"Good morning."
"Mornin'~"
"Good morning, Sara-senpai, Natsumi-senpai."
It was our usual morning routine, but today I had something to look forward to even more than usual.
"I heard all about it~. You gave her another present yesterday besides the bento box, didn't you?" Natsumi-senpai teased.
"Yes. I really wanted to give it to her."
"I see. I’m looking forward to seeing it sometime," Natsumi said with a grin.
Sara-senpai looked a little bashful. "Even now, I feel it might be a bit of a waste to use it for everyday things..."
Well, it was just like Sara-senpai to think that way. I decided to emphasize my feelings.
"Sara-senpai, I'm happy you think it's that precious, but I really want you to use it normally, okay?"
"...Yes. I will treasure it," she replied softly.
"......Good grief, and it's only morning," Natsumi muttered.
"Did you say something, Natsumi-senpai?" I asked.
"It's nothing. Well, shall we get going?"
We set off on our usual path to school. Lately, it seemed like the people around us had finally grown accustomed to the sight of us together, and the whispering had died down. Today, however, it felt like people were pointing and talking again.
"I'll see you at the lunch break, then," Sara-senpai said when we reached the school.
"See you later," Natsumi added.
"Yes, see you later."
The classroom door rattled open. As soon as I stepped inside, the guys with ulterior motives approached me—a sight that had become all too common recently. I didn't know if every single one of them had a hidden agenda, but most certainly did.
"Yo, Takanashi."
"Hey, hey, hey, Takanashi! You were at the shopping mall with Satsukawa-senpai yesterday, weren't you?"
"I heard it from a buddy, too. Said he saw the two of you together."
Crap. I had been so swept up in the moment yesterday that I hadn't even considered the possibility of being spotted. Maybe we had been standing a bit too close. It wasn't exactly surprising that someone had seen us; I would have to be more careful in the future.
"Is it that weird for me to go out with a friend?" I asked flatly.
"No, not weird at all! It’s only natural for friends. Next time you go, count me in—"
"Takanashi-kun, let's all go hang out next time. You can invite other people too. Girls are welcome, obviously..."
"If the opportunity arises," I said vaguely.
Of course, such an opportunity would never come. Still, these guys were something else. Until very recently, they had either ignored me or mocked me. I was almost impressed by how easily they could flip their attitudes. They had no sense of shame—or maybe they were just idiots.
"Good morning, Takanashi-kun," one of my female classmates said, approaching after the guys backed off. "You really shouldn't bother with guys like them. Their motives are totally transparent."
"Good morning. Yeah, I suppose so."
To be honest, I didn't really understand these girls either. Why the sudden friendliness? Still, they didn't ask me for favors or try to use me, so they were far better than the guys.
The first bell rang, and as everyone returned to their seats, the teacher arrived.
"Alright, let's start homeroom~"
Well, I had a reward waiting for me later, so I just had to get through the day.
"Hello, Takanashi-san."
"Good work, Takanashi-kun."
"Good work, both of you," I replied.
When I arrived at the flowerbed, the plastic sheet was already laid out and their belongings were spread across it. Everything was ready to go.
"Oh, you're early. I didn't think I took that long to get here..."
"Sara was so fired up today," Natsumi-senpai joked. "She was incredibly fast."
"I was the same as always, wasn't I?" Sara-senpai insisted.
"Ehh~? But it looked like the teacher's talk during fourth period was going to drag on, and just before the bell rang, you were staring the teacher down as if to tell him to finish up already..."
"Natsumi? Since a mouth that spews nonsense is nothing but a nuisance, shall I sew it shut for you in Home Economics later?"
Whoa. Sara-senpai had an incredible smile on her face, but the highlights in her eyes had completely vanished.
"NOTHING AT ALL! I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"
"Now, Takanashi-san, please have a seat."
"U-Understood."
For some reason, I found myself sitting down in formal seiza.
"Here you are. Thank you for waiting. This is today's bento."
With a Goddess Smile that was the polar opposite of her expression just a moment ago, she handed me the cute bento box.
"Thank you very much!"
"Oho~, so that's Takanashi-kun's new bento box. It's cute... very cute (lol)," Natsumi teased.
"Yes. It is for Takanashi-san's exclusive use, so I chose the cutest bento box I could find!" Sara-senpai declared proudly.
Natsumi-senpai had clearly meant it as a jab, but Sara-senpai took it with total sincerity. How naive. You should learn a bit from her innocence, Natsumi-senpai.
...Is probably what Takanashi-kun was thinking.
How naive. He only thinks that because he doesn't know the Sara that exists outside of his presence. That girl only shows that honest, sweet side to me or Takanashi-kun.
If a classmate had said the same thing to her, she’d likely say: "What exactly did you mean by that just now? Answer me quickly... Depending on your response, I won't stay silent."
And if someone said something like that about Takanashi-kun, she'd probably say something even more terrifying in return.
"Well then, shall we eat?"
"""Itadakimasu."""
I pulled off the lid of the cute box and stared. It was hamburg steak—the first I’d had in a while!
"Fufu... Seeing such a happy look on your face makes the effort worthwhile," Sara-senpai said.
"Senpai, your hamburg steak is the absolute best in my book."
"What? Takanashi-kun, you like hamburg steak that much?" Natsumi asked.
That was right; since it had just been Sara-senpai and me last time, this was the first time Natsumi-senpai had heard about my obsession.
"Yeah, it's my favorite food. And among them all, Sara-senpai's hamburg steak is unbeatable."
"Heh~... Which means Takanashi-kun can't enjoy the ultimate flavor unless it's food made by Sara, right? .........She's already finished capturing his stomach..."
"Did you say something?"
Lately, both Natsumi-senpai and Yuji had developed a habit of muttering cryptic things at the end of a conversation.