#070 Deadline
For the first time, I turned my back on Ruby. I couldn’t control my confused emotions and walked aimlessly down the hallway.
This is not what I thought the future of Ruby and I would be like. I wanted her to be healthy and on the right path.
In fact, was my greed too great? Having been by Ruby’s side all this time, she never dreamed that she would think that way.
‘… Ouch.’
I felt a tingling sensation in my feet, so I looked down and saw pure white bare feet.
Because he left the room as if he was running away, he seemed to have forgotten to put on his shoes.
I thought about going back to my room, but it was too much of a stretch. Because I didn’t have the confidence to look at Ruby’s face.
While I was walking, I felt like my body did not belong to me.
Why do I feel like I want to rely on someone and want them to be by my side so much?
It was already late in the morning, so it was obvious that everyone was asleep.
‘If you are a senior… ‘
There was only about one person who was expected to be awake at this time.
With a glimmer of hope, I knocked on the tightly closed door.
“… Anybody home?”
However, no answer came back. I guess so. I guess it’s times like this.
It was when I turned my back on the door, trudging with weak steps.
“What kind of person would have no common sense at a time like this?” “
A grumbling voice was heard and the door opened, and a small girl with red pigtails stuck her head through the crack in the door.
When she found me, she looked surprised and asked.
“… Amber? “What are you doing at this hour?”
“….”
Is it because of the stability of having found someone to lean on? As soon as I saw Citrine, I was overcome with emotion.
“Chairman… Me… Therefore….”
My pronunciation became garbled, and I began to pour out the words I had inside in a random manner.
“What are you talking about, tell me straight!”
Citrin scolded me harshly as I spoke while crying.
It was only after I had calmed down considerably that we were finally able to communicate with each other.
***
Citrine put a blanket over my shoulders and handed me a cup of hot water.
“… Thank you.”
She looked at me intently and said with an expression that her head hurt.
“So, you’re saying you got into an argument with Ruby and left the house?”
“Yes.”
“Are you 17 years old? In times like that, you should resolve it through conversation instead of running away!”
As I listened to the criticism from Citrine, I was filled with sadness.
“Well, we’ve never had a fight before… “
“I’m so dumbfounded… “
She took a deep breath, then looked at my bare feet and her expression softened slightly.
“… “What happened to your shoes?”
“I forgot to report it.”
“Wait. “I’ll disinfect it.”
Citrine took out her first aid kit from the dresser in the student council room, took out her bright red disinfectant, and then applied her baton to my wound.
“Evil!”
As soon as the disinfectant touched the wound, I screamed involuntarily due to the pain.
“Noisy! And then… “
“Can’t you just be gentle with me…” ?”
“What should I do when I’ve never done anything like this before?”
After somehow finishing her disinfection, Citrine finished by putting a bandage on my wound.
‘Chairman, you are shaking your hands too much.’
It seemed like the statement that I had never tried anything like this was true.
Citrine, who brought a chair and sat across from me, opened her mouth.
“Anyway, it’s a big deal. It’s like a fight between kids who died and couldn’t live with each other like that. “What did you do that for?”
“… “It seemed like she kept changing things in a bad direction, so I tried to interfere a little.”
“Then what did Ruby say?”
“Please understand. She said it was all for me… “
Citrine, who had roughly heard my story, made a puzzled expression.
“Why do you care about Ruby? “She said she wanted it.”
“But, you and I are family… ?”
“… What?”
“Isn’t it natural for a family to do that? “We have to correct each other so that we don’t go down the wrong path.”
“Do you consider Ruby your family?”
“Of course. “If you and I are not family, what are we?”
She has been watching her for a long time and has always been watching her as a sister-like figure.
“… Then on the other hand, does he think of you as family?”
“Yes?”
“Even if you think so, Ruby may be different.”
“Is that possible? Miss and I… “
As I was about to say, “I have the same relationship with her as my sister,” An uneasy thought suddenly occurred to me.
… Actually, what if I was the only one who thought that?
“I don’t want to get involved in your problems, but please think seriously about your relationship at least once.”
“… “What do you think, Senior Citrine, and the two of us?”
“I’m not sure. But, I feel like something is off.”
‘It’s misaligned…’ ?’
Up until now, I believed that Ruby and I were doing well together.
I desperately try to correct Ruby so that she doesn’t become the villainous daughter she is, and Ruby…
‘What do you think of me?’
She thought about it for a long time, but could hardly come to a conclusion.
