It felt like I was suffocating, as if my face were submerged in dark water.

Homeroom time.

In the classroom, a discussion about the field trip scheduled for two weeks later was taking place.

The destination is decided independently by each class, and once the location is determined, activities at the site are carried out by each group.

This class was supposed to go to a certain island.

It seems that they have been focusing on tourism lately, and they can also enjoy flower fields, gourmet food, and cruises.

The class assignment was decided by drawing lots.

Some students voiced their desire to pair up with those they liked, but Koharu-sensei insisted on it, hoping it would provide an opportunity for students who usually don't interact much to talk.

If we formed groups with those we liked, I would definitely be left out.

Perhaps, Koharu-sensei might have gone out of her way for me. Am I overthinking this?

I was assigned to the third squad.

There was one central boy in the class, three in the middle tier. Among them, two were girls and one was a boy. The rest were plain boys, making a total of six people.

The central boy was probably dissatisfied because he couldn't be in a group with the people he usually got along with. He was voicing his complaints about Koharu-sensei.

And so, I quickly went to talk to the group where my good friends were.

The remaining members of the group were bewildered.

In any case, my situation won't change. No matter which group I join, I won't have any friends. The discomfort won't change either.

"What should we do...?"

"For now, we have no choice but to discuss it among ourselves."

The discussion will be centered around middle-class women.

List potential destinations and share each person's preferences.

"Enoki-kun, is there anywhere you want to go?"

Out of consideration, the female host even engages me in conversation.

In reality, I didn't particularly want to go there. But answering anywhere is fine; I felt like I had a careless attitude.

So, I answered with a suitable place among the candidates.

While gathering everyone's opinions, we somehow managed to finalize the itinerary. We were finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Have you decided on a destination?"

The central guy has returned, bringing along his close friends.

"Y-yeah. Somehow."

"Whoa. Where?"

"It's like this."

When he looked at the paper with the destination written on it, the boy in the center said.

"Hey, how about going to the beach?"

"Huh?"

"Let's coordinate our destination with the second team. Then we can act together."

The sea was in a different place than originally planned.

Class 2 has many close-knit boys in the center.

He must have realized. If they coordinate their destinations, they can act together. They can spend time with their close friends.

"That would definitely be more fun, right?"

The female host and the other members of the group exchanged glances with each other. Although they didn't voice their confusion, it was clear they were perplexed.

That's only natural. The destination had already been decided. They came later and are trying to change it on their own. It's utterly selfish.

However, no one objects. It's because the boy at the center of the class is the one we're dealing with. If we stir up trouble, our own position might become precarious. Just as we were about to move on.

"But just now, it was decided."

Before I knew it, my mouth was open.

"Showing up late and suddenly flipping the table is not acceptable. If you're going to do that, you should have joined in the discussion from the beginning."

It's not like I was particularly attached to my current destination.

Actually, anywhere is fine. Even the beach suggested by the central guy would have been fine.

I just couldn't forgive it.

The audacity of thinking it's okay to impose his own convenience later and trample on everyone's opinions in the group. The insensitivity.

The wickedness that can do it so innocently.

"Whoa. You suddenly started talking."

The man in the center pretended to be surprised in a playful manner.

"Eneda-kun, you could talk after all. I thought you were like a statue or something."

"Hey, calling him a statue is going too far!"

The girl at the center next to me says with a laugh.

"Although his name is Enoki, not Eneda. Huh? Was it Enomoto? We've been in the same class since our first year."

The girl in the center asks me, "No?" seeking my agreement. I was asked for my agreement, but I didn't respond to it.

"Seriously? I totally didn't remember at all."

I remembered them.

Shimada to Seto.

During class, they would say something boring and laugh with the boring people.

"Has the destination for Team 3 been decided?"

Koharu-sensei is asking from the podium.

"Is the beach okay?"

The central boy seeks the group's agreement.

The whole class could only nod in the face of that momentum.

In the end, the destination was decided to be the sea.

"This is it, then."

Looking at the list of destinations written on the blackboard, Koharu-sensei said.

While Koharu-sensei was talking, the boy in the center said something boring. It was like a side comment or a joke.

To my annoyance, the boring people were laughing out loud at something trivial.

The other students were also laughing along. Or maybe they weren't just going along with it; perhaps they were genuinely finding it funny.

I didn't laugh. I didn't laugh because it wasn't funny. If I laughed at something that wasn't funny, something inside me would die. So, I didn't laugh.

"Hey, Naoki. Enoki-kun is serious."

"Are you still holding a grudge about what happened earlier? Sorry about that."

The central boy is apologizing in a deliberately exaggerated manner. Is he trying to create a joking atmosphere by making a scene in front of everyone?

I didn't respond.

There was no saying "it's okay," no saying "I don't hold a grudge," no forced smile, just a persistent silence.

This is ridiculous. I thought.

The people who say boring things and those who laugh along with them, everyone around me was utterly ridiculous, and it was unbearable.

To me, everyone looked like aliens.

No, that's not it.

Everyone else is an Earthling, and I'm the only alien.

☆

"Did something happen?"

Night. The balcony on a day when thick clouds covered the moon.

Just as the flow of the conversation had been interrupted, Rui-san suddenly asked.

"...Did it look that way to you?"

"Yes. I'm an Esper. I can see through everything."

Rui-san was blowing out cigarette smoke, smiling as if joking. She pressed the short cigarette into the ashtray in front of her.

"Even if it can't be solved, talking about it can sometimes make you feel better."

"What's your true intention?"

"Because it seems interesting, I just want to hear the story."

"Too honest."

I can't help but chuckle. But it feels good.

"When it comes to espers, I can't hide anything."

I said, and then I talked about what happened during the group selection the other day.

And that tomorrow is the day of the field trip.

"I see. So that's why you're feeling down."

"Because the ordeal will continue for a whole day."

Usually at school, I can be alone except during classes. But tomorrow is group activity day. I have to be with everyone else by force.

Just thinking about it makes me feel heavy-hearted.

"Then, how about watching a movie tomorrow?"

"...Yes?"

"The forecast for tomorrow is rain, so I was planning to skip university too. So, let's watch a movie together in my room."

"Are you saying I'm going to skip the field trip?"

"If you don't want to go, then don't go. It's a simple thing, isn't it?"

Rui-san said while raising her finger as if it were a brilliant idea.

It was so easy that it made me want to laugh.

But it wasn't an option until now. No, actually, I had thought of it, but maybe I unconsciously excluded it.

Skipping classes is one thing, but I can't skip field trips. If I do that, I'll be completely out of the class circle.

Somewhere in my heart, I might still have been hoping.

At school, in the classroom. Or in the world.

I should have known that I couldn't fit in.

"Well, please think about it."

"...Understood. I'll think about it."

While saying it, deep down, the answer was already there.

Chapter 24: Discussion