Classroom of the Elite: Shadow puppeteer

Chapter 3: Shopping with Horikita

As I was waiting in the lobby, Horikita came wearing a cute outfit. Don't tell me she dressed up for me. Nope, not possible.

"Should we go?" she said as she wasn't here to waste time.

"Yeah, sure."

We started to walk towards the convenience store after that.

This silence is so awkward. What should I say now? I remember on the internet it said to compliment when you meet a girl like this.

"By the way, you look cute in that."

I thought she would be carrying a compass to stab me, but she unexpectedly didn't do anything.

"T-Thank you," she said while looking down, but I could see her red cheeks.

I think she doesn't have her compass right now. This is my chance.

"Don't you think we will look like a coup-" As I was going to complete I saw she started to point her compass at me to stab me?

"Nope, never mind."

She had her compass on her to stab me. I should stop.

Soon we reached the store.

Horikita took various necessities like shampoo and threw them into the basket she was carrying. I'd thought she would choose higher quality items, but she only took the cheaper options.

"I thought girls usually made a fuss over what kind of shampoo they bought."

"Well, that depends upon the person, doesn't it?"

She said that, but I could feel a cold glare that seemed to say, Could you please not inspect other people's purchases without their permission.

"At any rate, I was surprised that you stayed for introductions." she said, "You didn't look the type to hang out with a circle of classmates."

"I decided to participate because I don't like trouble. Why didn't you introduce yourself to them, Horikita? It would have been a chance to make friends."

If Horikita had participated, she would probably become quite popular. What a waste.

"There are several reasons why, but if I simply explain. My introduction might have sown discord, depending on how things went. Thus, doing nothing avoided creating more problems. Am I wrong?"

"But, there was a high probability that you could hit off with everyone after introducing yourself," I said

"How do you arrive at that conclusion? Let's say that the probability of making friends was high like you said. So, how many friends did you get to know?"

"Ugh..."

She gazed at me.

That was a rather splendid argument. The fact that I hadn't yet exchanged contact information worked in Horikita's favor. I instinctively averted my eyes.

"In other words, you have no evidence to support your claim, do you?" she asked, "Besides I never intended to make friends in the first place. Have I convinced you?"

That reminded me of when I introduced myself to Horikita. It might be a miracle that I'd managed to get her name.

We roamed around the convenience store without looking at each other. Even though she was somewhat uptight, being with her didn't feel uncomfortable.

I saw a stand for noodle cups and decided to buy them.

"Noddle cups. They have so many kinds."

"So, do boys like this kind of stuff? I can't imagine that it's healthy." Horikita said.