I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 28

“That was really good… truly good…”

Even after the play ended and the curtain had fallen, with lights slowly coming back on, Tatsuki still had tears at the corners of her eyes. She muttered a simple sigh-like comment, as if she were savoring the play she had just watched.

“Yeah… even though I knew how it would end, it still made me cry.”

“…Yes, that’s exactly it. Even knowing the ending, it still moved me.”

She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded along with my words. When people share something truly wonderful, maybe everyone feels like this.

Finally, she seemed to calm down a bit. She let out a long breath and turned to me.

“I want to choose my words more carefully. The play was so good that I lost some of my vocabulary… but… yeah, it was really amazing. The acting, the direction, the story, everything—”

Even if her words were a little clumsy, the excitement in her voice made it clear how she felt. That was enough.

“Yeah, really.”

I could have used telepathy to perfectly echo her feelings, but I didn’t. Not just because her thoughts were tangled, but because there was no way I, an amateur, could truly put into words how a huge fan like her felt. Trying to speak for her felt like it might even get in the way of her experience.

After thinking that, I said what I felt. She softly smiled. I realized then that sharing such strong emotions doesn’t need fancy words. A simple understanding is enough sometimes.

—

“Would you like to talk a little more?”

Apparently, humans sometimes want to talk about their feelings in more detail. As we walked out of the theater in silence for a while, Tatsuki suddenly suggested it.

She grabbed the sleeve of my right arm while walking in front of me, giving off a shy and fidgety vibe. I couldn’t help but think. Who in the world could say no to a gesture like that?

“I thought that’s what you intended when you invited me.”

For a moment, her eyes widened. Then she blushed slightly, laughed, and looked a little embarrassed.

“Hehe, you noticed?”

“Your thoughts are pretty simple to read.”

“…Hmph. Actually, I knew too. I knew you’d definitely agree to come.”

“Really?”

Where was this competition coming from, I wondered.

Anyway, joking around like that, we headed toward the station.

Being in the city, almost every facility you could need was nearby. Karaoke, arcades, bowling alleys, bookstores, movie theaters, and cafés. Even trendy little coffee shops and bars.

Of course, as high school students, we needed a place that was cheap enough and quiet enough to chat, which narrowed our choices quite a bit.

“Maybe we can find a nice café or something…”

I looked around the large commercial complex near the station. I felt a little out of place, since I couldn’t see a directory anywhere.

“…Then how about over there?”

Tatsuki tugged on my sleeve and pointed. I followed her gaze and saw it was a Starbucks. Not that it was unusual for a city, but it surprised me that she suggested it herself.

She gave off such a serene, almost otherworldly vibe that it seemed slightly out of character. Well, that was just her aura. She was probably as normal as anyone else inside.

“Um, is that okay?”

She looked a little worried as I stayed silent. Her eyebrows lowered, and that made her seem genuinely kind.

“Sure. It’s everywhere, but I haven’t been there much.”

“Really? Me neither, I’ve actually never been…”

Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders a little awkwardly.

I guessed it wasn’t unusual. Some people just never go to certain places.

“I’ve been invited a few times… but I never really felt comfortable. And going alone didn’t seem right either.”

…I guess I’ll never understand why high schoolers enjoy that café so much. Maybe it’s just too intimidating to go with someone they’re not really close to. Well, I suppose that’s true for any place if they’re not friends.

“Alright, let’s go then. It’s been a while for me, too.”

The café wasn’t too crowded. I had always thought it was packed, but that apparently wasn’t the case.

We grabbed a two-person table at the corner and then headed to the counter at the back.

“Places like this are really good at making people indecisive.”

Just like that crepe shop in the morning, the menu was huge, and the item names were ridiculously long. How could anyone make a decision here?

“Maybe it’s just that Itsumi-san’s indecisive…?”

I ignored her comment, even though she hit the mark perfectly.

To make sure she didn’t think I was truly ignoring her, I curved my mouth into a little frown. Little gestures like that, I’ve found, help prevent misunderstandings. Well, maybe it didn’t matter so much now.

“…Then, why don’t you get the same as me?”

She pointed at the menu.

“Cream Strawberry Chocolate?”

That sounded familiar. The words themselves weren’t strange, but the combination rang a bell.

“Isn’t that a new item?”

“Yes… Well, the hype has already passed, though.”

I remembered hearing some girls talking about it before, maybe before a test or something. It sounded really sweet.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll have that.”

I wasn’t craving anything specific, so I just went with her choice. Tatsuki smiled softly and looked genuinely happy.