When we got to the door, I confirmed, “Hey, are you actually coming into my place?” I’d done it on the spur of the moment, yes, but it was still true that I was inviting a woman over.
Here I thought we could just call it a funny joke and move on, but after laughing her butt off, she agreed to help—but not without first announcing, “After I’m done, I’m gonna root through your whooole house!”
The only things I’d be embarrassed if she saw were all in my phone, so I wasn’t too worried, but it was still a little unsettling to have someone I’d only known for a few days rifling through my things.
“You asked me to do this,” she reminded me. “Why are you reluctant now? I told you I’d come.”
“In that case, I take it back. Get me some food at that café over there, or something. I’m just now remembering that I’m great at housework.”
“Don’t start overthinking it. We’ve already come this far, and it’s cold out. Just let me in,” Shinohara urged me with a wicked grin. I could tell she was up to no good.
It was unfair how cute she looked even when she was being evil.
In the end, I gave up and opened the door. It had been a long time since I’d invited anyone over. As soon as we went in, she sounded disappointed. “Huh? Your place is pretty clean, though.”
“You call this clean? What were you imagining?”
I’d left my coat in a random spot, and a bag of snacks I’d ate this morning was on the floor. There were papers scattered here and there too. To put it mildly, it was by no means clean.
“I imagined a garbage dump. This is like nothing.”
“And you still agreed to come…?” She’d put me on the backfoot, coming in here expecting to find I lived in a pigsty. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to my clothes, sure, but I kept up a clean enough appearance.
Leaving my thoughts aside, Shinohara began to stretch in preparation. “Well, I was bored, anyway. I’ll get this cleaned up right away, boss!”
With that, she threw her coat on the bed and stood in front of the kitchen. She rolled up her sleeves, showing off her fair skin.
Noticing my gaze, she said, “Yes?”
“Oh, nothing.” I looked away and tossed my jacket onto the bed as well.
A girl I’d just met was standing in front of my kitchen. The me from a month ago couldn’t have even imagined this.
“Your clothes will wrinkle if you leave them lying around.”
“Hey, stop that. I’ll do it.” I picked up my clothes and hung them up myself.
When I was alone, this room was a place of peace, free of judgment. That wasn’t necessarily true when people were over, though.
She’d said it was cleaner than she’d expected, but my place was still normally cleaner than this. Suddenly embarrassed by my messy room, I started tidying up.
“Why do you live alone?” Shinohara asked me.
“Why? I mean, plenty of reasons.”
“Okay. Such as?” she urged, exasperated, as she put on rubber gloves. I’d fortunately left the cleaning stuff out in the kitchen, so she was able to quickly and efficiently get to work.
“What’s with the sudden interrogation?” The water coming out of the faucet was loud, so I had to raise my voice a little.
She replied with her usual swiftness, “Hmm… Well, isn’t it easier to live with family? You’d have someone to cook for you when you get home. You don’t seem like the kind of person who cooks, so I feel like that’d be handy.”
Easier to live with family.
I’d always thought so too. There was a certain freedom to being alone, sure. But the flip side was that you have to take care of yourself. That took a surprising amount of time. I had a ton of respect for mothers who cared for both themselves and their families.
“Okay, all done!” she suddenly announced.
“Huh? Already?” I peered into the sink. It was spotless. Even the little stains were gone. I couldn’t remember the last time it was shiny like that. “Wow, and in so little time too. I feel stupid for putting it off so long.”
“I’m used to this kind of stuff. I live alone too, you know.” Shinohara nodded smugly and tossed the gloves into the trash. “Okay, how about I make some lunch? You just sit and relax.”
“Huh? You’re really gonna cook too? If you want me to buy you something, too bad. I’m broke.”
“I told you I’m thanking you. Don’t be weird. Go watch TV or something.” Shinohara pushed me away, so I sat on my bed. “Really, you can just chill,” she added, making it clear that she didn’t want my help.
Did she foresee me trying to help cook and ruining the food in the process? I wasn’t that hopeless. But if she didn’t want my help, then I had little choice in the matter.
I picked up the remote and turned the TV on. A program about infidelity among celebrities happened to be airing. Complete garbage for me, since I wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry.
“At the end of the year? Really? Don’t waste my time.” Every time I saw one of these gossip shows, I rolled my eyes. Maybe someone who cared about celebrities would be more interested.
My phone vibrated, so my eyes were drawn to its screen instead. A message from Ayaka flashed on it.
Let’s have a playdate!
What are you, an elementary schooler? I narrowly avoided saying it out loud. I’d normally wait a while before responding, but I had nothing but free time right now.
I went to the chat screen and tapped away, You need to give me a time, place, and what we’re going to do. But yes, I can hang out.
The evening of the 29th! Mall! Shopping!
That’s literally tomorrow!
Her last-minute invitation implied that she expected me to have no plans. It made me even angrier that she was right. Our conversation continued for a while. It was all pointless small talk, but it was a better use of time than watching a stupid gossip program.