Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330658028208231/episodes/16817330658585528870
“Now what do I do?”
I lay out my clothes on the bed and put my hand on my chin, pondering.
Tomorrow I’m supposed to go out with Watanabe san, the madonna of the school, but I don’t have any clothes to wear.
Well, technically speaking, there are some clothes, but they are frayed in places and old designs.
I don’t care if I’m going out with my male friends, but it would be somewhat impolite to go out with Watanabe san while looking like that.
“As expected, walking with someone from the same class is…..”
The last time I went out with Watanabe san, I had no problem because I was just equipping myself for fishing, but this time I was going to a fashionable place in the city and the destination was an aquarium popular among middle school and high school students.
Watanabe san will naturally dress up, and if that happens, it will be embarrassing for her if the person walking next to her is dressed strangely.
To prevent this from happening, I need to stock up on clothes today, no matter what it takes.
I looked at the time and it was around noon on Saturday. I let out a sigh,
“…… Aizawa. Please accompany me to go shopping for clothes.”
I called my friend, who was the right person for this kind of thing.
“I didn’t expect you to call me on my day off.”
Aizawa showed up at the rendezvous point with a languid smile on his face and said these words as soon as he saw me.
There were girls around him who were glancing at him, but he was completely unaware of them, probably because he was used to being looked at.
He is wearing a striped shirt and a hoodie. He was fully clothed in white jeans, and I knew he was the right person to ask for advice.
We were meeting at an outlet mall a few stops away from the nearest one. This place has a domed roof and is directly across the street from the station, so it doesn’t matter if it’s raining.
“Sorry, I know that you were busy.”
I apologize for calling him for my own reasons. I’ll buy him a drink at the café after I finish getting some clothes.
“It was fine. The practice game was canceled because of the rain, and my parents told me to study for the final exam.”
“….I’m really sorry about that.”
I know his midterm exam results, so I bowed my head.
“More importantly, you want to see the clothes, right? What kind of clothes do you want?”
“Well, something as inexpensive and fashionable as possible.”
I told Aizawa what I wanted.
“That’s impossible.”
Aizawa, however, denied it and looked at me coldly.
“It’s the same with fishing gear. Cheap tools and expensive ones are different in performance. You might be able to use it for the purpose of catching fish, but you might be able to catch more fish with a higher-end product, right? It is the same with clothes. But girls will look at the quality of the fabric, so if you wear something too cheap, they will give up on you.”
“Okay…….. I give up, just get me something fashionable.”
I didn’t expect this guy to compare it to fishing. I was also convinced, so I raised my hands in the air.
“But it’s surprising.”
“What?”
“If it had been you until now, you would have said, [I’m not going out with a girl, and if we look the same, I’ll use the money I save to buy fishing tackle] right?
As expected, Aizawa has the deepest understanding of me at school. He hit the nail on the head when he said what I was about to say.
“And you’ve become a little softer lately,…….hm?”
Aizawa looked at me while saying something abstract.
“No, wait…….I’ve only known you for a little over two months.”
I don’t plan on having a relationship that deep. Aizawa must have misunderstood.
“Also, it’s not Aizawa’s words, but I just thought that if I’m going to be walking around with someone, I might as well be properly dressed.”
That’s why I’m proud that the clothes I wore today are the best combination among myself. If I buy more clothes, I will have achieved my goal for the day.
“Now then, are any of the girls asking you out?”
However, my sophistry didn’t seem to work, and Aizawa smiled as he used his intuition.
“The class president? That girl is nice. She’s the caring type, and she’s perfect for Aikawa, who is indifferent to many things.”
“Why does the class president come up there?”
I was upset when he guessed that I was asked out by a girl, but it seems that even the quintessential Aizawa couldn’t see the connection between me and Watanabe san.
“You talk a lot, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but we talk about the weather, tests, and other rather unimportant things, I guess?”
I talk to the class president from time to time in the classroom, but that’s it. Aizawa must have misunderstood something.
“Let’s go shopping. It’s pretty crowded.”
On weekends, outlet malls are filled with young people. The places where we can go out are limited due to the rain, and people with similar ideas are gathering.
“Well, we can always pursue, for now let’s go shopping for clothes first.”
With Aizawa’s teasing words, we set out for the store.
We entered a men’s clothing store and Aizawa proceeded without hesitation. He is a man with a reputation for fashion. And I can rely on him.
“Hey, what in the world are you going to buy?”
It goes deeper and deeper, so I listen with my heart racing with anticipation.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to pick out the clothes that will meet all your needs.”
That’s when I reached the middle of the store.
“Excuse me, I need full-body coordination for this guy.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Hey !”
Aizawa, as if out of the blue, threw everything at the clerk.
“What’s your budget?”
“How much do you have?”
Aizawa, not hearing my protests, inquired about my wallet.
“…….20,000 yen.”
Twenty thousand yen is a lot of money for a high school student.
“How would you like to coordinate?”
“Well, not so different from what I’m wearing now…….”
“No, I’ll go with what you think looks best on him, according to the clerk.”
“I understand. Please wait a moment.”
With that, the clerk moves away.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be the outfit I wanted?”
I ask Aizawa, looking at the clerk who is looking for clothes in the distance.
“In a store like this, the clerk knows best what kind of clothes are available. If you have a specific budget and want to coordinate your entire body, that would be faster than doing it yourself.”
“If that’s the case, why did you interrupt my request?”
“It’s not like I can’t see your current outfit, but it’s probably the outfit you bought in middle school, right? It’s a little childish, a little out of style.”
“I-I see……”
“Besides, it’s also important to incorporate other tastes into things like this. The clerk have seen a lot of outfits and he can give you a more objective assessment than us amateurs.”
I was impressed by the fact that every single thing he said was so right.
“Please try on your clothes in this order.”
The clerk waits with the clothes in front of the fitting room.
“Go ahead, I’ll make sure you get a good look at the items.”
After this, I was made to try on a lot of clothes.
“Sigh, I’m pretty tired.”
After a few hours of deliberation, I was able to buy several items of clothing, trousers, a jacket, and more clothes than I had expected, all for just under 19,500 yen.
“After that, I’ll use this as a base and buy what I’m missing at a later date.”
The clothes he picked out for me this time were far from my sense of style. I changed and walked around, but unlike before I entered the store, I wondered if I was self-conscious about the fact that people were looking at me as well.
With that in mind, I touch my hair. I was concerned because it was different from what I normally look like.
“Since you’ve gone to the trouble of waxing it, don’t play with it too much, okay?”
If I want to coordinate my whole body, I get my hair done at the service.
“I was curious about it.”
I ended up buying that wax, too, so I would have to practice when I got home.
As I was walking around thinking about that,
“Whoa !”
Aizawa suddenly stopped. I looked over to see what was going on and saw a group of three girls looking at me.
“It’s Aizawa. Shopping?”
“Riho and Maho ! You too?”
The ones looking at me were Ishikawa Riho and Sawaguchi Maho, classmates who go to the same school. And …..
“Yeah, there was a sale going on, so the three of us were looking around.”
Saying so, Ishikawa san shows me her handbag.
“Hey, there are a lot of people here, so if you want to talk, don’t you need somewhere else?”
Sawaguchi san suggested.
“We were just going to take a break. Is that okay?”
“How about you, Misa?”
“Yeah, I’m fine with it.”
And there stood Watanabe san with a smile on her face, whom I was going to meet tomorrow.
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