Diary Of Your Everyday Guy

Chapter2:FirstDay(Part2)

Despite these interactions, I felt a lingering sense of detachment. I attended the remaining lectures in silence. The day ended.

Everyone was leaving for the home. I waited for everyone to go, and I finally got ready to leave when everyone left. I was walking without thinking when I suddenly noticed two girls from my class walking just before me. One was Harao, and the other was Cho Hina, another very active girl during online meetings. Maybe being the only girls in the group made them become close friends.

I was walking behind them. I was feeling uneasy during that.

Maybe I should walk fast and get past them without noticing.

But before I could do that, Hina looked before, and our eyes met. She stopped, thought of something, and started walking towards me.

She probably thinks that I'm some stalker.

Harao also noticed me and started walking towards me.

"Hey, since both of you are alone, why don't you talk to each other," HIna said.

Both alone?

I looked behind me. There was this boy from my class. From what I remember, his name was Fuo MInamoto. He was also someone famous during the online meetings. Most of the time, he talked in English. So many people were admiring his fluency and vocabulary. A few of them even asked him to teach how to speak in English like him.

But that was not all; he had a quirky side to him. Whenever he tried to joke, the room became awkward. His jokes had no boundaries, and sometimes, it felt like he was doing it intentionally. In short, This guy was weird, and if she lumped me with him, she thought I was also odd.

I looked at him, and he was doing the same.

"That's all. Try getting along." She said and left.

"Do you know these guys?"

"He was the one who sang..."

They left, and now we were left alone. He was always talking to others in English, and Hina also spoke to us in English, so I wasn't sure if this was any other language. That's why I also started to talk in English, which I never did before.

"So, how was your first day?"

"It was good."

'It was good.' Now what?

"... By the way, what's your name?"

Wait, He doesn't even know my name? I thought if I remembered his name, maybe, just maybe, he remembered mine too.

"Tanka, Sho Tanka."

"Tanka, I see. My name is Fua Miyamoto."

"I'll remember that."

"Well, I have to go this way, so see you around."

"Yeah, sure."

We parted ways just like that. I don't think I can be friends with someone like him. He was probably looking down on me. The way he was talking to me, I didn't like it. But maybe I am judging him a little too early.

I don't care anymore.

xxx

"I'm home," I said as I walked in.

My mom was in the kitchen and greeted me with a warm smile.

"Oh, Sho? How was your first day? Did you make any friends?" she asked.

I forced a small smile. "It was okay, and I made a few, I guess."

"Is that so? You must be tired. Go wash up," she said.

"Okay," I replied, heading toward my room. Before I closed the door, she called out again.

"Don't forget to take the lunchbox out of your bag."

"Okay!" I answered.

Once in my room, I dropped my bag on the desk and collapsed onto my bed.

Sigh... I don't like it.

I lied to my mom to spare her from worrying, but the thought lingered: Will tomorrow be different from today?

Several days passed uneventfully, and Kai and I had formed a bond before I knew it. At least I wasn’t alone anymore. We spent most of our time together, and Koga occasionally joined us. Today happened to be one of those days when Koga joined us for lunch.

"That reminds me," Koga said mid-bite, "when I was hanging out with Haruka’s group, we ended up talking about you."

As I’ve mentioned, Koga is well-known for his excellent taste in music. He’s connected with Haruka’s group, so when he’s not with us, he’s often with them. I’ve noticed he tries to be on good terms with everyone, which is one of the things I don’t like about him.

"About me?" I asked, slightly wary.

"Yeah, they mentioned how you don’t really talk to anyone. Haruka even said she’s never heard your voice. For some reason, she seemed curious about you. Did you do something?"

"Did I do something? How would I know? What should I do if she’s never heard my voice?"

"I don’t know, man..."

If I had to guess, this was probably about what happened the other day.

xxx

It was an ordinary evening, and I was lying on my bed, scrolling through my phone, when a notification popped up. It was from our

class group chat, which was unusually active. Curious, I opened it to see what was going on.

: Please add your names to the list below.

The Class Representative (CR) had sent a message, and chaos erupted as students flooded the chat with messages. Everyone tried adding their names to the list, but it was a mess. I tried entering my name, too, but whenever I hit send, someone else’s message popped up before mine, and I had to wait again. After several attempts, I finally managed to add my name.

What is this? A battlefield?

Just then, someone posted a neatly organized list with all the names. The sender? Sakura Harao. The group chat immediately calmed down.

What was my hard work for?

: @Harao You could have done it from the start.

: Sorry.

I wasn’t looking for an apology. It was meant as a compliment.

Who cares?

I shrugged it off and closed the group chat.

xxx

The next day, I was minding my business, sitting in my usual corner, when a voice called out.

"Yo, Tanaka."

I looked up to see a classmate I barely knew. He was well-built with a confident presence, but his demeanor was friendly. His sharp eyes seemed to evaluate my every move. If I remember correctly, his name was Akira Kuro.

"Yo. How can I help you?" I asked cautiously.

"Not much. Just thought I’d give you some advice."

"Advice?"

"Yeah... Think before you speak."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"That’s all," he said and walked away.

"W-wait!"

I tried to stop him, but he was already gone.

What did he mean? Did I do something wrong?

I couldn’t think of anything. I barely spoke to anyone except Koga and Kai.

Wait, could it be about yesterday? She apologized, so maybe I said something offensive? But I didn’t mean anything bad, did I?

Anxious, I decided to ask Kai about it. Spotting him nearby, I called out,

"Hey Kai, can I ask you something?"

Kai looked at me silently for a moment. That was unusual for him. Did I mess up again?

"What’s wrong?"

"... Nothing. It’s just—"

"Just what?"

"You don’t usually start conversations, so it surprised me."

"What are you, a shy maiden?"

"What?"

"Never mind. So, did I do something wrong yesterday?"

"Yesterday? Do you mean the group chat thing? Well, yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it, but people who don’t know you might not see it that way."

"Why do you sound like you’ve known me for years?"

"Well, you’re easy to read."

"Am I?"

"Yep."

"So, what should I do about it?"

"About what?"

"If someone misunderstood my message."

"Does it matter?"

"It might. The person in question could be the one most affected."

"You’re overthinking this."

"Still, what should I do?"

"Do what you want."

"That’s not helpful."

"Hehe... Look, it’s you we’re talking about. Even if I give advice, you won’t be satisfied unless you figure it out yourself."

"..."

I was dumbfounded by his reply.

xxx

'Do what you think is right,' Kai had said.

What did I think was right? I needed to clarify the misunderstanding and ensure no harm was done. But how? I didn’t have any connection with her. Talking to her out of the blue would feel awkward. Maybe I could message her? I could find her contact through the group chat. But wouldn’t that make things worse?

Before I realized it, I had opened the chat app. After some hesitation, I typed out a message, hit send, and tossed my phone aside.

Expecting a delay in her response, I tried to focus on studying. To my surprise, her reply came almost instantly.

: I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to offend you.

: No need to apologize, but who said I was offended?

: Someone mentioned it. It wasn’t my intention. I meant it as a compliment. You could have done that from the start and avoided all the chaos.

: Chaos? LOL. That’s a funny way to put it. I understood your tone, so there’s no need to worry.

: So, we’re good?

: Yes.

And that was that. When Koga mentioned Haruka’s group talking about me, it must have been about this incident. Afterward, Sakura tried greeting me a few times in passing, but I ignored her out of awkwardness. Eventually, her greetings stopped altogether. It took some time, but everything was resolved in the end.