Chapter 5 : She’s Starting Her Date – Part 1

“You really did it.”

“I know, right! I worked really hard!”

Amiru struck a gutsy pose in front of the stunned Shoichi.

On the low table in the living room, the results of the quiz that Shoichi made were laid out.

Eighty points in Japanese, eighty-five points in mathematics, eighty-two points in English, eighty-seven points in social studies, and eighty-nine points in science.

Even though the test was designed to match the level of a junior high school, it was still well above eighty points.

In the face of this, Amiru continued to puff out her chest with pride.

“At home, I kept reviewing what Sho-chan taught me.”

“That’s great. You’ve done a great job.”

“Fufu, then I’ll ask you to do me a favor, since you promised!”

“Yeah, sure. Anything you want.”

The promise was the one he had made earlier, that he would do whatever she asked.

Despite the fact that Amiru looked very happy, Shoichi nodded nonchalantly. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was just that he was genuinely happy too. It was an impressive achievement for such a poor student to achieve such good results. This made it harder for him to express his feelings.

But Amiru, whether she noticed it or not, held up her index finger.

“Um…”

She froze for about 30 seconds. Shoichi tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, you know, I haven’t thought of a request yet.”

“I see, in that case, take your time. I’m not going to set a deadline.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know when I decide!”

Amiru smiled in a good mood and even started humming.

Shoichi couldn’t wait to see what she would decide to wish for.

It’s a reward for her hard work, I’d give anything for that, but… Since it’s Amiru, there’s a possibility that she’ll ask for something outrageous.

Anyway, the request of the girl in front of him–a gal–was unknown to Shoichi.

I just have to prepare myself so that I won’t be fazed no matter what she asks. As he thought about this, he looked at Amiru, who was still humming in a good mood.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○

It had been almost a week since the teacher had asked him to help Amiru with her studies.

Their relationship was still a secret from their classmates. So, in the classroom, Shoichi and Amiru decided to be uninvolved with each other.

“But can’t we at least talk?”

“No, I don’t want other people getting weird ideas.”

“Weird? Like what?”

“…Well, lots of things.”

Shoichi, who was slurring his words, thought a little that he might indeed be overthinking things.

What he feared was that since he and Amiru had a rather close relationship–he wasn’t sure if they were really close or not–the people around them might misinterpret their friendship.

In short, he didn’t want people to think that they were dating.

Even if they weren’t, there would sometimes be gossip in the classroom, like “this guy and that guy are dating,” or “him and her in the next class are dating.” For Shoichi, who disliked noisy conversations, it was hard to bear to be the subject of such gossip.

But… Come to think of it, I’m not noticeable enough to be talked about. Even if people thought I was going out with Amiru, they might just say, ‘Hmm…’

Then, even if people misunderstand–Shoichi shook his head, having pushed his thoughts to that point.

No, he didn’t like to have his facts perverted, no matter how much noise it would make or how it would be passed around.

That said, why did I almost think it was okay?

With the question floating vaguely in his head, Shoichi looked around the classroom during lunch break, while eating his bento which was made by Amiru.

In the center, of course, Amiru was sitting there. Today, unusually, she wasn’t talking to too many girls. She was with a girl with black hair. If Shoichi recalled correctly, she was called Mea, the person that he had taken it upon himself to have to talk to someday.

“So, if you do this here, then you get…”

“Ohh! Mea-chan’s amazing, I didn’t know this was possible!”

“Amiru really doesn’t know how to use apps, does she? That’s a little low for a high school girl today, don’t you think?”

“Ahaha, sorry. I’ve been using my brain for other things lately.”

While they were talking like this, they were playing with Amiru’s phone. Apparently, she was being instructed on how to operate it.

As usual, Amiru’s voice was loud and boisterous, but Shoichi noticed that it didn’t bother him. He wondered if he had gotten used to it while he was teaching her.

At that moment, one of his classmates walked by and said to Shoichi.

“Ah, what is it, Kashima? Are you looking at Yuzuki again?”

“Goghh!”

He nearly blew out his white rice. Shoichi coughed and looked at his classmate. It was the same boy who had asked him if he and Amiru knew each other before.

“Wh-What do you mean again…? I’m really not–“

“No, no, don’t hide it. You’ve been looking at Yuzuki a lot during your lunch break lately.”

“No, that’s…”

Shoichi wanted to say that it was because he had a lot to think about, like teaching and learning. However, he couldn’t say much since he was keeping it a secret. In the end, he had to push through with the bitter excuse, “It’s just a coincidence.”

However, his classmates still smirked and nudged Shoichi with his elbow.

“You don’t have to hide it like that… Well, I can see why you’re so into it. Yuzuki’s very popular with the boys.”

“Eh, really?”

“That’s of course. She’s so bright, cute, and friendly. She even talks to guys casually. She can be silly at times, but that’s part of her charm.”

“She’s noisy, she’s over-familiar, and she’s just plain stupid…”

“Oioi, if you say something like that, most of the boys in the class will stab you.”

