Episode 9 – Here we come!

“Here we come!”
“Here we go again!”

The next day, Sunday. Once again, the same members as yesterday came to my place of work.

Incidentally, last night, while complaining about the two girls from school he brought to my part-time job, I asked Keiichi why it was such a one-and-two composition.
To my surprise, it seemed that it was a suggestion from Kohinata, who knew that I am not good with multiple women.

As expected, I was surprised at this.
I thought Kohinata was the least likely of the three to express an opinion, but you never know.

But today, too,……, it’s a day in the life. I’m at work, you know.

As I slumped my shoulders in disappointment, Kohinata, who was playing with her phone, stuck out her hand with a snap. She seemed to have written something on a memo again.

[Here we come!]

Three words like that and an exclamation mark were written on it.

“Don’t even imitate Keiichi’s tone. ……”

Oh no…… the pure and innocent-looking Kohinata is going to be adversely affected by my friend.
I hope Saejima will protect her somehow.

“Sorry Sugino-kun, I’m here again.”

I was trying to rely on Saejima, but she bowed her head apologetically. I don’t think I can rely on her.

Is she really the same person as the girl who was screaming that day? She’s not a twin or something, is she? Is she too quiet? A doppelganger?

“……Haa, No need to apologize anymore. Yesterday, keiichi told you that he went out of his way to overcome my difficulties by coming to the store and paying for me, right?　I don’t need you to cooperate that much. The money won’t last.”
“But it’s my fault.”

The reason why she is so quiet is probably because she is aware of the fact that I don’t like girls who talk a lot. I’m sorry if she’s that concerned about me.

“Anyway. Please put an end to that matter. I’m sorry for saying harsh things to Saejima, too, you know.
“T-that’s right, I’m sorry.”

“don’t apologize. …… Well, if you want to contribute to sales to keep this store going, you can come here all you want. The manager will be happy to see you.”
“O-okay! I’ll contribute!”

Saying that, Saejima clenched her fists tightly.
Responsibility, sense of justice, and so on – she really has a personality that reminds me of the girls back then.
If we could have reconciled like this right away in elementary school, I’m sure I wouldn’t be in this situation now.

“And with this arrangement again.”

The two of them and one parted as a matter of course and took their seats.
Today, an elderly couple who are regulars visited after Keiichi and the others, so they are not fooling around too much.
I bring the ochiru to Kohinata and call out to her.

“Why don’t you take a seat over there, too? It seems that he made it easy for me to talk to you, but I’m at work, you know?　I’m not going to do much private talking, okay?”

Kohinata shakes her head buzzingly. Is this a sign that she is not going to move her seat?

“If you’re okay with that, I won’t say anything more.”

Kohinata nodded her head. Is it really okay?

“Well, it’s true that it makes it easier for me to talk to you. I can have a normal conversation with Saejima, but I’m still a little nervous.”

Maybe my brain knows that “this guy is already okay,” but my body doesn’t understand it yet. Time is medicine, I guess.

“In Kohinata’s case, the first impression I got was that she was harmless. I guess that’s why I’m okay with it.”

While I was convincing myself of this, Kohinata held out her phone to me. I guess he wants me to look at the screen, just as I did yesterday.

“Sorry, courtyard.”

A short sentence as usual. But I got what she wanted to say.

“You mean you couldn’t stop Saejima?”

I’m sure she was upset about what I said to her at school.
I’m sure she’s probably worried about what I said to her at school.

I said something to Kohinata like, “You should speak your mind more,” or something like that. ……I was pretty bossy that time.

“That’s enough. I was too harsh at the time, I’m sorry. But I think you should pay more attention to the people around you so that you don’t get pushed around by them.”

At my words, Kohinata nodded again.
I think she nodded faster and more often than usual. Maybe it’s just my imagination.

“When you decide on an order, give me a signal with a glance and I’ll keep an eye out for it. I’m going to bring water to the two of them.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Eight pm. I finished my part-time job and went home to my apartment.

When I work full time, the manager cooks me makanai, which is very nice for me as I live alone. It tastes better than bento, and best of all, it’s free.

I unlocked the auto-lock and went to the entrance hall. The building must be 10 years old or so, but it seems to be well maintained, and the walls and floors are as clean as new.

“I’m home.”

Using the elevator and my own legs, I finally made my way back to Room 506.
I greeted my return, but there was no reply because I live alone. If I got a “welcome home,” I would immediately turn around and walk away.

Work went on as usual, and although I felt some fatigue in my legs from standing, it didn’t interfere with my daily life. I was a bit tired because of Keiichi and the others, but nothing that would affect my daily life.

The room was a one-bedroom apartment, which was very respectable for a student living alone.
As far as I was concerned, a cheaper apartment would have been fine. I didn’t need an automatic lock, and I had no intention of complaining about the old, crumbling 1K room.

However, my father said, “I don’t want it to be too small when I come to visit,” and so I am now in this situation. father has moved to another prefecture for work and lives alone, just like me.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do during Golden Week. It depends on his work.”

I’ll either go to him or he’ll come to me.
Since we are the only two people in the family, there are only two choices. Well, there is a pattern that we can’t agree on the schedule, so we spend our own holidays.

While the bathtub is turned on and the hot water is being poured, I take in the laundry that was hanging out to dry.

“If my father can’t make it, I can get a part-time job. But it’s a holiday weekend. If Keiichi catches up with me, I can play with him ……, but what should we do?”

When I think of high school playgrounds, karaoke, bowling, game centers, and so on come to mind. Suddenly, as I imagined playing with my friends in those playgrounds, for some reason, the image of Kohinata popped into my head.

“-fufu. If Kohinata went to a game center or something, she’d probably stare at the crane game prizes. And I think she would point and nod. If she were to write on her phone, it would be something like, ‘I want it.'”

I chuckled to myself and folded the laundry I had taken in.

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