CH 220

Chapter 220 – Birthday for the Two of Us (2)

I managed to get through the morning events. And now it was right around noon.

Since there was nothing left for me to do, I would have loved to go home right away and embrace the spirit of summer vacation, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Because I still had some business to take care of with Umi.

[Asanagi: I’m almost done, so wait for me at the school gate. We should go shopping after this. You know, to buy a cake and stuff.]

[Maehara: ‘Kay. Time to look for a good place to sit.]

After replying to Umi’s message, I put on my shoes and slowly made my way to the school gate. Normally, we would just meet up at Umi’s classroom, but she wasn’t there today.

I sat down under the shade of the multipurpose building near the school gate and looked around aimlessly.

The temperature was higher than it was in the morning and it would only get hotter, but this place in particular was cool. Probably because of the large trees nearby. That made this place perfect for waiting for someone. But, the multipurpose hall was the most popular place to visit during recess because this was the gathering spot of the light music club, so normally this place would be crowded. That was why loners like me wouldn’t stick around here normally. Thankfully, because it was summer vacation, everyone went home as soon as their business was over, so there was no one loitering around the area.

“Is Umi not here yet?”

The words escaped my mouth.

Until last year, I’d never waited for someone like this. Anxiously waiting for someone, feeling lonely when they weren’t by my side, both were feelings I’d never felt. In fact, I would be glad to go home by myself as soon as I could. Let alone waiting for someone, it would be a blessing if no one were to talk to me at school.

But look at me now, I changed this much just because of a single girl– As I was grinning while thinking about that, I heard heavy footsteps in the distance, approaching me.

“Hm? Is that you, Maki? Why are you grinning like that? Did something good happen?”

“Nozomu? Uh… Nothing happened, I was just thinking about something… What are you doing here? Are you skipping practice?”

“We’re taking a short break. The weather is too hot, so we have to take breaks. I have some electrolyte tablets with me, want some? Gotta stay hydrated, you know?”

“Sure, give me one.”

I took a tablet from Nozomu and popped it in my mouth. It had a lemon flavor.

“Uegh… What’s this… Salty– No, it’s sour…”

“Haha, right? A kohai gave me this a while ago, the taste was a surprise for me too, that’s why I was wandering around. I wanted to share this taste with someone.”

“And then you found me, huh? Well, the strange taste is gone already, it’s actually not so bad… Yeah, it’s kinda sweet… Mm, it tastes good.”

“I know, right? The taste is surprisingly addictive. Want another one?”

“Sure. Thank you.”

The loner of the class and the ace of the baseball club. At first glance, we had nothing in common, but we found some things that we both enjoyed as we hung out more.

After all, he had a life outside of baseball. He had music that he liked, he had a favorite food, a crush and so on.

Students our age tended to build walls based on appearances, differences in clubs, personality and so on, but at the end of the day, we were all just children attending the same school.

Nozomu didn’t live in a different world than mine.

That goes for everyone. We lived in the same world.

“…Ah, look at this, Maki. They’ve decided on the lineups for the competitions.”

“Yeah. Umi’s helping the student council out, so we’ll probably hear the details from her soon.”

“Asanagi is?… Did the new student council president drag her into doing it? Nakamura-san, right? That girl seems to have quite a strong personality.”

“Yeah. Well, apparently, their work was harder than expected, so for the time being, Umi and a few others are going to help her out.”

That was why I was waiting for her here.

The new student council was still short-staffed due to the lack of interest of the student population overall. So even though Tomoo-senpai managed to rope Nakamura-san in to replace her, they were still unable to assemble enough members for the council. In the end, Nakamura-san had to ask Umi and her other close friends for their help.

Like Nozomu said, she had a strong personality, but at the same time, she was also a good person that Umi and I were indebted to. If possible, neither of us would reject her if she asked us for help.

Well, now that I’ve explained the situation, let’s get back to the topic.

“Amami-san and I are in class 10 over here, Umi… Here, with class 11, Nitta-san would be in class 7, so here, and you are in class 4… Yeah, as expected, you got separated quite far.”

“Our class is filled with captains and vice-captains of the sports club so it’s a given, but still… Ugh…”

He let out a deep sigh. His class’ board wouldn’t be near ours.

Depending on the area, there was a chance that he could spend more time with Amami-san if he put in some effort, but after seeing this, I understood why he was disappointed.

This guy might be more single minded than me when it comes to love.

“If only I was in the same class as Amami-san… I will do my best in everything… Studies, club activities, name it! But I’m not… Haah… Maki, comfort me, please…”

“By the way, we’re planning to go to the pool after Obon, are you in?”

“Thank you for telling me, Maki. I’ll risk my life to go.”

“Alright, hope to see you there.”

The problem was that he was more cash-strapped than I was.

Well, if he was this motivated, I should just leave him be.

“Alright, I’m feeling better now, so I’ll be going back to practice. See you later, Maki. Have a nice birthday with your precious girlfriend.”

“I’ll be doing that even without you telling me. See ya, have fun.”

We fist bumped each other before he left. And just as he left, I could see Umi approaching from a distance.

Perfect timing.

“There you are, Maki… You look happy, did something happen?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking that having a friend was nice… Oh, I have electrolyte tablets, do you want some?”

“Hm? Sure. Feed me… Ahh~”

I threw the tablet Nozomu gave me into her mouth. Just like me, she immediately frowned after tasting the tablet.

“Upp… W-What is this… So sour… Maki??”

“Haha, as expected, everyone reacts the same the first time they taste it. Try licking it, it’ll taste better eventually.”

“…You’re right. Mm, we should buy some more of these when we’re shopping. Actually, I should buy some for Yuu and Nina too.”

“Nice idea.”

Waiting for someone was boring and lonely, but if it was like today, I wouldn’t mind it as much.