Today is Monday, November 25th. I haven't seen Arima since I visited her family over the weekend. Now I opened the door of my classroom and entered. It seems Arima hasn't come to school yet. I went to my usual seat at the back. While taking my school supplies out of my bag, my classmate Tucker, who sits one row in front of me, greeted me."

  "Good morning, Grey."

  "Good morning."

  I greeted back, but this greeting is unusual. Tucker leaned a little towards me and whispered, half-covering his mouth with one hand."

  There's a rumor about you and Arima."

  A rumor? What kind of rumor is it? I better ask.

  "What's this rumor?"

  "I heard that you and Arima ran over a homeless person. You attacked a man for fun and forced him until he passed out. Then you ran away when you saw a police officer."

  So someone saw us last Friday. But there's no way such an image could have formed. There's something fishy about this. Anyway... I'll correct the misunderstanding for now.

  "So that's the rumor, right?"

  "Yes, but I don't think it's true. There are extremely absurd parts to this rumor."

  "Because what really happened is completely different. That homeless man attacked Arima first. I intervened and defended ourselves. As for the man passing out, he was very weak. It's not our fault. We left there to avoid attracting more attention when the man passed out. That's all."

  Tucker leaned back a little and smiled confidently.

  "So that's what happened, huh? I want to make a comment about you, but first, let me ask you a question, Grey."

  "Sure, ask."

  "Is it true that you're dating Arima?"

  I was waiting for this question. In fact, I got this question much later than I expected. Now it's time to clarify things. Even though Arima doesn't want to announce that we're dating, there's nothing we can do anymore. After all, we're noticeable in school. The rumor that came out was also the trigger for the suspicions to peak. So...

  "Yes, we're dating."

  "Oh, man. First of all, congratulations."

  "Thanks, I guess."

  I don't understand why he congratulated me.

  "Judging by your explanation about the rumor, I'm happy for Arima."

  "Why?"

  "The girl has been chasing you for a long time. I can understand why she did. You seem very reliable."

  Was Arima chasing me? I know that only a few girls know that Arima is in love with me. How did Tucker find out?

  "How do you know that Arima was chasing me?" I asked.

  "First of all, when I saw you from a distance, Arima seemed to be doing her best to get close to you. Secondly, some people have loose tongues."

  So, based on what I know about Tucker so far, Tucker is one of the most social people I've ever seen. Therefore, what he said makes sense.

  "So does anyone else know about this besides you?"

  Tucker put his hand on his chin and replied.

  "I don't think so. I haven't told anyone else. My mouth is tight. Also, there are people around me who suspect you're dating, but they think you're trying to impress her rather than Arima chasing you."

  "I see."

  Arima entered the classroom. When the girl came to my desk, Tucker acted first.

  "Good morning, Arima."

  Arima seemed a little surprised.

  "Oh! Good morning, Tucker. Good morning, Grey."

  "Good morning."

  "What an unusual duo," Arima said as she sat down at her desk.

  "We were chatting a bit, weren't we, Grey?"

  "Yes."

  When Arima settled into her seat, I summarized the conversation between Tucker and me to Arima.

  "Aren't you mad at me for telling Tucker that we're dating?"

  "No. After all, everything was obvious."

  I was expecting Arima to be angry, but she's acting calm. Tucker spoke.

  "Congratulations, guys. I'm happy for you."

  "Thank you," Arima said.

  While resting my elbow on the desk and my head on my hand, Arima started thinking out loud.

  "Now I have to explain to the girls too... No, no. That's too much..."

  For a while, attention will be drawn to us in our class. I can take advantage of this situation as much as possible. I called out to Tucker.

  "Tucker, can I ask for your help?"

  "About what?"

  "When it's announced that we're dating, there might be a little chaos in the class. Can you make the class calm down if this happens?"

  Tucker pointed to himself with his thumb and grinned with his 32 teeth.

  "Of course. You leave that to me."

  Tucker seems really enthusiastic. The conversation ended here. Tucker's classmate Eli arrived. Then the teacher came to the class and the lesson started.

  Lunchtime came. While I was packing my bag, 3 girls approached my desk. Arima's friends had come. They offered Arima to have lunch together. Arima accepted. The girl in the middle of the 3 girls called out to me.

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  "Grey, would it be a problem if we take Arima?"

  "No," I replied.

  Arima waved at me as she left.

