I'm in Love with the Gorilla Sitting Next to Me - Volume 1 Chapter 1.1

The Gorilla Sitting Next to Me 1

The fifth period on Thursdays can be summed up in one word: torture.

Firstly, it’s right after lunch, so I’m simply sleepy. After already spending hours using my brain and physical energy on studying, this is inevitable.

Next, I’m terrible at world history. Remembering when and where events happened is hard enough, but it’s even worse when all the key figures have similar names. There are too many people with names like something-tinus or whatever-seus. And don’t get me started with their natural trick questions like ‘Which Egyptian Pharaohs with the same name did what in which dynasty’. World history is seriously tough for someone like me who struggles with memorization.

So, on top of the world history class that I can’t seem to wrap my head around, the teacher is none other than the elderly Sasamori Sensei. His voice is soft, he doesn’t set aside time for questions, and he just keeps writing and explaining on the board. Sasamori Sensei uses the blackboard extensively, writing in large characters and then erasing them. Moreover, right before erasing, he mutters, “This will be on the test,” and wipes it clean—He is a person you must not let your guard down against.

Therefore, while being lulled to sleep by Sasamori Sensei’s lullaby-like explanations, I struggled to keep my heavy eyelids open and somehow managed to copy the content on the blackboard into my notebook… but due to my near loss of consciousness, I realized I had skipped a couple of lines.

And it was quite a bit earlier in the text, which could be erased at any moment, so I hurriedly reached for my eraser… my eraser…

“…Huh… where…?”

The eraser that should have been on my desk was gone. No matter where I looked, it was nowhere to be found.

Did I forget it somewhere… no, that can’t be, I used it earlier, it has to be here somewhere…

As Sasamori Sensei continued writing, the time limit loomed, and I frantically searched around my desk,

“…Ah.”

Just as I found the fallen eraser, someone else reached out to pick it up.

The girl sitting in the seat to my right picked up the eraser with minimal movement while still seated and extended it towards me, mouthing the words, 『Here』.

Grateful, I mouthed back 『Thank you』 and took the eraser from her large, black hand.

Then, the girl with the (furry?) arm turned back to face the front, gripping her slender mechanical pencil and continued to copy the notes from the board. Her notebook was filled with beautiful handwriting that I could never hope to match, even if I tried my hardest.

The girl sitting next to me, who was not only beautiful in her posture but also in her writing, was—a gorilla.

Not just a gorilla-like girl, but an actual gorilla. She was wearing a sailor uniform with navy blue stripes, diligently taking notes, but she was a gorilla. She even accessorized with a yellow hair ornament, but taxonomically, she was a Western lowland gorilla.

Noticing my gaze, the gorilla next to me glanced over and…

“…?”

This time, not with her mouth but with her eyes, she seemed to ask, 『What is it?』. If this had been when we first met, I definitely wouldn’t have understood, but the accumulation of these past two months allowed me to perceive the subtle differences. I almost wanted to praise myself for understanding her so well.

After all, even if a gorilla gives you a look, you normally wouldn’t understand the intention. You’d think, 『Ah, maybe she wants some food?』 at best.

For now, I gave the gorilla a slight shake of my head to indicate 『It’s nothing』 and started erasing the incorrect part of my notes with the eraser she had picked up for me. I needed to copy the notes at Mach speed.

I had gotten used to her presence. It’s true that when her face gets up close, I’m still startled, but her overwhelming presence has become a minor issue by now.

So why do I still find myself conscious of her? Is it simply because she’s a gorilla—or is it because she’s this particular gorilla? This is becoming a serious concern.

Gorilla-san is a good person. She’s kind to pick up a dropped eraser, surprisingly easy to talk to, and while not the best in grades, she’s earnest in her studies… I could go on and on.

In any case, I find myself thinking about Gorilla-san. After talking to her, my heart feels light, and I can’t help but follow her with my eyes… I’m honestly at a loss as to what kind of emotion this is.

Because, after all, she’s a gorilla.

——Well, it would be utterly confusing to proceed as if nothing happened, so let’s sort out the situation for now.

The person sitting next to me is a gorilla. Not just gorilla-like, but a full-fledged actual gorilla.

However, if you’re wondering whether she’s a real gorilla, that’s not the case. First of all, she’s not the only anomaly. In the classroom, there are pandas, dogs, kangaroos, and all of them are human-sized.

To put it simply, about half the class—no, half the school is made up of some kind of animal, and all of them talk, study, and play just like humans.

All of this is somehow because of me… but let me be clear, I’m not to blame. I’m completely on the victim’s side.

A curse from my ancestors——the cause sounds like a bad joke.

Unfortunately, the thrilling animal land that appears before my eyes is a harsh reality due to a curse that makes ‘members of the opposite sex appear as animals.’