What is Novelia? →

Episode 3

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses: Our Secret Classroom Episode 3: Curfew at Six and the Cocoa Punishment — Your Guilt, Spilled on Sakurazaka

By mid-April, the classroom air had completely turned over into the new school year. One week since the class shuffle. I—Komura Kaede—pretended to open my textbook at my desk while stealing a glance at the seat next to mine. Mie Ai. Her black hair swayed around her shoulders. The tips had a slight bounce to them. Her big dark eyes faced forward. And today, again, she wasn't wearing her glasses. ...This was becoming routine. No—I mustn't get used to it. Getting used to it is not allowed. Every time she forgets her glasses, my heart runs wild however it pleases. Today too, before morning homeroom started, Mie turned toward me. "Komura-kun, good morning." Mie slowly brought her face closer. Close. Way too close. At a distance where our noses might bump, her big dark eyes stared fixedly at my face. With a look like she was scowling. "G-good morning... wait, Mie, did you forget your glasses again today?" I let out my breath slowly so she wouldn't catch the sound of my heartbeat. "Yes. Today too, this little one wouldn't listen to me." Mie tapped her bag—tap, tap. That gesture, like she was treating her glasses as a living creature. "O-oh, I see. Must be tough again today." "But since you're next to me, Komura-kun, I'm fine." Mie said that in her dreamy voice. I screamed inside my head. "Fine," she says. It's not fine—I'm the one who's not fine. Every time you say something like that, my heart shaves days off its lifespan. But I can't say it out loud. "Ahaha... r-really?" I ran a hand through my hair to hide my embarrassment. Then Mie tilted her head. "Komura-kun, is something strange about my face?" "Huh?" "You've been staring at my face this whole time. I was wondering if something was odd." ...She'd caught me looking. No—looking isn't quite it. More like I had no choice but to look. You're so close that my entire field of vision is filled with your face. "N-not strange! Not strange at all! I mean, it's not like I was staring, it's just—you're so close that you're in my line of sight, or rather..." I stumbled through my excuses. Mie stared at me with a blank look. Then, slowly, she smiled. "When I see Komura-kun's face up close, I feel safe after all." That word again. The one that sounds like a continuation of "you feel safe, like my dad." Something deep in my chest—ticklish, or maybe painful, I couldn't tell which—stirred. "Feel safe," huh. Someone like me is making her feel safe. ...Don't get carried away. I told myself that, silently. Lunch break. The nice smell of school lunch spread through the classroom. Today's menu: meat sauce spaghetti, corn soup, bread. And pudding. I finished serving and returned to my seat. I looked to my side—Mie was wrestling with her bento box. No, not wrestling exactly. She was trying to open the lid, and her hands kept slipping. "...Mie, won't that open?" "Ah, Komura-kun. The lid is stuck. My mom made today's bento, but the lid is on really tight." Mie kept pinching the edge of the lid, letting go, pinching, letting go. Without her glasses, she probably couldn't see the edge of the lid properly. "Here, let me. I'll open it." I took the bento box from her hands. Our fingertips touched, just barely. Mie's fingers were cool. ...Oh no, our hands just touched. While panicking internally, I kept my face calm and put my hand on the lid. Click. The lid popped right open. "Wow, Komura-kun, amazing. You're so strong." Mie clapped her hands. No, it's not about being strong. The lid wasn't stuck—your fingers were just in the wrong place. "I-it's nothing special." I handed the bento box back to Mie. She took it and stared at my hand. "Komura-kun's hands really are big. Just like my dad's." ...Dad again. Second time today. I smiled, feeling complicated. "Ahaha... you think so? Well, they're a guy's hands, after all." "I like your hands, Komura-kun. They're big, and they make me feel safe." Mie said that with her dreamy expression. I screamed inside my head once more. "Like," she says. She likes my hands. ...Just my hands. Only my hands, huh. No—even just my hands makes me happy. Happy, but complicated. I sighed internally as I brought the meat sauce spaghetti to my mouth. "Komura-kun, my curfew is six o'clock." Mie said suddenly. "Yeah, you told me before. Six PM, right?" "Yes. And if I break it, they won't let me drink cocoa." Mie said it with a serious face. Cocoa. I'd heard her mention it once before. That she drinks cocoa every morning. "You like cocoa?" "Yes, I love it. My mom makes it for me every morning, but if I break curfew, I don't get my morning cocoa that day." Mie looked genuinely sad. Her expression was so serious. I couldn't help but laugh. "I-is that so. That's rough." "It is rough. Cocoa is how my day begins. Without it, I'm spaced out all day." Mie puffed out her cheeks, looking sulky. ...Cute. No, I'm not thinking she's cute. I'm not—but. "But a six o'clock curfew is pretty early, huh. You can't really hang out after school much, can you?" I asked something I'd been wondering about for a while. Mie nodded. "Yes. So I can't stop anywhere on the way home after school. I don't really go places with friends much either." Her voice got a little quieter. "I see. That's a little lonely." "But since you walk me home, Komura-kun, the way back is fun." Mie smiled brightly. I felt something tighten deep in my chest. ...Stop. Don't say things like that with a smile like that. My heart can't take it. After school. Once the end-of-day meeting was over, I left the classroom with Mie. This was becoming a habit now. Walking Mie to Sakurazaka. So she could get home safely even when she forgot her glasses. ...That was the pretext, anyway. I was walking home with Mie. From Hekiryou Middle School, we headed toward the Tokiwa