āCome on, letās go and have lunch, donāt be sad because youāve been lectured. Iām starving. School is boring and dull, but lunch is the only thing thatās really nice.ā
No, Iām not feeling sad about it.
It seemed to Shimotsuki that I was. She rubbed my back in a comforting way. I feel like Iām being treated like a child. ā¦ā¦ Oh well.
āShall we sit down? Oh, maybe youāre too germophobic to sit outside? If thatās the case, you can stand, but Iāll have to keep looking up and my neck will get tired.ā
āDonāt worry, Iāll sit down.ā
The back of the school building is deserted. Shimotsuki sits down on a step. I sat down next to her, with a good distance between us.
The distance between us is about one meter. I thought this was the kind of distance between me and Shimotsuki, but ā¦ā¦ it seems to be a little too far.
āāHey, hey, look at this. Donāt you think my bento looks delicious?ā
She approached me at once.
The distance between us was only about 10 centimeters.
(Isnāt this close?)
We are so close that our bodies touch when we move. But that seems to be how Shimotsuki feels about the distance between her and her friends. She was not aware of the closeness at all and continued talking as if it was natural.
āMy mom is very good at cooking, and without any favoritism from our family, itās really delicious. ā¦ā¦ Oh, would you like to try some egg rolls? We make it sweet, but even if Nakayama-kun is a picky eater, he will find it delicious. Thatās how good my mom is at cooking. Here you go. Donāt be shy, okay? Ahh.ā
This time, she offered me an egg roll with her chopsticks like a lover.
āWhat? Hmm?ā
Weāre friends, right?
Itās not like weāre dating in Shimotsukiās mind, is it?
Iāve never confessed or been confessed to anyone in my memory, though Iām flattered by that.
If thatās the case, then what is this closeness?
It seems like Shimotsuki adores me to the point where I canāt really understand her concept of a friend.
Itās only been two days since we became friends, but ā¦ā¦ I wonder if this girl was really starving for a friend.
If that was the case, I felt a little self-conscious about turning her down.
āYouāre not going to eat it? Itās so good. ā¦ā¦ā
Then, when she gave me a sad look, I couldnāt reject her.
āYes, thank you. ā¦ā¦ā
So I ate the egg roll she offered me.
It tasted ā¦ā¦ good, I think. To be honest, I didnāt really understand it. I think I was confused because it was the first time I had ever been approached like this.
āHow is it? Is it good? Isnāt my mom amazing?ā
I just nodded my head as Shimotsuki asked for my opinion.
āI think itās amazing. It tastes delicious.ā
ā I know, right? Thereās nothing my mom canāt cook. She loves my dad so much that she always puts a lot of effort into cooking for him. And I get to reap the benefits of that, too, which makes me very happy.ā
Shimotsuki seems to be more pleased when her mother is praised than she is when she is praised herself.
She must be a kind girl who loves her family. Knowing this side of her makes her even more attractive to me. Thatās why I was embarrassed to have acted like a lover with such a girl.