Volume 2 - CH 28

My heart is racing. If I call out to him, I can’t back out.

The man turns around. Don’t lose, my heart!

“Oh, what’s that, Tendo?”

In front of me is a familiar face, Takayama in a suit.

I feel like an idiot for being so nervous!

“Takayama… What are you wearing?”

Takayama was dressed like a thug in a black suit.

How did he come to be dressed like that? Why don’t you wear something more casual?

“What? You said I should dress like an adult. It can only be a suit, right?”

But still, don’t you look like you’re floating?

And you definitely don’t need the sunglasses on your head, do you?

“No, it doesn’t have to be a suit…”

Sugimoto rushes up behind me a little later.

“Tendo-san… Could it be that you didn’t know it was Takayama-kun?”

Well, yes. Yes, that’s right. I guess I was a little distracted.

I had the Sugimoto incident to deal with and to be honest, I didn’t realize it was Takayama when he was dressed differently from usual.

“Tendo-san, you are on time for the meeting, but please explain later, okay?”

Anri’s cold eyes turned to me.

Ah, I told Anri that I would wait for her first, yet I came later.

I am very sorry! There were circumstances on our side too!

“Well, we can talk about that later, slowly…”

I look around at the assembled members, a little hunched over.

They are dressed in plain clothes, which I am not used to seeing.

Takayama, too, was perhaps being cautious, and although he was wearing a suit, he looked reasonably presentable.

However, Takayama’s eyes have been glued to Sugimoto-san since a while ago.

Sugimoto also noticed Takayama’s eyes on her and tried to hide behind Anri a little.

Even Anri looks cute in today’s outfit.

“Ayane is wearing contact lenses today. And you look so cute in that outfit.”

Anri was taking Sugimoto’s hand and getting a little excited.

It was a truly charming scene. Takayama, on the other hand, was not so happy.

Well, it’s just for one day, so let’s not worry about it.

“Hey, Tendo,”

Takayama puts his hand on my shoulder, and with tears in his eyes, he appeals to me.

“What is it? Did you get some dust in your eyes?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m just glad I could come to the movies today and do my best on the test!”

Tears of joy, apparently. I’m glad we were all able to come to the movies together.

“I’m also glad that Takayama got the tickets. That’s great.”

He tapped Takayama lightly.

“I’m so glad. A movie with the girls in my class… And it includes dinner… I’m definitely on it right now.”

I don’t know what I’m on.

I am sure that Takayama is right and I am enjoying every day these days.

I feel like I’m doing things that I couldn’t have imagined a short time ago.

“Anri’s clothes are cute, too. So, what are we going to do now? We have a little time, right?”

We have a little time before the movie starts.

Maybe we should hang out in the city for a while.

“Hey, let’s take a picture together! The newest machine is in the arcade there!”

Takayama is doing a lot of research. At this rate, he may really be planning for today.

He was also thinking well while studying.

“I like it! Let’s take a picture together! Wouldn’t you like to, Anri?”

“I agree, let’s all take a picture together, shall we?”

The four of us walked toward the arcade.

The four of us entered a machine recommended by Takayama and took a picture.

It was the same machine that Anri and I had taken pictures of earlier.

“All right, let’s put in the money!”

The boss generously gave me four coins.

He is a good guy, after all. I’ll have to give him half the money later.

“Which mode do you want?”

I knew it would ask me which mode I wanted to use. What mode should I choose this time?

“Oh, this is the one!”

Takayama overreacted and touched the screen.

“’Friends’ mode! Hurry up and get in line!”

I and Takayama stand back to back, shoulder to shoulder.

Anri and Sugimoto are a little in front of us. They are leaning forward a little and lightly hugging each other.

“Anri, come on, give me your hand.”

Sugimoto holds out his left hand and Anri holds out her right hand, making a heart mark.

The gesture was cute to see the two of them on the screen.

Behind them is me and Takayama. I thought to myself, “Don’t they need us on this screen?”

“Well then, time to shoot. Are you ready?”

――Pasha

After taking a few pictures, it was time for drawing.

We only have two pens, so Takayama and I watch them from behind as they draw.

“Which one do you want to write, Anri?”

“I’ll write this one, you write that one.”

It was a very funny scene.

Takayama was warmly watching them.

Takayama whispered softly in my ear.

“Tendo. Maybe I’m happy right now.”

“That’s right. Maybe I’m happy.”

I cut the picture that came out into four equal parts and handed it to each of us.

The picture was of the four of us. And I was fascinated by the message written on it.

“We’ll always be friends!”

I wondered which character was written in this circle.

Will the four of us be able to stay close to each other and live our school life forever?

Will the happy time Takayama was talking about continue?

Thinking about these things, I tucked the cropped photo into my breast pocket.

“All right! We got the picture! Let’s do that next!”

Takayama pointed toward an air hockey game.

It’s a good choice for a four-player game.

“How do you want to divide the teams?”

Do you want to separate them by male/female or by male/female pairs?

If we were going to be fair, I thought it would be better to pair men and women.

“Okay, I’ll pair up with Tendo! It’s a male-female match!”

“Good idea! I won’t lose!”

Takayama and Sugimoto were completely at each other’s pace.

Anri and I had our opinions erased before we could say anything.