Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ✔

Chapter 56 - Cold Reading

I slowly jerked my head a bit to the right, almost unnoticeable. But someone like Kiyotaka would definitely notice.

I watched as he took the hint, and excused himself from his group. He walked out of The Brewster.

"What are you spacing out for, kouhai?" a voice rang out in my ear, and I turned to look at the Student Council President Nagumo, leisurely sprawled out on a chair. "Come, take a seat!"

"Yeah, sorry," I said, and I took a seat next to the senior. "So, we're just here for, fun?"

"Yes! Exactly," he said as he snapped his fingers. "We're here for fun!"

"Isn't the mall a more fun place to be in?" I asked cautiously.

"Now, now, kouhai, Keyaki Mall is too generic a spot for leisurely break," Nagumo chided me. "Besides, this café is known for its outstanding service and food, but it gets overshadowed because of its close proximity to The Pallet."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I've been here along with Yosuke and Chiaki more than 10 times already.

I didn't want to burst his bubble, so I stayed quiet.

"So, is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Nagumo raised his eyebrows. "Talk to you about? Nothing at all! Can I not talk to you if there isn't an agenda?"

"That's not what I meant," I added quickly. "It's just that it's strange for you to call me without a reason, so I assumed that you might have had something important you wanted to discuss, President."

"Well, your words wound me," Nagumo replied. "I assure you that there is nothing that I wanted to extract from you. I'm here just because the two of us haven't caught up in a while! Even though we're a part of the Student Council, the year gap makes it quite difficult to make up on lost time and communication."

"I see. Have you called any other Council Members, President?" I asked. "Because it looks like we're attracting quite a bit of attention."

I directed my gaze to the curious stares of all students from the 1st years to 3rd years. It seemed that it indeed was interesting to watch the Student Council President talk with an underclassman.

"Don't worry about that," Nagumo waved me off. "We're both celebrities, you know that right? You might be oblivious to your social standing, though."

"I'm not oblivious to it, senpai. I just don't find it that important," I replied casually. "Besides, it isn't my goal to regain social standing anyways. I just want a happy high school life with lots of friends."

"But this school sure makes it quite hard, doesn't it?" Nagumo grinned. "I've heard that Class D, or maybe I should address you as Class C now, has made it all the way till here without having a single expellee this time. It's phenomenal."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because that hasn't ever happened in the past! I've heard from our homeroom teachers, Class D students, and upperclassmen. That Class D usually loses out at least a student or two before the end of the Second Semester!" he said animatedly. "But we're already halfway through the second semester, and there hasn't been a single expellee from Class C. Scratch that, not a single expellee in the First Year Student Body! It's quite insane."

 "We haven't had any significantly hard Special Exam yet, after all," I said. "It would instead be concerning if we did have expellees."

"You're talking via experience, and I'm talking via history, kouhai," Nagumo replied. "In the past, it was quite common for at least 4-5 students dropping out from Class D within the First Year itself. It's already well into the Second Semester, and no expellees is therefore extraordinary."