Receiving a girl’s homemade box lunch, now this was a first. There isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t be happy about this. To think I’d get to experience something this wonderful in my lifetime... what a time to be alive...
“Ahh... I’m glad you like it.”
Orihara-san placed a hand on her chest and seemed relieved as she let out a sigh.
“I thought a lot about how I could show my gratitude. Even if I gave you something, I don’t know what boys like. Besides, I’m... I’m just a high school girl, so I don’t have any money! I’m a high school girl, so of course I don’t have any money!”
She started rambling at high speed. And she was desperately emphasizing having no money and being a high school girl.
“I’m really a high school girl, so I have absolutely no money. I was raised being told that ‘If you’re born in the Year of the Snake, you don’t have to worry about money,’ but that’s totally wrong.”
“Year of the Snake?”
“Yes, that’s right... huh? Do people not say ‘If you’re born in the Year of the Snake, you don’t have to worry about money’? I used to be told that a lot by my grandma.”
“No, I do know that phrase. I’ve been told that too.”
I’m told that just about as much as “If you’re born in the Year of the Boar, you should just plunge forward without hesitation.” When you actually stop to think about it, there’s a lot about that saying that you could pick at, but I digress.
“You’ve also been told that. So, does that mean...”
“Yeah, I was also born in the Year of the Snake.”
“O-Oh, is that so?”
“It’s quite a coincidence. I guess that means that we’re the same age.”
“Huh...”
“If we were both born in the Year of the Snake, that means you and I are both in our first year of high school, right?”
“Th-That’s right... that’s correct. I have a feeling that’s right. I’m a first-year high school student. A high school girl, in her first year of high school...”
Her unnatural way of saying it made her sound like she had just memorized a new backstory for herself. Well, even when you have two Snakes, if one was born early enough in the year, there’s a possibility that one would be a grade above the other, but it looked like I was right about us being in the same year.
“We’re in the same year, huh. I kind of thought that you were my senior. You have a very mature mood about you—”
“No I don’t?!”
She suddenly raised her voice and her face got close... so close.
“Do I look old after all?! I don’t look like a high school girl?! Am I pushing it?!”
“What...? Um, no...?”
For some reason, she seemed deadly serious. I guess saying ‘You look mature’ to high school girls these days is a no-go. I meant it as a compliment, though...
“No, you don’t look old at all! I just meant that since you’re so composed and polite, I thought you seemed mature.”
“Oh... well, that’s fine then.”
Orihara-san seemed to be relieved from the bottom of her heart as she silently exhaled.
“Is there something on your mind?”
“I-It’s nothing. Hey, stop worrying about the little stuff and just eat already.”
Urged on by the impatience in her voice, I opened the box lunch and my eyes went wide. Packed inside of that square box were sandwiches, karaage, rolled omelettes, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and cherry tomatoes. Rich in color, it was the kind of lineup that makes your mouth water.
“Thank you for the meal.”
After briefly bringing my hands together, I decided to make my first bite the karaage. I grabbed the cute pin garnishing it and shoved the lump of meat into my mouth. Delicious!
Even though it had cooled since she made it, it was still delicious. It was properly seasoned, and the batter wasn’t soggy. Every time I bit into it, meat juices squirted out. Then I went for the sandwich. Yep, it was good too. The ingredients for the sandwich were ham, cheese, and lettuce, and the bread had margarine spread on it. The rolled omelette was clearly on the sweet side of the “should omelettes be sweet or savory” debate, but that’s just the way I like it. Yeah, that’s right, rolled omelettes are best made sweet. If you can still call it a side dish, it’s probably not sweet enough, in my opinion.
“H-How is it?” Orihara-san asked, having gotten worried by how I was so focused on eating my meal. Oh no. It’s so good I kept eating without saying anything.
“It’s very delicious.”
“Really? I’m glad.”
Orihara-san broke into a smile.
“This is my first time eating a boxed lunch this delicious. Orihara-san, you’re really good at cooking.”
“No, not at all, you’re flattering me too much. This is really nothing special. It’s ’cause I’ve lived alone for such a long time, so I make my own lunch every morning to save money. Even if I didn’t want to, I’d naturally get good at—”
“You’ve lived alone for a long time...? Orihara-san, you’re a first-year in high school, right?”
I feel like living on your own when you enter high school is relatively common, but could it be that she’s been living by herself since middle school?
“Um, you see, um... m-my family situation is complicated!”
I see. Her family situation is complicated. In that case, there’s not much else to say about that. It’s likely best I don’t prod any further.
With the conversation stopped for the moment, I finished the rest of the box lunch.
“Thank you for the meal. It really was good.”
“You’re welcome. Hehe. It’s nice having a boy eat my cooking so heartily.”
After Orihara-san had a good laugh, she nervously steepled her fingers.
“The truth is, I was a little nervous, you know? This is the first time a man who isn’t in my family has eaten my cooking...”
“Is that so? That’s kind of an honor. It really was good. So good it makes me want to eat it every day—”
I caught myself and shut my mouth, but I was too late. Orihara-san’s cheeks turned red. Aw man, why did I say something so cliché?!
“I mean, I don’t mean anything too deep by that. It’s just that it was that good!”
“I got it! I got it, so you don’t have to say any more!”
We both waved our hands feverishly. After catching her breath, Orihara-san said, “Thank you. I’d be happy to have someone like you eat my food every day, Momota-kun,” and smiled cheerfully. It seemed like something an adult would say for politeness’s sake, but it made my heart beat fast.
Suddenly, her expression became dark.
“It gets kind of lonely making food for just yourself.”
Her smile was fleeting. The sun had already gone down, and the moonlight that followed illuminated Orihara-san and her lonely smile. In that moment, she seemed so fragile that she might fall apart at the slightest touch. And yet, contradictory though it may be, it made me want to hold her tight all the more.
On our way back to the station, we shared some light banter.
“So, Momota-kun, your birth month is September. Since half of your last name means ‘peaches,’ you’d think you were born in the spring.”
“Sadly enough for me, it’s just luck if your last name fits your birthday. You’d think at least my first name would fit, though...”
“Haha. I guess ‘sweet fragrance’ puts you right back in spring, huh?”
“Meanwhile, you were born in December, right, Orihara-san? I guess I’m a little older than you.”
“Y-Yeah... I guess it works out like that...”