Today is Monday, November 18th. I was having breakfast with my dad.

  "As I recall, your exams were starting today. Did you study, Grey?"

  "I studied."

  I don't talk to my dad very often, but I think he's worried about me. So let me say a few words.

  "Dad... You don't have to worry about me. My life is going pretty well right now."

  "Okay then."

  Although my dad is good at communicating, unlike me, he can't properly express his concerns about me.

  "Are you having fun at school too? Did you make friends?"

  "I can't say I'm bored, but about friends... I don't have friends. I spend time with Arima. She's my girlfriend after all."

  Suddenly, my dad stopped chewing the bite in his mouth and looked at me with surprised eyes.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  My dad swallowed the bite in his mouth.

  "You have a girlfriend?"

  "How come you don't know? You've even met her."

  We paused for a few seconds. I think my dad is trying to remember. After a minute, he seemed to remember.

  "Ha! That was the girl, I guess. I'm sorry, son, I'm tired from working so much. I shouldn't have forgotten something like that."

  "It's okay," I replied.

  Since my mother's death two years ago, my father has been in deep sorrow. For this reason, he devoted himself to work. He's constantly working. I'm not angry at him for forgetting something simple. After I finished my breakfast, I got up from the table. I brushed my teeth and got dressed to go to school. I called out to my dad.

  "Dad! I'm leaving."

  "See you, son."

  Just as I was about to leave, my dad returned to his room to rest. I left my house. When I arrived at the entrance of the building, I saw Arima. She was leaning against the wall, sleeping while standing. I approached her, but she didn't notice. I put my hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, a scream echoed through the streets.

  "Aaah!"

  Arima took four steps away from me and took a defensive stance.

  "Arima, what are you doing?"

  When Arima heard my question, she raised her head and looked at my face. Her shoulders relaxed. She sighed.

  "So it was you, Grey."

  Arima came towards me. She looked angry. She made her hands into fists and started hitting my chest repeatedly with the side of her fists.

  "A girl shouldn't be scared like that, Grey. Don't do it again."

  "Okay, okay, stop hitting me. I'm sorry."

  Arima stopped hitting me. Her fists were still in front of my chest. Arima looked away and opened her mouth.

  "I'll forgive you, but only on one condition. You'll hug me tightly."

  Arima bowed her head, looked at the ground. Her cheeks started to blush. I guess she's waiting for me to move. I slowly wrapped my arms around Arima. I pulled Arima towards me from her back. Arima hugged me back.

  "Did you get taller?"

  "Maybe," I replied.

  It's been five months since I turned seventeen. It's still possible that I'm growing taller. There's about a ten-centimeter height difference between Arima and me. I guess Arima hasn't grown since last year, but I have. While I was thinking about this, I realized that we were starting to be late for school. I pulled back and released Arima. Arima pulled back too.

  "Should we go to school now?" I asked.

  "Yes."

  I started walking ahead. We'll be at school in 15 minutes. As Arima walked on my left, I glanced at her. She still looked embarrassed, but she was smiling. Even our hug can make a person this happy. I still don't understand. Do I need to feel happy? I can't say I'm unhappy, but these kinds of interactions don't stir anything inside me. I don't know why. I decided to get to know myself better recently. I shouldn't be hasty.

  "Darling."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "Yes."

  Arima took off her woolen glove from her right hand. She put it in her pocket. She held out her hand to me as she walked.

  "Let's hold hands."

  "Okay."

  I took my hand out of my pocket and held Arima's hand. We held hands until we reached the school entrance. When we entered the school, I went to the classroom first. Arima said she would stop by the cafeteria. I sat down at my own desk in the classroom. Now that I think about it, the desks are for two people, and I was sitting alone until recently. Now Arima is next to me. There are 12 rows in the classroom, and the class size is 23 people. So one person is alone right now. I guess the person who is alone is close to the people sitting behind him. So I don't need to feel sorry for him. While I was taking my belongings out of my bag, the bell rang. Arima came into the classroom right after and sat next to me. She had bought a pack of biscuits and two cakes from the cafeteria. Arima held out the chocolate cake to me.

  "Here, this is yours."

  "You didn't have to buy it."

  "It's okay, you eat it."

  I left the cake under my desk. I'll eat it later. When Arima came, I noticed again that no one greeted her. We're sitting in the back row by the window right now. So she passed by everyone in the classroom while coming to my desk. I remember that Arima has a few close friends. They didn't even greet her. Let me ask why.

  "Arima."

  "What happened?"

  Arima spoke while munching.

  "Why didn't anyone greet you when you came into the classroom? I don't even see you hanging out with your other friends."

  Arima swallowed what was in her mouth.

  "I don't know."

  "What? Why?"

  Arima paused for a moment and then spoke.

  "Eee... Well... We haven't told anyone that we're dating yet, have we?"

  "No. We agreed not to tell anyone at first because you didn't want to."

  "I..." (Arima paused again.) "I told my friends that I liked you. I guess they didn't want to bother me because I started spending time with you. I'm not sure."

