Lunch break. I was slumped over my desk, thinking about yesterday. Sure, any guy would want a job like a seed distributor. But I don't want to sleep with anyone other than Tatemiya. Honestly, I'm surprised at myself for feeling this way.
"Hey, what're you sleeping for? Aren't you gonna eat, Jim?"
The guy who plopped down roughly in the seat in front of me was Osadera Sora. We'd known each other since elementary school, and he was practically my only friend. His face wasn't anything special, but he was naturally cheerful and a genius at livening up the mood. That's why he was the class mascot, a must-invite for any hangout, regardless of gender.
"Jim" was a nickname I got in elementary school. I'll skip the origin story, but Sora was the only one who still called me that.
"Ah, no, just thinking about something…"
"What, you got some kinda problem or somethin'?"
"Nah, nothing major. Just that Tatemiya hasn't shown up today either."
"Now that you mention it, haven't seen her yesterday or today. Weird for her to take time off like this."
As he said that, Sora turned his head toward the seat diagonally in front of him.
"Prez—you know anything about why Tatchi ain't here today?"
The girl called "Prez" was Kurasue Sumire. She was the student council president, so everyone called her that. A cool, model student and Tatemiya's best friend.
"I haven't heard anything. Do you know something, Osadera-kun?"
"Nah, I got no clue."
"Ooh, what's this about Nanamin~?"
The one who butted into the conversation was Matsuki Ichika. A hardcore gyaru who always got scolded by teachers for her flashy makeup. She was the one who called me "the face you forget in a second."
"Just talking about how we haven't seen Tatchi lately."
"What, Chōji's worried about Nanamin? No way you've got a shot, lol."
Ichika lightly teased Sora, but the two of them got along ridiculously well. Probably because they both had party-loving personalities.
"Nah, not me—Jim's the one worried."
"Huh? Why's Creepdo worried about Nanamin? Get her outta your brain, dude. It's just sad, lol."
"Damn, harsh, Itchi. Jim's known Tatchi since we were kids—longer than any of us."
"But in terms of closeness, we've got you beat, lol."
Honestly, this pissed me off. I hated this girl. Ohno-san had teased me relentlessly yesterday, but there was something affectionate about it. But Ichika's teasing was sharp, meant to hurt.
"Knock it off, Ichika. Kido-kun's just worried about Nanami too."
"Worried? Sumimin, you don't know anything?"
"I don't know anything. I texted her the day before yesterday, but it's still unread. Calls don't go through either, so I'm a little concerned."
"Seriously?"
Ichika pulled out her phone, covered in noisy trinkets.
"Oh, yeah. The LINE I sent yesterday's unread too. Nanamin usually replies in seconds."
"Huh. Maybe I'll try texting her too."
Wait, so everyone except me has Nanami's LINE…?
"Ah—still nothing. Unread, and calls just say 'out of service.'"
The prez, who'd been looking down this whole time, spoke hesitantly.
"Actually… Nanami said she was going to confess to someone on Monday…"
"No way!"
Sora and Ichika gasped in unison.
"Nanamin's finally gonna get herself a man~. Gonna be a wave of mental breakdowns from the guys~"
"Tatchi's got a crush? Who? Prez, you know?"
"I asked, but she wouldn't tell me. Said she'd tell everyone if it worked out… but apparently it's been a long-time one-sided love."
Seriously?! Nanami was plotting something that dangerous? If that happened, every guy in school would want to kill me.
I clutched my head, scratching at it.
"What's Creepdo having a mental breakdown for? Like you've got even a 0.0001% chance, lol."
Ugh, I wanna say it! I wanna say Nanami confessed to me and we did it!
"C'mon, don't be like that, Itchi. Jim's gotta be shocked if Tatchi gets a boyfriend. Then again, no guy in the world would turn her down."
"Right. I was worried maybe Nanami got rejected and is holed up, but realistically, that'd never happen."
"You're naive, Sumimin. What if the guy's already married?"
"No way, she said he was our age."
"Maybe she's just so into her new man she forgot about us."
"Totally!"
"Well, as long as she's okay. I hope she comes back soon."
Before I knew it, time had passed, the bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom.
Huh? Next class is math, but standing at the podium is Tamada-sensei.
Tamada Monomi-sensei is our homeroom teacher and teaches modern Japanese.
"Tama-sen, what's up? Next is Otchi's class~"
Matsuki voiced the question on everyone's minds.
"Next is Ochiai-sensei's class, but I'd like to borrow a moment to share some news."
The class murmured but quickly quieted, sensing the gravity in Tamada-sensei's tone.
"This is sudden, but Tatemiya Nanami-san has left this school."
The class erupted in shock. I was speechless.
"Left? What do you mean, sensei? Did Nanami transfer?"
The prez stood up to ask.
"I don't know the details myself, but a lawyer claiming to represent Tatemiya-san's father came to the school and submitted a withdrawal notice. I asked to speak with Tatemiya-san directly, but they refused…"
"No way! I'll ask Nanamin myself!"
Ignoring decorum, Ichika pulled out her phone and held it to her ear.
"—Nothing. Says 'this number is no longer in service'…"
Just earlier, the message had been "the phone you're calling is either powered off or out of range." Now it had changed to "the number you've dialed is no longer in service."
"Sensei! Can't we see Nanami? We didn't even get to say goodbye!"
Even the usually cool prez raised her voice, but Tamada-sensei just looked down sadly.
"It seems they've moved, and I have no way to contact Tatemiya-san either…"
The class's uproar showed no signs of settling.
"Ahh! Tatchi's Instagram and Twitter are gone too!"
Sora's announcement only fueled the chaos.
I pressed my forehead against my clasped hands, thinking. This doesn't make sense. Nanami wouldn't just disappear like this. At the very least, it couldn't be her choice. But now that I think about it, she did say something weird after we did it…
"—So no matter what happens from now on, don't forget about today, okay?"
What did that mean? At the time, I took it as "today's our anniversary" kind of thing, but now it might've meant something else.
The class's commotion continued, but I had one lead. Gripping my phone, I bolted out of the classroom to confirm it as soon as possible.