"Phew, that's only the morning class? Only three hours have passed but I feel so tired…"
Amami-san stretched her hands as the bell rang to announce the end of the second period. It was the start of our fifteen minutes break.
She didn't fall asleep at all during the lecture, that was why she looked so sleepy right now.
"Unlike school, one class here is ninety minutes long, I lost my concentration near the end too… Oi Yuu, get away from me, it's hot!"
"You say that, but you do this all the time with Maki-kun, it's unfair!"
"H-He's special, okay? A-Also, stop dawdling, I'm hungry! Our break is shorter here!"
Afternoon classes started at 1pm and just like in the morning, there would be two classes. We had to use our break time efficiently here.
"What do you want to eat, Maki? There's a convenience store on the first floor, we can buy some food and eat it here."
"I kinda want to eat outside, there are plenty of restaurants nearby. Besides, I don't think we can eat in peace here…"
"Right. Nina and I aside, I don't think Yuu will enjoy eating here."
After she said that, Umi turned her gaze around and in that instant, the boys who had been staring at us turned their gazes away.
Did they really think that we didn't notice their gazes? I had been noticing their antics since the first recess. It was hard not to notice their fervent gazes and mutterings toward Amami-san.
'Who's that cute girl? Why is that dull guy there?' and so on.
We didn't say it out loud, but we were quite disgusted by their behavior.
Also, there were faces that clearly weren't here in the morning. There was no way that they were the people who came late to the summer class because it was the first day of class. In other words, they were people who came over after hearing about Amami-san. They definitely came here to check her out.
"Hahaha… Sorry, everyone. Even though we're here to study, you have to deal with this because of me…"
"It's not your fault, Yuuchin, don't apologize… Seriously, what are they even doing? This is a cram school, you're supposed to look at the blackboard, not ogle girls."
"Agreed. But, that's rich coming from you, Nina. Wouldn't you be the one to ogle if there's a cool guy here?"
"I'm a changed woman, okay? I've gone through some things too and honestly, I don't want to bother with that kind of thing now. I don't need a boyfriend, I'm happy that you two are with me. I don't care if Rep is here or not, though~"
"Stop making me the butt of your jokes."
"Hehe, stop teasing him, Ninacchi. He's part of our group. It wouldn't be fun to leave him behind~"
We successfully cheered her up with that joke. We left the classroom and headed outside the cram school.
On our way, there were still people glancing at Amami-san. It was understandable, since she stood out a lot.
We were used to seeing her, but that wasn't the case for other people. That was especially true for people who weren't from our school.
"Where should we go, Maki? Nina, Yuu, do you have a place in mind?"
"I don't. I'm a bit tight on money though, so we shouldn't go to expensive places. What about you, Ninacchi?"
"Me too. Rep, choose a place for us."
They left the decision to me. I had no idea where to go either though.
Since it was lunch time and we were in the business district, the adults were also lining up for their lunch break. If we took too long choosing a place, we would miss our afternoon class.
We could go back to the convenience store to buy something, but that would be dumb, wouldn't it?
"Since we don't have much time, let's go over there."
In the end, I pointed to a certain hamburger chain restaurant that I usually went to.
There wasn't anything special about the place, but the prices there were reasonable even if you ordered a full meal. The place was also spacious and there were seats available. We could eat and return to class quickly if we were to go there.
…Also, this was the place I usually went to with Umi whenever we went out (or on our dates). Because we loved our junk food, we often went there instead of family restaurants and the like.
"As expected of Rep, choosing a place like this… Well, not like I mind, the food is tasty."
"I love the nuggets and the fries there! Ah, the drinks have too much ice in them though, so it's really bland…"
"I feel you. Alright, Maki and I will order the food, so you two go get us a seat."
""Roger~""
We parted from Amami-san and Nitta-san and immediately joined the line.
They told us to just order whatever we wanted, so we decided to order the same thing for all four of us. We only needed to change up our side dishes so Amami-san could have her fill of the fries and nuggets. Also, since Umi and I loved mustard, we would be ordering that for our sauce.
"Maki~"
"Hm?"
"Ma~ki~"
"Uh, what?"
"Jeez, you know what I want, just do it!"
"Then ask for it like a normal person. Well, fine, I'll let it slide."
"Hehe, here's my hand~"
"Mm."
After Amami-san and Nitta-san were out of our sights, we held each other's hands.
I managed to concentrate on studying thanks to Amami-san sitting between us, but it still felt frustrating to not be able to touch Umi even though we were so close to each other.
"Umi… After today's class is done…"
"Hm?"
"Do you want to work on our homework together at my place? I'm in the mood for it, maybe we can get some work done today."
"…Will you invite Yuu and Nina as well?"
"Of course not, it'll be just the two of us."
I knew that studying was important, but I wanted to spend my time with Umi as much as possible. It was summer vacation, after all.
Such feelings welled up within me as soon as I held her hands.
I'll blame the summer for this.
"Hehe, my Maki is so selfish~ But I like that idea. I'll call my mom and tell her I'll eat at your house today."
"Sorry for asking out of the blue, Umi."
"It's fine, I don't mind spoiling my selfish boyfriend~ Come here~"
"Don't do that please, we're in public."
"Can't hear you~ Here, here~"
I finally managed to fill up my Umi-energy that I'd been craving since early morning.
Now, I'm looking forward to the end of class.