When I Started a Food Delivery Part-Time Job, I Ended up Being Invited to the Home of a Gloomy, Clumsy Beautiful Girl - Chapter 10: Trouble

Chapter 10: Trouble

It was Sunday. Just like Saturday, weekends were prime time for earning with UberMeats.

On holidays, the pay per delivery went up, making it more efficient than weekdays. I’d been pedaling my bike since late morning and decided to take a break around two in the afternoon.

“Phew… long hours are tough, aren’t they? I’m getting used to the deliveries themselves, but my stamina’s still lacking… Summer’s gonna be ten degrees hotter than this. Can I even handle it…?”

Right now, it was about twenty degrees Celsius. Warm enough to break a sweat, but in summer, the heat would drain my energy like crazy. UberMeats was physical work—quantity was everything. That’s why I was worried about surviving the summer.

“Crap, crap, crap…!”

As I was mulling this over, a panicked woman’s voice cut through the air near the main street by the station.

I glanced over and saw a woman, likely another UberMeats driver, clutching a delivery bag and pacing back and forth.

“…”

Curious, I set down my break-time drink and approached her.

“Hey, is something wrong?”

“Wah! You scared me! Wait, you’re a driver too!?”

The woman turned around, her shoulder-length brown bob peeking out from under her helmet. She had a kind of older-sister vibe, and her chest was… well, impossible to ignore. Her tight top only made it stand out more.

“Sorry for startling you. You seemed like you were in trouble, so I thought I could help.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re too nice! Okay, it’s bad! My bike’s got a flat tire! And I’m on a double pick right now! If this keeps up, I won’t be able to deliver both orders!”

By “pick,” she meant picking up orders from restaurants. A “double pick” was when you accepted two orders at once and delivered them together. The app would automatically guide you through the route, so it wasn’t too hard.

But—a flat tire? That was a problem. She could contact support and have the orders canceled, but seeing how frantic she was, I wanted to help her out.

So, I made a suggestion.

“Want to use my bike?”

“Huh…?”

“I’m on a break anyway. I’ll wait here until you finish your deliveries.”

“Seriously!? But… aren’t you worried I might just ride off with it?”

She had a point, but my bike was just a cheap mountain bike from a discount store. I was attached to it, sure, but if it came back safe, I didn’t mind lending it out.

“I’d be in trouble if you did take off with it… but are you going to?”

“No way, no way! I’ll bring it back, promise! …So, can I really borrow it?”

“Sure. Here’s the key.”

“Wow, you’re seriously the best! …Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Nina Nikawa!”

“I’m Yuki Aizawa.”

“Here, take this as collateral! Now I have to come back, right?”

With that, she pulled a small notebook-like thing from her chest pocket and tossed it to me.

“I’ll definitely return it, so don’t worry!”

“G-Got it.”

“Wait for me, Aizawa-kun!”

Nina sped off with a flourish.

As I watched her go, I looked down at the notebook in my hand—

“A student ID… and it’s from Hyosei Academy!? Same school as me!”

Flipping it open, I saw she was a second-year, one grade above me.

So, she was my senior.

“A senior one year older… I thought she was, like, college-aged.”

She’d seemed so mature, so I was surprised to find out she was closer to my age.

About twenty minutes later—

“Aizawa-kun! I’m back!”

Nina returned, waving with a big smile, clearly relieved after completing her deliveries.

“You really saved me! Thanks!”

She slapped my back enthusiastically as she spoke.

She was definitely the type to get close fast.

“Here’s your student ID.”

“Oh, my collateral’s back!”

“Actually, I’m a first-year at Hyosei too.”

“No way!? Seriously!? You’re my junior! Is this, like, fate!?”

Her eyes sparkled, her excitement skyrocketing.

“Then I’ll call you Nikawa-senpai from now on.”

“Whoa! I finally get to be called ‘senpai’!”

“You didn’t do any clubs?”

“Nope! So I never really got to hang out with juniors!”

“I see… same here. This might be my first time calling someone ‘senpai.’”

“Woo, we’re firsts for each other! I love it! Oh, by the way, how long have you been doing Uber, Yuki?”

She’d already switched to my first name—talk about moving fast.

“About two or three weeks.”

“Whoa, a newbie! I’ve been at it for, like, six months, but today was my first flat tire!”

“Yeah, a flat’s tough to deal with. If you keep riding on it, you might wreck the tube and end up with a bigger repair bill.”

“Wow, you know your stuff! But when it comes to Uber know-how, I’m the senpai here!”

“Then you’ll have to teach me the ropes sometime, Nikawa-senpai.”

“Ugh, I love having a junior!”

After that, we exchanged contact info and parted ways.

As we said goodbye, she sent me a sticker of a girl blowing a kiss—her way of saying thanks, I guess.

◇◇◇

“Oh, right, I haven’t contacted Yukishiro-san about cooking…”

It was getting late, and I was about to wrap up my shift as I pulled out my phone. I sent a message to Hiyori Yukishiro and closed the app.

But for some reason, it bugged me that I hadn’t gotten any orders from her today. Maybe she was trying to cut back or something—while I was thinking about that…

“Huh… a direct request?”

The notification on my screen wasn’t from Yukishiro-san.

It was a direct request from someone else.