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Aoi-chan messaged me.
Apparently that stubborn boy from my school was now completely avoiding her at cram school.
‘But when it was me, he wouldn’t listen no matter how many times I tried. You’re so amazing, Reika-chan! How on earth did you do it?’
Geez. I just talked to him a little, that’s all.
As for the boy, he even reformed and stopped harassing Wakaba-chan. All’s well that ends well, huh?
After all, before getting jealous of other people, you should think about improving through your own efforts first, right? Yup, yup.
Haha. Not that this was just somebody else’s problem. The term-end tests were fast approaching. If I wanted to cling to my position on the rankings board then I needed to study for my life.
Wakaba-chan was always topping that list. How on earth did she study, I wonder.
*
And just as I was determined to spend all my time studying, Otousama told me that I had to attend our family’s corporate party.
I was still a high schooler, as a minor to boot, so I always insisted on avoiding these business parties. This time, though, I apparently had to show my face as the chairman’s daughter. Urghh~
Okaasama was in high spirits about it. Between dragging me to beauty salons, hair salons, and dress shopping, I was finding no time for studying at all. This was bad. This was really bad.
I guess my only choice at this point was to cut down on sleep to get some studying done. Ugaaaaah!
*
*
*
Despite my lack of time, at school I still had to hide that I was frantically studying. I avoided my textbooks during lunch breaks and instead hung out with my friends.
“Have you heard? Apparently Kaburagi-sama visits Enjou-sama’s classroom every day.”
“I have. He speaks to Takamichi-san every time, right? What on earth is Kaburagi-sama thinking.”
“I still think it’s just a whim, but…”
“Right?”
It was almost certain that Kaburagi liked Wakaba-chan. Everybody knew this too, but they didn’t want to admit it.
Both Tsuruhana-san and the other girls who didn’t see Wakaba-chan kindly were using every opportunity to pick on her. Unfortunately it wasn’t something so obvious that Kaburagi noticed.
Maybe that was why, unlike in the manga, their relationship hadn’t progressed at all.
I suppose a clear threat like the manga’s Kisshouin Reika was necessary after all. Not to say I was even thinking of sticking my neck out for their romance. They would just have to work something out on their own.
Besides their lack of progress though, I got the feeling that both Kaburagi and Wakaba-chan were in quite a different relationship to their manga counterparts.
In Kimidol, Kaburagi was more mature. He was normally cool and collected, but when it came to Wakaba-chan he burned with passion; the kind of character that could tickle a maiden’s heart. How on earth he turned out as an athletics carnival-obsessed man-child instead I have no idea.
And Wakaba-chan wasn’t any different. In the manga she was more… Well, she was more normal I suppose… Never in anybody’s wildest dreams would she have stood around with her jaw hanging open, or have come to school in gumboots of all things, or gone foraging in the Suiran Forest, or, and I stress this, have been the kind of steel-skinned girl who paid her bullies absolutely no mind at all.
Ah, no, I mean, I know that the real Wakaba-chan is doing her best too, though, but I still couldn’t help but think she was a completely different person to the Wakaba-chan I knew.
Really, it was throwing me all off.
*
*
*
The tests were coming soon so I was taking a break from my club. I couldn’t avoid at least showing up at the salon though. Haah, socialising was such a pain.
Lately I noticed the President’s faction discussing something with complicated expressions. It was kind of scaring me… I wasn’t sure what they were talking about but I could guess it was something to do with Wakaba-chan or the Student Council.
Let sleeping dogs lie. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything. The only thing I’m thinking about is the dessert in front of my eyes, I swear.
Which was a charlotte aux pommes today, incidentally.
Charlotte aux pommes, or an apple charlotte cake. What Reika enjoyed was most likely a ‘bowl’ made from cake similar to bread or spongecake, and with layers of things such as custard, apple slices, fresh cream, mousse, apple puree, or crème bavaroise.
The faint tanginess of the apples was delicious. I actually liked apple pies better, but having a charlotte sometimes was fantastic.
While I was indulging in sweets-assisted escapism, shockingly Yukino-kun had entered the room with Enjou!
“Yukino-kun!”
“Reika-oneesan!” he beamed the moment he spotted me.
Yukino-kun ran over to me.
“Yukino-kun, why are you here today?”
“Ehehe, I asked Oniisama to bring me here to play.”
Aaah! What an angelic smile! All of the stress and weariness in my heart was disappearing!
“Yukino, make sure to greet everyone else first,” Enjou said as he placed a hand on Yukino-kun’s head from behind.
“Ah, oops,” said Yukino-kun as he turned around and bowed. “My name is Enjou Yukino. Pleased to meet you.”
With the smile of an angel, naturally.
Just that was enough to lift the mood of the salon. The girls in particular had their hearts taken by his adorable charm.
“What a wonderful day it is that Enjou-sama has brought his younger brother along! Yukino-sama, we are very pleased to meet you.”
The President sat Yukino-kun down in the middle of the sofa, and had tea and sweets brought over to the table. Despite looking troubled by the crowd of surrounding oneesama, he answered each question with a smile.
Off on the side, Enjou watched Yukino-kun as he spoke to me.
“Yukino said that he wanted to see you no matter what, so I gave in and brought him here.”
“Goodness! I am very happy to hear that!”
He said he wanted to see me! I wanted to see you too, Yukino-kun!
Still, since he had been taken by the President and her friends, I would just wait here quietly until he returned.
Until then I suppose I could keep chatting with Enjou~
“Is Kaburagi-sama not with you today?”
“Apparently he had something on.”
“I see.”
‘Something’ huh. He better not have gone to Wakaba-chan’s cake shop or something.
“Masaya’s been kind of restless recently,” he said as his lips curved upwards.
Your smile is scaring me.
“I see.”
The best choice was probably just to ignore it until the subject changed.
“Yeah. And lately he keeps coming to my class for some reason. It doesn’t seem to be me though.”
Geh! And he’s telling that to me!?
“My, is that so.”
“It is.”
We smiled at each other. Yukino-kun, hurry up and come baaaaack! Your Oniisan is scaring meee!
By the time Yukino-kun had been released by the President’s crowd, I was exhausted from the probing. I was curious about what Kaburagi wanted, yes, but on the other hand hearing all of this from Enjou was triggering danger signs in my head. Enjou pretty much only smiled like this when he was plotting something.
Yukino-kun, who was totally unlike his two-faced older brother, told me about how he had been practising his latte art recently.
“Reika-oneesan, I heard that you’re particular about the Chinese Zodiac. I’ll try my very best so that I can finish all twelve of them!”
Who was it!? Who was it that put weird lies into Yukino-kun’s head!?
I tried to clear up the misunderstanding but Yukino-kun wasn’t listening at all.
“Right now I’m working on making the Ox.”
Drawing an ox with milk huh. Well, I suppose it’s not like it didn’t fit, but…