It was Friday, and Hitori Gotoh lay twisted over her desk, face down and unable to move.
She'd narrowly escaped her last part-time shift by pretending to be sick. But this time, Nijika-chan had emphasized multiple times in the band's LINE group that Kazami Haru absolutely had to bring Bocchi along.
Dammit, why did Haru have to be her classmate?!
And of all the cruel coincidences, he sat just one seat away, with only Takamatsu Tomori in between.
Even if she wanted to run away, there was no room—no timing, no chance at all!
As the clock ticked closer and closer to the final bell, her unavoidable fate of going to work loomed over her like doom. Hitori clutched her head, spiraling into despair.
"Um, Gotoh-san? Can I talk to you for a second?"
"AH—YES!"
Startled, Hitori shrieked with a voice that nearly cracked. She forced her eyes wide open and looked up—
There stood a cute girl with brilliant red hair and a dazzling smile like sunlight itself.
It was her.
The strongest normie in class.
Ikuyo Kita, the girl with the power of a million extrovert doppelgängers!
She was that mythical kind of being, the type always surrounded by friends, whose very presence could summon a swarm of companions with a single cheerful gesture. A terrifying force of nature, Bocchi's fantasy self made real.
So terrifying!
Hitori wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but even standing near Kita's radiant presence made her feel like a bug crawling out from under a rock, shriveling under the sun's glare.
PIC[1]: Kita(Glow)xBocchi(Recoil)
"Whoa! Gotoh-san, are you okay?!"
"Stay with me!"
Kita Ikuyo reached out and placed a hand on Hitori's shoulder in alarm, but Bocchi reacted like a slug sprinkled with salt, melting away into a writhing heap, practically dissolving into a sad little snakeball on the floor.
Kita was on the verge of tears.
Don't die, Bocchi!
If you die now, what am I supposed to do?!
"I noticed you always carry a guitar, so I wanted to ask if you're in a band! I'm super interested in bands myself, and I really want to be a guitarist and vocalist, but I haven't formed a group yet, so—"
In her panic, Kita blurted it all out in one breath.
The speed spell of her confession actually made Bocchi reform like a slime, slowly returning to human shape.
"G-Guitarist…"
Wait, Kita-san plays guitar too?
Come to think of it… she does carry a guitar case sometimes…
That was the only part Hitori actually heard. The rest blurred out the moment "guitarist" hit her ears.
No!
A shining super-normie like Kita isn't just a good singer, she plays guitar too?! That's stealing my only redeeming quality!!
Bocchi's fragile sense of self-worth was crumbling fast. She let out a weak "blop" and smackas her face contorted again, color draining away as she shrank into a miserable little lump. No matter how much Kita tried to console her, Hitori gave no response.
"Gotoh-san, come on! Please wake up!"
Seeing her carefully planned conversation dying in front of her, Kita gritted her teeth and braced herself.
She quickly glanced around the classroom, then leaned in close to Bocchi's ear. With her cheeks flushed a deep red, she whispered in a trembling voice:
"G-Gotoh-san, the truth is… I actually… want to start a band with Kazami-kun."
GASP!
Hitori Gotoh, sickly and nearly deceased, bolted upright, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Kita.
Wait—did she hear that right?
Kita Ikuyo, the ultra-sunshine normie, wants to start a band with Haru?! Even though Haru was just as gloomy and anti-social as—
No, wait!
She almost forgot that Haru's actually super popular and handsome!
I'm so sorry, Haru-san! I got too comfortable and just lumped you in with my kind, like a fellow gloomy little slipper bug… but you're really a top-ranking member of the extrovert elite…
Bocchi instantly folded her hands in silent apology to the great and powerful Kazami-kun.
With Hitori finally snapped back to reality, Kita blushed even harder and glanced around nervously.
She'd waited for the perfect moment, when Haru had gone to buy a chocolate twist, and both Anon and Tomori weren't nearby.
Now or never!
"So please! Gotoh-san, come with me!"
Like a thunderclap, Kita grabbed Hitori's hand and bolted toward a hidden corner of the stairwell, the secret dark corner where no one ever came.
…
In that familiar dark nook, Bocchi finally felt a sliver of safety.
But the words Kita had just said… they still didn't feel real.
She nervously stammered, "C-could it be… Kita-san, you…?"
"Yes! Just like you're thinking… I-I like Kazami-kun."
Kita pressed both hands to her cheeks. Even though they were mostly hidden, Hitori could still see her glowing red face peeking out like a ripe apple bursting with vitamin-rich sweetness.
Steam seemed to rise from her head like she was about to boil over.
Hitori's jaw dropped.
Wait, no—that's not what she was trying to ask!
Eh?
EHHHH?!
A mental avalanche of shock buried Hitori Gotoh's brain. In her glazed-over eyes, an entire cosmos of disbelief shimmered by. It took her ages to reboot.
Ah yes, the origin of the universe was Lord Safurin attacking the Land of Light…
"So please, Gotoh-san! Will you help me?"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime request! I'll do anything—so…"
Kita's eyes sparkled as she held Hitori's hands tightly. Bocchi felt like she was being crushed in a vise.
Like prey caught in a predator's gaze, there was no escape.
Sweat poured from her forehead as her body instinctively nodded before her mind could stop it.
"Thank you so much, Hitori-chan!"
Bocchi sat frozen in place as Kita hugged her tight. She still hadn't processed anything.
Did Kita-san really say she likes Haru-san?
Somehow, Bocchi felt lost. She wanted to say something—anything—but no words came. She didn't even know what she wanted to say.
Agreeing to help Kita so impulsively had left Hitori Gotoh with a strange feeling of regret and disappointment.
"Um, can I ask… why me, Kita-san?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just… ask Haru-kun directly?"
[1] https://imgur.com/RjGC4C2