Chapter 26 - Scores

It is now Friday. And I am currently eating breakfast with Sakurai. Aren't I only supposed to cook her lunch and dinner, you ask? Well...

Ding Dong

I heard the bell ring as I was watching some stuff in a certain video site. 'It's currently 5 am. Who would come here this early?' I thought as I made my way to the door.

There I saw the culprit. It was Sakurai, standing in front of the door.

Confused, I activated the mic on the tablet, which shows the input from the camera in the doorbell and talked to her.

"Why are you here so early?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to go to school earlier than usual today."

"At 5 am?"

"No, I'm planning to leave at 6."

"So? why are you here?"

"I want to get my lunchbox as fast as possible." She said. I just gave up interrogating her and let her in.

"... Just come inside." I said as I opened the door to my house.

I then guided her to the living room and told her:

"I'm still cooking breakfast and lunch. It'll only take me 15 minutes though. So you can just wait there on the couch and watch TV"

"Thank you very much."

"No worries. Also, have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"...I usually don't eat breakfast."

"Hah?" I was shocked.

"I mean, Most of the time, I just eat 1 or 2 slices of bread." She tried to explain herself, but I didn't listen.

"Sakurai... Please go here at 6:30 from now on."

"Eh why?"

"...I'll also cook breakfast for you."

"Eh?"

"Don't worry about it. Just keep helping me with my studies. Even though I don't really need it."

"...I'm sorry for always making you take care of me..."

"No worries. I'm just doing it for my own satisfaction. Anyways, I'm gonna go finish what i'm cooking. It'll only take a 15 minutes."

"Thank you very much." I just nodded in response as I went back to the kitchen to finish my dish.

...

..

...

"Here we go. Here's the simple breakfast I made." I said as I lay down the plates on the table.

"Ummm Inoue-san..."

"Sup?"

"...This isn't a "Simple Breakfast"..."

"Why?"

"This is similar to something my parents would make for breakfast when there's a special occasion."

"Ahahaha... It's just a traditional Japanese breakfast, you know? Fish, tamagoyaki and miso soup with some sides..."

"Back home, I'd usually only have toast though."

"Ahahaha... Anyways let's eat, shall we?"

"Sure."

We then ate the "Simple" breakfast I made. It was decent, I prefer other dishes, but what I made was still good in my opinion. I then glanced at Sakurai to see what she thought of it. She was eating them happily so I guess her opinion about it is already decided.

One question was still stuck in my mind, so I asked Sakurai.

"Why are you going to school so early in the morning?" I asked Sakurai.

"Well, I want to see the scores early."

"Why?"

"Because, There will be less people in school. I want to see the scores without the crowds."

"Heh~ I guess that's understandable."

After this, we finished our breakfast, and I gave Sakurai her lunchbox. After that, she left the house, and I went back to my daily routine of playing before going to school.

...

..

...

"Yo, Haruki-kun." I then felt a sudden push from my back. I looked to check who the culprit was, and as expected its...

"Kento..."

"Correct! Anyway, It's pretty rare to see you this early. Normally, you'd go to school a few minutes later. So why are you early?"

"Well, there was a sudden change in schedule so I had to eat earlier than usual."

"Heh~ Ah! Wanna check the scores? You said you'll be in the top 50 after all."

"Hm? Sure. There shouldn't be as much people looking at the scores right now." I told Kento as I stopped walking. He then stopped too and looked at me.

"Wanna bet?"

"Bet?"

"Yup. I bet an ice cream that you're only in the top 50 to 40."

"Hm? Sure. If you win, I'll give you an ice cream too."

"Deal!" He then sprinted off and went to the place where the scores were posted.

After I reached the place where the scores are posted. There, I found my name listed on the list. I was in...

"Eh? 15TH?!" (Kento)