A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 9

…Meeeen, Minminminminmin…

Under the sticky sunlight, the loud chorus of cicadas made me and Arisa feel thoroughly annoyed.

“It’s so hot, Mayu…I can’t stand it anymore!”

“Stop it. You keep saying it’s hot, so it’s going to feel hotter…Come on, try saying it’s cool.”

“It’s cool, it’s cool, it’s cool…Yeah, it’s hot.”

“Ugh, I wish summer would end soon.”

As we passed the time with meaningless banter, we finally arrived at a café.

“Ah! Finally, it’s cool! Civilization is the best!”

“Oh, Mayu. Look, Kana is over there.”

Arisa pointed to a four-person table where Kana was indeed sitting. When she noticed us, she leaned on the table and waved her hand slightly.

“Yay! Kana, it’s been a while!”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Mayu.”

Arisa and I sat across from Kana at the table. She had already ordered iced coffee, which was almost half gone.

“Arisa, let’s order something too. Hey, waiter! I’ll have my usual.”

“Mayu! This is your first time here!”

Arisa laughed and playfully slapped my shoulder. Kana chuckled softly.

So, I ordered a café latte and Arisa got a special chocolate parfait. When the parfait was placed in front of Arisa, both Kana and I widened our eyes. It was a giant parfait, towering from the tip of a person’s middle finger to the elbow.

“Let’s eat!”

Arisa happily started eating it, looking satisfied. She really was carefree.

“Hey, hey, Kana and Arisa, did you see the news the other day?”

“The other day? What about?”

“You know, the one about Sandstorm disbanding next month?”

“Eh!? Really?”

“Don’t you know? You said you liked Minomori-kun the best from Sandstorm!”

“It’s so sad…I didn’t like them as much as you, Kana, but I still supported them.”

“Are they going to delete their YouTube account too? Ah, that’s tough!”

“Is that so…I didn’t know at all.”

“No way! You, of all people, didn’t know? You’re always the first to know about Sandstorm news! If we wanted to know their latest updates, we’d just ask you!”

So we were having a lively girls’ talk. It’s really fun to have friends with whom I can chat casually like this.

“…Hey. Mayu, Arisa, can I talk to you about something?”

Suddenly, Kana spoke to us. When I replied, “What’s up?” she sighed and said, “I have a little complaint I want to share.”

“A complaint? What’s going on? Did Kana’s mom mess up again?”

“No, it’s…about Kenji.”

“Kenji? Who’s Kenji?”

“Um…Saito. The one I started dating before summer vacation…”

“Saito…? Oh! Are you talking about the introverted guy you lied to?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Come on! Even if you say his name, I won’t know who you’re talking about! What’s the complaint? Is the introverted guy just not cutting it? He probably doesn’t have the guts! I bet it’s tough just to hold hands!”

“…”

“Mayu, what are you talking about? There’s no way Kana would hold hands with someone like that.”

“Right! That’s true! If it were Kana, she’d wash the places he touched really well in the bath!”

“Haha! Whoa! The introverted guy is being treated like a germ!”

“…”

As Arisa and I laughed, Kana…looked a bit gloomy. She had an expression that felt a bit embarrassed, like a child who had been scolded after mischief.

Noticing this, Arisa and I exchanged puzzled glances.

“What’s wrong, Kana? Did something happen?”

“Huh? No, not really…”

“A complaint? Is it a heavy topic?”

“…”

Kana turned her gaze away and looked out the window.

For a while, she didn’t say anything and remained silent.

“Eh? What’s wrong, Kana? Don’t hold back; just tell us.”

“…It’s fine, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm, okay then…”

“Hey, Kana, where do you go on dates with that introverted guy?”

“Eh? Oh…We went to the museum the other day.”

“A museum!? What’s that? It’s not a school trip!”

“Haha! That’s funny, Arisa! So, Kana, did you make a ‘shiori’ (trip booklet)?”

“Shiori! Stop it, Mayu! I-I’m gonna die from laughter!”

“No, Arisa, a ‘shiori’ is a must for a school trip! Right, Kana?”

“R-Right…I guess it would have been fun if I made one.”

“It would definitely be fun! Ah! Museums are amazing!”

“What else, what else?! Is that all, Kana?”

“W-Well, we promised to study at the library next time.”

“Studying at the library!? That’s too much!”

“Way too studious! And instead of a family restaurant, it’s the library! Ah! I can’t! I’m laughing so hard, I’m about to cry!”

“…”

Clunk.

Suddenly, Kana stood up. She grabbed a small pouch and looked uncharacteristically grumpy, furrowing her brows.

“I just remembered something, so I’m heading home.”

“Eh…? Kana? You’re leaving already?”

“See you later.”

With that, she turned her back to us and walked away quickly.

Both Arisa and I were a bit stunned and looked at each other.

“Eh? What was that?”

“I don’t know; she suddenly got grumpy.”

“Why? Did we do something?”

“Beats me…”

Arisa and I could only tilt our heads at Kana’s oddly bad mood.

At that moment, we still didn’t understand how Kana was feeling.

“…Hah.”

I walked through the city, sighing.

I had planned to discuss Kenji, but I totally misjudged the choice of person to talk to…I didn’t expect to be told that much.

“…”

But…before I started dating Kenji, I was laughing about those kinds of stories too. So I can’t really say anything bad about those two.

(Ah, I’m in trouble…)

I slumped my shoulders and trudged home. It felt frustrating, but just then, I thought maybe I’d consult Miyuki.

Beep beep, beep beep.

Suddenly, my smartphone started ringing. I took my phone out of my pouch and answered the call.

“Hello, is this Kenji?”

“Yeah, is it okay to talk now?”

I stood by the trees along the road, hiding in their shade as I talked to Kenji.

“I wanted to talk about tomorrow; is the library in Iizuka City okay?”

“Where is that? I’m not sure.”

“Oh, then I’ll send you the location on Lime.”

“Okay!”

“Let’s meet in front of the library at around 10.”

“…Hey, Kenji.”

“Yeah?”

“What time are we heading back?”

“Hmm, well, I guess we can part ways around 5 like usual?”

“…Um, I was thinking…”

“What?”

“Can we stay a bit longer? I might want to go eat dinner together.”

“Hmm, but if we stay too late, Kana-san’s mom might get mad again, right?”

“Well…that’s true.”

“I’d feel bad for keeping you out late, too. Let’s head back before it gets dark.”

“…Okay, I understand.”

“Sorry, Kana-san.”

“No, no.”

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow…”

With that, the call with Kenji ended.

“Ah…Kenji, really.”

Pouting, I started walking again.

I had planned to complain to Mayu and Arisa…but Kenji is just a bit too serious.

I want to spend more time with him at night and have fun. Ending things at 5 PM…that’s just not enough.

…Of course, that’s Kenji’s kindness and consideration, so I can’t say too much bad about it…I also feel a bit happy about it too.

During summer vacation, I want to go on as many dates as possible. That’s how I feel.

…Meeeen, Minminminminmin…

The sound of cicadas echoed through the city.

“I really hope summer doesn’t end yet…”