  "See you later, Grey."

  I waved back. Tucker and Eli turned around.

  "Yo, Grey. You look lonely. Would you like to hang out with me and Eli?"

  Since Arima won't be with me, I'll accept. I'm free at lunchtime.

  "Sure," I said.

  We went to the cafeteria together and sat at a table. We sat side by side at the table, with me in the middle, Tucker on the left, and Eli on the right. Tucker gestured to me with his eyes.

  "Can I tell him?"

  I guess he's referring to telling Eli the news.

  "Tell him," I said.

  "Eli!"

  "What?"

  "Did you know? Arima and Grey are dating."

  "Hmm... Okay. Happy for you."

  Eli didn't react the way I expected. He seems focused on eating and doesn't care.

  "Oh, come on, man. Act a little surprised."

  "Why should I be surprised? It was obvious."

  I turned to Tucker.

  "Eli's right," I said.

  At this moment, a group of girls' screams were heard from the other end of the cafeteria. When I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw 3 girls sitting Arima opposite them. Eli spoke.

  "What's there to make so much noise about?"

  Eli seems annoyed. He clearly wants to eat peacefully. Tucker called out to me.

  "Grey. Can you guess what's going on there? I kind of understand it."

  If I have to give an answer, it's clear that...

  "Arima told the girls that she's dating me, and the girls are bombarding Arima with questions. At the same time, they can't contain their excitement as they learn the details."

  "Oh, that's a very good guess."

  "It's just a simple deduction."

  Eli opened his mouth.

  "At least they should be quiet. They're irritating me."

  "Grey, don't mind Eli. He doesn't like people."

  I know that Tucker and Eli get along well. As far as I can see, one of them gets along well with people, while the other doesn't. It's very interesting that these two are friends. Opposite personalities have come together.

  "Arima looks like she's in a difficult situation," Tucker said.

  When I looked at Arima again, we made eye contact. Arima's friends don't seem to have noticed that I'm here. Arima is asking for help with her eyes. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything I can do. We have to wait for lunchtime to end. Eli asked me a question.

  "Did you study for today's physics exam, Grey?"

  "Yes, a little bit."

  "Good. Can I ask you to tutor me before the exam?"

  I wasn't expecting such a request. I thought Eli didn't like me.

  "Sure, I'll tutor you."

  "Tutor me too, tutor me too."

  "Okay, Tucker."

  If we use the breaks before the exam to study, I'll tutor Arima too. We finished our meal and returned to the classroom. The lunch break was over. We came to the class before the one where the exam was. The teacher released us to study with the class's request. I started explaining the types of questions that could come up in the exam to Tucker, Eli, and Arima. Since we sat in front of and behind Tucker and Eli, it was easy for me to tutor them. We also had small conversations from time to time.

  "You explain these things very well, Grey. I even understood the parts I didn't understand while listening to the teacher in class."

  "Right? My grades also improved when you tutored me."

  Arima supported Tucker's idea.

  "If you know this much, you'll definitely get a high score on the exam."

  "I wish I could get a high score. I'm good at explaining, but when it comes to the exam, I'm not good enough."

  I had to reject Eli's expectation.

  "Don't mind Grey's modesty. He could pass all the exams with full marks if he wanted to."

  "What?"

  "Really?"

  Eli and Tucker were shocked by what Arima said. Frankly, I was surprised too. Eli and Tucker were staring at me with their mouths open. I asked Arima why she said that.

  "What makes you think I'm that good, Arima?"

  "I glanced at one of your test books the other day. All the questions in the book were answered correctly without any eraser marks."

  "No way, Grey! Are you kidding us?"

  "That wasn't my intention. I just don't do well enough on exams."

  "Okay, okay. We're done."

  Arima was grinning at me. Eli was looking a little annoyed. It seems I can't convince them. I get average grades on exams because I don't want to attract attention. It's worked so far. The bell rang and the break started.

  "That's enough studying. Thank you, Grey."

  "You were very helpful."

  "I'm sure I'll get a high score now."

  The bell rang again and the exam started. When our exam was over, those in front of me looked relaxed. Since the exam was held in the last class of the day, school was over. I started packing my bag to leave.

  "Grey! The exam went well thanks to you. Thanks, buddy."

  "Mine too."

  Tucker and Eli look happy.

  "See you later. Grey, Arima."

  "See you later."

