Book Girl and the Corrupted Angel Read Free Page B

same as he had yesterday.
    Kotobuki was getting red faced and angry. I was getting into the middle of things…
    This kind of trivial interaction was fun, warm, and comfortable.
    Hello, Konoha.
    Thank you for the snacks in the mailbox.
    For the essence of fresh mint jelly in “school gate,” “whale,” and “bungee jumping.”
    The jelly was sweet, and it was more like a thick milk tea than mint, but it melted away on my tongue and tasted like cinnamon and ginger and tasted great . It was just like chai. The last words were jelly made gooey by the heat, dropping warmly into my belly. I felt so happy. Thank you.
    I got an F on my prep class practice test, so I was a little depressed. Eating your story cheered me up, though. Write me another good one.
    Tohko
    Whoa! She saw right through me.
    After school, I read the letter from Tohko that was in the mailbox, and my cheeks grew slowly warmer. It tasted like chai…Well, of course it did, though I hadn’t been aware of it.
    And then she got an F. Are you going to be all right, Tohko?
    If you upset your stomach before an exam, you’ll be in a real jam, so you should lay off the special platters of ghosts for a while.
    I dropped off the new snack I’d put together during class and headed to the music room.
     
    The angel brought me a fir tree.
    Last night I was so depressed about my job, he probably wanted to cheer me up. My angel knows everything about me. And I can tell my angel anything.
    Things I can’t even tell Nanase—ugly things, dirty things, everything.
    It’s still early for Christmas, but the angel and I dug a hole in the ground and planted the fir tree. Our precious Christmas tree.
    Tomorrow I promised I would decorate it with angel wings, crystal churches, gold bells, and stars, and then we would have to put up lights.
    The angel doesn’t believe in God, so he says that he hates Christmas and hymns. Whenever I sing them, he covers his ears and screams for me to stop. I can’t believe in God, either, but I like Christmas. I could stare at the lights on the tree all night long. When I do, it feels very pure and holy, even though I don’t believe in God. It’s like my spirit is being sucked up into the light.
    I wish I could have lived in the tree. If I had, I’m positive my ugliness would melt away into the white light.
     
    I’m spending Christmas Eve this year with my boyfriend.
    I’m spending Christmas with Nanase.
     
    I wonder if things are going well with Nanase and Inoue? Although yesterday on the phone, she was depressed because she said, “I glared at him again ” and “I said something mean again .”
    Nanase is supercute and nice, so if she was just a little more proactive, I’m sure Inoue would fall for her.
    When I told her I thought it would be nice to be able to go on a double date—her and Inoue and me and my boyfriend—I felt like an awful person for lying. My heart hurt, and I felt like crying. I didn’t know what to do.

    “You’re really close with Mr. Mariya, huh, Kotobuki?”
    “Wh-what?! How can you say that?! Of course, I’m not.”
    One hour later I was working with Kotobuki in the music room, which was warmed by the light of the sun.
    Mr. Mariya had something to do in the teachers’ office and had left, so Kotobuki and I were all alone in the room. Kotobuki was next to me, rummaging through papers, and she growled, “You sure there’s nothing wrong with your eyes, Inoue?”
    “Maybe. When you’re with him, you seem more talkative than usual.”
    “W-well…”
    She started to say something else, then turned sharply away with an “Am not” and fell silent.
    She continued her work with tremendous energy in silence.
    And now I remembered that there was something I wanted to ask her. How could I do it? I just had to commit and ask right now, I guess.
    “Hey, Kotobuki.”
    “Wh-what?!”
    “Where was it that you and I met in middle school? I’ve been thinking about it, but I can’t remember.”
    Well, I’d