“Are all the other girls wearing Santa outfits too?” I thought to ask.
“It was just for the girls who wanted to, but everyone ended up getting super into the idea,” Nanami explained, “especially Ayumi and Kotoha-chan.”
“Oh...oh? Those two? I’m starting to get kind of worried.”
“Ayumi said she’d do it as a present for the guys,” Nanami said. “And Kotoha-chan said something about a battle with Teshikaga-kun?”
What are those two doing? I just hope it’s not something illegal.
Nanami must have felt chilly after having moved away from me, because as she changed she put the Santa pants on under her current outfit. Pants under a skirt... It looked a little weird, but seeing Nanami put on pants did something to my gut anyway. “So, uh, what do you think we should bring for the gift exchange?” I asked, switching topics in an attempt to hide how I was watching Nanami change—and that I was feeling questionably excited because of it.
“Oh, right, the present. Yeah, I wonder,” Nanami began.
Nanami was teaching me the ins and outs of attending a class Christmas party. One of the things I was learning was about the gift exchange.
Given that we had just gotten back from an overseas class trip, apparently we weren’t supposed to buy anything too expensive. We were also going to pitch in on buying snacks and drinks, so that expenses wouldn’t be too huge for anyone overall. The more people came, the cheaper renting the venue would be too. And if anyone was able to bring food, then they were welcome to do so. According to Hitoshi, this was to be a Christmas party that was full of heart, even if its finances were noticeably more constrained.
“Snacks are probably safest. Like, expensive cookies and stuff,” Nanami remarked.
“I see. And I should probably keep in mind that there’s a chance my gift might not end up with you,” I added.
The gift exchange was going to be completely random. Someone had mentioned that it would be done via bingo, and that Hitoshi would be running the whole thing.
That was fine, of course. The problem was...
“Christmas present, huh...?”
I was trying to come up with good ideas for Nanami’s Christmas present. We had bought matching rings on our class trip, and then we’d spent my birthday together, where she made cake for us and even gave me a separate birthday present. And now, it was Christmas.
I couldn’t figure out what to give her. More specifically, I couldn’t figure out what kind of a gift would make her happy. I mean, I knew she would be happy no matter what I gave her, but that just made it even more important that I give her something that I’d put a lot of thought into. It was our first Christmas together, after all—I wanted to give her something special.
What was I saying? I was just a high school student. But still, I wanted to get her something that would make her think I had good taste.
“Yoshin, are you having a tough time figuring out what to give me?” Nanami asked.
“Huh?!”
Nanami must have read my mind again, because the moment she finished putting her pants on she leaped back on top of me. Her leap was maybe a little too strong, though; she knocked the wind out of me. I hadn’t thought that she would come back, so I had let my guard down completely.
“I’m still thinking too. You know, ’cause I just got you a birthday present, so I’m not sure what to get you for Christmas,” Nanami confessed. “What do your parents usually give you?”
“Hmmm, lately they’ve been giving me digital cash for in-game currency,” I said.
“How practical,” Nanami muttered.
In the past my parents used to buy me a lot of game-related gifts. More recently they’d taken to gifting me digital currency that I could spend in games. Though at the end of the day, I guess the gifts were still all game-related.
“But they got me some really nice shoes for my birthday this year. Were they trying to match what you got me?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah. I should’ve told you sooner, but your parents and I coordinated what to give you this year,” she shared.
It was true; Nanami had pulled her “I’m your present” trick for my birthday, but she also gave me her actual present later on: a really stylish set of gloves, scarf, hat, and even socks. My parents, meanwhile, had given me a really nice pair of winter shoes.
To be honest, I had never worn scarves or hats before in my life. Come winter, I always wore a coat, but that was pretty much it.
“Thank you again. You got me so many nice things, but I had no idea you even planned it with my parents,” I told her. I had a feeling that maybe they had gifted me things according to a theme, but I was glad that I now knew for certain.
“I actually wanted to knit a scarf for you myself, but it was too hard for me. And with the class trip and everything, I just didn’t have enough time,” Nanami mumbled.
“You can knit scarves?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Yeah, my mom does that for my dad. And my dad knits stuff for my mom too.”
I thought that stuff only happened in fiction. I did not expect Nanami’s parents to gift hand-knitted items to each other.
“Could I do something like that?” I muttered.
“I think as long as you work at it you totally could. Apparently my dad wasn’t that good at first either,” Nanami revealed.
It was so amazing that Genichiro-san was both muscular and crafty. Yeah, I also worked out, but I had zero confidence that I would be able to knit anything at all. But now I wanted Nanami to wear something I had made myself. Maybe this was how Genichiro-san felt about Nanami’s mom?
“Next year I’ll try knitting something for you. Maybe,” I declared.
“In that case, next year I want to knit a scarf for you too,” Nanami joined in.
We knew we shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves, but we couldn’t help talking about everything we could get up to next year. At the very least, neither one of us doubted that we would still be together like this next year as well. So maybe it was okay for us to get ahead of ourselves, just a little bit—it’s not as if there was anything wrong with a little bit of prep.
“Then how about we do a scarf exchange next year? I’ll teach you,” Nanami suggested.
It seemed another opportunity had arrived for Nanami to play teacher. Was this the first nonacademic subject that Nanami-sensei was going to teach me?
We had completely skipped over this year’s presents and decided on next year’s instead. Nanami seemed excited about the idea, though, so regardless it was probably best I started preparing soon.
In all seriousness, though...what should I do about my first Christmas present for Nanami?