  Arima frowned. I guess she's thinking.

  "I see," I replied.

  Ten minutes after the bell rings, a second bell will ring. That's when the teacher comes to the classroom. The classroom isn't full yet at this time. It would be good to close this topic before the students sitting around us come. After all, others shouldn't hear that we're dating. Actually, I can ask Arima if we should announce that we're dating.

  "Do you want to announce that we're dating?"

  "No. I mean, not for now."

  "Okay. Let's close the topic."

  Arima nodded. She probably understood when she saw that the classroom was starting to fill up. The bell rang again. Arima finished her snacks. The classroom was full. The teacher came. Our lesson is history. After greeting us, the teacher started the lesson. As always, Arima made her arms into a pillow and put her head on the desk. She's missing the lesson, of course. I wonder what she would do if I didn't take notes. She takes the notes from me. She's so lazy. When we came to the end of the lesson, the teacher started taking attendance. After a while, it was Arima's turn.

  "Arima Violet."

  Arima is still sleeping. She didn't realize she was being called. I had to do it again. I nudged Arima hard on her side.

  "Is Arima here?" the teacher asked.

  "Vaa! Yes, teacher."

  There was a brief moment of laughter in the classroom.

  "Were you sleeping again, Arima?"

  "Ah, yes, teacher. I'm sorry."

  "At least answer next time."

  "Okay."

  I heard the girls whispering on our right.

  "Isn't that the usual Arima?"

  "Yeah."

  Arima probably heard this too, because she looks embarrassed, but I'm sure she'll fall asleep again in the next lesson. The bell rang, the lesson was over, recess started.

  "Arima, didn't you sleep properly again last night?"

  "But what can I do? I was very curious about the end of the series I was watching."

  "What am I going to do with you? Sleep. We have a math exam in the afternoon. Get some sleep."

  Arima pouted when she heard about the exam.

  "I know. I know. That's why I'm sleeping."

  Arima put her head back on the desk. The lessons went like this, and lunchtime came. Arima was still sleeping. I woke her up.

  "Arima! Wake up, sleepyhead. The lunch bell rang."

  I gently shook the girl's shoulder with my hand. Arima raised her head.

  "Hmm, okay."

  Now that Arima is awake, I can go to the cafeteria. As I was leaving the classroom, Arima came to the cafeteria with me. We went to the machine where we could choose the ready-made meal we wanted to get. There was a queue in front of the machine. We got in line with Arima. After a while, it was our turn. I asked Arima to choose before me. There were 3 classifications on the machine's screen: light, medium, and heavy meals. As I expected, Arima chose a heavy meal. I chose a medium meal. We got our tickets from the machine. Then we went to the section where we would get our meals. We gave our tickets to the employee. The employee brought our meals with trays. Now it's time to find a place. After wandering around a bit, we found a table for two. We sat down at the table opposite each other.

  "Bon appetit to us!"

  Arima was excited for her meal. She started eating right away. The portion in front of her was almost prepared for two people.

  "Are you going to be able to eat that much food?" I asked.

  "I'll eat it."

  "Glutton. You'll gain weight if you keep going like this."

  "Don't worry about me. I'm thin enough to eat like this."

  I started eating my meal too. We have an exam in the afternoon. It would be good if I fill my stomach. I wonder what the person in front of me thinks about the exam.

  "Did you study for the exam?"

  "Yes. I'll probably get a high enough grade."

  "Good."

  We finished our meals and returned to the classroom. The exam time came. Our exam papers were distributed. "3rd Year 1st Term Mathematics Exam" is written on it. The exam started with the teacher's order. As I solved it, I realized that the questions were not prepared that difficult. Some of the questions will be easy for those who know the basics of the subjects. I glanced to my side. Arima seems to be able to solve it too. The bell rang. Everyone put down their pens. The papers were collected. Arima also seems relieved as she stretches.

  "How did it go?" I asked.

  "It's easy when I copy from you."

  "What? Do it yourself."

  "I'm kidding. The exam was easy."

  Since the exam was in the last lesson, it was time to go home. We packed up and went to our homes. We said goodbye when we came to the fork in the road with Arima.

  "Bye bye. Grey Wood. I'm going to get a higher grade than you in these exams."

  Arima is challenging me in her own way. However, I can't take this challenge seriously.

  "Sure. You will. See you."

  Arima seemed a little disappointed when she saw my attitude, but she waved as she left. I replied in the same way. So today is over. Today was like a summary of my days in the last few weeks. I spend my lonely days with Arima now. This cheerful girl shows me that time passes quickly. Maybe this girl will be in my life for the rest of my life. Frankly, I don't know. The future is not certain. But we can guess what will happen in the future. My biggest guess and also a gamble is that this girl will be bound to me with an unbreakable bond. If I'm late, no matter what I do when I try to force her out of my life, I won't be able to get rid of this girl. That's why I'm curious. Will the future me regret it, or will he be satisfied? I'm waiting patiently.