After she was done with Homeroom, Umi met up with the rest of the group, and together with her, we went to my house (our usual spot for studying).
On the way home, we stopped by the convenience store and filled up our basket with snacks and drinks that we could munch on while studying. It wasn't like my house didn't have any snacks for us to eat, it was just, the snacks there wouldn't be enough for all five of us. Of course, the bill was split between all of us.
"…Maki."
"Hm?"
"…What happened before I joined up with you guys?"
"Ah… You see…"
Like I said before, the snacks wouldn't be enough for all five of us. Yes, all five of us.
Originally, only four of us would be joining the study session; Umi, Nitta-san, Nozomu and me. As for Amami-san, she said she wouldn't be joining because she wanted to ask her dad to teach her instead.
…Or so she said.
"Grr…"
"Jeez, Yuuchin, I get it already! Can you give me some space? I can't walk if you're this close to me!"
"N-No way. I said that I'll keep an eye on you, didn't I?"
At the end of Umi's sight were those two, who had been quarreling like that ever since we left the school ground.
They walked so close to each other that you'd thought they were a pair of close friends. But if you were to see them up close, Amami-san was holding on to Nitta-san's uniform, making sure to restrict her movement.
If you hadn't figured it out already, yeah, Amami-san decided to join the study session.
As for why she changed her decision, naturally it was because of what happened back when we were waiting at the courtyard for Umi. She was trying to make sure that Nitta-san couldn't cling to me again.
'I'll join the study session so that you won't get in the way of Umi and Maki-kun, Ninacchi!'
Or so she said, completely taking the bait Nitta-san set up for her.
With this, she'd be breaking her promise with Hayato-san, but it seemed like the latter agreed to teach her after she came back from the study session instead.
…And since I was the one who invited her to come in the first place, it wasn't like I could just stop her from joining.
"…I see, it's Nina's doing huh? Laying her filthy hands on my precious boyfriend… Okay Maki, for today's study session, I'll be especially strict with her. You too, don't go easy on her like you always do, okay?"
"O-Okay…"
Knowing Nitta-san, she probably expected that this would happen, though. Maybe this was her goal all along? She was that desperate to fix her low grades?
But, you know… It didn't seem like something she'd normally do…
"Uh, is it really okay to bring those two along? I feel like the study session would turn chaotic if those two were to keep on doing that…"
"It should be fine. They know that they shouldn't make a fuss in someone else's house, right, Umi?"
"Yes. Rather than that, we should think about how to make Nina suffer, so that she wouldn't get her filthy hands on you again, Maki."
"…I'm even more worried now."
Hearing Umi's answer as she sent a glare to Nitta-san's back, Nozomu let out a sigh.
I felt bad for him since he was the only one who was out of the loop among the five of us. After all, he signed up for the studying, not for the drama between those two.
He never talked about it out loud, but he was also quite worried about his grades.
Now that I was stuck in this situation, I realized that there were a lot of things I had to think about; studies, relationships, career paths. All I could do was to tackle all of them, one at a time.
All for the sake of my cute girlfriend.
* * *
While the atmosphere was different than usual, it wasn't like I could slack off on studying since the exam was coming up soon. While my grades had been increasing steadily, I still couldn't let my guard down.
"Alright, let's get started. I'll teach Nina, while you, Maki, go teach Yuu. As for Seki… Well, you know what? You should be fine. Just ask either of us if you have any questions."
"You really are treating me like an afterthought… Well, it's easier for me that way anyway, so I won't complain."
The five of us lined up our books on the dining table and began our studies. Our seats were arranged in such a way that Umi and I, the ones who'd be teaching the rest of the group, were seated next to each other. Then, Amami-san and Nitta-san were seated across from each other, while Nozomu sat on my right side.
Well, he had way better grades than the other two, so he didn't really need to be taught personally.
"Since you asked for it, I'll work you to the bone today, Nina, be prepared."
"…Um…"
Hearing that coming from Umi's mouth, alongside with the pressure that accompanied her smile, Nitta-san could only nod her head stiffly.
While I felt sorry for her, it was true that she brought this to herself, so tough luck on her.
"…Alright, we should start too. First, we'll do English."
"O-Okay… U-Um… P-Please take care of me, Maki-kun!"
