My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 24

“Once the girls are done, it’s the boys’ turn to run, huh…”

Sitting in the waiting line inside the track, I waited for my turn with a gloomy look on my face.

It was the second period—P.E. class—and we were doing our annual physical fitness tests. Out of all the subjects, I generally liked P.E. more than most, but this was the one thing I just couldn’t get behind.

The results of each event were recorded in numbers and rankings, so it was impossible to hide whether you were good or bad at sports.

Thanks to playing soccer all through elementary and middle school, I didn’t have any events I was particularly bad at. But still, the wait before the test always made me unusually nervous. I’d had a mental block about it since I was a kid.

On top of that, even though the format of the test hadn’t changed since last year, it felt completely different for me this time around.

“Whoa! Saho-chan’s so fast!”

“She’s not just cute—she can do everything, huh?”

Saho Minamikata—our class idol, and the girl I’ve had a crush on for a while.

The fact that she was here was the biggest reason why I couldn’t calm down no matter what.

Ever since that thing that happened near the girls’ bathroom, I hadn’t spoken to her once.

Before that, she’d occasionally come up to talk to me when I was alone, but we didn’t have much of a connection to begin with. It’s not like not talking to her now affects my school life.

Even when our eyes met, nothing happened. Maybe because of the awkwardness from that incident, she quickly looked away every time. Honestly, that kind of hurt.

The whole misunderstanding about me being some kind of creep had already been cleared up, but the emotional damage of having someone I admired keep their distance like that was pretty brutal.

Still, no matter what, once you start admiring someone, it’s not that easy to let it go.

I already probably gave her a bad impression. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself during the fitness test and make it even worse.

“She really is… big…”

But then, I accidentally let something slip that, if anyone had heard, wouldn’t just leave a bad impression—it might’ve gotten me banned from breathing the same air as her.

Saho was running the 50-meter dash, and my eyes automatically followed the bounce of her chest beneath her gym shirt as she moved.

…This is bad. If I keep watching, I won’t even be able to stand up, let alone run.

I shut my eyes for a while and tried to clear my mind of the image burned into my brain.

Meanwhile, the girls’ 50-meter dash continued without a hitch. Classes 4 and 5 had already finished, and Class 6 was nearing the end.

“Next! Last group for the girls—Meguro, Yamazaki, Yushiro, get ready!”

The P.E. teacher called out the names for the final girls’ group.

“Yushiro… So it’s Yua’s turn.”

I opened my eyes when I heard that name.

And right at that moment, high-pitched cheers from the girls erupted all around the field. The noise swallowed me up, and I instinctively covered my ears.

The school’s “prince” raised a hand toward the sidelines, where the students were waiting their turns, offering a shy little wave with a soft smile.

“Man, she’s a total star…”

Even now, Yua stood out like no one else.

She wore the standard white short-sleeved gym shirt with her last name embroidered on the chest, and the same blue-purple shorts as everyone else—both boys and girls had matching designs.

But maybe it was because everyone wore the same thing that her princely aura and good looks stood out even more.

Under the gazes of admiring girls and envious boys, she crouched at the starting line, left foot pulled back.

Then, with the blow of the whistle, the three runners shot off down the track.

Her posture was perfect, back straight, and her dark red-tinted hair trailed behind her in the wind.

Compared to Saho, there wasn’t much “bouncing,” but even so, Yua’s smooth, confident running was so striking that I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Before I knew it, she had finished the 50 meters and returned to the waiting area.

Cheers followed her all the way back.

“Yua-sama’s amazing as always!”

“She came in first! So cool!”

People were practically shouting praise at her.

“…So, why are you sitting next to me?”

In the middle of all that noise, she sat down right next to me without a second thought.

The cheering immediately turned into murmurs, and I felt cold stares coming at me from every direction.

But then Yua put a finger to her lips and said, “Shh,” and like magic, everyone went quiet. That’s the power of a true school prince.

“Just came to report my results. Was that bad?”

“I’d rather you waited till later. I really don’t wanna stand out during class too.”

“Then let’s keep it low-key. I’ll whisper it to you.”

“How is that less attention-grabbing?”

Not that it matters anymore—it’s already too late.

“So? How’d it go? You finished way ahead of the others, so I could tell you were fast.”

“Seven-point-one-two seconds. For now, they said I’m ranked first among the girls.”

“You’re seriously blowing past expectations…”

That’s faster than the average time for boys, isn’t it? Honestly, I’m not even sure I could beat her time if I tried my hardest.

Being this athletic and this good-looking—it’s just unfair to us guys.

“…You used to be slower than me, you know.”

“Guess all that running in middle school volleyball paid off. But it was probably just a fluke today.”

“There’s no such thing as a fluke when it comes to running speed.”

“Well, there is a trick to running faster. If the conditions are right, you can get way quicker.”

“Then tell me! Is it something I can do right away?”

“You could, but I think it only works for me.”

“…What kind of trick is that?”

A tip that only works for her? Was she using some kind of self-hypnosis or something? I’ve heard the power of belief isn’t something to take lightly.

“—Boys, line up! Get in order by student number and start warming up!”

Right then, the P.E. teacher shouted across the field to gather all the boys.