The Dark Rebirth of Pandora: Revenge of the Abyss

Chapter 704: Divine Scenario Part 4

A few months have passed, and I have to say Oriane has changed in a surprising way. It hasn’t been a perfect change, but she actually started to stop intimidating other girls instead of just pretending to stop while doing it in total secret.

And her grades began to recover slowly as she picked up extra assignments and put effort into the last exams. Of course, I still kept my distance to see if she really wouldn’t do anything stupid in secret, and obviously she still bullied people from time to time, but the frequency went way down.

"Pandora!! Look... I... I have the final grade results, I saved it to show you. If I passed, it means we’re going to college together..." She says, holding an envelope. I show her mine, which is already open.

"98... really high, first place got a 99." She speaks with a tone of pride seeing my grade.

"Yeah... that girl is incredible." I say with an eye roll, having obviously missed two questions I already knew the answers to. I imagined that girl would get a 99, she really is incredible. Oriane soon hands me her grades.

’I guess she kept her word... didn’t even try to fake the paperwork... it seems like she genuinely wanted to change.’ It’s not like I expected her to become a better person overnight, but her effort was good.

Much more than I expected from a delinquent who bullied so many people, even though it still really bothers me that she doesn’t even try to make amends with the others and only with me.

But as long as she gets better for now, she can make amends with the future or something like that. The thing is, I really don’t care much about other people, only about myself and what she did to me.

"...78, a good grade, above the 60 average too... I guess this means we’re back to having something stable. It’s enough to guarantee you passed safely. Obviously, it couldn’t be higher considering your old bad grades." When I say that, a huge smile spreads across her face. It’s the best possible outcome she could have without cheating.

"So now I really have your forgiveness?!"

"Yeah, yeah, you have my forgiveness. You put in real effort and I approve of that... it’d better be that way in college... wait, you said go to the college I’m going to?" I get confused about how she knows what my choice was.

"Hahaha yes, I’m going!! I just needed to pass this one with a 70 and I’d already be accepted into the college you chose, and don’t worry, I’ll behave. Besides, I didn’t pay to get accepted, okay!! I got in on merit! I can show you the papers I received as proof."

"...Alright, I guess. I’ll give you this vote of confidence. Whether you paid or not, I’ll find out eventually." I adjust my glasses for a moment while I hand her grades back to her.

"Since today marks the start of something important, would you grant me the honor of taking your first time?" She asks in a completely shameless way.

"...That weird confession wasn’t a joke?" Despite the serious tone she used a few months ago, I swore it was more of a joke of the moment, or a small friendly perversion.

"No!! I really want to shut your mouth with—" I interrupt her.

"Okay, I get it, no need to repeat it. You still talk exactly like a depraved delinquent..."

"And you’re the weirdest Nerd I’ve ever met!! So bold! But I’m not complaining about it, and I’m not complaining about your weird hobby either!!" She says, throwing a tantrum over what I said.

"I’m the weird one? I’m not the one who was keeping an eye on someone else all the time." I say with a serious tone. If she knows several things about me nowadays, it’s because before she got the courage to apologize, she was spying on me.

"...L-Let’s go to my place." She grabs my hand and starts pulling me, trying to escape the conversation. The quick movement makes her white hair with red streaks sway in the wind.

"Have you ever stolen something from me without me noticing?" I ask, wanting to know more about what Oriane did. From what she made clear, she was always hanging around, wanting to apologize, but never having the courage.

"S-Some things... please don’t judge me, I already apologized. You’ll always be the only Nerd that’s my favorite." Her speech is a bit strange.

"Stop calling me that. I hate it when you call me Nerd or four-eyes. It started like that in the past before you escalated things to something really bad."

"Sorry... it’s a habit. It’s really strange to be able to talk to you again without it being to say crap... I’m still trying to improve." She says, forcing me into her car.

"You should stop pulling me around, it messes up my glasses... and it’s fine, I understand you wouldn’t improve overnight. Just avoid it from now on, just call me Pandora like... like when we were kids." I murmur the last part, adjusting my glasses again.

"You always put so much emphasis on your glasses. I know you mess with them when you’re nervous. Even with all that tough-girl act, you’re really shy!!"

"Q-Quiet."

"Besides, Pandora, I know you’re treating it like a joke, but I’m serious. I really like you, and you usually make a cute expression when I irritate you."

"...?"

"I’m being serious! You make a kind of cute little pout and cross your arms while looking away, just like I know that when you’re anxious, you keep tapping with your right foot while resting it only on the heel."

"I also know you like watching bugs kill each other, but you don’t really like touching them, you even have a bit of disgust, and I also know you like to—"

"Enough!! O-Okay, I get it. You watched me a lot because you supposedly like me... but if you liked me, the answer wasn’t to mock me. That sounds pretty stupid." She wasn’t a Tsundere.

She never made it clear or gave any sign that she liked me. She was just really mean, to the point where I feel a bit stupid for forgiving her, but it’s true that our friendship was important in the past.

"Changing the subject, did you get a job?" I ask her, and she gives me a smile.

"Yes, it’s at a library on the college campus. You’ll have to see me there now and study with me in the same place—"

"I can read under any tree on the campus."

"..." She looks at me indignantly while I stop paying attention to her and start looking at the scenery outside, closing myself off in my own mind.