Shimamura seems less like she’s clueless/doesn’t reciprocate and more like she’s scared/in denial IMO
She's had some bad crap go down with friends or classmates in the past I think. That's why we've gotten little snippets of commentary that seem to point to that, why she's forced herself to pretty much avoid socializing with anyone to the point where she was skipping classes. So she's gotta work through cracking open that personal shell before she can work on opening that closet door.
Yeah, that's what I assumed. I can't wait for the flashback chapter. Maybe I should finally take duolingo seriously and I wouldn't have to wait.