The waves are getting higher and higher and it was no longer suitable for playing so we decided to leave the water. We changed our clothes and waited for the girls while cleaning up. While doing so, the beach was becoming less and less crowded.
「Finally, the clean up was over.」
「Yeah. Do you want something to eat?」
「No, we’re going to leave and eat as soon as they get back.」
「I guess so.」
I’ve told them that they don’t have to come back right away like they did at the pool the other day so we’ll have to wait for a while.
After waiting for about 10 minutes after we cleaned up, Wakamiya-san and Mei came back with their clothes changed just when Shinozaki and I were running out of things to talk to.
「Sorry for making you wait.」
「The changing room was really crowded.」
「I’ve already expected that you will take a while and I think I told you earlier to take as much time as you want.」
「Yeah.」
「Then, shall we go?」
As I was walking with Mei, following Shinozaki and Wakamiya-san who were walking ahead of us, I suddenly felt my left hand being grabbed by Mei’s right hand. When I looked at Mei, our hands were already linked like the couple before us were doing.
「Ehto, Mei-san?」
「Do you dislike it?」
That’s not fair. Instead of answering, I grabbed her hand back.
We walked for about 10 minutes. When we started walking out to the main street, the number of people walking around increased considerably and everyone’s walking towards the same direction. We walked a little further letting the crowd sweep us. In addition to the smell of the tide, I could also smell butter and soy sauce and my ears were not only filled with the noise of people but also with the sound of drums beating closer with each step I took.
「Now that we’re at the summer festival, where do we go?」
「I want to eat dinner first.」
「Yeah, me too.」
「Well, we didn’t eat much lunch so it’s just the right time.」
I looked for some food from the stalls along the road stretching straight from the park entrance. What I saw were stalls selling karaage, yakitori, butter potato, and Takoyaki. In the back, there were also sweets such as cotton candy. It seemed that all the food was in one section.
I bought what I liked randomly. The contents of my wallet were dwindling fast but I decided to buy more given the atmosphere. When mother came the other day, she made me tell her my plan for summer vacation. That saved my wallet since if I only had my usual allowance, I would even hesitate to buy even a pack of Takoyaki.
「You bought a lot, Amane.」
「Mother gave me money. If I only have my money, I would have been a bit stingy.」
「I envy you. My parent won’t give me money.」
「They usually won’t give me too but I have Mei with me today.」
Shinozaki seems to have guessed my situation and put his hand on my shoulder. Don’t be sorry for me.
「What?」
「No, I don’t really go out much too so when I told my parents about today, they gave me money too.」
「I see.」
I moved to the edge of the park and started eating the yakitori I had just bought. I don’t eat yakitori unless in a festival, so it's been a long time since I’ve had it. However, it’s quite expensive, 1 stick is 100 yen so I only bought five.
「That’s a lot of yakitori.」
「I don’t eat it unless I’m at a festival like this. Do you want one?」
「Eh, is it okay?」
「It’s good. From the right, it’s sauce skin, sauce skin, salt skin, salt skin.」
「Why did you only buy skins? Souta like skin?」
「Skin yakitori is the best yakitori.」
Maa, that's how I felt when I ate it in the past so whenever I could eat it, I only ate skin. However, my taste buds now might find other things more delicious.
「Then, give me that sauce one.」
「Okay.」
「I haven’t eaten one in a while. It’s really good.」
「Great.」
Let’s not mind the noisy Wakamiya-san and Shinozaki who are looking at us at the opposite side.
「I’ll give you my Takoyaki in return.」
「Ah, yes, thank you.」
When I was about to pierce a Takoyaki with my yakitori stick, a Takoyaki was already a floating Takoyaki near me. Mei is blowing it to cool it down. And then, she brought it in front of me.
Apparently, she wants to feed me so I open my mouth. If I don’t eat it, I’m sure she’ll be waiting for me to eat it no matter how long it takes so I can only obediently open my mouth and bite it.
「Ah, it’s good.」
Mei was in a good mood but the two guys before us were talking “and they say they’re not in a relationship”.
Please stop talking so loud. We can hear you. If I were a person with normal mental health, it would have been dangerous.
When I was thinking about it, I heard Shinozaki writhe in agony as Wakamiya-san imitated Mei. It was probably because he had a cat’s tongue that she made him eat Takoyaki in one bite. The batter and octopus were hot so it must have been unpleasant for his cat’s tongue. Normally, I would have cared for him but let me say this to you this time.