We were at the arcade for longer than I had expected, and it was about time to go home.
S: “Hey, why don’t we ride the ferris wheel before going home?”
H: “Ah, I want to go! Hey, let’s go!”
I was looking at the clock to see if it would be better to head to the station, but Hina was enthusiastic about Sasaki-san’s suggestion.
It’s not too late to ride the ferris wheel.
When I asked Kaede about his opinion, I received the same reply that I’ve heard this whole day, “I’ll go if you go.” And so here we are at the ferris wheel.
“It’s pretty popular on weekdays.”
The ferris wheel was more crowded than I had expected.
”
”
It wasn’t ‘congested’, but the gondola was really full. There were about five couples waiting in line.
“This feels nostalgic…was it always this small?”
I looked up at the gondola while we got in line.
I rode it as a child, but I don’t have any memory of it.
The ferris wheel I saw up close after a long time looked small.
It felt bigger when I was a kid, but the number of passengers was only up to two adults.
Maybe it’s because of this that, if you look closely, only couples are riding it.
“Hm?”
I felt someone tap my shoulder, and turned around.
The culprit was Sasaki-san, who spoke to me in a small voice so Kaede and Hina couldn’t hear.
“I want to ride with Kaede. Cooperate with me?”
Ohh……she’s aggressive. Wonderful!
She looked like a girl in a shoujo comic. As an outsider, the tension went up.
I secretly nodded my head while Kaede wasn’t looking, and agreed.
After a while, it was almost our turn.
Kaede is next to me, so he’s probably intending to ride with me.
When it was our turn, I pulled Hina and walked in.
“I’ll be riding with Hina.”
“Eh……hey, Akira!?
As I looked at Kaede, he had a surprised face.
I knew it, he wanted to ride with me.
“Sasaki-san, take care of Kaede!”
“Sure, leave it to me.”
I entrusted Kaede to Sasaki-san, escaped, and boarded quickly.
After the door was closed, Kaede confirmed with Sasaki-san if he was going to ride with her, and reluctantly boarded.
There were people trailing them, they seemed to be observing them.
All right, mission start!
I sat on the seat, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
It must be good to be young.
“A-aki? You pulled my hand, did you want to ride with me?”
Hina sat across from me, and watched me while fidgeting.
She seemed uncomfortable. What is it, does she need to go to the toilet?
A: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
H: “? What are you talking about?”
A: “You need to go to the toilet, right?”
H: “Eh!? I don’t need to!? What are you talking about!”
What, I was wrong?
If it’s like that, then let’s just sit quietly.
I’m curious about the gondola behind.
A: “A carnivorous girl sure is amazing.”
H: “Hm? Carnivorous?”
A: “Sasaki-san said that she wanted to ride with Kaede.”
H: “…Eh?…Ah. S-so that’s why……I see, I see.”
This time, she started to nod like a broken doll.
……Are you okay?
A: “I wonder what they’re talking about. I kind of want to listen.”
H: “Yeah. It feels scary too……”
A: “Carnivorous girls are cute~”
Some people may find the word ‘carnivorous’ as something evil, but I think of it as “I’m doing my best to get close to my crush”, and it’s really pleasant.
As I thought, girls are cute.
H: “Ehh!?”
A: “What are you so surprised about?”
H: “I also eat a lot of meat!”
A: “Not that kind of meat.”
What kind of appeal is that?
Hina has these kind of disappointing moments sometimes.
Well, she may be kind of cute, but……
H:“You can ask them about it later! Stop looking down and let’s have fun with ourselves!”
A: “The scenery isn’t that great, and nothing is interesting in particular?”
H: “But……It’s fun to talk like this.”
Is that so?
Hina and the other two are quite normal, but I’m sorry to say that I don’t feel anything in particular.
I feel like I’m in my living room.
That idea seemed to have appeared upon my face, and Hina looked upset and pouted.
H: “I’m saying that I’m having fun.”
A: “Sorry.”
H: “Then……can I go over there?”
A: “Huhh? Why?”
H:“I-I want to see the scenery there!”
A: “It’s not any different.”
H: “But I want to see it!”
I hate moving in this narrow gondola.
I don’t think it will fall, but in the worst case……it might happen.
I’m scared because I’ve seen an image of a gondola accident on TV before.
I don’t like it……but if I hurt Hina any further, it would be troublesome.
“Do as you like.”
When I answered, Hina came over happily.
I moved to the place where Hina was sitting to change places.
H: “Hey……why are you going there!?”
A: “Huhh?”
It’s unreasonable to complain when I changed our places for you.
A: “It’s narrow, and you won’t like it if it leans on one side, right? Really, just stay there. It’d be dangerous if you move around.”
I wanted to leisurely enjoy it, but when I turned to look at the scenery, Hina moved and came over again.
It’s narrow, but she’s stubbornly sitting next to me.
Hey hey, I said that the gondola will tilt if we sit together!
A:“Idiot! I already told you not to move around! And it’s narrow! What exactly do you want to do?!”
H: “Hmph!”
A: “It’s shaking, scary! Don’t fuss!”
H: “Hey, let’s take a picture? Here, smile~ Three, two, one~”
A: “Listen to people when they talk! I said it’s narrow!”
Was riding a ferris wheel this noisy?
After that, I moved to the other seat to avoid Hina, but she constantly chased after me.
I think only our gondola was shaking like children were making a fuss.
“I didn’t enjoy it at all……”
It was over while we were making a fuss. I started complaining the moment I got off.
H: “Don’t say that! It was fun!”
A: “How was it fun!?”
It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden on one, I couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity.
Damn it, Hina……
I wonder how it went for Kaede and Sasaki-san.
Let’s wait for the two of them to come down.
Sasaki-san got off in the same way as she got on.
But Kaede on the other hand……
A: “Kaede?”
K: “……”
A: “……What’s wrong?”
His steps seemed heavy, and he also looked unwell.
I thought he was angry and ignored me because he had wanted to ride with me……but it feels different.
He’s strangely quieter now than when he’s crazy.
His expression seemed to remind me of big brother when he was heartbroken.
A: “Did something happen?”
K: “Not really.”
He replied curtly while looking like he wanted to puke. He ran past me, and made for the exit.
“What’s wrong with Kaede? What happened?”
I was worried, and asked Sasaki-san.
“I don’t know. But, he probably wanted to ride with Amachi-kun? I did something bad.”
I knew that he wanted to ride with me……but was it something that made him that sick?
Honestly, I don’t really know, but I’m sorry if you were looking forward to riding with me so much.
“But, I had a lot of fun. Thanks, Amachi-kun.”
She smiled like she had fun, and thanked me.
I’m worried about Kaede, but it’s fine if Sasaki-san had fun.
I chased after Kaede who had left before, and split with everyone, promising to go karaoke with them next time.