ALL NOVEL Chapter 65: <65> The New Semester
Chapter 65: The New Semester
"You guys are really something!"
Sendo looked at Sawamura with an expression of childish glee, which only made him more irritated. What was even worse was that their friends around them all nodded in agreement.
Wakana was watching Sendo with a look that seemed to say, "Now do you understand Fumino's feelings?" But Sendo didn't notice, and even if he had, he wouldn't have understood the meaning behind her expression.
Smack!
"What on earth are you saying? How old do you think we are? She's still a kid! Thinking like that is a crime, you know?" Sendo raised his hand and gave Sawamura a smack on the back of his head, which made him bow his head as if paying respect.
Smack! Smack!
After noticing how satisfying the first hit felt, Sendo threw in a couple more for good measure!
Everyone around broke out in cold sweat at the scene, nodding in agreement.
A few of the boys actually found Sendo's words reasonable—they might indeed have been overthinking things. Childhood friends being casual with each other was perfectly normal.
What Sawamura really wanted to say was, "You're a kid too!" But after giving it some thought, he had to admit Sendo was right—kids shouldn't be thinking about these complicated things.
Yet, if he knew that Sendo had smacked him twice more purely because it felt good, he might just think, "I don't know if I should say this or not." Assuming he even got the joke.
Wakana could only facepalm, thinking, "You're so good at understanding other people's issues, but when it comes to your own, you just can't see it."
---
Soon after they got off the bus, everyone went their separate ways, heading home. After all, they hadn't seen their families in a month and were all looking forward to it.
Once home, Sendo messaged Fumino to let her know he'd arrived safely, then spent a while catching up with his grandparents.
Finally, he went to his room, saying to himself, "I'm finally back! Being around everyone for so long is just exhausting." As he walked to his bed, undressing on the way, he picked up the latest manga.
He climbed into bed, tightly wrapped in the blanket, and after lying there in a starfish pose for a while, he started reading his manga.
....
And so, the second semester of their first year finally began.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning!"
"Yoshi!"
"Hey, Sendo! What did you do after you got back yesterday?"
"Manga! Bath! Anime! Uh... sleep!"
"As expected!"
"As expected? It should be obvious! I spent over a month with you guys! Finally, I'm free! Of course, I'm going to do what I want!"
"What about the tournament? The tournament!"
"Huh?"
"About a week from now, the autumn tournament registration starts, and in two weeks, the games will begin!" Sawamura said excitedly.
"Oh, you mean that? I haven't thought about it at all. Wait, it's that soon?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Anyway! Eijun, after school, go see Sano-sensei! Have him arrange a few practice matches for us! And you all, keep practicing! Remember to treat every practice session as if it's the final inning, two outs, with a runner on third, and a cleanup batter at the plate."
"Alright, let's get to class!"
"Class? You mean, another excuse to sleep!"
"Ei-chan, you're in no position to be saying that!"
...
"Wait! Sendo! What do you mean by 'you guys'? Are you not joining us?" After a long moment of processing, Sawamura finally realized what Sendo had said earlier. He yelled as he chased after Sendo, who had already disappeared.
…
"And so, a and b, b and d, abcd…!" The math teacher was enthusiastically explaining a concept to the class.
Meanwhile, Sawamura had his arms hanging limply by his sides, his head resting on the desk, looking like he'd been executed, with his eyes open, drooling slightly, and mumbling nonsensically.
On the other side, Sendo had stacked his books on the desk to make a tall pile and folded his jacket or a cushion to make a pillow. He rested his head on it, joining Sawamura in openly napping.
The teacher's enthusiasm didn't waver, but a vein on his forehead was clearly pulsing in frustration.
"These two idiots…"
"SAWAMURA!!!"
"Huh?" Sawamura jolted awake, wiping away his drool, and looked at the teacher, who was staring at him silently. He then lowered his head and wiped the drool off the desk with a napkin he pulled from who-knows-where.
He raised his head again, meeting the teacher's gaze.
The teacher, however, turned his gaze toward a certain someone else…
Ten seconds passed, and Sendo still showed no reaction.
Sigh!
The teacher sighed as if he'd just lost a battle.
"Sawamura! Answer these two questions for me!"
"Huh?" Sawamura blinked in confusion.
He stared at the problem on the board with wide eyes, clearly struggling…
"I don't know…"
"Get out and stand in the hallway!!!"
"What?!" Sawamura glanced at the blissfully sleeping Sendo, then looked back at the teacher, sending a silent plea for mercy. After repeating this a few times…
"Hurry up and get out!" The teacher finally lost patience and chased Sawamura out.
"Teacher! But there's someone else sleeping too!"
The teacher completely ignored Sawamura's protests.
"Idiot! If I could throw him out too, do you think I'd make you take the fall? I'd have kicked both of you out! But…" The teacher sighed again, glancing at Sendo with a complex look.
"Sigh! But that guy knows everything! Everything I don't, he does—what am I supposed to do? I can only count on you, kid! Let me relax a bit; I've been under a lot of stress lately."
At that moment, Sendo smacked his lips in his sleep, which the teacher ignored, continuing his lesson.
"Why?! What's going on here?! Just what is this?!!!"
....
Ring ring ring!
"That's it for today. Make sure to review the material! Class dismissed!"
As soon as the teacher left, Sawamura stormed back into the classroom, making a beeline for a certain someone.
"Ah!" Sendo was just stretching with a big yawn.
"Sendo! You jerk!"
"???" Sendo looked at him, utterly confused.
"Why was I the only one thrown out of class?"
"…So, what exactly happened?"
Not only Sawamura, but everyone around fell silent.
"Hahaha! So that's it! You got kicked out of class again!"
"Don't say 'again'! This was the first time today!"
"Right, right! The first time this semester!"
"Why am I always the unlucky one?"
"Maybe because you snore in class"
"Do I really snore?" Sawamura looked at his friends.
"Yeah! And you make all kinds of strange noises too!" Ohno replied hesitantly.
"Uh…oh! I see! But there's nothing I can do about that!"
Everyone fell silent, speechless.
"You actually believed that?" Sendo's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Well, if it's because I snore, that can't be helped! But, Sendo, you're coming with me to see Sano-sensei! That guy's super naggy!"
"Relax, just leave the talking to me!"
"Are you serious?"
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