After the sports festival was over and the second term began in earnest, the weather during the daytime finally became bearable. Although we still needed to keep the AC on because it was still around thirty degrees Celsius on average, the temperature would drop both in the morning and evening. Sometimes when I wore a sleeveless shirt, it felt chilly.
This was the second autumn ever since I became a high school student.
Exactly one year has passed since last autumn, the most memorable time of my life.
"—Thank you for waiting, Maki. Sorry for taking your time, even though it's the weekend…"
"I only waited for an hour, so don't mention it. In any case, all of your errands related to the sports festival are done, right?"
"Mhm. It was a lot of work, but it was worthwhile. Then again, as long as I can spend the rest of my day together with you, it's all good."
The Sports Festival Committee, which was mostly filled with the members of the Student Council, was finally disbanded after the debriefing today. At the same time, Umi's position as their helper was relieved.
Apparently, Umi was a great help to Nakamura-san, to the point that she offered her a position in the council during the Sports Festival. She declined it though, as she said she preferred to spend her time with me instead.
Personally speaking, I didn't really have a problem even if she were to join the council. But, as her boyfriend, it made me happy that she prioritized me above all else…
"Alright, let's go home."
"Mm… Um, can I hold your hand?"
"That goes without saying."
"Hehehe. Okay, now, please escort me~"
Under the setting sun, we walked together, hand in hand.
When I tightened my grip a little, her expression became relaxed. She proceeded to embrace my arm lovingly.
"Uh, Umi? There are still people around, you know?"
"Hehehe, it's fine, it's fine. I doubt they care about what we're doing anyway. At most, they'll treat us as an annoying couple and move on."
"They don't, but I do…"
Well, I said that, but it wasn't like I wanted her to let my arm go, so I didn't resist her at all.
For the longest time, I've always been in the spectator's position. Whenever I saw a couple being lovey-dovey on the streets, I'd grumble to myself, 'What the hell are they doing out in the open?'
Now that I was in the couple's position though, I totally understood how they were feeling.
Anyway, ever since the Sports Festival ended, Umi had been getting more clingy than usual.
If I were to guess the reason, it would most likely because of the words that Nitta-san said to us back on the day of the Sports Festival.
'…On your next day off, will you have a date with me?'
It went without saying that I rejected her strongly and she backed off without making a fuss.
But still, why did she say such a thing?
Nitta-san wasn't the kind of person who'd joke around about things like that. I assumed that there was a deeper reason behind her action.
"…Hmph."
"Ow! Umi, you know that if you pinch my side suddenly like that, I'd get freaked out, right?"
"Not my fault. You're the one who's thinking about another girl when I'm here right next to you!"
"Sorry, I was just wondering why did Nitta-san say something like that so suddenly…"
"Well, we were too surprised to ask why back then, huh? She has been avoiding us ever since too…"
For tomorrow's Fireworks Festival, it was decided that all five of us would go together. If we wanted to ask her for more details, it would be during that time. But, the thing was, Amami-san and Nozomu knew about this matter too, so I didn't know what exactly would happen tomorrow.
…I hope that things won't turn out badly.
"By the way, Maki, what are we going to do? Hanging out at your place like usual?"
"That's the plan… Unless you have a better idea."
"…Mm, there's somewhere I want to go. Let's eat our dinner there while we're at it."
It seemed like she wanted to go on a date for the first time in a while.
I actually tidied up my room for a bit and prepared some stuff just in case that something might happen, but I guess we wouldn't need all that. Well, going outside once in a while would serve as a nice change of pace.
"Okay, let's do that then."
"Hehe, thank you~ As expected of my Maki, you know what I want~"
"Well, as your boyfriend, I need to do at least this much for you, Umi."
"Good, good. Keep up the good work if you want to stay in this company for a long time, okay?"
"Who are you? My boss or something?"
I didn't know where'd we go, but since this was Umi we were talking about, she'd definitely have a suitable place in mind. After all, this would be our first after-school date in a long while.
The sun had completely set and the air had gotten chilly. Normally, I'd start shivering since I was still wearing my summer uniform, but this time, Umi's body temperature was keeping me warm.