CH 11
Silent Kohinata-San Headbutts My Chest for Some Reason
After I finished cleaning the cafeteria, I told my aunt Akane about the situation and asked her to let me take my meal home. If it were just Keiichi waiting for me, I would have asked him to come to the cafeteria and finish his meal while we talked, but that is not the case today.
I donât have the thick nerves to relax while two girls I donât have much to do with are waiting for me.
â¦â¦ But I really did not expect this turn of events.
The fact that Saejima and Kohinata didnât get involved at school was just the calm before the storm. Keiichi does that a lot.
I put away my cleaning supplies, greeted the cafeteria workers, and stowed the packaged katsudon my aunt had prepared in my bag.
I walked quickly to the classroom where my friends were waiting.
â â â â â â â â â â â â
When I opened the door to the classroom of Class 2C, it seemed that the other classmates had already gone home or to club activities, and there were only three people I knew. For some reason, Keiichi was standing in front of the teacherâs table, and Saejima and Kohinata were sitting in the front row. They were in class.
âGreat work!â
âG-great work!â
Keiichi says to me as I enter the classroom with a smile, and Saejima with an apologetic expression on his face. Incidentally, Kohinata was pointing her phone at me with her usual expressionless face. Itâs too far away to see.
âLetâs see⦠â¦â¦ âGood workâ, huh?'â
I approach and read it out for her, and she nods her head, looking somewhat happy. Even I donât know why she looked so happy in spite of her expressionless face. Was it the speed of the nod?
âSorry to keep you three waiting. Though, if you had told us beforehand, we could have done a lot of things.â
Like cleaning another day and just getting a meal today.
I said, hinting at my dissatisfaction with the secret plan.
After all, I had never had a girl in my house before in my life.
At one point I told them not to get involved, but if a girl from my class is coming over, a high school boy of my age needs to be prepared: prepare some snacks, buy deodorant, and check to see if there are any items that might not be seen.
âWell, well, Iâm the one who said letâs keep it a secret. If anything, the two of them were worried that Tomoki might get into trouble, you know?â
This guy is always trying to catch me with a meal. â¦â¦ Iâm very thankful.
âA specific meal.â
âYou really donât hesitate, do you Tomoki? Iâm going to increase my stock before I buy you a meal!â
So this is your second specific meal. I feel kind of good that Iâm saving up.
After I handed down the verdict to Keiichi, I looked at the two girls who looked uncomfortable. Then I cowered my shoulders.
âYou really donât have to worry about what happened before, okay? This is my problem.â
The two girls â especially Saejima, who still seems to be regretting her mistaken accusation of me, I say, consciously trying to keep my tone as calm as possible.
I wish they would reflect a little bit to listen to others, but there is no need for them to feel guilty about me so far. Of course, there is no need to come to my part-time job or to my house.
But for some reason, Saejima, upon hearing my words, looked a little embarrassed.
âOf course I have that feeling. Itâs the first time Iâve been to a boyâs house, so Iâm simply looking forward to it.â
I see. â¦â¦ So thereâs curiosity, too. The fact that Saejima has never been to a manâs house is a bit surprising.
âDoesnât Saejima have a boyfriend or something?â
âNoâ¦..Iâm not really interestedâ¦..â
To my blunt question, she answered with a slightly troubled look on her face.
With Saejimaâs looks and personality, I donât think itâs surprising that boys confess their feelings for her, but is there a reason for that? Is there a reason?
I was a little curious, but I didnât have time to pry any further, so I turned my gaze to Kohinata. She nodded her head.
I guess she is not interested in romance, just like Saejima. This is somewhat to be expected.
I might be a little shocked if Kohinata has a boyfriend.
âHa, is this is the state of mind of a father thinking of his daughter! No, itâs not.
âIs this Kohinataâs first time in a manâs house too?â
I asked Kohinata with a self-deprecating grin on my face, and she nodded her head in agreement.
âLet me tell you something, thereâs nothing to do at my house but play games, you know? There are four controllers, so there are things we can all do together. Is that even possible? Iâm sorry, I donât know what the girls usually do for fun.â
The reason there are four controllers in the room is because two friends from elementary school who went to different high schools still come over every once in a while to play. We have known each other for a long time.
âOf course itâs fine! I like playing games too, so we sometimes play at Asukaâs house.â
âThatâs good. Then weâll play games, is that okay with you, Kohinata?â
I confirmed this to Kohinata, and she nodded broadly. Then she handed me a candy she got sometime ago.
It doesnât make my stomach growl, but I donât mind this candy. Itâs like a kind of word from Kohinata, too.