Part 66: Episode 59: Shaky First Impressions

At last, my sophomore year at St.Pigeonation’s begins! I’m so excited to make new friends and make new memories!







I was happy to meet my new teacher and my classmates. I met a freshman too who seemed a little standoff-ish, but also looked a little bit lonely. If I get the chance, I’d like to talk with him again.



Thankfully, my chance to see him again came when we got to choose our extracurricular. I decided to join the library staff, hoping that the boy I had met there would return. Plus, how could I say no to free books?



When it came time to choose our electives, I decided to take math class, in order to be ready for the exams this semester. I barely scraped by last year, so I need to step up my game this year!



A couple days later I had my first shift at the library.


It’s on the fifth floor, though, so at least the view is nice.
Sitting here twiddling my thumbs is bad for me. I wish someone would come ask me something.
…
…
…
There’s nobirdie here.

I wonder if it would be okay to close early…?
Aaah, I wish I could just spread my wings and fly away!
Planning to jump off the building? The window there is rather good for that, miss receptionist.

I turned around at the sudden noise.

!
Nageki!? When did you…?


I never noticed… He’s almost as bad as the doctor.

You’re thinking I have no presence, right? It’s okay. I already know that.
You certainly seem to like this place.
Yes. Is that a problem?


He still seems so confrontational, especially about something as small as this. It’s not even an issue to me, though, he can do what he likes.

Umm… No, books are nice.
…They are.
Why don’t you join the library staff, Nageki? You could read whatever you want.
I already read whatever I want.

…Touché.

You shouldn’t slack off, miss receptionist.

And with that, he takes a book and is gone between the stacks. What a strange bird…



About a week after that, our class went on a field trip, where we hiked up a nearby hill. I had a nice talk with Mr. Nanaki, even if he did fall asleep halfway through.



Another math class came and went, and I think I’m starting to think I made a mistake. This stuff is hard! Hopefully it can get easier from here on out.



Before I knew it, though, I had a break from studying, as it was time for St. Pigeonation’s annual sports festival. Unfortunately, I hadn’t trained or anything, so instead of messing anything up for my class, I decided to check on the library and make sure no one was trying to make trouble amidst the festival. Thankfully, it was as quiet as it usually was, and Nageki was there, so I got the chance to talk to him more. It’s seems like he’s opening up to me… maybe?



The first midterm exam came quickly after the festival, but thanks to all my work in math class, I was able to pass the test with flying colors!



I knew my midterm success was only due to the extra lessons I took, so I decided to stick to math class. Though today might have been a bit of a fluke, since even Mr. Nanaki ended up falling asleep halfway through the lesson.





Soon after, it was time for the Tanabata festival, and I always love to make wishes at the bamboo tree! This year, though, once I got there, my mind was completely blank. I tried to find some ideas from other wishes on the tree, but I could only find Mr. Nanaki’s, and I had no idea what he was trying to say.
Eventually, I decided to think back through my wishes as a kid and just yell the silliest one I could think of.
I wish to take the reins of power through clever schemes and rule the world from the shadows!
After finishing my silly little wish, Mr. Nanaki showed up and, for my safety, asked if I wanted him to walk me home. While he did make a good point, there were other things I had to do, so I politely told him no.



Today, Mr. Nanaki really tried to sell me on the idea of calculus being educational candy. He could have just left it at “No, you probably won’t need it, but it’s nice”. Ah well, I’m still enjoying it, if nothing else.



It’s a good thing I stuck with math class, because I ended up acing the final this semester! I was really shocked with how much Mr. Nanaki praised me, I must have been as red as a cardinal, but I was so happy!



Sometimes it seemed long and sometimes it seemed short, but either way, it’s summer now!
I need to check all the assigned books before I go home. There will be a lot of students coming in to borrow their summer reading pretty soon!


…But I’m probably not alone. I’ve seen this situation before.

Nageki?

No reply. Maybe he’s not here.

Are you here, Nage--


Hello!
You’re rather noisy today. Did you want something?
Nope! I was just wondering if you were here.
Of course. I’m always here.

He replies from his corner, in a somewhat annoyed tone of voice.
Oh! The book he’s holding…

That’s assigned reading this semester! Is it any good?
…Not really. I’m almost done with it.

The whole concept is inane. Why force everyone to read the same books?
It’s pretty boring most of the time.
What do you like to read?
Huh?
You volunteered to work here. So you must like books. I was wondering what to read next.
So you want me to recommend something?

He nods.


“OreHato”, full title “My Little Nicobar Can’t Be This Cute”, is a reference to the comedy/romance light novel series “My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute”, which is commonly shortened to “OreImo”.
“Night on the Galactic Railroad” is just the name of a real book, considered a classic Japanese novel.
Nageki definitely seemed to have more refined tastes as a reader… maybe he’d enjoy a more classic-style book.

What about “Night on the Galactic Railroad”? I liked it.
…Too stereotypical.
Oh! Sorry. You’ve already read it, I imagine.
Yes. Though…

And so I spent the afternoon working in the library, occasionally exchanging a word with Nageki.
Time flows slowly by. This sort of thing is nice, too.
What a nice, easy start to summer vacation. Hopefully the rest of the break will be as relaxed as this.