"Finished your howork yet?" Kato gumi asked casually as she stood outside Izumi Kotomi's house, waiting as usual for their walk to school together.
Kotomi smiled at the familiar sight of gumi. Over ti, this morning routine had beco a part of her daily life, and it brought her a sense of comfort. "Good morning, Kato-san!" she greeted warmly.
"Morning," gumi replied with her usual calm deanor. "Did you manage to finish your howork?"
Kotomi let out a dramatic sigh of relief, acting as if she'd just survived an epic ordeal. "I managed to finish just in ti, but it was close!" she confessed, clearly feeling triumphant despite the last-minute rush.
gumi chuckled lightly. "Sa here. I completely forgot about my assignnts until I got ho yesterday, so I had to stay up late to finish them. That's why I thought I'd ask if you were in the sa boat."
Kotomi imdiately understood, giving an empathetic nod. "Oh, totally! I was this close to pulling an all-nighter."
gumi smiled, a rare hint of amusent lighting up her face. "Seems like we both learned a lesson."
"Next ti we go out together, let's make sure we finish our howork first," Kotomi said with a shudder, recalling how much stress she had been under the night before. Thankfully, her sister Aimi had helped, allowing her to finish her manga work without completely drowning in schoolwork.
She knew she couldn't always rely on Aimi to cover for her, though. "I should really make it a habit to finish my howork on Friday," Kotomi thought aloud, recalling her high school days from her previous life, where she had often heard the sa advice.
As they walked, Kotomi suddenly rembered sothing. "Oh, and thanks for the yokan and tea! But, really, you didn't have to bring such expensive gifts. The yokan and tea must've cost a lot, right?"
gumi looked at Kotomi with a subtle, unreadable expression, though her eyes flickered with an almost imperceptible fondness. "It was the least I could do. After all, it was partly my fault you missed the last train, and I caused your parents to worry. Besides, the tea wasn't that expensive. My father's friend owns the shop, so I got a pretty good discount."
"Still, it feels like a lot for a classmate."
"Alright, alright, I'll keep that in mind next ti," gumi replied with a soft laugh.
"Next ti?" Kotomi repeated curiously, but gumi rely smiled, offering no further explanation.
Their conversation flowed smoothly as they made their way to the school gates. Once inside the classroom, it was the usual bustling scene—students chatting, so sharing how they spent their weekend, while others complained about the amount of howork they'd had.
Naturally, there were a few who hadn't finished.
"Did you finish your howork?" one boy asked another.
"Not even close!" ca the gleeful reply.
"What if the teacher calls your parents?"
"Let them! I don't care!"
The two boys exchanged a determined handshake, declaring, "We'll face the consequences together, like real bros!"
But within monts, they both quietly took out their fully completed howork from their bags, pretending they hadn't just lied to each other.
Kotomi lazily slumped over her desk, not out of fatigue but more out of dread at the thought of enduring five more days of school. "Ahhh... it's Monday. I'm so tired. I really don't want to go to class. I wish I could just stay ho and relax..." she muttered, her words filled with longing.
Hearing this, gumi chuckled lightly. "You and Kirigiri-san seem to be in the sa mood today. She's already asleep at her desk."
"Hm?" Kotomi perked up, glancing over at Kirigiri Seiko, who was indeed slumped over her desk, looking utterly exhausted.
Feeling a sense of camaraderie, Kotomi walked over and greeted her, "Good morning, Kirigiri-san!"
Seiko barely lifted her head, her eyes half-open as she groggily responded, "Morning, Izumi-san..."
Her sleepy tone and deanor seed more like soone who hadn't slept at all, rather than soone simply struggling with the Monday blues.
"Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept at all," Kotomi asked, concerned.
Seiko, still lying on her desk, let out a tired sigh. "Yeah... I was up all night with my sister. We couldn't sleep at all, so we ended up staying awake until six in the morning."
"Wait, you didn't sleep at all last night? Not even your older sister?"
"Yup, we were both wide awake the whole night."
Kotomi couldn't help but be amazed. So they even share insomnia? Talk about sibling connection!
"Well, I won't disturb you. Try to get so rest before class starts," Kotomi said, stepping back.
"Thanks, Izumi-san... Good night," Seiko mumbled, already drifting back into a light doze.
anwhile, on the third floor of the East Wing of the school, in Class 2-B, Seiko's older sister, Hibiki Naegi, sat at her desk looking absolutely drained, her head barely held up by sheer willpower. She let out a massive yawn, clearly struggling to stay awake.
That little rascal... Hibiki thought to herself. She promised not to push past my limit more than twice a month, but this weekend? She didn't let off either day! Especially yesterday, when Mom and Dad were out... from five in the evening until six in the morning!
Hibiki's body ached, her legs felt weak, and even her arms were sore. Every step she had taken on the way to school that morning had felt like walking on air—light and unsteady. When I get ho, I'm going to teach her a lesson. No more letting her off easy!
As she fud silently, her classmate, Kisara Tendo, walked over and noticed her dazed expression. Ever the blunt one, Kisara jokingly asked, "You look like you had a rough night. What were you doing? You weren't, uh... tossing and turning, were you?"
Kisara was only teasing, but Hibiki's face flushed a deep red instantly.
"Wha—NO! Keep your voice down!" Hibiki stamred, hurriedly trying to explain herself. "I... I just had insomnia! I was up until six in the morning!"
"Insomnia, huh?" Kisara raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
"Yeah, insomnia! That's all!" Hibiki insisted, her face still beet red from embarrassnt.
User Comments
0 comments from readers