Shoichi was stunned to see his classmate laughing like that. He hadn’t realized that Amiru was so popular among boys.

And at the same time, he thought. Although he had thought that it wouldn’t be a problem if his friendship with Amiru was misunderstood, it seemed that he was wrong. If he were to believe his classmate, he would be making enemies with most of the boys in class. Worst case scenario, he might have to run to a different class every day.

“By the way, I heard there are some fans from other classes too.”

“…No place in the world!”

“That said, she’s a pretty high-profile girl, so she’s not a match for you, who’s a bit of a shady character. So far, she hasn’t even tried to talk to you. I guess you don’t have a chance with Yuzuki.”

“Hah~…”

“Well, don’t feel down if your feelings aren’t reciprocated. If you’re okay with me, I’ll listen to your complaints.”

“I told you, you’re wrong… Well, whatever. I’ll take your sentiment, Takada.”

“No, my name’s Yagi Kensuke! You weren’t even close!”

You should at least learn your friends’ names! Ignoring Yagi, who shouted at him–who he wasn’t that interested in to begin with–Shoichi put his cheeks on the table and thought about it.

Now that we’re in this situation, we should try to reduce our contact with each other in the school. I also have a habit of staring blankly at Amiru, so I need to work on that too.

However, his gaze was still somehow directed at Amiru. When Amiru turned off her phone, she suddenly turned her head towards him.

Guessing she caught him looking at her, he hurriedly tried to avert his gaze.

–At that moment, Amiru came running towards him with a big smile on her face.

“Sho-chan, it’s been decided. It’s been decided! I have a request for you, Sho-chan!”

“This idiotttttttt!”

Shoichi covered Amiru’s mouth with a pale face and at the same time, ran out of the classroom with her body in his arms.

As you can imagine, after the classroom was enveloped in a moment of silence, “What was that?” “Yuzuki was talking to Kashima.” “Rather, what’s with the ‘Sho-chan?'” The classroom was enveloped in the clamor of men.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Shoichi had taken Amiru and fled to the garden behind the school building. Fortunately, there were not many people there. For the time being, there seemed to be no need to worry about the stares of others.

When he finally let go of Amiru he was holding, he stared her straight in the face indignantly.

“You, I told you, didn’t I? Don’t talk to me at school.”

“Yahh~, sorry, sorry. I just wanted to tell you right away that I’ve decided on a request. I forgot about that.”

He looked at Amiru, who didn’t seem to be sorry, and let out a sigh.

It couldn’t be helped. What happened, had happened. For now, he should just let it go and listen to what Amiru had to say.

“So, what is it? What’s your request?”

“Yes. The day after tomorrow is Sunday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That day, I was hoping you’d go on a date with me… Eh, what’s wrong, Sho-chan?”

Shoichi was about to fall forward when an unexpected word came out.

A date?! Me with Amiru?!

I wonder if Amiru’s conscious of me as a person of the opposite s*x–he thought about this and smiled. He suddenly felt that his imagination was ridiculous.

No way, that’s impossible. This is Amiru, she doesn’t mean anything by it. I’m sure she only meant ‘date’ in the sense of going out together…

“By the way, Sho-chan. A date is when you go out together, right? This is my first date.”

“…You really don’t disappoint, do you?”

“Eh, what?”

When Amiru was puzzled, Shoichi waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing.”

Thanks to this, he felt completely at ease. He relaxed and asked a series of questions.

“So, where do you want to go?”

“About that.” Amiru took out her phone and operated it to show the screen of the app. “Tadaa! Here!”

“…What? Here?”

“It’s an app that tells you about deals at different stores. And then, I heard that NION is having a special clearance sale. Bargain, bargain!”

“…Could it be, you want me to go along with you?”

“Yes, that’s right! After all, it’s up to seventy percent off! If we miss this, we’ll never get another chance to shop! I’m going to buy a lot of stuff, so help me out, Sho-chan!”

As Amiru made an excited and forceful explanation, Shoichi secretly thought, “What is a date?”

“This is just going to make me carry your bags, isn’t it?”

“Mea-chan said that’s how men and women date.”

“You, stop taking every bit of information from this Mea or whoever she is!”

Shoichi was convinced that the time for a face-to-face meeting with her was near.

However, it was true that he had promised to listen to Amiru’s wishes, and he really wanted to see her happy face. So he figured it would be okay to carry her luggage for once.

Besides, rather than thinking of it as a date, it would be less nerve-wracking to think of it as a chaperone and baggage handler.

“Oh, well. I’ll take care of the luggage at NION next Sunday, sure.”

“Yatta! That’s a promise then.”

Amiru smiled and said, “See you later,” as she walked back to the classroom.

Shoichi was about to follow, but he suddenly stopped. His brows furrowed in bitterness and he pondered.

“By the way… What am I supposed to say to the boys when I get back to the classroom?”

In the end. That day, Shoichi answered the boys’ questions about their relationship with “I don’t know,” “I don’t recall,” and “I don’t remember,” as if he were an incompetent politician.