"Twenty minutes is a long time," I said. "Next time, just ask. I'm not very good at much, but I'm excellent at buckles."
I took a deep breath. This is not a big deal, Tadano. It's a shoe. Just a shoe. I dabbed the tiniest bit of wax onto the buckle's prong, then gently slid the leather strap over it. It clicked into place with a satisfying, smooth sound. Easy. Meeting Komi After School
"The buckle is stiff," I said, my voice surprisingly calm. "Mine did the same thing last week." "Twenty minutes is a long time," I said
Komi Shouko. The goddess. The untouchable. The girl whose beauty silenced rooms and whose very presence seemed to be painted in a higher resolution than the rest of us. This is not a big deal, Tadano
I was the last one out of the classroom, as usual. The hallway was a long, echoing tunnel of fading sunlight. As I turned the corner toward the shoe lockers, I stopped.
Another tear fell onto the notebook page, smudging the ink. She quickly wrote underneath: