Nyanta & Pomeko

Chapter 23: Good medicine

[Shinozuka PoV]

"Wow! That was fun! I knew I'll never get tired of coming here.!"

　We walked out of the horror house and basked in the sunshine for the first time in minutes.

　The weather was unusually sunny for this time of year, and it was a perfect day for a field trip.

　I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a field trip this much .......

I don't remember it anymore.

　Because for me, Anri Shinozuka, field trips were like a game of batsu.
(Batsu game – Punishment game or something unpleasant and a No-Go)

　No one would go around with us.

　There was no one at the meeting place.

　They made fun of me.

　I don't know where I went wrong, but ...... I was always the target of the class's leader, the girl with the big rear.

"Anyone who plays with Anri should be hacked."

"She's so ugly."

"Don't mind the boys, either!"

　I didn't understand. She was just a quiet, plain girl.

　It didn't change when I went to junior high school.

　The main girls in my class would make me the enemy of their eyes.

　Even though I hadn't done anything wrong, I was still the target of .......

"I've never done anything, but she's been all over my boyfriend."

"I mean, her glasses are so ugly."

"All the creeps are over here."

　My mind was still in its infancy. The unwarranted verbal abuse exhausted my mind.

　I cried every day in my room at .......

　I made a friend in the school library.

　–Momo-chan, .......

　The first time I talked to her, I couldn't speak very well because it had been so long since I had spoken to her.

　Momo-chan was also a bit frightened, but since we had similar interests, we quickly became friends.

　She was a friend that I could trust and talk to about anything. I knew the two of us would be fine.

　However, Momo-chan changed after she became friends with other rear girls at ....... She changed me.

　When I remember it......, I felt pangs of pain in my chest.

　The word "friend" confuses me.

　We're a friend, and I'm going to make an impossible request.

　I told my friends about it, and they're going to tell their secrets to each other.

　I'll tease you because we're friends, even though it's no different than bullying.

　I was reminded of how much people can change in relationships.

　-What is a friend?　If this kind of relationship is a friend, then I don't need one.

　That's what I thought.

　I should just keep my mind strong. If you don't get involved with anyone, you won't suffer.

　I thought it would be easier if I killed my mind, my emotions.

　But I had a family.

　I had a kind sister and a loving mother. My cool dad is on a business trip overseas, but he still sends me emails every day.