Chapter 159Worries
The place we chose was a piloti on the first floor. It is located near the bicycle parking area and is also not very popular except in the morning or after school. It overlooks the school grounds and is a fall hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spot where you can see four Somei-Yoshino cherry trees with red leaves. Ichinose-san explained to me while holding my hand tightly that instead of the schoolyard being surrounded by nature in the fall, we could enjoy the fall atmosphere throughout the schoolyard itself. So cute.
"Look, are you sure that this is the best choice...? Even though we're not having lunch at the library..."
"Oh... ...I think it might be much better for Senpai too..."
Natsukawa looked at Ichinose-san's face as she said.
If it was just me who came there, it would have been fine, but with the four of us, the library's reference room might be a bit too cramped, so we decided to move the place. On the way here, Ichinose-san stopped by the library and told her senpai that we wouldn't be having lunch there. Although I thought that Ichinose-san would be forced to do some kind of work, it turned out that her senpai was happy to let her go. Afterward, Ichinose-san told me, "Senpai also brought a friend... ...so it might be a bit awkward", she told me a very sad story. Well, compared to Big Sis, I'm used to it, I thought, I thought about it without any awkwardness and guilt, I heard a faint voice saying, "Well... ...I'm used to it," and unintentionally almost hugged Ichinose-san. I could tell that Natsukawa, who was somewhat frightened in front of me, would probably hug Ichinose-san tightly, then she would call the police, and Ashida would also yell at me with harsh words.
"This place is nice, it looks cool even in summer!"
"Y-Yeah..."
Ichinose-san seemed almost unable to respond to Ashida's praise. Even though they had never met before, Ashida always spoke to Ichinose-san as if she were an acquaintance. I even remember that I felt like saying "O-Oh" at first. After all, Ashida had already called her "Ichinose-chan". I don't remember her ever being called that before.
"Then, let's have lunch here instead!"
"Yeah, of course."
We walked towards the entrance to the school building that led to the elevator. On either side of the small staircase of only three steps, some steps were the perfect height to sit on. Natsukawa was almost right on time, but Ichinose-san's legs were probably shaking a little.
Ashida jumped to the right towards the small staircase. She turned around and landed on the step with her butt. Natsukawa immediately turned towards me just as her skirt went flying. Eh? What? I didn't witness it because I was just too busy trying to survive here.
Natsukawa looked at me with her eyes half closed and sat gracefully beside Ashida. My mind snapped my fingers and stomped the ground in frustration.
"I think we've arrived, the place is here."
"Oh, yeah..."
"—Oh."
Natsukawa and Ashida sat on opposite sides of the small staircase. Ichinose-san and I were asked to sit on the inside so that Natsukawa and Ashida could see her. The moment I heard them say the words "Right, isn't it?" softly and mischievously, the new boy who said "Oh my, she's so cute" started to be born inside me. I'm sorry, please just ignore me.
"Hey, hey, what kind of person do you think Sajocchi was when you were working part-time together?"
"Why are you suddenly asking her about me like that?"
"Because I'm curious."
That surprised me...
I wonder if that's a good or bad thing about Ashida. It's not just me, but this girl is saying things to everyone and showing that she's interested.
"Um... ...Sajou-kun is very good at what he does... ...and he's able to do everything without a hitch."
"No, there's no need to praise me to that extent, okay."
"Well, that's annoying, that's annoying."
"But that's just the way I am according to her..."
It was a mistake for me to be praised earnestly, then feel embarrassed, blush, and hide it. Apart from Ashida, I also often received harsh words from Natsukawa. I'm just hiding my embarrassment... ...because there's rarely a day when I get a compliment from someone. Instead of complimenting me, Big Sis just patted my shoulder.
"...I'm a bit jealous of him."
"You must have served customers too, right? Ichinose-chan, I don't have any idea about you doing that."
"Even though there were twists and turns that happened between us, she still worked hard. Throw your prejudice away and I just need to keep an eye on her."
"Twists and turns? Oh."
"Oh..."
Oh... Gosh, so Ashida and Natsukawa already know about the incident of Ichinose-san prostrating herself on the floor? After all, when we went to Natsukawa's house a while ago it was to talk about it, right? I might not have mentioned her name back then, but now it might be clear to them. Right now, Ashida and Natsukawa are probably imagining Ichinose-san prostrating herself with her head touching the floor.
"L-Let's eat our lunch! The lunch break will end soon if we all don't eat soon!"
"Oh, yeah..."
"..."
"..."
I took out a plastic bag filled with sweet bread as if I were calming the atmosphere around me. Ichinose-san who was sitting next to me, probably thinking that she had been told by me to do the same too, took out a cute little lunchbox wrapped in a light pink cloth bag. I felt like Ichinose-san was looking at me from the other side, but I didn't mind, I didn't mind that. Take a break, take a break.
"...."
"... Wh-W hat's up, Natsukawa?"
That's impossible.
I was on the other side of the small staircase from Ichinose-san. Natsukawa kept staring at me, so I couldn't eat my food either. That face of hers that was very much facing straight at me was scary. Don't tell me that she did that to bring up the incident of prostrating on the floor again here...?
