My girlfriend's mother turned out to be my stalker

I made things awkward. Damn.

Why did I have to react like that?

Ayumi-san was searching for some emotional support and I retracted my hand as if I was wary of her…as if I wanted to get away from her and Sumire because of my excuse.

Guh, I couldn’t get it out of my head.

Even though Ayumi-san appeared normal, I couldn’t tell if she was okay after what happened.

‘There goes my first reputation..’ I sighed as I slumped in the chair.

“Kei?” Sumire held my hand and asked in a concerned voice, “Is everything okay?” She asked in a whisper.

…well, I surely can’t tell her what happened unless I want to get a slap and a breakup.

I shook my head and, while smiling, I told her, “Everything is fine. I’m just a little tired.”

Sumire still appeared worried but then, Ayumi-san arrived at the table and asked, “You two didn’t start?” She was smiling…I hope she was actually smiling

“Come on, let’s eat before it’s cold.” She urged us before we picked our chopsticks.

…for some reason, I wasn’t using disposable chopsticks.

I glanced around and found it was in the set and seemed new.

Might have come in the set. I didn’t think about it much.

I picked the tempura which was in a different shape, naturally, because shrimp wasn’t used.

This was the first time I was going to use this…new kind of tempura that’s why I didn’t have much of a hope-

“Mm?” My eyes widened when I chewed the fish…it…was, “Delicious.” I couldn’t stop myself from complimenting the moment I stopped chewing

I looked at Ayumi-san and said, “I am amazed that writing isn’t your only forté. This is excellent.”

Her lips curved in a bright smile….and this time, she really seemed smiling.

“I am glad you loved it. Please have more.” She picked a piece from her bowl and placed it in mine.

“Yes, yes. You must eat more, Kei-kun~” Sumire nudged me as she placed some tempura from her bowl to mine.

What is this? Why are the duo suddenly fawning on me?

Their expectant and smiling gaze made me nervous as I slowly began to eat…swearing in my heart to take revenge on Sumire later.

After a brief pause, Ayumi-san asked, “How are studies going, Kei-kun?”

I nodded, “It’s…going well. Thanks to Sumire, I don’t lag behind the class despite my baseball practice.”

Ayumi-san blinked as she asked, “I heard about your selection in the team. Congratulations.”

I smiled at her, “Thank you,” but then, she asked me a question I have heard twice before,

“What about your part-time job? Would you be able to manage?”

I glanced at Sumire…so she told her everything about me, huh?

I…actually wanted to hide the fact that I was working part-time. I mean, no parent likes it when a student is not focusing solely on their studies. And here, I am not only giving my time to sports but also to a part-time job.

Well, now that she knows, I didn’t find any reason to lie here.

“I am…withdrawing my name from the team.”

“What?!” Sumire suddenly got up from her chair, the wood scraping against the floor as she slammed her hand on the table.

“You can’t be serious right now!” She cried.

“Sumi-chan, calm down. Hear him out before reacting, okay?” Ayumi-san tried to calm her down

I remained silent, guilty about this. Why? Well, it wasn’t just me who had put effort into my selection for the team and the team selection for the inter-school match.

Sumire has sweated as much as I did. She had stayed after school. She had cheered for me. She never let me give up.

As I told her, she deserves this victory as much as I did.

And…I decided to leave the team without asking her.

“Sumire…I am sorry.” I whispered, holding her hand under the table.

She asked with a frown, “Is it because of that old man Tanaka?”

I sighed, “It isn’t like he is wrong. He wasn’t allowed to take in high school students. But he did and even gave me the shift convenient for me. I can’t be asking for more from him.”

I don’t blame Tanaka-san. He had risked his job for me. All the slots were now filled so changing the shifts would be really inconvenient for him.

“I can’t believe this.” Sumire was frustrated and I can understand her feelings

Just then, “Kei-kun, can I say something here?”

I turned to Ayumi-san, who had an unnaturally serious expression as she asked, “Your English is good, right? Then why don’t you work for me?”

I was baffled by the suggestion…and did Sumire even tell her my grades?

“I don’t understand?” I asked her, “How can I work for you?”

“You have read my stories, right? I need someone to create an English draft of my work which I could further provide to the editor. We are planning to release my book translated in English in six months.”

I was surprised to hear that. Ayumi-san’s novel was doing great in the Japanese market, and there had been a few sites that had already translated a few volumes.

I have even heard that her book is soon getting a manga adaptation.

…but, “Why me? I mean, I have no experience in this at all. You can hire a professional.”

Ayumi-san wryly smiled, “I want the first draft to be written under my guidance so that the translation stays as close to the original as possible. But the problem is…”

“Mom hadn’t revealed her identity.” Sumire filled in.

I knew that but to think she was so adamant about hiding her identity?

“That’s why,” Ayumi-san said, “Work for me Kei-kun. That way, you can stay in the team and work at the same time.”

I bit my lip…the offer was tempting. But, “I would first like to give my…interview. I would first translate a page and you give me an honest review before deciding.”

Ayumi-san clapped her hands, “Perfect! Then since we are going to work, why don’t you stay over today?”

“…!”

*****

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment.