After that failed negotiation, Umi and I decided to hold a strategy meeting.
Originally, it was just the two of us, but Amami-san and Nitta-san tagged along and sadly, we weren't strong enough to shake them off.
We spread out our lunches on a bench in the old building's smoking area, a familiar spot for all of us.
"So, Umi-san."
"Yes."
"…Just to clarify, you didn't get the okay?"
"…Mm. How about you, Maki?"
"Same. Well, I expected as much."
There was no way that our parents would easily approve. Yes, we were lovers, and yes, our mothers contacted each other often, but that wouldn't be enough to convince them to let us go.
'You can go wherever you want to if it's a one day trip, but if you have to stay over, then, no…'
That was the gist of their response.
We had a healthy relationship up until this point, which was why our families approved it. Even if Umi came home later than usual, they wouldn't scold me as long as I escorted her home and they would let me stay over at Umi's house whenever I wanted.
They said that they understood our feelings and they wanted to let us go if it was possible, but there was no guarantee that an accident wouldn't occur if we were to go on our own.
Since it seemed possible to negotiate with them, we decided to hold a strategy meeting for now.
"You want to go on a trip together, huh?~ How envious~ Well, what about this? Ask them to allow it under the condition that Umi gets first place, and Maki-kun gets within the top ten for the midterm?."
"That's a classic one, but it'll be difficult to do that, you know? I mean, I have to beat Nakamura-san…"
"Ah, right…"
It would be hard for me to get into the top ten, but it would be even harder for Umi to take first away from Nakamura-san.
I heard that she didn't do well in a few subjects, mainly phys ed and music, but she got near perfect scores in the other subjects. If Umi wanted to get first place, she pretty much had to get perfect scores for every subject.
On the final exam last year, Umi was ranked fifth in the grade and there was around a ten to fifteen point score gap between her and Nakamura-san.
Ten points were easy to get if you were middle rankers, but when you were competing at the top, getting that many points wouldn't be easy.
Nakamura-san always jokingly bragged about her being number one at any given opportunity, but at the same time, she was telling us the truth.
I didn't understand why someone as smart as her attended our school, but she was a big hurdle that Umi had to pass.
"Well, if that's impossible then you two just have to compromise. Like, instead of going on a trip, Rep should just stay at Umi's house for three nights or if you two really want to go, just bring an adult along."
She was right, it would be more realistic to do it that way.
It would be better to have an adult like mom or Sora-san to tag along if we really wanted to stay over in a hotel or an inn.
"What do you think, Umi?"
"I don't know… Dad said he will be home during the break, but who knows… Mom will definitely refuse and brother… Nah, it's impossible, he won't go…"
"For me, mom has work, so she can't tag along even if she wants to, but anyway, Daichi-san is coming home?"
"Yeah, I talked with him over the phone the other day, he said he wanted to see you, Maki. Mom said since he'll be home, you should just stay over at our place instead of going on a trip."
I hadn't seen Daichi-san since last December, so if I were to stay over, it would be the perfect opportunity to talk and thank him for everything that he had done for both of us. But, if I were to do that, it meant I would be abandoning our original plan.
"…Y'know."
Nitta-san suddenly called out to us.
"If you really want to have sex, then just do it. Besides, it's been six months already, isn't it about time?"
""Cough!""
We immediately spit out the tea we were drinking.
"N-Ninacchi?! S-Se… What are you saying?!"
"What? Isn't it obvious? Lovers going somewhere alone, doing something like that is normal, no? Besides, they didn't seem to hide anything from their conversation, unless you take their words at face value, that is. What did you think they would do anyway, Yuuchin?"
"U-Um… Sightseeing? E-Eating or… Just playing around?"
As she said that, she turned her gaze toward us.
Her gaze seemed to ask, 'You weren't talking about this?'
"U-Uh, of course not! Don't just believe what Nitta-san says! Our intentions are pure!"
"Y-Yeah! We just want to have some fun together… As for what Nina said… Um… That's not the main purpose…"
"…Y-You two are perverts!"
""Uu…""
Amami-san's face turned redder as she turned it away from us.
I thought that this kind of talk would be normal among high school girls, but it seemed that Amami-san was quite innocent in that regard. Meanwhile, Nitta-san was more experienced with dating, which explained her attitude toward this kind of talk. In any case, it was quite a sensitive topic.
"Anyway, let's forget about Yuuchin for now. So, what are you two going to do? If it's impossible to go on a trip, just try to look for a good place. As long as you two plan it properly, it will be fine."
"I understand where you're coming from, Nitta-san, but it isn't that simple…"
Honestly, mom and Sora-san would definitely be okay with it if we were to have good enough preparation before actually doing it.
However, this would be our first time, I wanted to make it memorable.
"Well, I get it, Rep. I thought that way back when I was in middle school, but honestly, it isn't that big of a deal."
"You talk about it as if you've experienced it already, Nina…"
"I mean, I've dated someone before… Ugh I don't want to talk about him… But, if you insist, I guess I could talk…"
"You look bitter… Well, sure, it'll make a good reference, I guess."
"Umi says yes, what about you, Yuuchin?"
"I-I… I don't really want to hear it…"
"Alright, tomorrow, after school, at Yuuchin's place."
"I said I don't want to hear it! F-Fine, if you want to use my place that badly…"
"Just say that you're curious, Yuuchin~"
"Jeez, you pervert!"
…Somehow those three entered their own world. Anyway, I didn't want to give up on the trip since I wanted to see various places with Umi alone.
In any case, we would continue to negotiate with our parents. I wonder if there was some kind of compromise that we could agree on?