Vol 1 Chapter 28 – The Meetup

I was wearing my one good dress.

It’s the only decent piece of casual clothing I own.

At home, you’d just find me in a tracksuit.

I even debated wearing my school uniform today, but I decided against it since I could already see myself getting a deadpan, “But there’s no school today.”

I checked over my best dress, which I hadn’t taken out in a while, worrying if anything looked strange on it.

And still, I couldn’t help but think I was being way too self-conscious.

“I got here an hour early.”

I muttered to myself.

I had arrived at our meeting spot a full hour ahead of schedule.

It was a place with a line of benches in the station’s central plaza.

The card game shop is inside this plaza; it’s where Kajiwara-kun and I first met.

I waited for him, reading a manga on my e-reader amidst the hustle and bustle.

“…”

Looking at myself in this dress, I can’t help but wonder.

What if he thinks I’m trying too hard to look like a girl, to make him see me differently?

What if he gets the wrong idea and is put off by it?

Those were my worries.

Well, I have an hour to wait. I’ll just prepare myself mentally.

The very instant I thought that…

“…Have I kept you waiting?”

It was an hour early.

And yet, there was Kajiwara-kun.

He was wearing a clean-looking shirt with a cardigan and a pair of slacks.

The outfit looked great on his tall, sturdy frame, giving him the air of a refreshing, handsome young man.

“Huh? It’s still an hour early, isn’t it?”

“It is, isn’t it?”

We looked at each other.

What are we both doing here an hour ahead of time?

Of course, in my case, it was to make sure I wasn’t late under any circumstances.

Kajiwara-kun answered, looking a little bashful.

“…I was so excited about the card game tournament today that I ended up coming early.”

“I see.”

I nodded again and again.

Well, seeing as I also came early, I was in no position to judge.

The right thing to say here was this:

“Me too. I was so excited to hang out with you, Kajiwara-kun, that I got here early, too.”

I decided to be a little bold.

It wasn’t because of what Hatsune said, but I figured a comment like this would be permissible.

I smiled sweetly.

“…Should we kill some time at a cafe? My treat.”

Kajiwara-kun smiled back, looking a bit shy.

The response seems positive.

“Oh no, I’ll pay for myself.”

I insisted.

I made sure to withdraw my allowance money.

But…

“This might be embarrassing for a high schooler to admit, but… my mother gave me a special allowance for today, so it’s alright. She told me not to let you pay for anything, Takahashi-san. Honestly, it’s kind of annoying, like she’s still managing my life.”

As he spoke, Kajiwara-kun took out his wallet-style phone case and showed me a credit card inside.

He has a supplementary family card?

His parents really trust him.

As I was thinking that, Kajiwara-kun sat down next to me on the bench.

“…This might be a strange question, but has my mother, by any chance, gone to see you behind my back, President Takahashi?”

“Uh, umm…”

What do I do?

I don’t want to lie, and I probably shouldn’t.

“She called and asked if we could meet once, so we did. She was a very kind woman, your mother.”

“That woman… I am so, so sorry.”

Kajiwara-kun put a hand to his forehead and looked up at the sky.

No, really, she was a great mom.

“To think she would summon my club president… what an incredible breach of etiquette.”

“There was nothing to worry about, you know? She just asked me to look after you, Kajiwara-kun. She said, ‘I know we’ve caused you trouble, but I hope you’ll continue to be good friends with him.'”

Right, ‘good friends.’

She primarily asked me in a romantic sense.

Of course, Kajiwara-kun probably wouldn’t pick up on that intention.

But for me, it’s an incredibly welcome show of support.

It’s not at all uncommon for couples to be broken up because the guy’s mother doesn’t approve.

I’ve already cleared that hurdle.

This gives me the confidence to really go for it.

“Well, if you say so. In any case, shall we head to a cafe?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

I stood up from the bench with Kajiwara-kun.

Alright, I’d love to hold his hand right about now.

But we’re not at that stage yet.

“I’d like to go to a place that has a shortcake set. There’s one in this plaza, right?”

“…Don’t tell me, is that the cafe my mother took you to? Her favorite one?”

He’s reading my mind.

He’s right, actually.

So far, I only have good memories of that place.

“That’s the one. Your mother and I might have similar tastes.”

Honestly, I was so nervous when I was with his mother that I couldn’t even taste the cake or the coffee.

But if she recommended it that highly, it must be a delicious place.

“Then let’s go there. Still, my mom worries too much.”

He had a look on his face like he couldn’t quite accept it.

No, really, I think she’s an amazing mother.

“…Kajiwara-kun. Have you ever thought about how much freedom your mother gives you?”

“No… I mean, I understand that she lets me be free, but…”

“Your mother probably recognizes your independence even more than you think.”

Most mothers in this world are only thinking about how to ‘ship out’ their sons for their own future.

They might wish for their children’s happiness, but it’s a restrictive kind of love.

I want to stand up for his mother.

“Your mother is an elite businesswoman at one of the top five trading companies, isn’t she, Kajiwara-kun? She must have her pick of marriage proposals for you from her work and clients. She’s probably politely turning all of them down just to let you be free.”

Even I can imagine that much.

Does he understand that part of it?

Kajiwara-kun can be a little dense at times.

“That’s—now that you mention it, you’re right.”

But he’s the type of kid who gets it once it’s pointed out to him.

So I’ll just say it clearly, right here and now.

Kajiwara-kun, you are free.

“When a pretty aggressive marriage proposal came up for me, she apparently turned it down flat.”

“Whoa, so that really happened.”

Oof.

I looked at Kajiwara-kun’s face, reeling from the shock.

He was rubbing his chin with a disgusted look on his face.

“No, that’s all over with from my middle school days. But I guess it was love at first sight for the other party, or something. My mother took me to a company party, telling me I needed to gain some experience socializing, and that’s where it came up. My mother had a terrible time dealing with it, and she hasn’t taken me with her to anything like that since.”

“Ah, yeah. That happens.”

I mean, Kajiwara-kun is a good-looking guy.

If there’s an unattached boy who hasn’t been promised to anyone yet, of course that kind of talk will come up.

“But your mother turned them down for you, right?”

“She did. By repeatedly hammering on about how her son was completely unworthy. It seems that somehow did the trick.”

No, she’s seriously a great mom.

If that proposal had been accepted, there’s a good chance Kajiwara-kun wouldn’t even be standing next to me right now.

He might have been forced to attend the same high school as that girl he met in middle school.

My chance to meet him would have been stolen away.

In my heart, I thanked his mother.

Thank you so very much.

“…”

Kajiwara-kun fell silent.

It seemed he’d realized that when he considered his own circumstances, he had nothing but gratitude for his mother and not a single complaint.

As long as you look him in the eye, he’s a boy who will listen to reason.

“You’re right. I guess I should be grateful to my mom.”

“Exactly.”

Having finished my defense of his mother, I beamed at him.

And so, we went into the cafe and ordered a coffee and shortcake set.

After taking a breath, I gasped.

The two of us, in a cafe.

It’s almost like… we’re on a date.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I pressed my hands to my cheeks, hoping he wouldn’t notice them turning scarlet.

I waited quietly for the shortcake to arrive.