The ball strikes Fumio in the abdomen, causing him to collapse to the ground on his back and stare at the ceiling; Susumu approaches his fallen colleague and picks up the ball that is on the floor.
We have now reached the point where we last left off prior to the rewind when Fumio extends his hand and cries, in a tortured voice, "Avenge us," his arm then becomes limp and falls to the hardwood floor.
He stands among his fallen teammates, fixes his evil eyes on his foes, and tightens his grasp on the ball before he—
Susumu has his eyes closed and appears to have a noticeable lump on his head. "I failed you all..." he murmured. It appears that the squad lost the dodgeball match; poor guy.
Then a teacher shouts, "Alright, that's enough for today, you can now change back into your school uniform!" after blowing a whistle.
Everyone on the bleachers stood up and started walking about, including the trio, who swapped out of their P.E gear and into their regular school uniform after entering the locker room.
As we watch Susumu adjust his tie and put on a brown suit jacket, he ponders,
Susumu sighs, then feels something tap his shoulder, and turns around to find Takashi with an apologetic look and a warm smile, telling, "Don't worry, I would've likely done the same thing if I was pitted against Shinsato-san."
Takashi assumed Susumu lost the game because he felt terrible about throwing a ball at a girl, but in reality, he was fatigued and couldn't throw the ball accurately. Susumu nods slowly, "Y—yeah... thanks."
Hmm... It appears that the trio will remain silent for the remainder of the day; perhaps I should skip to the end of the school day?
(+ TIME ADVANCE+)
We see the trio sitting on a bench right outside of the school building, they seem to have cooled down from the embarrassment they experienced during the volleyball match.
"Do you guys want to check out the maid café near Ishibashi-san's house?" Takashi said out of the blue, which shocked me as well.
Fumio and Susumu turn to Takashi, then stare at the sky before returning to Takashi, both nodding feverishly, and the trio stands up from their bench before gathering their bags and heading out of the school premises.
Susumu then remembers walking by the bike parking area where he had parked his bike, slows down, and his buddies turn to stare at him before Fumio asks, "Huh? What's the problem, Ishibashi-san?"
Susumu smiles awkwardly before motioning with his hand in front of him, "Sorry, I forgot I took my bike to school today..." He sighs deeply, "I'll be right after you guys, don't worry."
He then runs up to his bike as the two stare at him with calm expressions; these are the ideal friendships I wish I had when I was in school, but instead, I was teamed up with a dude with glasses who was fascinated with music and a guy who loves sports.
Sorry for getting off track again! Susumu says as he unhooks his bike from the railing and drags it back toward his pals, "Sorry about this again, let's go."
The motley crew of pals then begin strolling toward the maid café, now accompanied by a bike partner, passing the same landmarks Susumu had to pass through, including the park with a cherry blossom tree in the center, the convenience store run by an elderly man, and, finally, the maid café.
Takashi then lays his hand on his chin, puzzled. Susumu senses his confusion and says, "What's the matter, Fujikawa-san?"
Takashi shakes his head in disbelief as he turns to Susumu, "Ah, well... we never see Shinsato-san outside of school, right?"
Susumu and Fumio look up at the sky for a moment before returning their gaze to Takashi. Susumu responds, "Well, if I remember correctly, she has a part-time job somewhere, but she never told us what that 'somewhere' is."
Takashi then swings the glass door open, followed by a girl in a maid outfit greeting them, "Welcome home, master!—" She looks over his shoulder and observes the other two, "Oh wait— welcome home, master's!"
She then motions for the three of them to enter, and they all do so compulsively, clearly enchanted by the girl's total sweetness; I too, would be charmed.
They are then seated at a table, looking at the menu. Susumu squints his eyes, not because his eyesight is bad, but because he is gazing intently at the small maid print on the menu.
Takashi scoffs, "Stop hogging the menu, Ishibashi-san," and Susumu looks at him blankly before chuckling, "Sorry about that; I'll take the coffee, please."
Fumio then raises his hand slightly and says, "Me too." Fumio, when did you become a guy of few words? He must be embarrassed at the sight of such adorable maids.
Takashi takes a moment to read through the menu many times before concluding and pointing to the tea, "Can I get this one, please?"
"Is that all? Okay! Your order will be ready in a moment, master's!" says the maid serving them before leaving them at their table.
Fumio and Takashi take out their phones, while Susumu begins to gaze around the café, reflecting on the fact that he has never been to a maid café before, so he is soaking it all in gradually.
