My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 12

“Hehe… I did it, I really did it…!”

I left the library and slipped into the girls’ bathroom, grinning as I stared at my phone screen.

There it was—Sora-kun’s LINE account. His name finally added to my short list of friends. I’d been waiting so long for this moment.

I couldn’t stop smiling. There was no way I could go back to class looking like this. To calm down, I sent Sora-kun a quick message and took a few deep breaths.

“…I should get going.”

After checking my face in the mirror, I left the bathroom and hurried toward Class 6’s room. Our next class was in the science lab, so I needed to move quickly.

But when I got there, the classroom was already empty. There were only a few minutes left before class started, so everyone must’ve already gone ahead.

I grabbed my textbook and stationery from my desk drawer and headed back into the hallway.

“Um… where’s the science lab again?”

Since I’d just transferred, I still didn’t know my way around the school. This would be my first time going to the science lab.

I wanted to ask someone for directions, but it was the end of lunch break, so there weren’t many people around. I looked around, hoping to spot someone approachable.

“Excuse me, could you help me—?”

“Huh…!? M-Me!?”

I finally spoke to a girl nearby, but her reaction was surprisingly… intense.

“Oh my gosh, oh wow! I’ve been a fan of yours ever since you transferred here!”

“O-Oh, really? Thanks…”

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling.

“U-Um, if it’s okay with you, could I… maybe shake your hand…?”

“Uh, sure. That’s fine. But actually, I was wondering if you could tell me where the science lab—”

“Kyaaaah!! I’m so happy! This is amazing!! I can’t believe it!”

Before I could get my question out, she was already way too excited to hear me. And yep—my bad feeling was spot on.

“Wait, is that Yuu-sama?”

“Is she giving someone a handshake?”

“No way—is she all alone?”

I started hearing voices around me. A crowd was forming. I could feel people closing in. Before I knew it, I was surrounded—nearly ten girls encircling me.

This was the first time I’d ever tried talking to someone I didn’t know since transferring here… and I never expected it to turn out like this.

“Um, if you don’t mind, can I ask where the science lab is…?”

I tried speaking to the people around me, but my voice was drowned out. With the crowd this hyped up, there was no calming them down—and trying to push my way out would only backfire.

“Hey! You all, step back!”

Then suddenly—a sharp voice rang out, cutting through the noise.

The crowd fell silent, and a path opened up among the students. A hand reached out and pulled me out of the circle.

“Mi- Minamikata-san…?”

I recognized the face in front of me and spoke her name without thinking.

The one who helped me was Saho Minamikata, the girl I’d met on my first day—the one who had mistaken Sora-kun for a creep because of me.

“Alright everyone, settle down! You’re not supposed to swarm the new student like that!”

Apparently, she held a pretty strong position among the students.

No one argued with her. They just bowed their heads, apologized, and quietly dispersed.

“…Thanks, Minamikata -san. You really saved me.”

“Oh no, don’t mention it! I wasn’t sure if I was meddling too much, but…”

“Not at all. I honestly didn’t know what to do on my own.”

Still holding my arm gently, she continued talking.

“Um… speaking of which, were you trying to find the science lab just now?”

“Wow—you guessed it. I just transferred here, so I don’t know where it is yet.”

“I knew it! One of my friends from Class 6 said your next class was in the science lab, so I figured you might be looking for it…!”

Her face lit up and she gave a little bounce.

“I-If you don’t mind… would you like me to take you there?”

“Really? Are you sure it’s not a bother?”

“Not at all! It’s just around the corner!”

With that, she grabbed my hand and started walking down the hall.

“Uh, you don’t have to hold my hand, really…”

“Ah! Sorry! That was a sudden impulse!”

“…Impulse?”

“Slip of the tongue! Please don’t mind it!”

She quickly let go of my hand and shuffled over to walk beside me instead.

She’s… really different from the impression I got of her from that conversation with Sora-kun in the girls’ bathroom. Not a bad person, just… different.

“Yu… Yushiro-san, you’re usually with your classmates, right? It’s rare to see you alone. Were you off somewhere?”

“Yeah, kind of. I got called out.”

“By any chance… was it Tsuzuki-kun who called you?”

“Huh…? That’s right, but… how did you know?”

“Oh, just a hunch…”

I was a little surprised, but then again, she already knew I had some connection to Sora-kun. It was probably just small talk, nothing more.

“So… are you two childhood friends or something?”

“Yeah, we are. We were in the same class from first to third grade. But then I moved to Tokyo, so we got separated.”

“I see…”

I didn’t think it was something I needed to hide, so I answered her question honestly. After that, her expression darkened just a little.

” Minamikata -san? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just… thinking about something.”

“Huh? Okay…?”

After that, we didn’t talk much, and soon we arrived at the science lab.

I thanked her, and she just gave a formal “no problem” and quickly headed off toward Class 4.

“…She’s more unique than I expected.”

Muttering to myself as I watched her walk away, I took a deep breath outside the noisy lab doors.

Alright… Time to pull myself together and get through the rest of the afternoon.

With the promise of an exciting after-school ahead, I stepped into the buzz of the science lab.