章節 30: The Night

"Thanks for the meal."

"Thanks for the meal,"

There was really nothing to talk about after the meal so Hajime and Megumi just awkwardly sat opposite each other, their eyes darting from one point of the room to another. From time to time, they would stop short, as if they were about to bring up a topic. But then they would cut themselves short long before they even started a conversation.

Fortunately, Hajime managed to break through his shell and ask a question, breaking the silence that befell the room. "My um...was it really that bad? My reputation in school, I mean."

Hajime was genuinely curious about the said topic, but it still took him a couple of minutes before he asked such an obvious question. Of course, he's got a bad reputation, but the reason why Hajime brought it up was that he just wanted to talk about something, anything. He wasn't used to being alone with someone, let alone conversing with the only person in the room even though he wanted to.

"Obviously, why do you think everyone talks behind your back?" Megumi asked.

"It's that bad, huh," Hajime commented, relieved that Megumi actually participated in the conversation.

"After spending time with you today, though, I don't think you're a delinquent at all." Megumi leaned in on the couch. "You do look the part though. And all those nasty rumors revolving around you, much more your casual participation in school and the trouble you get into— yeah, you even play the part of being a delinquent."

"That's fine, let them think what they want." Hajime continued. "It's not like I'd die if they perceive me as someone I'm not. And just to clear things out, I don't get in trouble, trouble gets to me."

"Isn't that... the same thing?" Megumi wondered, confused.

"It's not." Hajime abruptly responded.

"Well, let me tell you something. It's not like you can't help being perceived as a delinquent." Megumi shrugged. "If you care even just a little bit about your reputation, it won't be as bad as it is right now."

"You mean?"

"Do something about those dark circles under your eyes. If you lack sleep, just press a spoon over your eyes before going to school. Also, your scruffy hair— your bangs pretty much cover the upper half of your face. How can you see through those bangs? And no— having long hair doesn't look cool on you at all." Megumi's barrage of criticism went on, stabbing Hajime a couple of times in his heart. "And your uniform, at the very least, try to look presentable."

"Right right," To be honest, Hajime wasn't listening to Megumi's advice at all. All of those just went in on one ear and out the other. With a sigh, Hajime stood up and stretched for a bit before cleaning up the table.

"Then again, I'm surprised you kept the house clean. That's a good improvement. Now your place looks like a house now." It was unbelievable that a compliment came out of Megumi's mouth, so much so that Hajime turned around and almost dropped the trash he was holding.

"I figured it'd be a waste if I let it degrade once again. You helped me out a lot and I couldn't return the favor. The least I could do was to not let your efforts go to waste." Hajime monotonously said. He didn't want to sound overeager while thanking Megumi since it might boost her ego to outstanding levels. He might get looked down on again when that happens.

More importantly, he didn't want to feel indebted to Megumi. After all, they weren't really on the best of terms when it comes to their friendship.

The twilight skies slowly transitioned into nighttime, coloring the skies a nice shade of purple as the myriad of stars became more visible. The last rays of sunlight disappeared from the horizon as well as it swallowed up the sunset.

And yet, there was still no sign of Megumi leaving the house.

"Hey, Hajime," Megumi said out of the blue just when Hajime just finished tidying up. He returned to his seat, the one opposite the couch where Megumi sat.

"What?"

"Those debt collectors, why were they so desperate in squeezing money out of you? You're just a high schooler. How could you get too deep into debt that easily?" Megumi asked.

"It just happened." Hajime sighed. "And you should know that all loan sharks are like that. It's not like they care how they get back their money. I'm surprised they haven't burned the house down because of the debt."

"I guess,"

"And when are you going home?" Hajime asked. For the past few hours, he had been waiting for Megumi to bring the topic up but she didn't, nor did she make any effort to go home.

As mentioned previously, it had been so long since Hajime got himself a visitor. That's why he didn't know how to deal with one. His initial thought was that it would be quite rude if he were to drive her away. In the first place, it was his fault that she got injured. The least he could do was wait for her to go home instead of forcefully making her leave.

However, it had been a few hours and there were no signs of Megumi leaving. Hajime was running out of patience as well. He couldn't help but bring up the topic.

Megumi didn't sound surprised. In fact, she didn't even react when Hajime asked her the question. Instead, her gaze landed on the three bags of groceries that Hajime brought home. One look— one look and Hajime already knew what she was implying when that mischievous smile briefly appeared on her face.

"No," Hajime sharply uttered.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean what I said. No," Hajime repeated.

"But I can't contact my parents, I didn't bring a charger. And you don't have a phone either. How do you expect me to go home? And it's already late. You did say that these parts of the town are dangerous, right? How could a frail maiden like me go out and try to go home with a sprained ankle?" Megumi stared at him with googly eyes

"Frail maiden my butt," Hajime mumbled. In his mind, however, he could tell that all her reasons were valid. It's not like he could just send him out to the streets, especially at this time of night. As much as he hated to admit it, he was still partially responsible for Megumi. If something were to happen to her, then it would be his to blame since they were together the entire afternoon.

'Did I just dig my own grave? What on— ' Hajime sighed in a despondent manner.