Chapter 362: The Seat Overlapping with the Past |
"...It's nothing, just girl talk. You don't need to know," Shimizu Yu said vaguely.
Hoshino Gen did not feel the need to get to the bottom of it and casually replied, "Is that so?"
And that was the end of the conversation.
The distance from the Hachigatsu-cho residential area to Segawa Private Academy was truly short. Usually, walking to school took less than ten minutes. Driving today, even at a slow speed, took only about three minutes.
After parking the car in the off-campus parking lot, Hoshino Gen finally walked into the campus together with Shimizu Yu.
They did not arrive at the classroom particularly early. If they had walked, they might have barely made it on time. The classroom was already quite full, with only two or three empty seats, and it was just as noisy as ever.
Returning to his seat, Hoshino Gen glanced back. Shirayanagi Ayaha, sitting in the back row, was still surrounded by several girls. Judging by the enthusiastic expressions on their faces, they were discussing something quite interesting.
Hoshino Gen's gaze was naturally caught by Shirayanagi Ayaha, who had been watching him ever since he entered the classroom. As she met his eyes, she gently raised the corners of her mouth, offering him a sweet smile.
Hoshino Gen withdrew his gaze, propped his cheek on one hand, and continued to stare blankly at the sky outside the window.
However, although it was called a homeroom meeting, they did not actually hold one. Instead, the period was used to rearrange the class seating.
Fujiwara Risa had already mentioned this on the first day of school when the transfer students arrived. Seats would be reassigned based on the results of the recent exam.
At the podium, Fujiwara Risa turned on the smart screen beneath the blackboard. After a few taps, the class's internal exam ranking list appeared on it.
Currently, First-Year Class A had twenty-nine students, but the ranking list only showed twenty-seven names. This was because out of the three transfer students, only Takanashi Chisaki, who had reported on the first day of school, took the exam. The other two had arrived after the exams were over.
After displaying the ranking list, Fujiwara Risa scanned the class and asked in surprise, "Has Chiyo not arrived yet?"
Many students in the classroom turned to look at the seat in the last row where Chiyo Uzuki had sat yesterday, only to find it completely empty.
Fujiwara Risa sighed. "What a pity. I even went out of my way to make this..."
As she spoke, she pulled a small box out of her bag, which contained many folded slips of paper.
She continued, "Since Chiyo is absent, Shirayanagi is the only student in the class who didn't take the exam."
"Seeing this ranking list, everyone should be able to guess how we'll be adjusting the seats, right?" Fujiwara Risa wore a faint smile. "That is right. Everyone will leave their seats, and then, starting from first place, you will each choose your desired seat in order of your ranking."
The students below the podium fell silent. No one voiced any objections, likely because the method Fujiwara Risa proposed was very fair. After all, it was based on merit. The top-ranked students were naturally satisfied and had nothing to complain about, while those at the bottom would be too embarrassed to speak up even if they had grievances.
Seeing this, Fujiwara Risa smiled and said, "To accommodate our new student who missed the exam, we will have her draw a lot. The number on the slip of paper will determine her turn to choose a seat. Then, the rest of the class will continue selecting in order of their rankings."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
The classroom remained completely quiet. Fujiwara Risa nodded in satisfaction. "Alright then, Shirayanagi, why don't you come draw a slip?"
Shirayanagi Ayaha stood up with calm composure and walked gracefully to the podium, casually plucking a slip of paper from the small box Fujiwara Risa had brought out earlier.
Without even looking at it, she handed it directly to Fujiwara Risa.
Fujiwara Risa unfolded the slip for her, then turned it around to show the class. "Shirayanagi is quite lucky. She got number four."
Immediately, many eyes shifted toward Hoshino Gen, who sat in the front row by the window. On the ranking list displayed on the smart screen, Hoshino Gen ranked thirty-seventh out of nearly three hundred students across all ten first-year classes, making him fourth in this class. Since Shirayanagi Ayaha had drawn the number four spot, it effectively bumped his picking order down by one for no apparent reason.
But Hoshino Gen clearly did not care at all about such trivial matters.
Thus, the seat adjustment process officially began. Everyone in the class left the room and gathered out in the corridor.
First place in the class went to the transfer student, Takanashi Chisaki, who ranked third in the entire grade.
Being the first to enter the classroom, she confidently marched straight to the exact center seat in the front row and sat down.
Next came the second and third place students. Coincidentally, they also chose seats near the center of the front row. They were clearly genuine good students, completely uninterested in using this opportunity to snag a 'good seat' where the teacher wouldn't notice them during class.
After that, it was Shirayanagi Ayaha, who had drawn fourth place. Walking into the classroom without the slightest hesitation, she moved with intense purpose toward the innermost corner of the front row—the desk right in front of Hoshino Gen's original seat.
Then, it was Hoshino Gen's turn.
Strolling in calmly and at ease, he walked over to his old seat. After sitting down, he resumed resting his head to the side, staring out the window, completely immersed in his own world once again.
The seating arrangements were quickly finalized. Shimizu Yu, who placed two hundred and forty-eighth in the grade, ranked twenty-fourth in the class. By the time it was her turn, there were barely any empty seats left. She ended up with a spot in the middle of the second-to-last row. Whether for someone who wanted to study seriously or for someone who wanted to avoid the teacher's attention, it could hardly be considered a good seat...
Adjusting the seats took up almost half the period. The remaining half was used to formally start the homeroom meeting, filled with the usual empty talk about how it was the beginning of the semester and everyone needed to get back into the rhythm of school life as soon as possible...
When the class dismissal bell rang, the classroom erupted into a boisterous uproar. Many students left their seats to find their former desk neighbors and close friends to complain and vent.
Meanwhile, Shirayanagi Ayaha, who was now sitting in front of Hoshino Gen, directly turned around and naturally leaned over his school desk. Looking up with bright eyes and a beaming smile at Hoshino Gen, who was resting his cheek on his hand and gazing at the sky outside, she said, "This seat always makes me feel like we have gone back to our junior high and primary school days~"
Hoshino Gen understood what Shirayanagi Ayaha meant. Whether in junior high or primary school, the two of them were always in the same class, sitting in the exact same arrangement as they were now.
After every class, Shirayanagi Ayaha always loved to turn around like this, leaning over Hoshino Gen's school desk, spacing out as she watched him space out...