"…I won't be doing the same thing as Umi, don't get so nervous…"
Perhaps she was worried that I'd be as harsh as the other 'teacher' on the table, she looked so unnaturally nervous. Well, I hope that she could turn into her usual self after we started our studies.
I've looked into the scope of the exams that were announced by the school and already solved the important ones before this study session happened.
As we started studying, Amami-san and Nitta-san seemed to be concentrating hard. It wasn't like I disliked the usual casual atmosphere around us, but this kind of serious atmosphere felt nice.
We've already at that point in our life, after all, the point where we'd need to stop messing around and start studying properly.
"…Uh, Maki?"
"Yeah? What's wrong, Nozomu? Is there something you want to ask?"
"Ah no, it isn't about the study… I'm just wondering, what are you going to do from now on?"
"Are you talking about my career path?"
"…Yeah."
While everyone was reading through their books, Nozomu approached me and asked me this question in a low voice.
We've talked about this briefly in the past, but it was just a small talk between the two of us. Other than that, somehow we had never had the opportunity to have a deep and serious talk about the matter.
At that moment, I noticed that all four of them were staring at me.
"…Why are you guys looking at me?"
"I mean, you're practically our group's leadoff batter, Rep."
The other three seemed to agree with Nitta-san's words.
I felt like my career path was so obvious and uninteresting though… Wait, was that why they made me say it first?
"Well, I don't care about it much as long as I can go to the same university as Umi… Of course, I have secondary options too, just in case."
"I see. So you are planning to marry into the Asanagis. Got it."
"Did you not hear what I just said, Nitta-san?"
Since we were dating, of course we'd have to talk about that someday in the future. But, we wouldn't do it before we graduated from the university and had a nice job.
…And if it wasn't obvious already, I had no plans on changing my surname to Asanagi.
"Nina, you… Anyway, for me it's the same as Maki. My first choice is definitely K-University. I'll be going there and I'll look for a job afterwards. My parents agreed with my choice… What about you, Yuu?"
"Can you not ask me about that?"
Well, there was still time, so if Amami-san were to work on her studies more, she should be able to go wherever she wanted to. Though, she had to work especially hard for it.
Even at our high school, a place where they prioritize education over everything, not everyone could get into the university after graduation.
…But honestly, as long as Amami-san tried to put her mind into it, I felt like she'd be able to do it.
"As for me, I already gave up on that. It's easier to look up my grade from the bottom of the list, there's no way I could get into a decent university with that kind of grade. Actually, I've already given up since last year."
"That's way too early to give up… But, Nina, what are you planning to do for your career path then? You're going to continue your studies, right?"
"Yeah, but obviously famous universities are not an option. Maybe I'll go to a vocational school or something, that sounds fun. Still, my parents insist that I need to go to a university first before getting a job. That means, I have to increase my grade so that I can go to a private university at least."
It would be best if she could just do whatever she wanted, but it wasn't like she could completely disregard what her parents wanted either.
Compared to her parents, mine and Umi's didn't care much about our chosen career paths. But, not everyone's parents were the same, I understood that.
"Well, that's it for me. What about you, Yuuchin? I heard that Eri-san can help you out if you want to become an actress or something. Are you going to, though?"
"Huh? Ah… Yeah… Um, that's right, she could help me out if I want to, but you know… It isn't like I don't want to go down on that career path. I mean, I do like watching all the idols and actresses on TV, but… After seeing my mom, I realized that I can't just go down that path with a half-baked resolve…"
To summarize, all five of us planned to continue our studies somewhere. And everyone would be going their own ways.
Though it wouldn't happen until our graduation, it still felt sad to think that it would happen soon.
"Anyway, that means all of us should study hard! So that we can graduate without any regrets next year!"
"…Yuu, we're still in the second year. We won't be graduating until the year after…"
"…U-Um…"
"Ah, her face is getting redder. So cute."
"J-Jeez! I-I misspoke, okay?! Ninacchi you're so mean!"
As Amami-san puffed her reddened cheeks, laughter spread among us.
…Yes, this was it, the kind of atmosphere that suited us.
Sure, there was some awkwardness still lingering in the air, but that didn't change the nature of our relationship.
I just needed to be patient. So that things would return back to how it was.