Tomoko: Unauthorized Adaptation of the Manga WataMote

Since I'm Not Popular, I'll Take a Little Detour

"Everyone stay out of trouble over the holidays, OK?"

Tomoko Kuroki sighed. She wasn't going to get into any trouble hanging out in her own room, playing games online. That's all she had to look forward to, anyway.

After the homeroom teacher dismissed the class, Tomoko leaned on her desk, absent-mindedly looking at internet junk on her phone. She never left at the same time as the other students, because she didn't want to get caught in the middle of a crowd.

Go home! The stragglers were getting on her nerves.

In particular, that same annoying group of bitches and boobs who were always going out to karaoke were still hanging back, loudly planning that afternoon's karaoke outing.

Shut up! she fumed. Do you losers live at the karaoke bar or something? Going out and having a good time, I'm so happy for you.

I bet all they sing is crappy cutesy pop stuff. I'd probably vomit if I had to listen to them. But after a while, since they're behind closed doors, they probably start doing kinky stuff like putting the microphone down their shorts. 'Oops! I'm getting feedback down there! Better blow on it!' Ugh, how revolting!

Tomoko Kuroki sat alone in an empty classroom.

I wanna go home.

Tomoko always walked alone. Today she was particularly depressed by the thought that everybody else was having fun but her.

I'll be fine, she reassured herself. I've got the holidays to look forward to, and I won't have to put up with other people for a while. And it'll be nice having time to play games online during the day instead of staying up all night.

She was passing some students standing outside of a sweets shop, eating crepes. She wasn't sure if she was more jealous of kids having fun together, or the crepes they were eating. They looked pretty good.

Come to think of it, I never wander around and do high school student stuff after school like other high school students. It's not that I don't want to, but you can't go to a karaoke bar all by yourself. Shopping by yourself isn't really even shopping, it's just buying things. And I'd look pretty pathetic standing around on the street corner eating a crepe all by myself.

If there was only someplace I could go where I wouldn't look odd having a good time by myself.

"By myself..."

She walked the elevated walkway across the street and came down the steps to the chain bookstore, Book-Off. It was a big store where you could lose yourself and browse for hours. The books were all used, but clean and new-looking. They even trimmed the edges off the paper to make older books look new.

I can read books here and not look weird because I'm alone. But, geez–there are a lot more people in here than I expected, on a weekday. Don't you people have lives? Heh, I guess that's kind of an ego boost. I'm only here to kill time. I don't have to feel so bad, being around people who are even worse off than me.

A girl brushed past her, in a bit of a rush.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You haven't been waiting long, have you?"

"Geez, where've you been? I came in here, I got so bored. Ready to go?"

"OK! My treat for being so late!"

Tomoko smiled weakly at her own mistake. I guess not everybody is so bad off as me, after all. Might as well read something, that's why I'm here.

She reached for a manga that looked promising, though she had to squeeze past two other shoppers to get at it. One of them was a bit startled and readjusted the angle of the book he was reading.