What... what is happening?
Is this for real?
Is it finally going to happen? That scene the legendary rom-com moment where the boy slips, falls on a girl's chest, both tumble to the ground, their eyes meet, and destiny begins?
Yes... yes... destiny... romance... finally the gods,
SLIDEEEEE,
The girl stepped aside.
And reality slapped me harder than my mom during exam season.
I fell face-first into mud.
My luggage? Ruined.
My clothes? Ruined.
My face? Very much ruined.
So this is how my day is starting, huh?
Well, considering my luck... yeah, this is acceptable.
But seriously, why does this ONLY happen to me?!
As I was mentally screaming at the universe, a guy suddenly walked up and offered his hand.
For a moment, with sunlight behind him, he looked like a savior...
No, like a god...
Or maybe even... my soulmate,
Okay Haruto, calm down. That's going too far.
"I-It's okay, I can get up on my own," I said quickly. "I don't want to spoil your clothes because of me."
Before he could reply, a voice yelled from behind him.
"REN! Ren! Why did you come here?! I was searching everywhere! Who's he? Your friend?"
"No," the guy said. "I just saw him fall, so I thought I should help."
So his name is Ren, huh...?
"Okay, let's help him. I'll take the luggage, you take him to the washroom," the girl said.
Then this Ren-ren,
Wait, why am I saying Ren twice?
This Ren guy actually tried to pick me up.
"Hey, wait stop! I can walk, seriously! PUT ME DOWN!"
I repeated this at least ten times, but he didn't care.
Meanwhile, the girl took my luggage and smiled at me.
"Why are you smiling?! Give me back my luggage! And YOU, put me down!!!"
Ren sighed. "You need to take a bath right now. What if you get sick? What if the mud has germs? It could affect your body."
...Okay, he wasn't wrong.
It's not like I didn't appreciate them helping me.
It's just... I can't stand when people are nice to me for no reason.
I can't help wondering what they want from me.
Why? Why are they being nice? Do they want something?
"Just go take a bath," the girl said, already unzipping my bag without permission. "Here clean clothes. The camp is starting soon."
After all that, I couldn't act rude.
Even if I had doubts, they were helping me.
I bowed properly and apologized.
"I'm really sorry for ruining your clothes. And... thank you for helping me. I'll definitely repay you both."
They stared at me like I'd said something shocking.
"Dude, you don't have to act so formal," Ren said. "We're the same age."
"And if you want to repay us," the girl added, "then treat us to something sweet!"
Both of them smiled brightly.
O-oh no... this feeling...
Why am I... actually happy right now?
Before my emotions exploded out of my mouth and nose, I asked Ren to show me the way.
"Take your time," he said once we reached the washroom. "I'll wash the mud stains. They'll come off with just water."
"...Thanks."
After bathing and changing, I gave my mudded clothes to the staff. They said they'd return them to me at my dorm.
Dorms?
Why the hell do we need dorms for a ONE-DAY camp?
Confused as hell, I walked out only to see Ren waiting.
"Were you waiting for me? You really didn't have to."
"Well, it'd be rude to leave you halfway," Ren said.
We walked to the entrance where the girl stood,cleaned luggage in hand.
And I swear,
She had cleaned it perfectly.
It even looked dry.
"I cleaned it properly," she said proudly. "I had a hair dryer so most of it dried fast. So don't worry!"
Holy moly.
She is a goddess.
I bowed dramatically.
"My lady, I have no words to express my gratitude. If you desire anything from this useless being, just command me!"
She pointed at me.
"Aha! Isn't that the exact line the knight says to the princess at the end of that game?! What was it called huh... huh... Knight Sacrifice!!"
"You played that?!" I gasped.
And then it began.
The rant.
I talked non-stop about how much i loved the game, how well-written the prince and princess were, how the level 5 boss took me a whole week to defeat, and how the ending where the knight sacrifices himself for the princess was bittersweet perfection.
And then I realized.
Oh no...
I slipped...
I talked too much again.
This is the thing I hate most about myself.
When someone talks about something I love, my mouth runs like a rocket engine until it runs out of fuel.
Now they probably think I'm a nerd.
I apologized, embarrassed to death.
Silence.
LOUD silence.
Both Ren and the girl slowly raised their head....
Then raised their hands...
Scary.
And then,
PAT. PAT.
They patted my shoulders.
"Yes, my friend," Ren said.
"We understand," the girl added.
Their sparkling eyes told me everything.
They were the same kind of people as me.
We ended up talking nonstop about everything games, fantasy novels, favorite characters...
