After a successful birthday celebration, came Obon. Because of it, Nozomu also got time off from practice, so the five of us decided to go out together.
Because of Nozomu's schedule, it was rare for all five of our schedules to line up. The only time it happened was in early August when Amami-san held a barbeque party at her house.
We planned to go to a pool nearby. If we were to take the train near our school, it would take half an hour to get there. The pool was located inside an amusement park and it was only open in the summer. Since that was the case, the pool was filled with various things like water slides. Also, unlike a normal pool, there weren't any lanes for serious swimming.
We could just go to the beach, but we would need to drive there. The nearest beach was a bit far from our place. With a car, it would take more than an hour to get there. In the end, we decided to go to the nearest pool instead.
Also, we had no one to take us to the beach since both Sora-san and Eri-san were busy this time.
"Yo, Maki."
"Morning."
I was waiting alone near the bench by the station's gate. Nozomu was the first to arrive.
Naturally, he wasn't wearing his baseball uniform. Since I rarely saw him in his casual clothes, it was quite refreshing to see. He was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of trousers from the same brand. The way he dressed wasn't all that different from me, but he somehow looked way better than me. Even from my perspective as a man, he was quite good looking.
Seeing him like this, it was no wonder that he was popular.
"You're here early. There's still thirty minutes before the meetup, you know?"
"Speak for yourself… Are you that excited for today?"
"Well, I mean… You're also a man, so you understand my feelings, right?"
"Yeah, but, you know…"
We were going to the pool with three girls, after all. That meant all three of them would be wearing their swimsuits. It was hard for anyone to not feel conscious of them.
Nozomu in particular, because he still held feelings toward Amami-san, his desire of seeing her in a swimsuit must've been really hard to suppress.
"By the way, why aren't you here with Asanagi? I thought you two'd be arriving here first and flirting without a care in the world like usual."
"We were together up until we left my house, but she said there's something she wanted to check together with the other two, so she went to Amami-san's place first."
"I see. So can we expect something good from the three of them?"
"Maybe. Don't stare at them too much though, you'll creep them out."
We were planning to stay in the pool as long as we could, so we would be seeing them in their swimsuits. Unlike Nozomu though, I had to keep my gaze in check because I didn't want Umi to be jealous.
…Though in return, I could stare at Umi as much as I wanted.
Of course I'd also take care to not stare at her too much. I didn't want other people to think I was a pervert after all.
Time passed as Nozomu and I chatted randomly about our summer assignments. The three girls finally arrived at the scene.
Amami-san, who walked in front of the other two, noticed us and waved.
"There you are! Good morning, Maki-kun! Nozomu-kun!"
"Morning, Amami-san."
"Y-Yo, morning…"
Today was the first time in a while that the five of us hung out together outside of school, so we were all dressed appropriately for the occasion. I was wearing the same outfit I wore for the last trip, but this time, I had Umi take care of the accessories I wore so I wouldn't look completely out of place.
"Hehe, I'm excited since it's been a while since we got together like this. How do I look, you two? I don't look strange, right?~"
"I don't know… You look pretty as always, Amami-san. What do you think, Nozomu?"
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah, she looks pretty, yeah…"
"Really? Yay~ Also, Umi and Nina were the ones who picked my swimsuit today, you know?~ Anyway, let's have some fun!"
"Y-Yeah…"
Amami-san was acting like her usual self, but Nozomu had lost his previous vigor and was trying hard to avoid Amami-san's gaze. It was hard to tell which of us was the popular one or the loner.
I knew that he liked Amami-san a lot. While neither Umi nor Nitta-san would make fun of him, if this continued, Amami-san might be put off by him.
What should I do to help him? As I was thinking of that, my gaze met with Nitta-san's.
"Hm? What's wrong, Rep?"
"…Nothing."
"Jeez, fine."
Suddenly, Nitta-san walked away from the group toward the ticket gate.
"Since we're all here, let's get on the train quickly. Seki, let me make myself clear, you're only here as our bodyguard, so if you get carried away and stare too much at the three of us, I'll hit you."
"I know, I know. I'm saying this, but I don't care about you at all. Anyway, why am I the only one getting this treatment? Maki is also here!"
"You think he could drive away any bad bugs by himself? No one expects him to do any guarding at all. Also, what did you just say? You don't care about who?"
"You, Nitta Nina, you."
"I see, you're tired of living, huh?"
Perhaps she was trying to break the strange atmosphere, but her attempt backfired on her as Nozomu gracefully snapped back at her.
Normally, Nitta-san was able to judge the situation perfectly and act accordingly, but whenever the five of us were together, she would often slip up.
Well, I guess that meant she was less guarded around us and felt comfortable around us. The fact that she didn't hold back with her insults toward Nozomu and I meant that she was getting along well with us just fine, right?
"Let's leave those two idiots alone and buy the tickets first, Yuu, Maki. The train should be here soon."
"Hahaha… I'm kinda worried about leaving them alone, but now that I think about it, this is normal for the two of them…"
"They got along surprisingly well. Though, they would deny it if you were to say it to their faces."
Nozomu's type would be a pretty girl like Amami-san, while Nitta-san's type, according to what she described about her ex-boyfriends in the past, would be someone with good looks. I wasn't the only one who thought that they were a good match.