#127

 

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I was walking alone without a destination in the school, which was getting excited about the fireworks festival.

No matter where I walked, just the people changed, but the topic remained the same.

 

Who to invite, where to meet, do you have a girlfriend to take to the festival?

It’s the typical conversation of a high school student, but also very innocent.

 

I’ve heard that as we grow older, we don’t have as much fun looking forward to these kinds of events.

It’s because we are in an environment where we can enjoy the present and without any worries that we are able to enjoy this kind of event.

 

But you guys, I’m sorry that I’m getting carried away with this kind of talk about the future, but there is a possibility that you too will have to face reality.

Whatever it is whether it’s hidden or not will be revealed when the time is right.

 

Yes, the results of the final exam.

In fact, the first semester’s final exam which had been held over the span of last week.

 

Since we hadn’t studied for the test beforehand, we didn’t have much to talk about, so we didn’t bother, but the results would be handed in today.

Towards the end of the recess, some of the students started to look pale.

In the midst of all this, one person walks leisurely down the corridor to the vending machine, and that person …is me.

I’m not going to hide it because I don’t need to.

 

If you’re wondering why I’m so carefree about my surroundings, the answer is simple.

I’m sure I’m an average student.

 

Mr. Average.

You can call me that if you want to.

 

…It’s too embarrassing, and it’s also lame, so let’ s just pretend I never said that.

 

As for the final exam this time, I know that my score is about average.

I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that I’m not the only one who’s had a few bad experiences with this.

 

Damn you talented people…

Shizuku smiled and said, “Let’s review properly next time,” but as for Kirasaka, she said, “Oh, even if we reverse your score, Shinra-kun, mine’s still better than yours,” My pride, which was already as small as an ant’s, got hurt.

 

I’ll never forget it.

I’m sitting here in front of the vending machine wondering what to buy, trying to forget about the previous conversations I tried remembering the conversation we had in the classroom earlier.

“Festival…”

 

To be honest, I wasn’t too enthusiastic.

Of course, I would have to talk to Kaede, and depending on the outcome, we would have to gather at my house.

Even so, I don’t like the atmosphere of the festival itself, in other words, I don’t like the act of people gathering together and making a lot of noise, so naturally I can’t help but be uncomfortable.

 

Anyway, it’s been years since I’ve seen a fireworks display with someone other than Kaede.

It’s probably because Shizuku used to come to my house to watch it, so I shouldn’t have much problems.

 

But as far as my memory goes, it’s a very old memory.

It’s a memory from my childhood now, and I’ve forgotten how I even enjoyed the festival back then.

 

I bought a drink from a vending machine and walked back to the classroom with it in my hand.

Midday, I was thinking about the day of the festival.

 

The fireworks display starts at seven, and until then, the street in front of the station will be filled with stalls.

No cars are allowed to enter, and the stores are lined up on both sides of the street.

 

If possible, I’d like to finish my shopping and get home before the street is filled with pedestrians.

It would be a good idea to ask the old man on the shopping street about the opening hours of the stalls on the way home today.

 

Returning meant returning to the same hustle and bustle until I reached the classroom.

 

I could see people getting into the mood at the end of my sight.

It was a student with slightly dyed brown hair, who seemed to be enjoying high school to the fullest.

They all seemed to be talking about their plans for this weekend, with him in the center.

 

 

As I watched them, I felt the difference between myself and them.

I’ll never be able to enjoy the festival as much as they do.

 

 

I don’t know why, but it’s a theory I have and it has to do with the way I’ve been living my life.

I don’t want to make noise with others, I don’t want to go to a festival with everyone.

 

When we act in a group, not everyone is happy to act in the direction we choose.

Someone has to compromise, someone has to care, and someone has to look out for others.

 

It may be that they are doing it without realizing it.

But I can’t help but see it as obnoxious.

 

If it’s fun to follow the choices made by a core group of people, then I don’t need to participate in fun games with my friends.

No, it’s better not to participate.

 

People often say that I am alone and lonely, but who gets to decide that?

I’m a true individual, and if you ask me, being alone is the best.

 

You don’t have to decide where you want to go, what you want to eat, or even how much you want to care if you’re in a group.

That’s why I even think that acting alone is the most ideal.

 

This is just a theory.

Just a theory, not the correct answer.

I guess there is no right answer to a question that does not even have a questioner.

 

The only thing I can say is that reality rarely works out the way I want it to, and that despite what I think, the human relationships around me are starting to get more complicated.

 

I miss the days when I was alone, gazing out the window in a daze.

I walked back to the classroom through the corridors crowded with students, remembering the nostalgia of the memories which was only a few months old.

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TL/N - Dunno when the next update will be, getting too busy with assignments.