There’s very little I know about a girl named Satou Ayane.
One, she’s not good at talking.
Her unique conversation style includes stumbling right from the start with phrases like “U-Um” or “H-Hinata-kun”.
Two, she was molested yesterday.
Satou, who was just fulfilling her duty as a student by studying with a vocabulary book during commuting time, unfortunately encountered a perverted stranger yesterday. The only silver lining was that I was nearby.
And the last thing is that Satou has an extremely plain appearance.
Of course, preferences in appearance vary from person to person, so let me emphasize “at my school” and “relatively” before I remind (copy-paste) you again.
Bangs grown long enough to cover her eyes, suspiciously shining black-rimmed glasses, rarely speaks and has a default slouch, making it hard to tell if she has a good figure or not.
These looks and her poor conversation skills have cursed her to become a celebrated loner girl at school.
…Well, these are the characteristics of the girl named Satou Ayane that I know.
In short, it’s just three things.
I only know three things about the girl named Satou Ayane.
「G-Good morning… Hinata-kun.」
「Ah, morning Satou-sa… n?」
However, conversely, that means if even one of those three things changes, I can notice it immediately…
「C-Can I sit next to you?」
「Yeah… of course.」
「T-Thank you.」
I was speechless in the train first thing in the morning when I saw that Satou’s “bangs that had grown long enough to cover her eyes”, which should have been the first thing in her appearance (copy-paste), were pinned diagonally with just two hairpins.
It’s not particularly unusual for a girl to change her hairstyle.
I have a younger sister in middle school, and until she recently settled on twin tails, she used to change her hairstyle almost daily. Considering that, it’s not surprising for a high school girl in her teens to change her hairstyle…
Even so, Satou was an exception.
「Satou-san, your hair…」
「Ah, um… this, it’s like, a change of pace, or today’s mood, I guess.」
Satou’s current appearance, with not only her eyes but also her eyebrows and white forehead exposed, was much cuter than usual.
Perhaps because she had been so plain before, I feel it even more strongly.
「Heeh… it’s kind of a waste.」
The way she regularly touches her bangs with her palm or the way our eyes meet only for her to quickly look away, reminds me of my sister when she first tried to be fashionable, it’s somehow very endearing.
However, if it’s just a change of pace, she’ll probably go back to her original hairstyle soon.
「W-Waste, you say…?」
「Yeah, no, sorry. I just thought it suits you well, so it’s a waste to only do it occasionally, I didn’t mean anything weird by it.」
「N-No! I-I myself thought that my usual hairstyle was plain and dark… so, um… if it suits me, I’m glad. Thank you…」
Satou said, awkwardly smiling before looking away from me and touching her bangs again.
「…Maybe I’ll keep it like this tomorrow too.」
「Why not just cut it?」
「T-That, maybe later… after I’ve done more research… ah.」
「Research, huh. So high school girls do care about trends after all.」
「Ah… um… yes. W-We do care.」
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I’ve never once looked up high school girls’ hair trends, but from what I saw today, I feel like Satou would look good with any hairstyle.
The overall balance of her face that became visible by lifting her bangs was honestly quite good.
「U-Um, Hinata-kun.」
「Hm, what’s up?」
Satou looked into my eyes with some tension.
「Ah… um…」
Perhaps not yet used to the embarrassment of changing her hairstyle, Satou’s face turned bright red when our eyes met, and she froze…
A few seconds later, as if her soul had returned to her body, Satou resolutely took out her smartphone from her skirt pocket.
「I-If… Hinata-kun is okay with it… um, c-can we exchange contact information?」
「Oh, sounds good. Let’s do it.」
「Waa! Y-Yatta…!」
Exchanging contact information with a new friend.
Come to think of it, there was such a ritual. I had completely forgotten.
Being one of the few… or maybe the only classmate who takes the same train, it’s definitely meaningful to exchange contact information.
「T-Then, here’s my…!」
「Here. …Alright, done.」
「T-Thank you very much! Waa… Hinata-kun’s contact information… fufu.」
「Is this your first time doing this?」
「Y-Yes! Hinata-kun is my first friend.」
「I see. Actually, it’s the same for me. Satou-san is the first person I’ve exchanged contact information with in high school.」
「R-Really…!?」
「Yeah, really.」
When I said that, she opened her eyes wide.
「W-Wawawa, me, such a, such a thing! Uu… I can’t… I’m already so full…」
Apparently, Satou had eaten too much breakfast, and she leaned forward, holding her stomach. While I appreciate people who eat a lot, I would prefer to avoid any disasters on the train.
「…You okay?」
「I-I’m fine.」
…But well.
Talking with Satou, who has many unexpected reactions, is never boring.
If Satou continues to polish her appearance, eventually gets used to conversations, and even corrects her slouch.
At that time, Satou will surely climb the school caste ladder at an eel-like speed.
「…Want me to rub your back?」
「I-I’m fine, really.」
If Satou were to start being called an unattainable flower, what kind of relationship would we have then?
Still commuting friends?
Or maybe we’d become best friends?
Or perhaps… no, that can’t be.
While making sure Satou, who still hadn’t lifted her face, didn’t fall over from the train’s movements, I smiled wryly.