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The next day after school, Mei was waiting by the entrance.
Mei Onodera didn’t look like she’d been waiting for me. As if she’d just happened to be there, she was talking with two friends next to the shoe lockers—yet she didn’t miss a beat when I arrived. She wore a slightly oversized cardigan over her petite frame, and her hair was tied back more neatly than usual. She clearly knew exactly how to present herself to be seen as a cute underclassman.
“Senpai, please, today for sure.”
Before I could change my shoes, Mei said that and approached me. In her hand was a note that looked like it was for club activities. The first-year girls standing next to her were looking this way, too.
“Going shopping again?”
“Yes. This time I actually have a list. Senpai, it’d be enough if you just came with me to the station. It’s a lot of stuff for me to carry alone, and it’ll get dark—you’d help me, right, Senpai?”
Her voice was a little loud.
I could tell she was saying it so everyone around us could hear. If I refused, I’d be the senior who abandons a junior. Mei had always used that tactic to get me to do things. She knew that even if I looked troubled, I’d eventually give in.
Shiori, who was standing next to me, looked my way. She didn’t say anything. But she was making sure to leave enough space for me to say “no” if I really didn’t want to go.
“I’m not going. I’m going home with Shiori today.”
Mei’s eyes widened for just a moment, then she immediately smiled.
“Oh, come on, not again. Senpai, you’ve really become hard to hang out with since you got a girlfriend. You never used to turn down things like this before. Shiori wouldn’t get mad over something as simple as running errands for a junior, would she?”
Mei looked at Shiori then.
It was a gentle smile. But what she was saying wasn’t gentle at all. She’s trying to shift the reason for my refusal onto Shiori’s character. If Shiori doesn’t say anything, it’ll look like she’s presenting me as a kind boyfriend. If Shiori says she doesn’t want to, she’ll come across as a narrow-minded girlfriend.
I changed my shoes and stood directly in front of Mei.
“Don’t ask Shiori. I’m the one turning you down.”
Mei’s smile faltered just a little.
“But aren’t you the kind of person who helps out with things like this, Senpai? I thought I could count on you. Yet the moment you got a girlfriend, you’re saying we can’t be alone together or go shopping together—isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“It’s not extreme. It’s normal not to go shopping alone with another girl when you have a girlfriend, right?”
“It’s for club business! There’s nothing weird about it.”
“If there’s nothing weird about it, then just ask someone else from the club. There’s no reason it has to be me.”
Mei was at a loss for words.
Seeing the look on her face, my heart ached just a little. Mei isn’t a completely bad person. She’s genuinely happy when I help her out when she’s in trouble, and I believe she’s really working hard for the club. That’s exactly why I’ve agreed to her requests so many times.
But that doesn’t mean I have to accept everything.
A first-year girl standing next to Mei whispered,
“Mei, couldn’t we just go by ourselves? There are three of us, after all.”
At those words, Mei’s cheeks flushed red. It was because her friend—whom she’d brought along as an ally—hadn’t blamed me the way she’d expected.
Mei laughed nervously.
“I know, but I feel safer with you here, Senpai. Right, Senpai? Just for a little while. Shiori san doesn’t have to tie you down so much—”
“Stop talking like that.”
My voice came out louder than I’d intended.
A few people at the entrance looked our way. Mei also closed her mouth, looking surprised. I took a deep breath before continuing.
“It sounds like I’m the one at fault. Shiori isn’t tying me down. I just don’t want to do things she doesn’t like. And please stop trying to manipulate me by saying things like I’m being cold or abandoning if I say no.”
Mei’s eyes wavered.
She probably didn’t expect me to say it so directly. Up until now, if Mei looked even slightly troubled, I’d apologize right away. I felt like it was wrong to let down my cute junior, so I’d always put my own plans on hold.
But things are different now.
Shiori is by my side. She’s the one I chose.
“From now on, I won’t meet with you alone. I won’t go grocery shopping with you unless I absolutely have to. If it’s about club activities, ask someone from the club.”
Mei clutched the note. The corners of her eyes were slightly red. But rather than remorse, it looked more like confusion—confusion that what had always worked between them no longer did.
“……Senpai, you’ve really changed, haven’t you?”
“I haven’t changed. I’ve just decided to say no.”
Mei didn’t say anything.
The first-year girl next to her tugged at Mei’s sleeve awkwardly and said, “Well, let’s go then.” Mei didn’t shake her off. She just looked back and forth between me and Shiori, then lowered her head slightly.
“I understand. I won’t ask you again.”
There was still a sting to those words. But I didn’t run after her to apologize.
As we stepped out of the entrance, Shiori spoke quietly beside me.
“Were you a little scared at the end?”
“Quite a bit. I’m still thinking I might have gone too far with a junior.”
“Maybe my tone was a bit harsh. But I think what I said was necessary.”
I looked toward the school gate.
I couldn’t hear Mei’s voice from behind. Normally, her sweet voice would have followed me, calling out to stop me. Today was different.
I help her because she’s a cute underclassman. I can’t say no when she gives me that troubled look. That seat is no longer available.
I walked beside Shiori. The walk home without Mei asking for my help was a little bittersweet, yet it still felt surprisingly light.
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