And I realized:
It's been so long since I talked to people like this.
I'd forgotten how warm this feeling was.
But also... I was scared.
What if it ends like last time...?
Still, for now, I didn't want to think about the past or the future.
Just this tiny present moment.
A loud voice echoed from the front.
Ah Yacchi-sensei, the teacher who came to invite us to the camp.
"Alright everyone! Sorry for the delay! Thank you for enrolling in this adventure camp! We have sixty students this time! I, Yacchi Takashiro, welcome you all to the Evergreen Summer Adventure Camp, which will be held for ONE MONTH!"
The staff opened the gate.
Everyone screamed:
"YEAHHHHH!!"
...Except me.
Wait.
One month?
One... MONTH?
I must've misheard.
I turned to Ren.
"Mam must have meant one DAY, right? Should we correct her?"
"No dude," Ren said calmly. "She said it right. One month."
What.
WHAT.
WHATTTTTTTT?!
I was the only person shocked?!
One month.
Not one day.
When did this happen?
Why didn't anyone tell me?!
If it was one month, I would have NEVER come here.
I'd rather die than spend a month with this many humans!
I grabbed my luggage and tried to escape.
Ren grabbed my wrist.
"Where the hell are you going? The entrance opened. Let's go."
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
WHY is nothing going smoothly since yesterday?!
God, did I make you angry?
Tell me, I'll fix it, but please don't give me this kind of treatment!!
I wanted to cry so badly.
And then I remembered my ultimate doom:
I can't go home.
My parents went on a trip.
My sister went with her friends.
I AM SURROUNDED WITH NO ESCAPE.
I laughed at myself.
"Haha... I just want to die."
Suddenly the girl spoke.
"Oh! We didn't even introduce ourselves!"
Oh. Right.
We got so deep into the gaming talk that none of us introduced ourselves.
I bowed a little.
"I'm sorry for the late introduction. I'm Haruto Itō. I just ended my first year of high school, from Tsukikage High School."
I waited.
They stared.
"...So are you also from Tsukikage High School?" Ren asked.
"What do you mean also...? Don't tell me " I began.
Ren nodded.
"I'm Ren Tachibana. I also just ended my first year at Tsukikage High."
"And I'm Aoi Fujimori," she said. "Same school. Same year. And... we've been dating since first year of middle school."
A real couple...
In front of me.
In flesh.
Looking closely, they really suit each other.
Same clothes.
Matching bracelets.
Perfect chemistry.
I smiled softly.
"I know it's late, but... congratulations on dating. You two really look good together."
They blushed so hard I felt embarrassed watching them.
So this is youth, huh...
Maybe Mom and Dad were like this too.
(...Nah. Knowing them? No way. Maybe in another chapter.)
"So, which section were you in?" I asked.
"Class D," they said together.
"Oh, I was in Class A."
We laughed at how we'd been in the same school for years yet never knew each other.
Then... my hand moved on its own.
I extended it toward them.
"I'm Haruto Itō. Nice to meet you. I hope we can be good friends."
WHAT.
WHY DID I SAY THAT.
Haruto!!
You are supposed to be solo!
You don't trust people easily!!
You know this!!!
Before I could snatch my hand back, they took it.
"We're happy to be your friends," they said with big smiles.
Something inside me loosened.
The constant guard I kept up...
It disappeared a little.
Maybe... just maybe...
It's okay to try again.
I wasn't fully sure.
Self-doubt still lingered.
But I was happy.
My heart was celebrating because... I got friends.
"I'll join you both soon," I said. "I need to call my parents."
"Okay! We'll save your seat!" they said.
I took out my phone.
But then,
SLAP.
A loud, sharp sound.
I looked to the side.
Three girls were surrounding one girl, ganging up on her.
I couldn't hear clearly, but I picked up words like "video," "parents," "servant."
Bullying?
In the camp?
In front of cameras?
I looked at the CCTV.
...Ah. They chose an angle where the camera couldn't see.
Smart girls, I murmured.
It's not my business.
I shouldn't interfere.
I should tell a teacher later.
Those girls look like trouble.
SLAP.
SLAP.
The sounds grew louder.
Come on, Haruto...
It's not your problem.
Don't get into trouble.
Just go inside.
Ignore it.
But I peeked.
The girl was crying hard.
Her face was red from the slaps.
Her hair was a mess.
Then one of the bullies pulled out something from her bag.
A small electronic device.
Wait...
That looks like...
No way...
An electric shock device?!
What is she planning to,
She turned it on.
And moved it toward the girl's neck.
And before I realized,
my body acted on its own.