Aisaâs attitude didnât undergo a huge change despite coming to the pool with me.
[Are you free today?]
The only thing that changed was that she started sending me messages from time to time.
[âŚI think so.]
[Then, letâs have a class after-party after school.]
Is that so� I just replied with a sticker, for now.
âYouâve finally gotten around to texting, eh?â
âOf course Iâm going to use it⌠this muchâŚâ
âNo, no. The other person. Judging by your stares at Takanishi-san, youâre texting with her, right? Am I right?â
âYou are, butâŚâ
As usual, Akito was the one I was talking to. But, today was probably one of the last days Iâd be seeing him for a while.
The end of the school day ceremony had just ended. All that remains is a simple homeroom. After that, itâs time for the long awaited summer vacation.
âAre you going too, Akito? To the after-party?â
âAfter-party? Whatâs that?â
âAisa talked about it.â
âShe probably means the class after-party, or rather the after-party for the people around there.â
Akito pointed in one direction. There were the members who always led the class, all together.
Four girls and two boys, led by Aisa. Each of them is a distant presence in their respective fields: ace in club activities, student council, or awarded for extracurriculars.
âYouâre kidding⌠right?â
âNo, if itâs going to be the whole class in the first place, itâs weird that theyâre announcing it at this time, you know?â
Whatever you say. I thought they had only contacted me after the fact.
âI see. So, Akito, are you free after this?â
âGive it up. I donât want Takanishi-san to resent me for taking you around, and I have my own business to attend to.â
I tried to use Akito as an excuse to get out of trouble, he apparently figured out my intentions.
âWell, itâs fine. Itâs a good opportunity for you to make your presence known.â
âWhy should IâŚ?â
âI donât know what it is, but youâve been getting along surprisingly well since the other day. As long as the members of the group are satisfied, there wonât be any funny business.â
I understood what Akito was saying.
Itâs not like Iâm planning to have that kind of relationship with Aisa, itâs more that Iâve been recognized as her family member and am not subject to her filtering.
âThe people around me donât know about that. For some reason, you and Takanishi-san get along well. Itâs better to have people think that you canât help it than to have them think that if itâs okay with you, itâs okay with me. For Takanishi-san too.â
âWell, thatâsâŚâ
âSo, go get to know her other side a little better. You donât hate them, do you? Those guys.â
âThatâs true, butâŚâ
Itâs just that we donât have many opportunities to talk to each other because of the distance, but itâs nothing special.
âSo, wake me up when youâre done.â
As Akito went to his desk as usual, my stomach began to ache at the prospect of the unpredictable after-party.