Chapter 19 - Overtime ②

It may be called after school date, but it is already dusk.
That is why we naturally decided to have an evening meal together. I was dragged by highly spirited Tachibana.

After all, we arrived to the central station via train.
And the place we arrived to is a café inside the department store in front of the station.

The café"s interior felt quite clean, its white walls adorned with wooden borders had different lovely miscellaneous goods and pictures set upon it here and there. Indeed, it has an atmosphere popular with ladies. Actually, present customers are office ladies on the way home from work or women finished with shopping, I had such an impression.

We sat at the corner of this café facing each other.

Just as the previous clothes store, this is once again a stylish choice. But unlike her, I"m feeling completely out of place here.
If I am negligent, my back becomes unnaturally straight…

– Kaa. I"m tired from today"s studying again.

Tachibana is languidly lying on the table.
While others are feeling nervous, she is acting just like a middle-aged man coming back from work.

Served before her were pancakes with strawberries and cream on top.
It seems like this is a specialized café, I can only see articles like blueberry pancake or vegetable pancake in the menu. I can"t understand which of them are meals and which are snacks.

By the way, the one I chose is a plain pancake with cream on the side.
I only ever spend the pocket money on nutritional food, so it was quite shocking for me to spend an amount close to 1,000 yen to have only one meal. I ordered the cheapest one, which costed 800 yen.

However, looking at my plate, for some reason Tachibana pouted with displeasure.

– You don"t really eat much, do you? And you didn"t have anything for lunch…

– Uh, so you"ve seen it…

– You"re gonna have a malnutrition, you know? Should I, share a little with you during lunch?

– Don"t mind it. It"s good for health to not eat in excess.

After I said that, my shoulder was poked with a finger while I was cutting the pancake with a knife.
Looking in front of me, blonde girl"s face with a puffed out cheek was close to mine, so my body became stiff. Hey, it"s dangerous.

– Hey, show some more reaction. A girl is saying that she will prepare a handmade bento for you!

– That is… Yeah, um. If you bring me lunch every day, there will be a question of money. I can"t just receive it for nothing, right?

– Hm! I haven"t asked that to get a cold response!

What"s this… We are having a relatively normal conversation…

It"s weird, but I was taken aback a little because of that.
Usually, I only help her with studies. Otherwise, she would at most playfully poke me with her finger when her concentration reserves are spent.

An insignificant thread called studies should have been the only thing that weakly connected the two of us. I thought so. But that just now… Was really normal.
As if we were really going out… Ah.

Noticing my own thoughts, I bit my lips. There will soon be a wound there, for G.o.d"s sake.

Still, should I say naturally, but without a reason to let Tachibana know about my wicked thoughts, I continued to have an empty conversation with her.

I don"t think that my replies were that fun, but Tachibana was smiling, showing me her teeth. Out of all the times I have seen her up to now, this might be the best mood she had. Despite being so mad earlier, just what in the world has happened?

Having finished eating, she ordered some dessert called parfait, but it seems she has no interest in finishing it immediately. Even though two hours have already pa.s.sed since we came to the café.

Well… It"s okay with me.
Yeah, it is an apology date, after all. And it will continue until Tachibana is satisfied.

She put her head onto the table with a b.u.mp.
Although there is still half of the parfait left, she went into lazy mode.

– Haa… My tests results are under risk.

"Hm", I frowned.

I feel like I spent considerable amount of time teaching her, but it is still risky?
I think she is progressing normally, yet it is not sufficient?

– Are you threatened by you parents or something? Like, your smartphone will be taken back if you do not place first on test, or something?

Completely casually, I ended up saying these words.

– Umm, so it"s like this. In truth, Tachibansan has a big dream…

With her face against the table, Tachibana said this in a listless way.
And after saying it she defenselessly yawned "Fuwaa", appearing carefree.

– Um… For a very long time now, I wanted to enter the company that was founded by my mom. But she said "I won"t hire an idiot, idiooot" I was so p.i.s.sed, but… I couldn"t have demanded a special treatment, could I…?

– So that"s how it was…

And so, I have ended up giving a detached reply.
But this… I thought it was something that I would never ask.
I"m not helping her to get along with her, so give up useless enquiries. This principle that was protected by my tiny pride was easily demolished just like that.

Rather, I have just found out that we were friends today.
Originally, it was a frail wall that I have subconsciously created.

Being together with her, I would naturally find out more about her. As I do not dislike her, I got along with her better than I could have imagined. And all of that is not unpleasant to me at all. Feeling like that, I could only have a sullen expression on my face as always. Because I didn"t understand if it was okay for me to smile.

– Is, is that so. … Then, you absolutely cannot fail. Do your best.

The best reply I could squeeze out of myself was that.
Yet, it seems that Tachibana was satisfied with it. Still lying on top of the table, she had a brilliant smile.

– Ehehe… That"s why, I feel grateful to you, you know?

– Don"t mind it. Even if I was asked to help by someone else, I would do it…

– Even so. I will seriously return it hundredfold, so be ready for it.

– … Rather, eat faster. It"s already 8 o"clock.

She… really changes her expressions too fast.
Despite foolishly smiling several seconds ago, she is now making a desperately pleading face.

– Nooo, I still want to stay here. Please…

…Please stop, don"t show me such a spoiled look…

I couldn"t look her in the eyes for even a second.
Looking at her shiny eyes for just a moment, I felt as if my heart was squeezed by a hand.

– … I"m, not really in a hurry. I just thought of your curfew….

– It"s okay. My curfew is loose. That"s why… Let"s stay here for a bit more?

– O-, okay.

In the end, we left the café at about 9 o"clock.

However, we haven"t immediately gone home, but had some random talk on the bench near station. Like, Tachibana"s friend"s someone had a quarrel with a boyfriend and what I think about it. And it"s not like we were waiting for the train. We could"ve got onto one if we wanted to. Thinking back to it, mysteriously, it was really an empty talk.

But sincerely, today, I may have been a bit weird…
Why does having Tachibana so happy next to me makes me so happy?

Although I was so tired when we were walking earlier, even if I"m tired, I"m feeling somewhat comfortable. It"s okay to stay together a bit longer. If it is for a bit longer, it"s okay even if I feel tired. I felt so.

And yet, time advanced very fast.
By the time when there was nothing left to talk about and there was a mood to return home, my sleeve was pulled just as usual.

– Hey… After this… what are you going to do?

– What, of course I will go home. If I return too late, I will get under house arrest.

– Is that so? Well, it is, isn"t it?

It was a dead silent, strangely oppressive atmosphere.
Tachibana glanced at my eyes several times, but turned away as if feeling guilty.

Hey… Seriously stop having that subtle downhearted look on your face. My chest is feeling p.r.i.c.kly inside.

But, I mostly understood what she was trying to convey.
Probably, I will be lectured by my aunt when I return. Still, this is her teaching too, somehow. It is troublesome, but I know the answer for times like this.

– Haa… Should I walk you home?

For a moment Tachibana was surprised and blinked several times, but before long she had a gentle smile.
"So you knew what to do" she smiled, seemingly in admiration.

– Amazing. As expected, you understand some things even if I don"t say them…

– Not really…

– But, I might… feel shy. There are often times when I can understand things that you want to say… Don"t we have a good compatibility?

– Oi, don"t expressly put it into words! We"re going back right now!

– Ah, wait for me…!

And then…

We returned with me always walking in front of her.
Having already said everything there was to say, we were both silent.
And yet, having my sleeve pulled while walking on a street at night wasn"t unpleasant. My body felt slightly buzzy during our walk.