According to Umi, they had been talking about it since the end of the summer break. They were going to rent out a civic hall and hold a joint event with other high schools in the area. They said it was to strengthen the relationship between the various nearby schools.
This idea came from our schoolās student council. They planned to dedicate this event to the seniors who were struggling because of their exams. The fee to join in the event was three thousand yen and the registration period had been closed for a while.
Actually, Yagisawa-sensei notified us about this when the summer break was over, but since I was still unsociable at that time, it completely slipped my mind.
That party was the reason why Umi would be unavailable during Christmas.
And since the registration period was closed, I couldnāt participate even if I wanted to.
[Asanagi: Well, Iām just there to escort Yuu. But neither of us are looking forward to it, to be honest.]
[Maehara: Amami-san too? I thought she would love going to parties like this.]
[Asanagi: Originally thatās the case, but wellā¦]
[Asanagi: They invited other schools to the party and you knowā¦]
[Maehara: What?]
[Asanagi: The list includes Tachibana Highā¦]
[Maehara: ā¦Ahā¦]
I see.
If people from Tachibana High would be there, that meant their old friends like Nitori-san and Houjou-san would be there too.
I didnāt know what happened between the four of them since their meeting at the cultural festival, but from the way Umi talked about them, theyāve grown estranged.
The festival brought Umi and I closer than weāve ever been, but I could say that it came with the price of Amami-san losing two other friends.
There was nothing we could do about it, but the feeling of guilt was still there.
[Asanagi: Well, weāve paid for it already and we canāt get a refund. We planned to eat a lot at the party and bail as soon as we can.]
[Asanagi: Because of that, my schedule from the evening through the night is already filled.]
[Maehara: I see. It canāt be helped then.]
Things would become troublesome if they were to cancel their participation, so their best course of action would be to attend the party and leave as soon as they could.
With that, both Umi and Amami-sanās schedule for Christmas was decided.
[Asanagi: Ah, butā¦]
[Maehara: What is it?]
[Asanagi: I heard the party will end at around 8 or 9.]
[Asanagi: Thatās whyā¦ Umā¦]
If the party ended at around that time.
That meant she would be free for the rest of the night.
[Maehara: Got it.]
[Maehara: Iāll prepare something light for you to snack on.]
[Maehara: Iāll let my mom know.]
[Asanagi: Then, Iāll be in your care.]
[Asanagi: Iāll let my mom know too.]
[Asanagi: Alsoā¦]
[Maehara: Also?]
[Asanagi: Umā¦]
The moment I saw her next message, my heart beat a step faster.
[Asanagi: Maybe my mom would let me stay overā¦]
Christmas.
During the day, you were supposed to spend your time together with your loved ones.
While during the nightā¦
I looked up to Umiās direction to find that she was also staring at me. Our gazes met each other.
ā!ā
I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks and I plopped my face down on the desk in reflex.
I glanced over at Umi to see that she had done the exact same thing as I did.
Could it be?
ā¦No wayā¦
[Maehara: Pervert.]
[Asanagi: !?]
[Asanagi: Shut up, idiot!]
[Asanagi: Stop teasing me!]
[Asanagi: This is all your fault!]
[Asanagi: What the hell were you thinking, inviting me out of the blue like that?]
[Maehara: Yes, but it isnāt my fault that your thoughts are rotten.]
Of course, I would be lying if I said that those kinds of thoughts didnāt come to my mind. In fact, I spent a lot of time thinking about it.
But anyway, itās still too early for this kind of talk, the day barely even started.
Thankfully we were chatting privately. If someone were to read our chat log, they would probably label us as anĀ idiotic couple.
Iād rather not being labeled as such.
But anyway, why werenāt we lovers yet?
When should we start becoming lovers anyway? My circle of friends were so small, I couldnāt use anyone as a reference because no one had any dating experience. Maybe I should look for more friends.
Anyway, for future references, my circle of friends consisted of two people; Umi and her best friend, Amami-san.
I had no male friends whatsoever, yet I hung out with the two cutest girls in class for some reason.
[Asanagi: Anyway, letās stop talking about Christmas.]
[Maehara: Sureā¦]
[Maehara: Still, I feel bad about Amami-sanā¦]
[Asanagi: Me too.]
[Asanagi: Should I invite her too?]
That was a good idea. I mean, after the party, me and Umi could hang out together, but that would mean that Amami-san would be left out.
To be honest, Iād rather not leave her out like that.
[Maehara: Sure, just invite her over.]
[Asanagi: Alright.]
[Asanagi: Also, that girlās heart is too innocent.]
[Asanagi: She has been dealing with a lot of troublesome things lately.]
[Maehara: Huh?]
[Maehara: Did something happen?]
[Asanagi: Mmā¦]
[Asanagi: Well, itās related to the upcoming party.]
[Maehara: ??]
[Asanagi: Youāll understand when you see it.]
[Asanagi: Meet me at lunch.]
[Maehara: Sureā¦]
We stopped texting each other after that and put our phones away.
āUmi, whatās wrong? Your face is red.ā
āShush! Anyway, do you have some time after school? I wanna talk about something.ā
āOf course! Ehehe, what kind of talk will we be having? Iām looking forward to it~!ā
There was nothing unusual about Amami-sanās behavior in class.
Well, if there was something I could do to help her out, I would be glad to help her.