I Ended up Getting Close With the Class Madonna Who Keeps Rejecting Confessions, Saying She Doesn’t Plan to Date Anyone

“We’re eating out tonight.”

It was the day of the closing ceremony.

I was at home reading a light novel I’d left unfinished, and when I went to the living room in the evening to grab some tea, my mom suddenly said that while busy putting on makeup.

The living room looked as ordinary as ever. A dining table, a TV, and a sofa.

“Really? So I can just handle dinner on my own then?”

If my little sister were home, we’d probably eat together, but tonight she was out at some congratulations on graduating middle school sleepover party.

Since I was alone, it’d be faster to just grab something from the convenience store. That usually meant Mom would hand me some dinner money, too.

At least, that’s what I thought.

“No, you’re coming too.”

That’s what Mom said.

It was rare for her to say something like that. She’d normally just go out drinking on her own. I was surprised, but my answer was obvious.

“No way. Why would I go to one of your dinner meetups?”

She drinks a lot, and if she’s eating out, that usually means she’ll come home tipsy. She doesn’t even need to say it. I already know.

But it seemed like she’d expected me to refuse, because her expression didn’t change at all.

“Actually, I ran into an old friend from high school the other day.”

“And that story is supposed to explain why you’re dragging me along tonight?”

I gave her a suspicious look, and she waved her hand like just listening for a second. She could’ve at least said it out loud.

“So anyway, we decided to have dinner together, and that’s tonight. Here’s the main point. It turns out my friend’s also a single mom like me. She said she feels bad about leaving her daughter home alone while she goes out to eat. And I get that, since I’m the same.”

“When have you ever felt bad about that?”

“So I said that I’ve got a son at home. If I bring him along, then her daughter won’t be alone either. Problem solved! And that’s how it happened. The end.”

She completely ignored my comment and went back to doing her makeup.

“That might be a reason for you to bring me, but not a reason for me to want to go.”

Eating dinner with some random people? And from what she said, the friend’s kid is a girl. Yeah, definitely no thanks.

If I had to choose, I’d rather eat with Mom while she’s half-drunk. That’s still better. She’d just talk to herself happily anyway… though, that honestly sounds like a pain too.

“If you really don’t want to come, that’s fine. But in that case, I’m not giving you dinner money. Oh, and if you make me upset, I’ll be cutting your allowance for a while. Are you still okay with that?”

She smiled in that way that made it clear she already knew the answer.

We’re a single-mom family, and since she’s the one working, Mom controls all the money. She’s usually easygoing and kind, so I’ve never had trouble with money before, but when she uses it to threaten me like this, it’s a real pain.

She probably already knew I’d end up going anyway.

And, she honestly wasn’t wrong.

The money part didn’t matter as much as the part of making her upset. Once she’s in a bad mood, it takes a lot of effort to fix it. So, looking at the bigger picture, agreeing now was the smarter choice.

“Oh, and by the way. It’s a beer garden. All you can eat, all you can drink.”

That was the final blow. I let out a long sigh and gave up.

“…Fine. I’ll come along.”

＊

“So, you know, I was in the same class as Koko-chan for all three years of high school. She was really famous.”

We were heading to a beer garden being held at a nearby hotel.

“Koko-chan was the school’s Madonna, and I was the delinquent boss. We were both pretty well-known in our year.”

“…You were a delinquent boss?”

There were still apparently a lot of things I didn’t know about my mom.

But honestly, the title suited her somehow. She still had that kind of aura even now.

Anyway.

Koko-chan? That’s a cute name.

Besides reading light novels, I also try writing my own sometimes. And I have to admit, that name’s so charming I kind of want to use it in one of my stories someday.

“So, how do you write Koko-chan’s name in kanji?”

“Hm? Oh, no. Koko-chan’s just her nickname. Her last name is Kokonoe, so we called her Koko-chan.”

“…Kokonoe?”

That wasn’t a common last name.

Actually, it was rare. But more than that, I knew that name.

I frowned a little, trying to convince myself it had to be a coincidence.

When we arrived at the hotel, we took the elevator up to the floor where the event was happening.

According to Mom, the Kokonoe family had arrived a few minutes earlier and were waiting in the elevator hall.

A chime sounded, and the elevator doors opened with a clunk.

“Koko-chan! I’m sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Kyou-chan! Not at all!”

The two moms greeted each other with that high-energy excitement only women seem to have, waving and rushing toward each other.

By the way, my mom’s name is Gojou Kyouka. That’s why she’s called Kyou-chan.

Since they were the same age, both around forty, I was surprised to see how young Kokonoe-san looked. Well, people often said my mom looked young, too, but still.

As I was thinking that, my gaze slowly shifted to the side.

Her soft and light-brown hair swayed gently.

Long eyelashes framed pale skin. Her lips were a delicate pink.

She was about average height for our age, just a bit shorter than me, and her figure was hard not to notice.

I knew her.

And she knew me.

“…Gojou-kun?”

Kokonoe Shinoba.

A girl who gets confessed to by boys all the time. Even someone like me, who’d barely ever talked to her, knew her name. She was that famous, pretty enough to make anyone turn their head.

Right now, she tilted her head slightly and was still looking surprised.

“…Hey.”

So it really was her, the daughter of Mom’s friend, Koko-chan, she’d been talking about.

Our moms were already chatting and walking off ahead without us. Seriously, leaving their kids behind like that.

Standing here would just get in the way of people coming out of the elevator, so I started walking to catch up.

“Let’s go. There’s no point just standing here.”

“Ah, yeah.”

She hurried after me with quick little steps, then leaned forward to peek at my face and smiled.

“Thank you for helping me out at lunch today. I was in a bit of trouble, so you really saved me.”

Hehe, she smiled with a soft smile, and I finally understood why people called her Madonna. That smile alone was enough to make anyone fall for her.

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Honestly, I just didn’t want her to see what I was really thinking, so I pretended not to know what she meant.