"Shinsato-san?" he calls out to her. The person he suspects is Ayano stiffens, grips the menu tighter, and slowly turns to him, "I—Ishibashi-san?"
Her face is flushed, so she covers it with the menu before approaching Susumu and whispers, "Wh—what are you doing here?!!" She then observes the other two sitting at the table, who wave at her with a puzzled expression, and steam begins to escape her head.
"We wanted to check out the maid café, so we came here... but we didn't expect you to be here, okay?" Susumu says, turning away from her and tapping his fingers on the wooden table.
Ayano puffs out her cheeks, "Why'd you have to come here while I'm on my shift?" Susumu taps the wooden table faster, "You could have texted us on the group chat, you know?" "
Ayano sighs, "W—well... I left that chat, remember?" She then continues quietly, "Even if I was still in there, it would have been awkward to tell you guys I worked at a maid café, but there's no use now that you guys know..." The trio tilts their heads, "What was that?"
Ayano waves her hands in front of her and says, "N—nothing!" A maid approaches from behind her and whispers in her ear, "Whisper... whisper..." Ayano nods and passes the menu to the maid... Hey, I can hear thoughts but not whispers?
"I guess my break begins now..." Ayano muttered, taking a seat near Fumio and resting her head on the table. By the way, she still hasn't changed out of her maid uniform.
We next see a maid approaching them with a tray in her right hand and cups on top of the tray. The maid then sets the drinks on the table before walking away, holding the tray close to her chest.
The three males are in awe of Ayano; who would have guessed that the class darling would work at a maid café? Not me, at any rate.
Ayano scowls and mutters, "What are you staring at?"
Susumu then stares at his coffee cup, Takashi pulls out his phone and stares at the screen, and Fumio inspects the shine of the table.
Susumu then takes a sip of his coffee, his eyes gleamed as the flavor envelops his taste buds, and he thinks, "It's good— no, it's tasty!" Meanwhile, Fumio and Takashi stare at him, puzzled, before taking a sip of their own.
With her purple eyes, Ayano straightens her stance as she watches the boys fall in love with their coffee and tea, and before you know it, Fumio has finished his cup.
Fumio exhales with relief, "That was refreshing..." He then stares at his phone, his countenance changing from relief to discomfort,
He then apologizes to the entire group, "S—sorry, but I need to go to my part-time job," the others sigh, and Ayano steps out of the way to let Fumio to pass.
As Fumio gets out of his seat, he apologizes again and says, "Sorry about this, we can come here another time," he then pulls out his wallet and hands some money to Susumu, saying, "Make sure to use this to pay for my coffee, thanks!"
Fumio then runs out of the café, and Ayano sits back down on the Fumio-less seat, Susumu then stands up before asking, "Where's the bathroom, Shinsato-san?" Ayano then lazily nods toward the door, "It's over there."
Susumu gives her a thumbs up before departing. "My folks are urging me to get home, curfew, and all that," Takashi adds as he rises from his seat.
Ayano says, nodding, "Sure, just leave the money on the table and Ishibashi-san will pay for everything," Takashi pulls out his wallet before leaving the money on the table, then waves goodbye to Ayano before walking out.
Susumu emerges from the bathroom, glancing at the virtually empty table, "Huh? Where'd Fujikawa-san go?" Ayano then puts her head on her hand, "His curfew and all that jazz."
Susumu reclines and mutters, "Hmm..." He then takes a brief drink of his coffee, uneasy stillness fills the room, even the other customers are experiencing a wave of second-hand discomfort, I feel awkward as well!
Someone has to break the ice, but who will it be? It would be really boring if they just departed without even speaking to each other...
Ayano then mutters something, "How've you been, Ishibashi-san?"
Susumu stares at her while sipping on his cup before replying, "I've been doing fine... y—you know, why are you asking me these questions now that the other two have left?"
Susumu then takes a sip of his cup, "Whatever..." Ayano then looks aside and makes a bad attempt at whistling, "Huh? I merely saw you enter the café, Ishibashi-san."
Ayano then stares at Susumu, opening her mouth slightly but quickly closing it before looking away, "Should I tell him?" she thinks, slowly nodding and going back to Susumu, "H—hey Ishibashi-san..."
Susumu tilts his head, putting the cup down again, "What is it?" Ayano fiddles with her thumbs, drawing in some air as she steels herself before answering...
"Can you assist me with the visual novel I'm working on?"