Dullard Buddy-kun: Heading Reluctantly to School Again Today - Episode 1

Even now, the dazzling sunlight is brilliantly streaming into the classroom from outside the window.

Yes. This free time during lunch break. It could originally be a page of fleeting youth in this high school life

During that much-anticipated afternoon time, just like any other day, the cheerful voices and laughter of my classmates can be heard endlessly.

Where to hang out after school, complaints about how club activities are tiring, sharing and discussing funny SNS videos from yesterday, gossip about who is dating whom, and other love stories.

That topic may differ from person to person, but there is no doubt that everyone includes a cheerful and bright atmosphere in their tone of voice.

Probably, there shouldn’t be many students who dislike this time after lunch.

The so-called “shining space” must refer to this classroom-like setting, which could very well be a scene from a school drama

However.

In such a glamorous space, today as well, a peculiar and irregular man is sitting alone in the corner of the classroom, pretending to sleep on his desk to pass the time.

Perhaps, that man’s back is already exuding a gloomy aura. Yes, he is the only one in this classroom who wishes this time would end right now.

Well, you might have already noticed, but I’ve been muttering to myself about that irregular man full of emptiness for a while now.

It’s about me.

Why am I pretending to sleep alone during such a fun lunch break?

Don’t make me say it. It’s just that I don’t have any friends…

In fact, today, after coming to school, I haven’t spoken a word to any of my classmates.

It’s not like today is anything special.

Yeah. That’s my usual daily life, Kenji Mamiya.

For now, my high school life wasn’t supposed to be like this.

There are hardly any people who come to school just to pretend to be asleep.

Yeah. Even now, I remember that time as if it were yesterday. The trigger, when I think about it now, was something trivial and insignificant. Really, it was something so silly.

Surely, that was the first lunch period after enrolling.

In other words, it was a time that could be called the first event where we could deepen our friendship with our classmates. I made a mistake there.

As groups of students kept forming in the classroom to eat lunch one after another, I mustered up the courage to speak to the classmate sitting in front of me to make friends.

Hey, do you have a moment?

“Impossible”

Yeah. Even though I hadn’t said anything yet, for some reason, the guy in front of me who I was about to invite turned me down. It was literally a second. Just a moment.

And in the end, the man I approached not only rejected my invitation but also joined another group.

However, it’s not just him who called out to the classmate.

I was a bit surprised by how clearly I was turned down, but I quickly switched my mindset and headed over to another group to speak to them.

This time, it was a group of four who pushed their desks together and enjoyed a friendly atmosphere.

Next time, holding his own chair in one hand, he smiled and asked them, “Can I join you too?”

This time, an unexpected silence.

Our eyes meet. It’s not that they don’t recognize my presence, yet no one reacts.

At that moment, my heart was completely broken.

There are other groups, but I sulked at the unexpected reality I hadn’t even considered. I foolishly thought that the entire class was making fun of me.

So, having given up on various things, I quietly returned to my seat alone and quietly opened my lunchbox.

Then, at the same time, a man’s voice could be heard coming from near the seat.

“Ah, I’m glad. I was panicking earlier when an introvert called out to me, but I managed to escape safely.”

Yes. The owner of the voice was the man sitting in front of me who had just turned down my invitation. That person.

And, as if to add insult to injury, another voice reached my ears.

“That guy is eating alone. Is he a loner or what?”

I can hear laughter that seems to mock me, as if they are laughing at me.

At the end of my gaze, the four guys from the group who turned down my invitation earlier are giving me a malicious grin.

As a result, seeing such a scene, I felt pathetic, but I was on the verge of tears.

Indeed, I am ordinary. I can’t say anything particularly interesting. I am aware that my appearance is plain.

Just for that, just for that reason, I was rejected by them?

Did I do something to you guys?

And so, at that time, I sulked and completely shut myself inside the shell I had created. Naturally, this was the biggest failure of all.

There are classmates besides those who rejected me, so if I hadn’t given up or sulked, I might have made friends.

However, having withdrawn into my shell, I gave up on interacting with others and ended up accepting and choosing to be alone.

And now, a year has passed since that incident, and as a second-year high school student, I am still successfully living the solitary life.

Even though the school year has changed and the environment has changed, I continue to retreat into my shell as always. This is completely my own fault.
Honestly, I’m completely planning to throw away these three years at this high school.

It’s not like I’m being bullied or anything.

Yeah. It’s just a matter of putting up with it for three years as if it were air…