  "See you later."

  "See you later."

  Tucker and Eli left the classroom. Arima wanted to walk home with me. We held hands when we left school.

  "Since people are going to find out we're dating, we don't need to be so secretive," Arima said.

  She smiled at me. I wonder what she'll do if I say this?

  "You look beautiful today."

  "Ha!"

  Arima's mouth opened and her eyes widened. Then she turned her head to the side. I was expecting her to be this surprised because I don't compliment her much. Arima spoke, covering her mouth with the side of her hand.

  "I'm always beautiful, silly."

  I saw a similar situation in a TV series. The guy seemed to be having a lot of fun when the girl was surprised like this. But how do I look? Is there a change on my face? I'm not sure. A few minutes later, we arrived at my house.

  "Can I come to your house?"

  "Sure, come on."

  We went up to my apartment by elevator and entered my apartment.

  "Is your dad home?"

  "No, he's working."

  "Oh, right."

  Arima must know that my dad works during the day. Why did she ask? We took off our coats and went to my room. We left our bags in a corner of my room. I threw myself on the bed from the tiredness of the day. While lying on my back, Arima lay down next to me. While I was looking at the ceiling, Arima was lying facing me.

  "I like your smell. You smell of sweat and shampoo," Arima said.

  "Mmm..."

  "You made friends today too."

  "I guess."

  "That's a good thing. You should spend time with people other than me."

  "You and Dinger are enough."

  Arima's face started to turn red. She put her arm on my arm as if hugging.

  "It makes me happy that you're happy with me, but you should still get along with others. And besides, I said people. Dinger is not a person."

  "Okay, I'll try. By the way, they're gossiping about us about the incident on Friday. Are you going to do anything?"

  "No. Let people think what they want. It'll be forgotten in two days anyway."

  "I saw them interrogating you during lunch."

  Arima pouted.

  "Yeah, yeah. They kept asking us things. My friends are too intimate. They even asked if we've ever kissed. When I said "yes," there was a scream."

  "It must have been difficult."

  "Yes, it was really difficult. I want to hide what's between us a little, but when they look at me with those excited eyes, I can't help but answer."

  There was silence for a while. Arima spoke again.

  "Hey, darling."

  "Yes?"

  "I love you very much."

  "I love you too."

  "But I have a concern."

  "What is it?"

  "I'm very afraid that one day you'll fall in love with another girl."

  "I don't think I'll fall in love with someone else."

  "What if you do?"

  She's making an assumption. How should I answer this? Instead of rejecting it directly, I'll try an alternative way.

  "If I do, I'll have my memory erased and wait for you to make me fall in love with you again."

  Arima cheered up after hearing my answer. She moved and climbed on top of me on the bed.

  "Hehehe. Instead of making you fall in love with me again, I'll make you love me even more and you won't fall in love with someone else."

  After Arima said this, she leaned down and held my cheeks with her hands. She joined her lips with mine and we started kissing. We paused to catch our breath from time to time.

  "Do you remember what I said last time? This time we're alone and you're mine until i satisfied."

  We continued kissing. An unknown time passed. When we stopped, I checked the time. It's been about an hour.

  "Arima, I'm hungry."

  "Hee... Aren't we going to continue?"

  "If you want more, let's do it for another five minutes."

  After kissing for a while longer, I got up. I went to the kitchen. I started preparing the meal. When I finished cooking, I set the table and put the food on it. I called Arima. Arima came to the kitchen.

  "Your hair is messy," I said.

  "He! Really?"

  "Yes. Look in the mirror."

  Arima looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the hallway. She tried to fix her hair, but it didn't work very well.

  "It's only this much."

  "Anyway... Go to the table."

  Arima and I sat at the table. Arima took a spoonful of food.

  "The beans and rice are very good."

  "I'm glad you liked it."

  When we finished eating, we cleared the table. Arima wanted to go home. I said goodbye to the girl at the door.

  "Bye bye Grey."

  "Bye bye."

  I closed the door and went to the living room. Dinger came to make me pet him. I also started petting him. I guessed there would be gossip today because we had a classmate near us during the incident on Friday. It's normal for Arima not to notice. Thanks to this incident, we'll be able to announce to the class that we're dating. And making friends is already starting to pay off. Tucker and Eli, whom I don't talk to very often, spent time with me. It'll be a small step for me to learn human relationships better.