A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 2.7

Monday, May 16

“Hey, Kaede Hana! Let’s pair up!”

I started spending a lot more time with Chisato Wakumura.

She was already friends with Ariyoshi and Masuda, who had been close with me since our first year of high school. Naturally, we ended up hanging out together often. Plus, when we had to form pairs or work in groups, we always teamed up. That meant we were practically together all the time at school.

“Ah, sorry in advance if my drawing turns out weird.”

“Hehe, don’t worry!”

For our elective arts class, we could choose between music, fine arts, and calligraphy. Wakumura and I both picked fine arts. A few weeks ago, we started learning how to sketch, and today, we had to draw our assigned partner.

We sat on the strange wooden rectangular stools that only existed in the art and craft rooms, facing each other from a slight distance.

I wasn’t good at drawing at all.

A girl like Wakumura, with her well-balanced and beautiful features, might end up looking like a mess in my sketch. I warned her beforehand, then focused seriously on my work.

The arts class lasted two consecutive periods. Even during the 10-minute break, I kept trying to improve my drawing.

“Kaede Hana, your face is so pretty. It’s easy to draw.”

“Ugh, don’t say that, Wakumura!”

If she said that, I’d feel even more pressure to make my drawing good. If I messed it up, it would be like saying, “Your face looks weird, so that’s why the drawing looks bad.”

“Okay, time’s up!”

The teacher gave the signal, and our sketching session ended. We stayed seated while the teacher walked around to check our work.

“Oh yeah, I’m hanging out with Masuda and the others soon. Wakumura, do you want to come?”

“Yeah, I’d love to!”

“Okay, I’ll let Masuda know. We’re thinking either this weekend or the holiday next week.”

While the teacher was checking other students’ sketches, we passed the time chatting.

“When you see something beautiful, your hand doesn’t stop sketching.”

“Draw what you think is beautiful, just the way you see it.”

“Ah, beautiful, so beautiful, truly beautiful. That’s why I will draw you—only I will capture you in my art.”

Our eccentric art teacher passionately shared his philosophy.

To sum it up, he seemed to be saying, “Strong emotions for beauty bring joy and a sense of uniqueness when creating art.” Or something like that. Maybe I was a bit off. Sometimes, artists speak in ways that ordinary people like me can’t fully understand.

“See you tomorrow!”

“Good luck with your club activities!”

I parted ways with Wakumura as she headed straight to her badminton club, then returned to my classroom.

After elective arts class, we were dismissed to our respective classrooms.

Most students either went to their clubs right away or packed their things and went home.

When I opened the classroom door, I saw a familiar figure.

“Wait, Mizuhara?! No way!”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice in excitement. Seeing that there was no one else in the classroom, I stepped inside.

“Hey, good work today.”

“Wow, this is rare. Talking with Mizuhara in the classroom feels kinda weird.”

“Hehe, even though we’ve kissed before?”

“Wh-why would you bring that up now?!”

Caught off guard, my face turned red.

“Ugh, my shoulders are so stiff,” Mizuhara said, stretching her arms over her desk and pressing her upper body against it.

She looked just like a cat basking in the sunlight, which made me smile.

I moved to my seat and started packing my things. Mizuhara Shizuku remained in the classroom.

“Are you waiting for someone? Like Itohara?”

“I’m waiting for you.”

Still stretching, Mizuhara turned her head toward me.

“Huh?” I blurted out without thinking.

Hearing those words from Mizuhara made me so happy that I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Seriously? That makes me really happy.”

“I messaged you, though. Didn’t I tell you to keep your notifications on?”

“Oh, you’re right. Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

As Mizuhara lightly scolded me, I checked my phone.

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the student council?”

“Yeah, it’s fine today. Let’s go home.”

When there weren’t any school events, the student council mostly handled small tasks like recycling old paper, managing the budget, and making copies for other students. There were no meetings I had to attend, so it wasn’t a problem.

I quickly finished packing, and we left the school together.

This might be the first time we’ve gone home together.

“This makes me kinda happy.”

“What does?”

“Walking home with you like this, Mizuhara.”

On Fridays, we usually met up at Mizuhara’s place. We had waited for each other at the nearest station before, but walking home together from school was a first.

“I want to hold hands.”

Mizuhara moved closer and gently linked her arm with mine.

The way she lightly poked at my hand was so cute that I instinctively laced my fingers with hers.

When I tried holding her hand like a handshake, she stopped me. “We’re dating, right?”

She intertwined our fingers—the way couples hold hands—pressing our palms together.

“Let’s go home together on Fridays from now on.”

“If you want to, I’d love to.”

Hearing Mizuhara’s answer made me so happy that I squeezed her hand tighter.

Holding hands with friends is normal.

But for some reason, holding Mizuhara Shizuku’s hand made my heart feel so full.

When I looked at her profile, I noticed her cheeks were slightly red. She was so beautiful that I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“Draw what you think is beautiful, just the way you see it.”

“Ah, beautiful, so beautiful, truly beautiful. That’s why I will draw you—only I will capture you in my art.”

The voice of our eccentric art teacher replayed in my head.

If we had another sketching session, I thought, maybe I’d want to draw Mizuhara Shizuku.