ari) Ehehe, thank you Kingo.]
[(Ari) Maybe the hairpin Kingo gave me made me think clearer !?]
[(Ari) I’ll do my best tomorrow too !]
–Early morning of the second day
[(Ari) Good morning ! I’m going to the venue now ! I’ll do my best today as well !”
……
……
……
……
……After this, messages from Ari san suddenly stopped.
◆Three instructor chat room◇
[(Kingo) I haven’t heard from Ari san, have you?]
[(Ryoko) What’s going on? I wonder what’s wrong.]
[(Shino) Is she busy?]
[(Ryoko) I don’t think she’s so busy that she can’t be contacted just because it’s the day of the exam.]
[(Kingo) Indeed. Did something happen?]
[(Shino) Don’t tell me she’s depressed because she didn’t do well on the test…….]
[(Rykoo) Don’t say something so ominous !]
[(Shino) I’m sorry…….]
[(Kingo) Maybe she’s having a party with her classmates to thank them for their hard work on the common test.]
[(Ryoko) You’re so optimistic !?]
[(Ryoko) But maybe so. Yeah, I’m sure !]
[(Ryoko) It’s Ari chan we’re talking about, she’s just so buoyant with all the good things happening that she forgot to call !]
[(Ryoko) She might call tomorrow, so let’s wait for that !]
……
However, contrary to my expectations, Ari san did not call the next day, nor the day after that.
Me, Ryoko and Misumi senpai all began to feel that this was strange and uneasy. We all must have had a bad premonition, although we did not express it in words.
Because of this uneasiness, we were afraid to contact her, and there was a strange silence between us and Ari san.
＊
Time passed without communication, and finally Friday came.
In the morning, I was getting ready to go to the campus, thinking about my tutoring class on the following day, Saturday, with my anxiety over Ari san’s silence.
If it were true, I had planned to have a meeting tomorrow to discuss how to prepare for the second exam, but now that I have lost contact with her, I am stuck. Ryoko was supposed to contact me directly tonight. The next move would depend on that.
“Alright. I guess I’ll go to campus………. I have exams soon.”
The university has two semesters, the first and second semester, instead of the three semesters used in high school. The second semester is supposed to last until the end of January, and the last week of January is the time when final exams and final reports are due for each class. So I can’t afford to be complacent.
“But I’m still curious…….”
With a vague feeling in my heart, I finished getting ready, put on my shoes, and went out the front door. That’s when it happened.
“Whoa !?”
I screamed as soon as I opened the door and saw someone standing there. It’s not every day that someone comes to visit me in the morning, so I was caught by surprise.
Who the hell was that? I suppressed my suddenly aroused motivation and asked who it was.
A student at Atago Girl’s Academy with long, shiny black hair and a childish face.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Ari…..san…….”
I never expected her to visit me in the morning.
No, had something similar happened before?
When Ryoko and I had gone home in the morning, I had bumped into Ari san on the train and she had followed me.
But unlike that time, Ari san’s face was downcast. She was biting her lip and looking as if she was suppressing her emotions with a lot of pressure around her eyes.
“What’s wrong with you, Ari san !? Why didn’t you call me before !? I was worried about you !”
I asked her questions one after another. I could not suppress it, even though I should not have done so, given the look on Ari san’s face.
She did not answer my question. No, she couldn’t answer.
“Kingo……what should I do? I might have failed college…….”
She suddenly cried out loudly and pressed her forehead against my chest.
I just stood there in a daze, not knowing what was going on.
However, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the weakened Ari san, so I subconsciously hugged her by the shoulders and patted her head.
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