"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Igarashi collapsed to his knees, ruefully clasping his hand and the scissors he had formed with his fingers.
Beaming, I lifted my rock. "Better luck next time."
"Best out of three," he said.
"Nope. Pass the ice cream to its rightful owner."
Begrudgingly, he dug into the plastic bag. He surfaced the refreshment both of us were in disagreement about.
"Sena, what's wrong with your tastebuds?" he complained, frowning at the item he was left with—chocolate-covered cucumber chips. "Why do you always grab the weirdest flavours?"
My ice cream wasn't the better alternative. However, I'd rather my chances with this yakisoba-candy flavouring over whatever snack abominations Sena had snagged from the convenience store.
"Isn't it fun trying new things?" was Sena's only defence whilst nibbling on pickled-mango biscuits.
Igarashi and I shared a monotoned look.
"We're never sending you to buy refreshments again," we chorused.
"Hey," said our drummer, Yunoki, with an excited edge to his voice. "These spicy watermelon cookies aren't bad. The aftertaste is kinda refreshing."
"Seriously?" Igarashi demanded. "Pass me one."
They segued into nonchalant chitchat. As they did, I wedged myself onto the nearby desk. I unfurled the ice cream seal and took a whiff.
Yup. This was definitely yakisoba. I felt bad for my stomach, but I was famished.
Since our concert was around the corner, we were practicing around the clock. Occupying this room after school and occasional mornings had become a daily occurrence. Taking breaks, passing the time with idle conversation had also become the norm. By and by, I'd grown accustomed to hanging around these guys.
"Well, that was. . . something," I said after finishing the tiny pint. "I'm gonna head to the washroom and rinse my mouth."
Sena, the only one to hear me, saluted me off. Igarashi and Yunoki were too occupied comparing and contrasting their snacks, going so far as to try them in combination to attest to their aversion.
I slipped outside the room, sliding the door shut behind me. As I crossed through the familiar halls, I paid a glance out the window, and the torrential rainfall hitting the glass.
It'd rained a lot recently. Hopefully, it wasn't a bad omen.
We sounded good—I was confident in that. Having said that, it didn't release my nerves entirely. Every night, I imagined the worst-case scenarios, like tripping, or forgetting the lyrics, or being booed. That day of the Music Festival, I was running on anger and mainly adrenaline, so one could argue I wasn't in my right mind. Now, though, the logical part of my mind barraged me with negative thoughts.
"Why the long face?"
I flinched. Finding a grinning Igarashi was the last thing I expected. He'd followed me.
"According to others, it's because I'm tall. My body parts had no choice but to compensate."
"Sarcasm." He crossed his arms behind his head. "Should've expected that."
"Fortunately, I don't have to hold back against you."
"Then, I won't either. You're getting cold feet, aren't you?"
Like always, he saw right through me. "Stop using your alien powers to read my mind."
He sillily laughed. "Instead of dwelling on dumb concerns, you should smile like an idiot. Like you always do. Come on."
YOU ARE READING
Outsider Syndrome | ✓
Teen Fiction(A Reverse Harem) Due to her above-average height, Shiina Kisaragi lives as the constant object of ridicule by her high school peers. Not a day goes by where she isn't reminded of being an outcast. With her mother having passed away a year ago, she...
