When the text conversation turned to the mixer, though, Shinohara called out, “Thanks for waiting!”
I turned around and saw her carrying over a big plate, so I put my phone in my pocket and got out of bed.
The plate carried a mountain of sandwiches.
“Ooh!” I got excited immediately. I hadn’t thought about it since she’d so readily offered to do it, but to a single guy like me, it was very rare to be treated to a woman’s cooking.
Shinohara just shrugged at my reaction. “You didn’t have much stuff, so I could only make these. Stock up a little more next time, please.”
“Uh, well, I mean… They look plenty tasty.”
It was a lineup of cliché sandwiches, with tuna, egg, ham, and cabbage leading the charge. I was amazed that she’d found things like that in my rusty old fridge.
“Well, jeez, if simple sandwiches make you that happy, I would’ve loved to see your reaction if I made something more involved.”
I wanted to pick up a sandwich, but manners always come first. “Thanks for making these.”
“No problem. Your excitement makes it worthwhile.” Shinohara smiled bashfully. I hadn’t seen that look from her before. It made me pause for a moment. “Hm? Is something wrong?”
“Ah… No. Just surprised to see that look on your face.” I thought of brushing it off, but in the end, I ended up telling her my honest feelings.
And while I expected her to call me creepy or something, she responded very differently. “Huh? What kind of face was I making?”
“You looked a little, uh…embarrassed, I guess. Ugh, it sounds awkward coming from me.”
“Really…?” She put a finger to her chin in apparent thought.
“You’re weird,” I muttered and took a big bite of a sandwich. The thin layer of mayo went very well with the ham and lettuce.
I’d been living off convenience store meals for a while now, but just the knowledge that someone was cooking for me made the food taste a million times better.
Shinohara gave up on thinking and decided to chow down as well. It did feel a little unusual to have someone over for a meal, but she had been oddly at home here ever since she took her coat off.
“By the way, did you say you’re in a circle at school?” she asked me.
“Hm? Well, I’m kind of in the basketball circle, I guess.” My hesitation came from the fact that, despite there being meetings twice a week, I really only went about once a month at most. “Why do you ask?”
“Mm… I’ve been in a club since I started at university. I was interested in how normal people like you live.”
“There must be plenty of folks around you already.” People would naturally flock to someone as pretty as her.
But Shinohara shook her head emphatically. “Most of the people who gather around me are partiers. As you can see, I’m a big ol’ cutie, so it makes sense.”
The only friend of hers I knew was Motosaka, but it made sense that she’d attract that kind of person.
I just realized that she casually called herself a cutie. I’m not even gonna comment on that.
She continued, “I’m not oblivious enough to think those people are normal. Honestly, I’ve been getting a little fed up with them.”
“Is that why you started dating Motosaka?”
“Yeah, I guess. Like I said before, I’ve always been interested in the romantic stuff that university students do. Don’t make me go over it again. Trust me, I feel bad enough already.” Shinohara pouted as she stuffed a sandwich into her mouth.
I was glad that she was enjoying the food, but she’d eaten more than she could swallow. She frantically reached for water to chase it down.
“Hey, whoa, you okay?” I patted her back, and she gradually calmed down.
She remained silent for a while until she finally spoke up, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“What’s this all of a sudden? No. If I did, I wouldn’t let girls in my place.”
“Oh ho, what a good boy. That’s gotta be rare these days!” She smiled, teasing me.
You’re the one who got into a fight in public because your boyfriend cheated on you, bud.
“What’s on your mind?” Shinohara asked, apparently noticing my exasperation.
“The fact that you’re ticking me off.”
“Ack! You’d actually come out and say that?!” She frowned and reached for another sandwich. Just then, she seemed to realize something and jumped to her feet. “Oh, no! I forgot work!”
“Wait, you have work today?!”
If she ended up quitting this job right after the Santa gig, both because of me, then I’d have to make it up to her all over again. I doubted she’d lose her job over being late once, but it was always best to be punctual.
She seemed to agree, so when she noticed the time, she rushed to get ready. After pulling on her coat, she ran over to the front door and stuffed her feet into her boots. It was clear she was in a hurry.
“Sorry to trouble you before work,” I apologized.
“Just thank me instead. By the way, I’d be happy if you complimented the meal!” Shinohara turned to face me. “I’m waiting!” Despite being in a hurry, she obviously wanted my thanks. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited.
Cold air flowed in from the open door, but she didn’t look cold at all.
She’s way too high energy for me.
“Thanks for the meal. I enjoyed it.”
“Heh heh heh. No problem!” Satisfied, she nodded and turned to leave. “Okay, I’ll be back!”
Then, she flung open the door and ran off. The sound of feet on stairs faded away over time.
I stood there at the door, ruminating over her words.
I’ll be back, huh?
I wasn’t a big fan of inviting strangers into my home, but when she’d said that, I didn’t mind one bit.
“If it is a badger game, at least it’ll be worth a laugh.”
Heck, you already got a homemade meal from a cute girl out of the deal. Sounds like you came out ahead either way! I could almost imagine Shinohara saying that to me with that trademark devilish gleam in her eye.
✦ ✦ ✦
His home was a lot cleaner than I’d expected. He had asked me to clean up, so I thought I’d be walking into a trainwreck.
But when we arrived, there were just some clothes and papers scattered on the floor. He even started rushing around to pick them up and put them on his bed too, so I almost felt like there was no reason for me to even be there.
He’d vacuumed too, so the floor didn’t look especially dirty.
I thought it would be funny if a guy who acted so serious was actually a slob at home, but I didn’t even get that satisfaction. Part of me was disappointed, but I kept my head up and offered to make him lunch.
There were so few ingredients in the fridge that I couldn’t help but comment. Does he think he can feed himself like that? I gave up and just made sandwiches. I mean, I was doing the best with what I had.
Though the sandwiches were slapdash, Senpai devoured them greedily. He was usually so calm and collected (or at least, he had been for the short time that I knew him), so it was fun to see his walls break down for a moment. I couldn’t help but say…
“Okay, I’ll be back!”
Next time, I wanted to make him something a lot more complex than a few sandwiches. It made me a little mad that right now he considered sandwiches the extent of my cooking.
I smiled the whole way to work. The way we’d met was…probably the worst it could be. Having my flyers thrown everywhere during my Santa job? That’s like the worst of the worst.
But I liked the time we spent chatting. Maybe the way you meet someone doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
When I saw the walk signal flash, I started running.