"How much for this onigiri?"
Saki was checking the receipt while I was gobbling down the onigiri. "120 points."
"Good quality. A little bit dry, though."
"Save it, Hiryu-kun! Wait for Ichinose-san and Azuma-san."
"Okay. Here I thought that we took a long time. You ran into them by any chance?"
"I did. They were checking the cosmetic products there when I saw them."
"No wonder. You always take a long time as well whenever you see beauty products. No interest for them today?"
"Hehe, I got my own cosmetics already. I thought I should bring them after some consideration."
"Smart. You save some points there."
I drank some coffee from the convenience store, and suffice to say, it was weird. I didn't know how to describe it, but it wasn't that good. I was hoping that the café we were about to go to would have good coffee.
"You want some of this coffee?"
"Just a bit."
We didn't know what to do while waiting for the other two. Saki still looked drowsy from the lack of sleep. She was wobbling with the cup of coffee in her hand. I couldn't let her fall and get coffee all over her clothes, so I pulled her in to let her lean on me.
"How's the taste?"
"U-uh…Taste? Hah…Not bad!" she stammered.
"Is there something wrong? Why are your words getting chopped up?"
"N-nothing! I'm just sleepy, y'know, haha."
"I see. Well, you should take a nap when we get to our dorms. I need you at full energy to make the best katsudon ever. I'm counting on you."
"Mmm!"
People were walking in and out of the convenience store. The students were sneaking a look at us as usual, but I had become accustomed to those gazes. They weren't long stares anymore, just short glances with a mixed hint of amazement and fright. If I had to guess, the first-year leaderboard was probably the cause. This was a good chance to befriend many people, even though I didn't want to stand out that much initially.
Saki was barely holding it together. She might have succumbed to sleepiness if it weren't for that coffee I gave her. The weather that day was a little breezy as expected, so many students were gathering indoors. If Ichinose and Azuma couldn't get out fast enough, the café might run out of seats.
"How long have we been waiting?" Saki spoke softly.
"About 5 minutes. Should we head inside to find them? It's rather cold considering your outfit today."
"It's okay. I want to stay here."
"Right. At least wear something warm." I took off my jacket and put it on her.
"Wouldn't you be cold?"
"I wore another layer just in case, and I was right," I looked at her with concerned eyes.
"Sorry. Thanks also."
A light smile broke out of me. As almost my whole life was devoid of family and friends, I came to be very protective of Saki. She was the only person that kept appearing in my life and never disappeared.
What would I think about when I'm bored to death? Probably Saki. What would I think about when I'm doing something fun? Probably her. What would I think about when danger awaits? Not even myself, but probably her. Apocolypse waiting to happen? Hirawa Saki.
Like a single ray of light in the vast darkness, she too was emitting that light brighter than the night itself, and I was basking in that small spot of warmth.
"Sorry that it took quite a while!" a faint shout could be heard behind us. Ichinose and Azuma were jogging as fast as they could to get to us.
"The line was way too long when we were done shopping," Ichinose spoke as she grasped for air.
"We bought a lot of snacks for us. Look," Azuma's face brightened as she opened the grocery bags. Indeed, there was a variety of snacks overcrowding in that plastic bags. Some were my all-time favorites, and some were brand new that I hadn't tried before.
I knew Saki wouldn't like it if I devoured all these snacks, but what could I do? I didn't personally buy it nor request it. The snacks came straight to me uninvited, so I had no choice. Sorry, Saki.
"Let me carry that for you." They were probably tired from waiting in line, so I wanted to help.
"You already have bags of your own, Hinode-san. We'll be fine," Azuma smiled dearly.
"If you say so."
"By the way, what did you guys buy? Your groceries are even more loaded than ours."
"We planned on making katsudon tonight! Ingredients are pretty cheap here, so we bought loads of them. I hope the dorm has kitchen equipment all set, or else we gonna dissipate all our fortune on the first day for real."
"That sounds fun! Can we join? I'll help you out, of course. I know a thing or two about chopping things here and there," Ichinose let out a chuckle.
The girls shared a laugh while standing in the breezy weather. The scenes of nature were all too familiar to me, and they reminded me of my home. I missed it, but I thought I would miss them too if I left. Had this school become a second home in my mind?
'I don't know.' The love one can have for something can derive from such simple things. I absentmindedly stared at the girls joking with each other and then turned to see the bustling life of many students. 'I could always return here,' I thought to myself.
"Heyy! Stop staring at the sky and let's go!" Saki shouted from afar. While I was in a daze, they had walked quite a bit of distance. I was amazed that they almost forgot about me. I guess standing still does make you invisible, after all.