Station shopping street. The shopping street was moderately busy with evening shoppers. We walked together under the arcade. Mie occasionally looked at the ground as she walked, as if checking her footing. Without her glasses, she probably couldn't see the ground well either. I matched her pace and walked slowly. "Komura-kun, um, please wait a moment." Mie suddenly stopped. "What's wrong?" I stopped too and followed her gaze. It was a bakery. A small bakery in the shopping street. Called "Mugi no Kaori"—run by an elderly couple. Freshly baked bread was lined up in the display window. Mie was staring at one of them. Melon bread. A round melon bread, baked to a golden brown. Mie pressed her face right up against the display window, staring at the melon bread. With that scowling look. ...Close. Too close. Her nose was practically touching the glass. "...Mie, do you like melon bread?" When I spoke, Mie slowly turned toward me. "Yes. I love the melon bread here. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside." Mie said it with a dreamy look. But then her expression suddenly fell. She looked at her watch. "...Oh, it's already this late. I have to keep my curfew." Mie reluctantly pulled her eyes away from the melon bread. Watching her profile, I felt my chest tighten. She wants to eat it, but she can't. She wants to stop and browse, but she can't. Six o'clock curfew. That restriction was her everyday reality. "...Want me to buy it? I'll get it for you." Before I knew it, I'd said it. I could afford a melon bread with my allowance. If Mie wanted to eat it, I wanted to buy it for her. That's what I thought. But. Mie slowly shook her head. "No. If I accept it, I'll have to give something back." Mie said it in her dreamy voice, but clearly. "You don't have to give anything back. I just want to buy it for you." I pressed on. But Mie shook her head again. "No. Komura-kun is always helping me. If I take any more, I won't be able to give anything back to you at all." Mie's voice was quiet. But her words carried a strong will. "Besides, I have to keep my curfew. I can't stop anywhere." Mie said that and started walking. I watched her back for a while. She's so conscientious. Truly a conscientious girl. If she receives something, she has to give something back. That's how she lives. Even though I'm just meddling on my own. She thinks of it as a debt. I felt a sharp pain deep in my chest. I can't do anything. I can't even buy her a single melon bread. I was filled with a sense of my own helplessness. "...But just looking at it makes me happy." Mie, who'd been walking ahead, turned around and smiled. "That melon bread—just looking at it somehow fills me up." She said that and faced forward again. That smile made my heart pound. ...Damn. Don't get carried away. I told myself silently. This is just looking after her. I'm just walking her home so she doesn't forget her glasses. Nothing more, nothing less. Sakurazaka. A three-hundred-meter slope stretching from behind the shopping street up into the hills. I'd heard it becomes a row of cherry trees in spring. Now, the cherry blossoms had mostly fallen, and green leaves were starting to show. The evening air was a little chilly. We climbed the slope together. Mie was quiet. She'd been talking so much just moments ago. Was the melon bread still weighing on her mind? I didn't know what to say, so I walked in silence. Halfway up the slope, Mie suddenly stopped. "...Um, Komura-kun." It was a small voice. I stopped too. "What's wrong?" Mie kept her eyes on the ground and spoke. "I'm always causing you trouble, aren't I, Komura-kun." Her voice was trembling. "...Huh?" For a moment, I didn't understand what she'd said. "I keep thinking—what if because of me, your friendships suffer. I forget my glasses and rely on you for everything. Am I taking up your time, Komura-kun?" Mie lifted her face. Her big dark eyes were wet with tears. "...That's not true." I said it without thinking. But Mie shook her head. "It is. You're kind, Komura-kun. That's why I worry even more. I worry that because I'm next to you, you can't go play with your other friends." Her words pierced my chest. She'd been thinking about that. Every day, every time we walked home together. Wondering if she was stealing my time. Wondering if she was ruining my friendships. Guilt. She'd been quietly carrying guilt. I realized it for the first time. "...You're wrong. You're not taking anything from me, Mie." I chose my words slowly. "I enjoy walking home with you. And I've never once thought my friendships were suffering. You haven't done anything wrong." I told her with everything I had. But inside, I was thinking something else. If anything, I'm the one causing trouble for her. Because I want to walk home with her. Because of my own selfish feelings. I walk her home every day. And that makes her feel guilty. It's my fault. If only I could be more honest with my own feelings. Then she wouldn't have to worry like this. "You're kind, Komura-kun." Mie said it quietly. "You're kind, so no matter how much trouble I cause, you don't mind. But that's what hurts me. I hate that I'm always leaning on you and can't give anything back." Her voice was barely audible. I was at a loss for words. I had to say something. But I didn't know what. "...You're not leaning on me, Mie. I'm just meddling on my own." I managed to say that much. "But that doesn't make me feel any better." Mie looked at me, close to tears. "I want to give something back to you, Komura-kun. It hurts, always owing you and never returning anything." Her words stabbed deep into my chest. She was so earnest, so conscientious. And she was thinking of me. ...No. I don't want anything back from her. I just want to be next to her. But if I said that out loud— She might suffer even more. I couldn't say anything. The setting sun dyed Sakurazaka orange. The wind stirred the green leaves. "...Will you make y