Citrine sat down at her desk, looking at me with concern in her eyes.
“… There is no such thing as a right answer in human relationships. Just as Emerald and I are still in the stage of getting to know each other.”
She was now preparing to clean up the place and return to her own room.
“You can stay here until you organize your thoughts. Still, don’t miss class. “We’re already on the verge of failing, so we can’t mess with attendance scores, right?”
“Did you know my grades?”
“Of course. “What do you think of the student council president?”
It seemed like I had become famous even among the professors because I had walked the tightrope from a failing grade so many times.
“Anyway, stay here and think carefully. “About your relationship with that child.”
“Yes. President… “
She closed the door to her office and left, and I spent the night thinking about her, wrapped in the blanket she had given me.
***
I opened my eyes to the morning air and opened my mouth out of habit.
“Good night, lady… “
And then, I realized that she was no longer next to me.
‘… Really. ‘I went out today.’
I woke up rustling and lethargic. I didn’t notice it yesterday, but the scent of Citrine’s coffee filled the room.
I guess they were so confused that they didn’t notice such a strong scent at all.
From Noble mtl dot com
When I opened the office door, there were two pairs of loose-sized slippers lying in front of the door.
The indoor shoes that Citrine often wore, which were usually kept in the shoe cabinet, were displayed openly, which seemed to indicate that I should wear them.
Even though my senior was a bit harsh, he was a very kind person. I heard that it is revealed little by little in this aspect.
A new day dawned, but in the end, I couldn’t go back to my room and went straight to first period class.
Since her class did not overlap with Ruby’s, I had unintentionally avoided her again.
As I sat down with a tired look on my face, Dia sitting next to her asked in surprise.
“Amber, what’s wrong with your shoes?”
She looked puzzled when she saw the two purple slippers I was wearing.
“… It’s a bit complicated. “I had a fight with Lady Ruby yesterday and left the room.”
Actually, the first thing that came to mind when I left my room yesterday was diamonds.
If it hadn’t been late at night, I might have headed to the dorm room where DIA was staying.
She has been watching the relationship between Ruby and me closer and longer than anyone else, and for some reason, she ends up telling me everything.
“Are you and Ruby?”
“… I’m worried and scared that I won’t be able to get back to normal. “I’ve never had anything like this before.”
After hearing my story, Dia smiled and shook her head.
“That’s natural. “The reason they were fighting was because Amber and Ruby were trying to get to know each other.”
“Did you ever do that too, Diamond? You and the young lady had conflicting opinions… “
“There used to be a lot of them. Sometimes the relationship becomes completely different. Because everyone has different personalities. “Thinking is different.”
She twirled her pen, looked at me, and continued her words.
“Rather than covering things up and pretending to be satisfied with each other, it would be much better to find an agreement even if there are conflicts.”
“… Like the Diamond and Ruby ladies at the concert?”
Dia looked slightly surprised by my words, then she smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. Just like that time.”
At that time, Dia was about to give up going to the concert because she didn’t want to cause conflict between herself and Ruby.
As a result, we did not avoid conflict, which led to the current result.
“… Also, I also want to hear Ruby play again. “You haven’t touched the keyboard once recently, right?”
“Yes, that’s right…”
“I hope the two can somehow find an agreement. I will support you.”
After hearing the whole story of Citrine and Diamond, I eventually came to the conclusion that running away was not a good idea.
Even if she ends up having a bigger fight with Ruby, she has to have her conversation with her.
First, let’s talk step by step about the differences in how we think about each other.
What does Ruby think of me, and what did she know about me that I didn’t know?
After she finished class, she stopped by the market and bought a lot of ingredients. For the first time in a while, she wanted to feed Ruby a proper dinner.
She stood in front of her dorm room, holding a paper bag, waiting for Ruby to return.
What kind of expression does Ruby make when she looks at me? She also thought that it would be better for her to let off steam in peace.
As she was thinking about that and waiting for a while, her eyes met Ruby’s who was about to return to her room.
“… !”
She looked at me and flinched slightly as if she was surprised, then stood facing me with an anxious expression.
“… I’m here. Miss.”
She smiled slightly at me, raising the corners of her mouth in a way that wasn’t too much and wasn’t too small.
“Welcome.”
As always, a strange sense of heterogeneity flowing through ordinary conversation.
When I tried to open her front door and step inside with her as usual, I felt it.
Once she crosses this threshold, I will no longer be able to get along with her the way she used to.
The happy, fairytale-like story with Ruby that I knew was now about to come to an end.
