[Aya’s PoV]
Right after parting ways with Haruto…
“Ugh, I’m such an idiot…! Ahh mouu! Why didn’t I just hold hands with him!? It was such the perfect opportunity, wasn’t it!?” (Aya)
Aya, who had flopped onto the sofa in the living room, buried her face in the cushion, and flapped her legs in frustration.
“Even though it was a perfect chance, why do I go and do something so stupid!? Mouu…!” (Aya)
Expressing her regrets, Aya kept fidgeting until she eventually stopped, as if she wore herself out.
“Haa… I could have held hands with Haruto-san…” (Aya)
The heavy weight of ‘regret’ pressed against her back.
“This is normal for someone from an all-girls school, right? It’s not like I’m the only one who’s weird when in such a situation…” (Aya)
She attended an escalator all-girls school1 from middle school to high school.
Interactions with the opposite sex were practically nonexistent, and the last time she held hands with someone was during an elementary school field trip.
“But being able to grasp the hem of his clothes is a big step forward! Yeah…! It was nerve-wracking, but I did it properly!” (Aya)
It was a shift in mindset.
“Haruto-san probably hasn’t even caught on, but we’re going on a date! Oh, I should check my schedule…!” (Aya)
While the decision to go on a date had been made, the date was still undecided.
She quickly stood up and moved to her streaming room.
Without even sitting on her gaming chair, Aya hurriedly brought her PC out of sleep mode and opened the management software.
“Uh, let’s see… Saturday, Saturday is…” (Aya)
This Saturday – assignments.
Next Saturday – collaboration.
The Saturday after – a tournament.
The Saturday after that – no plans.
“The earliest date is three weeks from now… Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it…” (Aya)
If possible, she would want to go on the date as soon as possible, but work had to take priority.
“All right! I look forward to it! Having more time means I can use it to plan the date!” (Aya)
Reassuring herself, she clicked on the calendar for the Saturday three weeks from now and reached for the keyboard and typed in: “Date with Haruto-san (Temporary).”
“…Let’s add a heart. And make it pink. Hehe.” (Aya)
It was still a long way off, but just putting those words in her schedule made her genuinely happy.
“W-Wait, I-I’m smiling too much… Th-This much is not good…” (Aya)
Looking at her face faintly reflected on the computer screen, she realized she was loosening up a bit too much.
She tried pinching her cheeks to regain composure, but it didn’t quite work as smoothly as she hoped.
“W-Wah my face is getting hotter…” (Aya)
It wasn’t just that. Even her heartbeat was beating louder.
“I-I’m being too easy! I… I won’t even be able to handle the real thing at this rate…” (Aya)
Suddenly, her body lost strength. She spun the chair around and quickly sat down.
“I… I might seriously be in love with Haruto-san after all…” (Aya)
Before, it was just a matter of being interested. But now, it’s more than that.
To hide the overwhelming embarrassment, she buried her face on the desk.
“…Unn, I really like Haruto-san…” (Aya)
It was at that moment that she understood her own feelings.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
This chapter was seriously just two and a half pages long, and yet this is the most progress we’ve seen so far… We’re gonna get the date chapter this volume right…? From what I can see, next chapter is about Yuno’s friend coming over.
Also, this is the first time I heard of this escalator school thing. I wish my country had this system, getting into university is so competitive here.
Thanks for the chapter! What a short but hyped chapter
Escalator school somewhat exist here, but not until univ and is very scarce. And at least from what I know, it sounds good in theory but not as much in practice. Perhaps it’s just my personal opinion though