"You still, eating with that food."
"...Eh?"
While I was thinking about what she said, her words had a lot of meaning. Natsukawa looked at my hand with dissatisfaction. I think she didn't like the fact that I had still eating sweet bread since the last time we met during another lunch break.
"This is delicious, isn't it? It's affordable, there's a wide variety of flavors, and it's fun to go out and buy it once in a while."
"It's not nutritionally balanced."
"I'm a member of the sports club, so I can't eat that food every day... ...Sajocchi, have you gotten taller?"
"Ugh..."
I feel that I'm not short, but I feel inferior when I'm around Yamazaki or the handsome boys in the Student Council. Why do these boys hang out with boys who are relatively the same height as them? Putting aside the Basketball Club, but this is the Student Council are they being cynical about male students in general? We will sue you, you b*stards, for violating our right to sunlight. Huh... I miss Yuuki-senpai's lunchbox.
"...It won't be able to grow..."
"Huh...?"
I almost broke my heart when the person next to me said so with a shy and complaining face. Do your best, Ichinose-san! Your high school life is just starting now! I'm sure you can still grow!
"O-Oh... —Now that I remember, Ichinose-san. Is there something you want to consult with me about?"
"Oh... ...Yeah."
If Natsukawa or Ashida, who don't know the specifics of Ichinose-san's background, are in control of this conversation, it could be a minefield for Ichinose-san. Let's continue with the discussion of how I ended up having a lunch appointment together with Ichinose-san.
"Consult...? Is that so?"
"Aren't you two just meeting for lunch normally?"
"Eh, didn't I tell you guys before?"
"No, we haven't heard you say anything about that yet!" "No, we haven't heard you say anything about that yet!" (TL Note: Both of them said this line simultaneously.)
"Oh, yeah."
I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard them say that sentence in unison. It was a harmonization between them that was so melodious that if they sang as a duet, they would take the world by storm. Are they both interested in the entertainment industry?
It's unusual for Ichinose-san, and even for me, that she takes me out to eat together, and I'm sure I can already tell something is going on even without her telling me. I had talked about this to these two girls in the classroom, but there was nothing wrong with a casual invitation to have lunch together with the opposite sex and agreeing to it. It's the kind of thing that makes the girl think about it seriously, "This boy... ...might like me.". That is the trap of the youth generation.
"I thought... ...—It's because you intended to have lunch with him."
"Eh, Aichi...?"
"I-It's nothing, never mind!"
"...?"
Natsukawa seems to be saying something, but I can't hear it from here. Ashida can hear it, but I can't hear it...? How strange... ...My ears should be able to pick up 1.5 times more of Natsukawa's voice than the average person's. Maybe I'll try to raise the sound collection rate a little higher, huh...!
"U-Um! If it's true that Ichinose-san wants to consult something with Wataru... ...does that mean it has something to do with the part-time job?"
"Oh, um... ...It's a bit different from that..."
"Yeah...?"
The relationship between Ichinose-san and I seemed to be centered more on our part-time jobs than our classroom life, and I thought she might consult me about her part-time job. On the other hand, I was worried about whether I could talk to her about other things.
"Well... ...I was thinking of buying a bookshelf..."
"Heh, is that so?"
A bookshelf, a bookshelf, huh? Well, that's good, isn't it? Ichinose-san likes to read a lot of books. I think, she probably bought one book every day when she started getting used to working part-time at this second-hand bookstore. Is she already okay with the money in her pocket? That's what I thought, but since it's 50 yen more than 100 yen, I thought it might be like him buying a can of coffee. Come to think of it, that makes more sense than me buying sweet bread every day, right? Gosh, I feel like I'm going to fall into nothingness again.
"Um, I've done a lot of searches on my smartphone, but nothing has satisfied me..."
"Oh, I see."
I understand how you feel. When shopping online, it can sometimes be difficult to ascertain the texture or size of the item we're buying. Even when buying clothes, we can have a "fear of regretting it after buying it", but when it comes to bookshelves it should be much more complicated. I guess it would be easier to get something like a bed or something similar in size.
"So... ...do you want me to actually accompany you to the store in person and look for a good bookshelf together?"
"Oh... ...Y-You don't want to?"
"I'm okay with it, though... ...but I think Ichinose-san seems to know more about that side than I do."
"U-Um... ...Actually..."
"?"
That girl told me about how shopping is quite a complicated task. Translated into gyaru language, this means that talking to a salesperson is scary, but she said the atmosphere was so bad as if it were horrible. When we buy a bookshelf, we'll inevitably have a conversation with the salesperson, — If depicted in a shoujo manga style, the story development would probably be something like, "What's going to happen to me!?".
Young lady... ...Aren't you still working part-time as a salesgirl at a second-hand bookstore yourself?
Author's Note: Agepoyo* (death)
TL Note: Agepoyo is one of the words in the Gyaru language, age means to rise and poyo has no meaning. Agepoyo is yelled when passion/excitement is high.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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