I’m Back in the First Grade of Elementary School, so I’m Going to Live Well

Friend's Phone Call

I was stuck in writing, but after taking a day off, I felt refreshed.

If you find yourself at a standstill, I recommend that you take a day off instead of rushing into a corner.

If you are in a hurry, take a day off.

After a fun Saturday and Sunday, Monday came.

I was relaxing in my living room watching TV after finishing my classes at school.

Compared to the bustling holidays, this time spent alone is boring.

The sun was setting and it was getting dark, so I couldn’t go out for a run.

There’s not much on at this time of night that I like, so I think I’ll just sit back and study for the future.

I lay down on the sofa and walked to my room.

“Purururu.”

As soon as I pass the appliance, it plays the sound of receiving an incoming call.

Mom was taking a bath, my sister was holed up in her room, and Dad hadn’t come home yet.

It seems I have no choice but to answer the phone.

I put the receiver to my ear, determined to cut the call short if it was a sales call.

“Hello, this is Itosaki.”

『 Ah, umm, hello? Is this, um, Kakeru’s, Kakeru-kun’s house? Is it? 』 

He spoke in poor honorifics and a voice that sounded somewhat familiar, even though it was a mechanical voice.

“This is Sho-kun house, and I’m Sho. Rinta.”

I told the story to Rinta, who mistook me for a house guest.

I don’t remember giving him my home phone number, so he must have gotten it from the contact list printed out at school.

『 Oh, what the hell. It’s Kakeru, isn’t it? 』 

I could hear the relieved voice of Rinta over the phone.

Even the friendly-looking Rinta must be nervous about talking to an adult he doesn’t know.

“So, what’s going on? At this hour?”

The time was already half-past seven.

I didn’t have any particular reason in mind, so I asked him straightforwardly.

『 You know, we have math homework today, right? 』 

“Ah, yes, it’s due tomorrow.”

Naturally, I finished it the same day it was handed out.

Could it be that you want me to copy it? If so, we don’t have cell phones, so we can’t send pictures.

『 Actually…… I left it at school. 』 

“Eh, really…?”

You didn’t call me to report that, did you?

If that’s the case, why don’t you go and get it by yourself or just give up gracefully?

――I don’t think so, but there’s no way he is afraid to go get it by himself.

『 W-Well, you know… I-If Kakeru says so, I can go take it with you! 』 

It seems that I’m right.

Well, it’s true that school in the middle of the night is a classic setting for horror stories, but is it really so scary that you have to call your friends and ask them to go with you?

I mean, even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to enter the school.

The doors would be locked.

You can’t just break the window and break in like a thief, so let Rinta just forget his homework and let Sari-sensei get mad at him.

“I’m sorry, but I――”

『 Come to the front of the school right now! See you there! 』 

He hung up the phone with a buzz.

……………

If I’m cut off like this, I’ll have no choice but to go.

“…… I don’t have a choice.”

I don’t like it, but I have to go.

I can’t have my friends waiting for me in front of the school in the middle of the night.

――I’m a first grader now.

I’m not old enough to go out alone at night in the pitch-black streets.

If I told my mother that I was going out now, she would definitely stop me.

So I had no choice but to leave without telling her.

If I could sneak out and come back without anyone knowing, my mother would never know that I left the house in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, mom says she would take a bath and wouldn’t come out for a while. She always takes a long bath.

As for my sister, my dad had called her cell phone to say that he would be working late today, so he probably wouldn’t be home soon.

All I had to do is collect the homework and go home

I’m not such a good kid that I have to obey my mom and dad’s orders.

(※All good children should obey their mother and father’s orders. And don’t go out in the middle of the night, it’s dangerous.)

So I changed out of my loungewear and into my outdoor clothes as soon as possible.

It would be cold at this time of night, so I threw on a red hoodie to keep warm.

I made my way to the front door, stepping out of the way so that my family wouldn’t know that I was leaving, and lifted the key so that I wouldn’t make a sound.

Sure enough, it was pitch black outside, and the moon is clearly reflected in the sky.

It should only take me twenty minutes to get there and back in total.

I ran to the school so that I could get home quickly.

◆

“Y-Yo, Kakeru.”

Rinta, who had arrived at the school a step ahead of me, had a frightened look on his face.

It would be more appropriate to say that he was scared rather than frightened.

His voice was trembling slightly.

What he was talking about must have been something spiritual, like ghosts or monsters.

I had an image of Rinta as a kid who didn’t know what to be afraid of, but it turned out to be an illusion.

“Totally, don’t call me up at this time of night with a one-sided phone call like that…”

I was a little angry.

Even for a first grader, that was insane.

“Well, that’s―― I’m sorry.”

Rinta apologized apologetically.

His attitude alone was more than enough to let me know that he was sorry.

Rinta is very understanding, isn’t he?

“…… It’s just for today.”

I’ll forgive you for apologizing so honestly.

It’s a limited-time offer. I’m not going to do it again.

“Well, go get it early. I don’t think either of us wants to stay here too long.”

Just as Rinta was afraid of ghosts, I was afraid that Mom would find out that I went out in the middle of the night and get angry.

“Ah, yes.”

Rinta nodded with a look of determination in his eyes.

You don’t have to look like you’re on the verge of war because you’re just sneaking into the school.

I can’t help but think that Rinta’s behavior is a bit excessive, and I’m a bit taken aback, but I head to the school in the middle of the night.