The next day at school, I accidentally forgot my textbook for English class, which was extremely bad for me.

The teacher was a kind person, until you forgot your materials for class, that is.

"Shit..." I muttered to myself.

I didn't want to get chewed out in the middle of class for not bringing my stuff.

This was a very perilous situation for me.

Glancing around the class to see if there were any other poor souls like me, I found out that there wasn't.

Time to get ready for this scolding then...

"Do you want to share textbooks?" Shizuku asked from right next to me.

Or not.

"I would love to," I happily nodded.

What an angel.

What a truly splendid person.

Shizuku slid her desk up next to me and cracked open the textbook in the middle of the two desks in order for both of us to be able to read the contents.

"Thanks," I said, in response to Shizuku's good will.

In return, she gave me a gentle smile.

"No problem," Shizuku replied.

The teacher noticed us reading from the same textbook, but didn't say anything at all.

Instead, he just mischievously smiled and nodded in my direction.

To the side, I could see him giving me a thumbs-up.

What was that for?

Why does he look so supportive?

I didn't have enough time to ponder the question since I could feel an oppressive aura aimed towards my back.

Please, Sakura, I'm not doing anything wrong.

There's no need for you to look at me like that.

The class ended without any trouble and I slightly bowed towards Shizuku for her help.

"You saved me," I desperately emphasized. "I don't think I can survive a public embarrassment event from that teacher..."

Shizuku looked puzzled as to what I said. "You're joking, he can't be that bad. Right?"

"..." I said nothing in response.

I don't even want to recount the horrors of what had happened the first time I forgot my textbook.

"I'll see you at lunch then," I nervously said, in order to derail the previous conversation and avoid it completely.

For some reason, Shizuku seemed surprised at what I said and looked at me like I was something extraterrestrial.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Shizuku shook her head. "It's nothing... I was just wondering if you were really okay spending time with me when you have such a beautiful girlfriend next to you?"

Huh? Girlfriend?

What is she talking about?

"Girlfriend?" I scrunched my face. "I don't have one."

This time, Shizuku was the one that was confused.

"So, you and Sakura..."

"Are not dating."

Oh, so that's what it was.

Shizuku thought Sakura and I were dating.

Sure, Sakura and I spend a lot of time together.

It might seem like we were dating on the outside, but I can assure you that there is nothing happening between us.

There's just no way Sakura sees me as anything more than an annoying friend that she can't keep her eyes off of.

I needed to reassure Shizuku that we were nothing more than friends before any more misunderstandings happen.

"We're just good friends," I laughed. "You're very welcome to eat lunch with us as much as you want to."

Surprisingly, Shizuku's face brightened up when I mentioned that Sakura and I were just friends.

Why was she so happy?

Shizuku noticed that I was staring at her weirdly, so she coughed to clear the atmosphere.

"Thanks for the clarification," Shizuku brightly smiled. "You're kind like always, Haru..."

"Haru?" I questioned her.

That's quite a familiar way of calling someone you had just met the other day.

Somehow, that nickname felt oddly familiar to me.

As if someone had called me that before...

"Haru! Haha... You're so silly..."

Whose voice was that?

It's so nostalgic and it makes me feel at home.

"Haru...to..." Shizuku corrected herself. "I'm sorry, that was too familiar and inappropriate of me."

It seems that she thought I was disgusted by the nickname since I was silent for a good couple moments.

"It's okay, I don't mind you calling me that." I affirmed with a smile. "Just call me whatever you feel like."

I didn't know how I was able to talk so smoothly to a girl, but it just felt natural when I conversed with Shizuku.

I was able to naturally talk to Sakura because we grew up with each other and boundaries between genders were thin when we were younger.

Shizuku was a weird case since we had barely known each other for a day, but we were already conversing like old pals.

Almost like childhood friends...

"I think I would like to continue calling you by your nickname," Shizuku happily nodded. "Haru fits you very well."

"Is that so?" I indifferently said, in order to hide my embarrassment.

Hey, me, let's try to remember the smile of a beautiful girl is not something to underestimate.

For it can destroy countries and civilizations indiscriminately and uncontrollably.