The thought of giving this bracelet back to Amano on a school day kept me awake, almost the entire night. I didn't think of it that much back at the pool, but doing a task like giving a bracelet to the opposite sex, even if they just carelessly drop it? That's impossible! Not only that, but to someone like Amano??? Arguably one of, if not, the prettiest girl on the entire planet?! Just with a regular girl would be pretty hard to do.
Yeah... I did say that it's easy to talk to Amano; when there's no one around that is. Just thinking about all the death stares that everyone would be giving is making me sick. Thinking back... I am genuinely surprised about how I acted yesterday.
"H-hey Amano... um, look, you dropped this back then–" No! That sounds dumb.
In front of the mirror, an idiot kept on rehearsing a certain line he was going to say. That idiot was me.
"H-hey... how's it goin—"
A loud sound that originated from my small intestines, filled the room. I was so engrossed that I actually forgot to eat. I'll deal with this later. Besides, eating can help you think straight, I think... or not? Whatever...
After making my way downstairs, I immediately went to the fridge to look for food. I was greeted with cold air, nothing more.
...Maybe there's food at the table. I sighed.
It seems like my Mother forgot to cook... You do know that the only thing I can cook is canned goods, right...? Yes, most of those only require heating. Anyways, she seemed like she was in a hurry today. Getting late, maybe? I'll just buy some bread at the convenience store.
——————
It sure is crowded here. Well, since it's Sunday, most of the workers are on their day off.
Let's see... since I'm already here, might as well do some shopping. I put some eggs in my basket, a couple of olive oil, and some kitchen essentials. After that, I placed myself in the long queue.
Looks like it will take me at least ten minutes to get this over with... I did a three-sixty and scanned my surroundings. A lot of things caught my attention: there is quite a number of students roaming the store, a shorter queue right beside me, and a wallet. A wallet? There is a wallet, just below the woman standing in front of me. Maybe she dropped it. Should I tell her? I think it would be devastating for her if she didn't notice it until she leaves. It would probably be gone by then.
"H-hey, excuse me, I think you—"
"Huh?" The woman, startled, turned around to face me, a puzzled look on her face.
I didn't notice it up until now, but she's one of those students that roamed the store, I can tell by the familiar uniform she's wearing. It's the same uniform that the girls from my school wear. Also, she's cute, a useless information. But why are there so many people in their uniforms today? School's supposed to be closed.
"Sorry, but can you repeat what you said? I didn't hear you the first time."
"Oh- sorry about that, I was trying to tell you that you dropped your wallet." I pointed below her.
"Ooops~ I'm completely clueless. Thank you for telling me!" She gave me a big cute smile before turning on her heel.
"N-no problem..."
...Woah... I was so taken aback I think I started blushing. That was so stupid, I hope she didn't notice. By the way, did I see her somewhere before? Her face looks familiar... Hmm, I probably just walked past her at school.
Speaking of school... the moment that thought came to mind, I felt that as if my face turned into something unpleasant. I still haven't thought about how I would give that bracelet back. Directly giving it to her would be too frightening, so that is out of the options. Leave it at her locker? No, too creepy. Hmm, should I give it to her at lunch break? That could be a good idea... I guess I'll do just that. I can be a genius at times, huh? All that's left is what to say. I'll think about it when I get home.
It took about five more minutes before it was finally my turn. I placed all my groceries at the counter and paid the exact amount.
"Thank you for shopping!" The lady said as I'm walking towards the exit.
Walking with this many groceries is a pain in the ass. Luckily, I only have to walk up to my bike, which is parked at the entrance of the convenience store.
After reaching the parking place, I placed the groceries in the basket in front of my bike, and I set off.
I don't know if it has something to do with the traffic, or if it's the crowd, but it sure is extra hot today. I'm actually starting to sweat a lot. This heat is making my throat dry. I need to find a place to cool off before I died of heatstroke. Luckily, I managed to find a coffee shop on the way.
I looked for a parking spot, and hurriedly went inside.
It's a regular sized, air-conditioned coffee shop, which is perfect. There's quite a few people and a lot of them are couples. What a sight for sore eyes.
I found an empty sit at the left corner of the store. The spot looks peaceful so I walked towards it.
Just as I was about to pull the wooden chair, a small hand, a hand of a girl, had also touched it at the same time.
"Huh?" I muttered as I looked beside me.
"Oh! Sorry about that, I didn't see you there."
This voice sounds familiar...
"Huh? Aren't you that same boy from earlier?"
Just as I thought.
"W-what a coincidence..." Why do I get shy when talking to someone in public?!
"Speaking of earlier, I still haven't properly thanked you."
"No, no, it's okay, you don't have too, I just pointed at your wallet, not much of a deal." I waved both of my hands back and forth. I'm right, though, it's really not a big deal. It's not like I saved her from falling or anything, I think just about anyone would do the same in my place.
"Oh come on now. I totally had no idea that I dropped it you know? If you didn't tell me, I would've probably end up crying at the cashier."
"It's really not that—"
"Come on, stop complaining already. What do you want to order? It's my treat."
I am no match for this girl.
We ended up sharing the same table, because she kept on insisting that we do. I looked at the menu to find something that would quench my thirst.
Some of these prices are crazy... I'll try to find something much cheaper. A smoothie is a great option, I guess I'll go with that.
I glanced at the girl sitting in front of me; she's certainly cute. With those beautiful, silky brown hair that cuts right at her collarbone, and that cute smile of her's. I bet she's super popular.
"Are you done picking yet?"
"U-um, yes... I would like to get a chocolate smoothie."
"Great choice!" She gave me a thumbs up. "Excuse me!" She raised her hand and a waiter approached us, taking our orders. I have this lingering question in my mind that I've been meaning to ask her. No, not why is she in her uniform, a different one.
"Hey... by any chance... do you happen to go to Horikoshi High School?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Mainly because of the uniform, and I also go there."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled. "What year?"
"I'm already on my final year." Somehow, that statement felt kind of sad.
"Same here. Which class?"
"Class A."
Hey eyes widened.
"The same as Kei-chan!?"
"Y-yeah..." What's up with this girl... that surprised me. But it seems like she knows Amano-san, by the way she calls her by a nickname.
"Lucky..." She muttered
"By any chance, are you related to Amano-san?"
"We're friends." She sounded like she's proud of that. Of course, anyone would be proud to be friends with Amano. Wait... did she say friends? Ahhh, that's why her face is familiar. I've seen her with Amano before, along with the other friend.
"Here's your order." The waiter finally arrived, with a chocolate smoothie along with an espresso.
"Thank you!"
Despite her looks, she's pretty well mannered. I don't mean anything bad by that statement, it's just a common stereotype that pretty girls tend to be disrespectful.
"By the way, how's Kei-chan holding up?" She said with a concerned look.
"If you're talking about friends, she made none." I don't know why I assumed friends.
"Yeah... that do sound like her..." She sighed. "Sometimes, I worry about her, you know? She's not very good at communicating, she always has this intimidating presence around her, and she is not bothered by the idea of being alone. I think future is going to be hard if she continues to be like that."
I certainly get where she's coming from. But Amano can handle herself pretty well. I mean, her achievements alone is enough proof.
"You two seems close though, how did you manage to do that?"
It seems like all the memories came flooding in, as a grin formed at the face of this girl.
"Umm, to sum it all up. I gave her food."
"Pfft" I unintentionally laughed after hearing that. "That certainly sounds like her."
"Hmm, what's this? You sound like you know her quite a lot." She gave me a teasing smile.
"I-It's not like that, we just got paired up to clean the pool by chance." I denied her assumptions. She probably thinks that I like Amano or something.
"Okay... by the way, you still haven't introduced yourself."
Crap, I forgot the most important part when it comes to socializing. Seriously, how dumb can you be.
"Sorry about that. My name is Tanaka Kenji, nice to meet you."
"Kenji-kun huh... that's a beautiful name. My name's Iwasaki Rini, nice to meet you too."
First name? Well, It's not like I'm bothered by it, so, whatever... I continued to sip on my drink.