Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break? - Chapter 62 - Theme

Chapter 62 – Theme

“Ah, Andou-kun, you finally came—”

“Sorry, I tried to get here five minutes early, but…”

“Jeez— you shouldn’t keep a girl waiting on a date—”

“Eh, this is a date?”

“Well, yeah— A girl and a boy going to see a movie together.”

“Well, I guess…?”

(I thought arriving five minutes early would be fine, but I never expected both Asakura-san and Momoi-san to already be at the shopping center meeting spot—)

“Hmmph! Muuu—!”

“Wah! A-Asakura-san!?”

“Kyaa—! Hey, Sakura!? Why did you suddenly jump between me and Andou-kun?”

“Th-this is— That! There was a bug flying! I-it’s not like I thought you two were being all lovey-dovey and forgetting I existed or anything, so don’t misunderstand!”

“Ehh? That’s suspicious— You were staring at me really suspiciously until Andou-kun arrived today too—”

“Hanya! I-I’m not conscious of Momo at all!”

(Hmm, suspicious— Feels like Sakura sees me as a rival woman today, huh? I have absolutely no intention of taking Andou-kun, and this date is actually meant to help advance things between Sakura and Andou-kun—)

“Ahaha. No way I’d forget someone like Asakura-san.”

“Fweh!”

(A-Andou-kun… what does that mean… You’re saying you’re so conscious of me daily that you couldn’t possibly forget my existence!?)

(She already stands out as a beautiful girl, and on top of that, forgetting someone as unpredictable as Asakura-san who never knows what she’ll do next is absolutely impossible. If anyone’s existence would be forgotten in this group, it’d definitely be me, the ‘loner.’)

“Now then, since our two leads are here, I’ll announce the theme for today’s date!”

“”Theme?””

“Yeah, what did the Class Rep tell you two about today’s date?”

“I think she said I should go watch a movie to understand the feelings of my role and grasp those emotions…”

“And since I was supposed to take you two to the movies as an apology for the test of courage, we decided the three of us would go to the movies today on our day off, right?”

“That’s right! So, for today only, you two will call each other ‘Romeo’ and ‘Juliet’!”

“…………”

“…………”

“”Eh-ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!””

【Bonus Story】”Wavelength”

“Andou-kun, Andou-kun.”

“What is it, Asakura-san?”

“I was just reading a light novel, and there was a scene where the protagonist exchanged meaningful glances with the heroine.”

“Oh yeah, those scenes are pretty common in manga and light novels.”

“But don’t you think that’s actually pretty unrealistic?”

“Well, yeah. Honestly, understanding what someone’s thinking just by looking at their eyes—what are they, espers?”

“Right? With eye contact, you can only move your eyes around, so conveying exactly what you want is absolutely impossible. Yet in this light novel’s eye contact scene, they’re asking through eye contact ‘Do you know Shimokitazawa land prices?'”

“Really… and the protagonist is answering through eye contact too! That’s impossible…”

“Right? This scene is really pushing it.”

“Yeah… hm?”

(What’s this… I feel someone’s gaze— ah)

“~♪”

“?”

(Oh, it’s just Momoi-san… I thought I felt someone watching me…)

(Yahho—♪ Andou-kun, how are you?) ←Eye contact

(Same as always… Momoi-san, did you need something?) ←Eye contact

(Muuu~! What? Is Momoi-san not allowed to even greet Andou-kun without having business?) ←Eye contact

(No no no, that’s not what I mean… but it’s rare for Momoi-san to just greet me, isn’t it?) ←Eye contact

(That’s not true— Even Momoi-san has days when she wants to greet Andou-kun! Besides, if we’re talking about greetings, Sakura greets Andou-kun too!) ←Eye contact

(W-well, Asakura-san… she sits next to me, so? And Momoi-san, you specifically greeted me through eye contact.) ←Eye contact

(Oh, so should I have just boldly joined in that situation? If I started talking with Andou-kun while you’re with Sakura, we’d attract quite a bit of attention from the class, you know?) ←Eye contact

(…………Let’s keep it like this. Rather, thank you for making it eye contact!) ←Eye contact

(Hmph! You are forgiven.) ←Eye contact

“Andou-kun… Andou-kun!”

“Eh, Asakura-san. What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? You suddenly spaced out. What’s wrong?”

“Ah! No, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought.”

“Really…?”

“~~♪”

Translation Notes:

• お題 (odai): “theme” or “topic”
• ツーカー (tsūkā): “wavelength” – understanding each other perfectly