She is Reading My Thoughts Again Today - Chapter 65
Appointed Day
“You didn’t tell me about you were seriously not going.”
It’s the day after we returned from the school trip. I said it in Kisaragi’s room which I visit in the heat of the moment. Her room is white and empty compared to Kosaka’s room which we visited the other day.
“I had already told you about it, I think you just misunderstood what I said?”
Yeah, I thought she said it as a joke. At least I that is what I hoped so.
“After all, wouldn’t it be hard to make a group if I was there?”
That may be true, but isn’t it wrong for you to hold back just because of that? After all, if you were going to go, you could have done something about it. She laughed lightly at my thoughts, it’s as if she knew I would think of those words. Her smile seems to be a little forced, it hurts my heart to see her like that. But the time that has passed can never return, it’s better to think about the future.
“I wish I can go on a trip again someday.”
“Don’t say ‘I wish I can go on a trip again someday’. It’s better to say let’s go there sometimes.”
I flinch at her overly positive immediate reply.
“Yeah, but as I said before, I can’t go on such a sudden notice.”
“Christmas.”
I almost chocked myself hearing that word.
“Date… Let’s go on a date.”
The words that followed left me speechless for a while. What she means by a date is, a date as a couple right?
“Yeah, that’s right. A date as a couple.”
“About that date.”
We kept saying the word ‘date’ over and over again that I’m getting dizzy hearing it. On the contrary, a gentle smile appears on her face.
“Yeah, this time we will have a real date.”
Our previous dates were only the two of us going out somewhere as friends. We have been to many places and done many different things before, but we haven’t had a proper ‘date’ as lovers since we started going out.
“…yeah, let’s go.”
“Please keep your schedule open, okay?”
“Okay.”
“So, what is your souvenir for me?”
I almost groan at the expectant look in her eyes. Her eyes seem to shine brighter as she stares at the bag of souvenirs than when we discussed about our date.
“Ah… The others gave me souvenirs too?”
“Yeah, I came here today partly because they told me to do so.”
She froze and covered her face. Purupru, it looks like her shoulders are trembling. Is she trembling because of the unexpected kindness of others?
“S-Souvenirs, return gifts, I don’t know.”
“Don’t suddenly go stuttering on me.”
“But they went out of their way to spend their allotted allowance on souvenirs for me, right?”
“They are not the kind of people who care about that kind of thing, okay? Of course you should thank them, but if you don’t feel it is enough, you can always give them something back.”
…I think so at least. I can never fully understand what and how they think, but if I were in their shoes, I would be fine with it. I hold out the bag of souvenirs from the three of them. She hesitates for a moment, but then she reaches for the bag of souvenirs. She takes them towards herself slowly and holds it in her arms.
“Okay, I will.”
“Yeah.”
“So then, how about Hokuto-san’s souvenir for me?”
“Here it is.”
I hand out a single strap towards her. She puts the bag down for a moment and continued to stare at it intently. Eventually, she slowly took it in her hand.
“…I see?”
A mascot made of cloth is attached to the strap. The mascot itself is shaped like a tangerine, the moment I see the mascot’s dark eyes, I thought that this is the perfect souvenir for her.
“It’s cute, it’s a tangerine, and I thought it’s nice.”
“It’s cheap.”
“It’s that bad?”
“It’s the best. Thank you very much.”
“No problem.”