"Oh that? I never applied for this school…"
As he said that, Mai's expression froze, looking at him like he was an impostor. She was wondering, 'There's no way he is an impostor, right? I mean… he scored full marks for every exam, right?'
"What do you mean…?" Mai said while giving Kei a suspicious look.
"Ah, I mean I never applied. Please keep this a secret but… I was scouted by the school."
Just as Mai was about to ask him further about how he got into the school, the waitress from earlier returned with a large plate and drink. As she placed it down onto the table, their eyes widened wondering what was happening.
"Okay, here is your meal. Sorry for the wait."
The waiter served a relatively big plate of Carbonara Seafood Pasta big enough for two people and a large float with two curly straws. Kei finally realized what was going on. As he and Mai were having their conversations, he thought it was strange that the waiter didn't come to take their orders. 'So, this was why…'
"Here are the couples set dinner for the two lovebirds!"
When the waitress left them alone after serving their food, the two of them stared at the big plate and drink in front of them.
"…Why did you have to say we are a couple…"
"I-it can't be helped! I-I was just trying to save money!" Mai said as her face was flushed with red.
"And… it ended up like this…" Kei said as he was starting to blush slightly.
As the two of them were blushing while looking at the food in front of them, the other patrons of the restaurant were looking at them.
"W-well… it can't be helped…" Mai said as she nervously grabbed one of the forks given to them and started twirling the pasta around it.
Kei looked at her dumbfounded thinking, 'She's actually going for it?!'.
"I… I can't eat this alone you know? We mustn't put this food to waste…" A blushing Mai said as she put the pasta in her mouth while urging Kei to start eating as well.
"W-well… thank you for the meal…" Kei said as he also picked up the other fork to start eating the pasta as well.
As the two of them ate, they could feel the stares of the other patrons in the restaurant. Kei was receiving deadly stares from the other high school boys in the diner whilst Mai was receiving the same stares from the girls in the diner.
"This is unfair! How could he get to do this with such a cute girl!"
"This is unfair! How could she get to do this with such a hot guy!"
As Kei continued to force himself to eat, he could notice that Mai was looking slightly sad.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Do you… not like this?" Mai asked with a depressed look on her face.
When Kei saw her like this, he couldn't help but feel guilty for making her feel this way in the first place. Even if he was a cold person to other people in the first place, she was the first person aside from Chihaya that he accepted and could call a friend. And yet, even though he tried to push her away so many times, he had developed a rather soft spot for her over the short time that they had spent together.
With a newfound determination of not wanting to make her sad, Kei instantly started eating the pasta enthusiastically trying to enjoy the food. Mai's eyes widened and looked at him in shock.
"What are you talking about? Come on, eat up. I can't finish this by myself."
"Yes! Heheh~" Mai said as she gave him a rare, cheerful smile, that she never showed anyone at school before.
The waitress who served them the food was standing at the side was looking at them as the pair ate together while thinking, 'Ara, what a shy couple. Maybe I should help them a bit.' She then approached them and whipped out her phone and hid it with her hands behind her.
"Did you enjoy your meal?" The waitress asked as the plate of pasta was nearly finished.
"Yes, it was delicious. Thank you very much." A smiling Mai replied.
"Now, as part of our couple's promotion, it is time for the commemorative couple's photo!"
""Eh…?"" The two of them said in unison when the waitress said those words.
"Yes! It is part of the package! It is a mandatory picture so I am afraid we can't take no for an answer."
As the waitress said that while smiling away, Kei was reluctant to do it. Sure, it was one thing to eat together, but taking a couple's photo kind of took it a step too far. Then again, it was called a 'couples' promotion for a reason. As he was about to argue about it, Mai cut him off before he could say anything.
"W-w-we'll do it…" Mai said as she was looking down on the floor with her face completely red.
"Ara, that's the spirit! Now which pose would you like to take? You can feed each other pasta, or drink from the cup at the same time!"
"W-what?!" At this point, Kei's head was spinning from all the events that were unfolding before him.
Kei looked at Mai again wondering 'what in the world has gotten into you?!'. For the first time since meeting him, Mai was finally able to see a clearly different expression coming out of Kei. She suddenly thought, 'I want to see more of his expressions…'. Before could say anything else, Mai looked at Kei as if she had a newfound determination and picked up the fork and twirled the pasta around the fork once more.
"O-oy, what are you doing?"
"Here… Aaaaaan~."
"A-are you serious?" Kei's face grew increasingly flustered.
"Mouu… it's part of the package so we have to do this."
After some persuading, Kei finally gave in and took the bite as the waitress snapped their pictures. Thinking that it was finally over, Kei sat back down feeling embarrassed. As this was happening, there was an ominous aura surrounding the two of them. They were getting stares from the entire restaurant. Who wouldn't look at them? An incredibly cute Mai and a handsome Kei were being looked at as a cute young couple from the parents in the restaurant whereas jealous high school students who were still dining there watched in envy.
"I-is that enough?"
"You two make such a cute couple! But then… we need you to feed each other~"
"Then why were you snapping away?!"
"Because I thought I should capture these adorable moments for you two."
The two of them proceeded to reluctantly feed each other as the waitress snapped away. The waitress later sent them the photos that she snapped before proceeding to delete the copies on her own phone to respect their privacy.
When they left the restaurant, Kei could see the waitress in a corner of the restaurant being lectured by the store manager about how she was adding random terms like taking couple photos and whatnot to the promotion.
As the two exited the restaurant in what felt like an eternity, they proceeded to walk back to their apartment.
"Eh? Aren't those two…?"