“Senpai, over here!”
I looked around and spotted Shinohara waving excitedly at me. It was easy to see where she was standing just by following the glances of students milling around.
I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw a group of guys immediately break out into conversation amongst themselves as soon as they saw her. She stood out just because she was so cute, so I really wished she would stop yelling in front of random people.
Have a little sympathy for the guy meeting you, would you?
“Hey,” I called out to her.
The group of men sounded disappointed, grumbling stuff along the lines of, “Yeah, figures,” before they drifted away. As I’d expected, they were probably talking about inviting her to lunch themselves.
Had she not noticed them? Or was she choosing to ignore them?
“’Grats again on finishing your exams!” she repeated for a third time.
“You sure are excited.”
“You’re too unexcited. Exams are over and done!”
Heedless of my feelings, she was her usual peppy self. I almost wanted to complain.
“Yeah, I’m just beat.”
She pouted at my answer. “Wow. A girl invites you out to lunch, and you act like it’s suuuch a nuisance. And it’s me, at that! Aren’t you just blessed?” After that unnecessary last comment, Shinohara waited for my reaction.
The way she teased me, acting like I should be honored to be in her presence reminded me of Ayaka. Not that I’d say that, though, since they didn’t seem to be on good terms with each other.
“Even healthy boys can’t get excited that quickly if we’re sleepy.”
“Is that so?” Apparently unsatisfied to hear that, Shinohara pouted as she walked a little bit ahead of me.
I’d noticed quite a while ago that every little face she made had a way of poking at a man’s heart. It wasn’t clear whether she was aware or not, but I could only imagine that Motosaka had ended up under her thrall because of that.
Back at the Christmas mixer, she’d mentioned there was an endless line of guys asking her out before she decided to give Motosaka a chance. Countless men had danced in the palm of her hand and been shot down in the end. When I thought of all of those lost soldiers, it made me want to keep her at arm’s length, but she was too assertive for me to be successful in that regard.
As for Shinohara herself, she was searching on her phone for a restaurant close to the school. There were cafeterias and cafés on campus, but they were crowded given their proximity and affordability. She’d said herself that if you wanted to settle down and have a relaxing meal, you’d just have to go to a normal restaurant.
But before we could have lunch, there was one more obstacle to overcome.
“Shinohara, I’m not hungry.”
I’d gotten little to no sleep while studying, so I had plenty of time this morning. As a result, I’d eaten a bigger breakfast than usual, which resulted in my stomach not yet being ready for lunch.
“Then what should we do? Find a restaurant and walk around for a bit before we go in?”
“I’d really prefer if you just let me go hang out with my circle now!”
“Absolutely not. How am I supposed to fill the time I set aside for you?” After a moment, her face lit up. I had a bad feeling about this. “I can just go to your circle with you!”
“Cut it out, idiot!”
The good thing about circles was that, unlike clubs, there was less of an obligation to go. Of course, it got harder to go the longer you’ve put it off, but it wasn’t a problem as long as you built up a good relationship with the group.
In other words, if I took Shinohara with me, they wouldn’t mind. In fact, they’d love it.
But the basketball circle I was about to go to, which was called “Start,” hadn’t seen me since my breakup. It’d be awkward to take a girl there on the day of my big return—not just for me, but for my friends too.
Shinohara did not heed my concerns. “I can’t wait to watch you play basketball! You’d better show off your skills for me, okay?”
“Don’t expect much from me. I’m no pro player.”
After saying that, I steeled myself for what was to come. It would be easier to just let her watch than to refuse.
I prayed that no bizarre misunderstandings would be birthed from this.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Sorry I had to borrow your practice clothes.”
Bathed in an unfamiliar smell, I called out to my buddy who was tying his basketball shoes next to me. His name was Toudou Masato, and he had distinctive hair dyed ash blond.
“It’s cool, man,” he replied.
I met Toudou at a welcome party at another circle. We became friends shortly after starting university, and it was his influence that got me to start smoking. He was a chill guy, always easy to be around.
“It’s been a while since you came to the gym. How long has it been since your girl dumped you, again?”
“She didn’t dump me, just so you know,” I defended myself.
He chuckled to himself. “Funny sense of pride you’ve got there. But I get how you feel.”
“I told you, she cheated on me. That’s lame enough already, though. I wish she’d just dumped me instead.” I didn’t think being dumped was that bad, but being cheated on and dumped, now that was something. It might differ from person to person, but that would have hurt my self-esteem pretty bad.
But he just stretched and replied, “Lamer to be the cheater, I say. Good for you, cutting that out your life.”
“Yeah. I guess it would’ve been worse if I just kept dating her without knowing.”
“Right?” He smirked and picked up a ball.
Toudou was a good-looking guy, so naturally he was popular with girls. But he was devoted to his girlfriend of two years, and he never fooled around. I genuinely liked spending time with the dude.
He glanced at my basketball shoes. “Hey, do those shoes fit you?”
They were a little big for me, since they were loaned out by the circle. But if I tied the laces tightly, it wouldn’t interfere with my play.
“It’s fine, even if they look kinda dumb,” I shrugged.
“Whoa, man, watch your mouth. You’re behind on your fees, so be glad you even get to use them.”
“Oh, yeah… The circle pays for these with the fees, huh?”
“Yep. That’s real tax money squeezed out of us working folk, so be grateful.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
Toudou laughed at my exasperation and spun the ball atop his finger. “By the way, who’s that girl standing at the door? She’s hardcore staring.”
I followed his gaze to find Shinohara peeking into the gymnasium. The other circle members kept glancing at her—she was obviously standing out. When we locked eyes, she hopped up and down and waved at me. The other members realized that she was waving at me, and they were all surprised.
“Aww, man. I forgot I brought her with me.”
“Is that your new girl?”
“Of course not.”
“Yeah. I doubt you’d be the rebounding type.” Toudou narrowed his eyes, as if looking through me.
I couldn’t find an answer, so I clammed up. It wasn’t that I was uninterested in having a new girlfriend, but I also couldn’t refute that I was hesitant to dip my toes back into romance. What if I got cheated on again? I didn’t want to feel like all the time I’d put into dating had been wasted a second time. In that sense, he was right.
“What about Ayaka-san?”
“Nah, it’s not like that. She’s different,” I replied.
Toudou rolled the ball he’d been spinning over to the corner of the gymnasium. “You always say that, Yuu, but I just don’t get the logic. You’re such good friends with a bombshell of a girl. How do you not catch feelings?”
“I could ask you that. You’ve got plenty of cute friends, and you don’t catch feelings.”
“It’s because I already have a girlfriend. You’re a free agent.” He put a hand on my shoulder and turned his attention back to Shinohara. “She’s so damn cute. There aren’t any girls with those kinda looks at your job, are there? How’d you even get to know her? A mixer, or something?”
I thought for a moment and replied, “I…ran into Santa.”
“Say what?”
I left the puzzled Toudou behind and ran over to the ex-Santa. Despite the all-nighter I’d subjected myself to, my body felt uncommonly light.