CH 21

Kata, Kata, Kata, Kata—

The four of us were quietly watching the bowling pins fall with such a leisurely sound.

The pitcher was Kohinata. She throws the ball and returns to her seat without looking at the result.

And since Kohinata throws so slowly, before the ball reaches the pins, she is tucked back into her spot where she waits. It’s a feat that I and Keiichi probably couldn’t pull off even if we ran.

“……………… again I thought, isn’t Kohinata too strong?”

When the last pin went down, Keiichi uttered these words as if in a whisper. I think so too. And I think my confidence as a man has been chipped away a bit.

After games one and two, we are now in the third game.

As for the outcome of the game, I don’t need to worry about the third game, the victory of the team of me and Kohinata has been decided. The reason is Kohinata. She’s really strong.

“Average of about 220 huh.”

I muttered casually as I looked at the LCD screen, and Kohinata, who was sitting next to me, nodded her head.

No matter how you look at it, it’s not the average high school level score. I’ve never scored over 200 even when I’m in good shape.

“Even here, Asuka is not in good condition, you know. When she goes with me and Shizuka, she’s even better.”

Saejima, who is saying such things with a smirk on her face, is just short of Kohinata’s one-game score even if you add the first and second games together.

Saejima’s score is not that bad, just because Kohinata is an anomaly, I guess. The high school girl throwing in the next lane has an even worse score.

“Kohinata, that’s great.”

When I uttered the line again, which I don’t know how many times I’ve said it already since bowling started, Kohinata, sitting next to me, swayed from side to side with a happy look on her face. Then, with no expression on her face, she exhaled a puff of air through her nose. Is she happy to be praised?

“Next time we do this, maybe it would be better if the guys and the girls teamed up together.”

As far as today’s scores go, I think that would be just the right match. As I said this while looking at the swaying kohinata, she stopped moving with a snap. Then she looked up at me from a diagonal angle.

“Hmmm? What’s wrong?”

I wonder if she has something to say, so I ask her, and for some reason she closes her eyes and turns her head away from me.

It’s difficult to tell when Kohinata is happy, but it’s rather easy to tell when she’s in a bad mood. What have I done this time?

☆ ☆　☆　☆　☆

After bowling, we headed to the game center in the same facility. The first and second floors of this bowling alley are reserved for bowling, and a large game center is located in the basement.

“These free tickets are usually either very difficult to play with or the prizes are crappy,”

Keiichi said as we descended the escalator, flicking the ticket stub that said “One free crane game” on it.

“That’s because it’s free,”

“Even if you don’t get it, if you get to play for free, it’s all good! I mean, from the bowling alley’s point of view, whether it’s taken or not, I think the goal is to get people to go to the arcade itself.”

Keiichi’s word is answered by me and Saejima, the background music is getting a little louder, so our voices are louder than usual too. Incidentally, Kohinata was nodding her head as usual.

As we were going down the escalator, we were aware that there were quite a lot of people there, especially on a Sunday. There must be quite a few people who came to this facility not for bowling, but for the game center.

Looking around, there were of course many families, but there seemed to be quite a few older people and students as well. As I don’t like crowds, I didn’t want to stay here too long.

It would be troublesome if the guys from Sakura Sei Academy were there. …… If Keiichi wasn’t there, I would have been burned like a witch hunt. I don’t think you should worry too much about it as long as you come to play like this.

“Kohinata don’t you play?”

When we came to the crane game where we could use the free ticket, Kohinata handed me the ticket stub. She nodded in response to my question.

“You didn’t find much in the way of prizes you wanted?”

Buunbuun

“Then, you are not good at the crane game?”

Kokukoku.

“It’s free, so you don’t have to worry about it too much, okay?”

Even if you couldn’t get the prize, it would be fine if you could be happy or sad when you move the crane. Kohinata is shaking her head and doesn’t feel like playing the game.

Perhaps Kohinata was successful in the bowling game, so she is giving up this spot to me? I’m not that good at crane games.

“I’ll leave it to Karakusa-kun, too! I’m counting on you!”

“Uooi! Tomoki’s fault, the aftermath came to me!”

“It’s not my fault! If you want to complain, tell it to this free ticket!”

“Free ticket, it’s your fault!”

“Don’t be serious,……, you look like a total idiot, Keiichi.””

The result – me and Keiichi, who were entrusted with the girl’s thoughts, didn’t get a single prize with the free tickets.

Then the two guys got pissed off and fell for the company’s strategy, heading for the money changer with wallets in hand.