The Idol Girl in My Class Is Acting Suspiciously

　Friday.

　The classroom had been buzzing with me and Saegusa calling Shi-chan Takkun, but by Friday, the excitement had gradually cooled down and now it was back to the same as before.

　However, one thing that has changed is that the female students have started to gather around Saegusa-san more often than before.

　It seems that those who had wanted to get to know her but had kept their distance from her, thinking that she was some kind of high-ranking girl, realized that they had been mistaken in their thinking when they saw her interacting with us normally. The girls in the class started to visit her and chat happily.

　It was not only Saegusa, but also Shimizu who was often alone, and she was gradually getting to know everyone in the class.

　Takayuki and I were both happy to see that the two of them were getting along well with the rest of the class, and when we were together, we sometimes talked about such topics.

　However, both Saegusa-san and Shimizu-san seem to keep their walls up against the boys as before, and the boys in the class still look at us with jealousy.

” Today, the club activities will be on a break to prepare for the regular test. You should study hard so that you don’t get red marks.”

　That was the last thing the homeroom teacher said during the homeroom.

　That’s right, the time for regular exams had already come.

　Up until now, I had been studying hard, thinking that if I was going to work part-time, I shouldn’t neglect my studies.

　So now it was time to put the results to the test.

　There was a lot of dissatisfaction in the class about the fact that we were about to have our first test since entering this high school.

　I, however, was the complete opposite of everyone else in the class, and I was determined to get to the top.

　It was time to show the homecoming club what we were made of!

　Suddenly, I felt a glance from next to me and turned around to see Saegusa-san looking at me with a strange smile on her face, as if she was planning something.

　Such a suspicious behavior leaked out even though we were still in the middle of class, Saegusa-san seemed to be somewhat happy today, although I don’t know what it was.

　–bing-bong bang-bong (The bell rings)

　The bell rang for the end of the day.

　With that sound, the end of homeroom was reached.

　I’m reducing my part-time work shift, so I’m going to go home and concentrate on my studies today, I thought to myself.

“Takkun!!”

　The voice was, as expected, Saegusa-san.

　But sorry Saegusa-san, I have to study from today, so I can’t join you for a hamburger or something. I turned around with an apologetic feeling, and there she was, as expected, smiling as if expecting something.

　I waited for Saegusa’s next words, filled with regret that I would have to turn down her invitation.

“Let’s have a study session afterwards!”

“Sor……Eh? A study session?

　Not a fun day, but a study session?

　I hadn’t expected such an unexpected word, but it took away my prepared reply and I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Yes! A study session for the upcoming test! I’ve been wanting to try this too!”

　Apparently, a study session before the test was one of the things on Saegusa’s list of things she wanted to do.

　It’s true that study sessions are common in manga, but I’ve never actually had a study session before, and to be honest, I’m not even sure I could concentrate with a girl.

….But when Saegusa-san, who seemed to really want to try a study group, looked at me with such a sparkling, excited expression, I couldn’t say no anymore.

“Well, a study session is fine.”

“Really? Yes!”

　When I replied, Saegusa smiled with genuine happiness.

　I couldn’t help but feel my face turning red in front of her angelic smile.

　–I realized that I would probably never get used to this smile.

　After school, we went to the library to have a study session proposed by Saegusa-san.

　We had invited Takayuki and Shimizu, so we were a familiar group.

　There were a few other students here and there who came to study, but we seemed to be the only ones who wanted to have a group study session.

　Not wanting to make too much noise, we took a seat at the far end of the room, each with a textbook open, and began our study session.

　We all decided to review the subjects we wanted to work on, and I decided to start with my weakest subject, mathematics.

　Then Saegusa-san, who was sitting next to me, hurriedly took out her math textbook from her bag and started to review it as well, sniffing.

　She was more motivated than I had expected, and that made me think that I couldn’t lose and concentrate on my studies.

　In fact, on the occasional quizzes, Saegusa-san was really good, always getting near perfect scores.

　I’m sure I’m not a bad student either, but the fact that there is such a difference in academic performance makes me think that Saegusa-san was really too talented to come to our high school.

　Saegusa-san was still solving the problems next to me.

　She seemed to be solving the same problem ahead of me, glancing at my problem.

　Incidentally, Takayuki and Shimizu-san, sitting in front of me, were studying Japanese while discussing with each other.

　Seeing them, I finally realized the merit of the study group, and talked to Saegusa-san, who was probably solving the same problem next to me.

“Hey, Shi-chan, here’s the thing.”

“Which one? Oh, this one! You have to use this formula here!!”

Saegusa-san was waiting for me! She immediately showed me how to solve the problem.

　Her explanation was precise and easy to understand, and I was frankly amazed by her.

“Thank you! It was really easy to understand!”

“U, uuum! I- I’m glad!!”

　When I thanked her, she blushed and waved her hands in front of her face in a panic.

　Then she gave a small “Yes!” It was a mystery to me, but it was a difficult problem and I was really grateful for the help.

　After that, we were able to study for a full two hours, filling in the gaps in each other’s understanding.

　Thanks to Saegusa’s presence, we were able to learn all the subjects in an easy-to-understand manner, which was really helpful.

　Takayuki and Shimizu were also amazed at Saegusa’s ability to study so much better than them.

Saegusa-san, on the other hand, had a satisfied smile on her face as if she had done all she could.

　To be honest, I felt bad that I was only learning from her, but I was glad that she seemed to be enjoying herself.

　So on the way home, I decided to thank Saegusa-san again for teaching me so much.

“Thank you for today. I’m really glad you’re here, Shi-chan.”

“Fu~!? U, Um, me too!”

　Hmm? What do you mean, “Me too”? But when I saw Saegusa-san walking with a happy smile on her face, I naturally smiled too.