Chapter 4: The Bucket of Water Thing Was Intentional
“I hear there’s a cold going around.”
Aida was waiting for Nina with a smile and dinner when she got home from work. It was incredible what this god could do. Aida couldn’t stay out of bed for long before, but now she was cleaning, washing, and even cooking.
However, Nina was worried that the chores were putting strain on Aida since she was still ill and getting worse—she just wasn’t feeling any pain. But not moving also meant you became less fit, which was also bad. In the end, Nina decided it was better to let Aida do what she wanted and not butt in too much.
“Seems like it, yeah,” Nina replied. “A lot of girls have been taking days off work at the restaurant.”
Obviously, a day off work meant a day’s less pay. When she heard that her coworkers with colds were annoyed that they had to take time off, Nina sympathized from a financial standpoint, but her other coworkers alleged that wasn’t the problem.
Apparently, the problem was that everyone was fighting over who got to work on Nina’s days. She had been working less lately since she’d been going to the academy, but she still didn’t understand why people would fight with each other to work with her. It wasn’t like anything would happen if they did work with her.
Ed must have handled things well because people weren’t trying to hold her hand like they used to. It was creepy to have them constantly staring at her from the shadows, but them doing no work on the sidelines was better than them doing no work and getting in her way.
“Are you feeling all right, Nina? You shouldn’t push yourself too hard,” Aida asked as she put a bowl before Nina. It was one of her favorites: soup loaded with carrots. She loved its cute orange color, which seemed all the more delicious because Aida made it for her.
She might be able to eat as much luxurious food as she wanted at the academy, but nothing beat her mother’s homecooked meals. They made idle chit-chat as they went to town on the warm food.
This sort of thing put Nina at risk of believing Aida’s illness had actually been cured. She knew this was only a brief moment of happiness, but she couldn’t help wishing this could go on forever.
“Mom, you should be careful, too,” Nina cautioned.
“I know, I know. You’re such a worrywart.” Aida stroked Nina’s hair and smiled. Nina quickly stuffed some bread in her mouth to hide the tears she felt welling in her eyes.
She would play whatever role Clarissa wanted her to if it meant getting just one more day like this with Aida. It didn’t matter what sort of downfall was waiting for her. If it were for Aida’s sake, Nina would become the best heroine ever.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐈 🐈 🐈
“WHOOPS! My hand slipped,” Clarissa stated with glee as she dumped a bucket of water over Nina’s head.
Nina had a feeling that was where this would end the moment she saw Clarissa with a bucket, but she didn’t think she’d genuinely come right over and pour the water on her.
If Clarissa couldn’t make it look more like an accident, Nina just looked weird for letting someone dump water on her. She really wished Clarissa would make the best of it since everyone was watching and judging this comedy of three between Nina, Dino, and Clarissa.
The villainess accidentally dumped water on the heroine, and the main love interest is supposed to see it and mistakenly assume it was on purpose.
That was likely the idea Clarissa had in mind. She was pretty sure of it because Clarissa had been looking around for Dino a moment earlier.
Nina understood what Clarissa wanted to do and was willing to cooperate. But could she please at least do it when Dino was actually nearby? It was uncomfortable waiting there, soaking wet. And she was a complete weirdo for standing there, not saying anything, dripping wet.
“Oh? Wait here for a moment,” requested Clarissa, finally worried that the main love interest wasn’t there. She set the bucket down and left.
Probably to go took for Dino.
“…Do I have to stand here waiting forever?”
The water wasn’t that cold, and it wasn’t like Clarissa had hit her with the bucket and injured her. However, she was soaked from head to toe since she didn’t try to avoid the water—Nina had actively aimed to get the water Clarissa threw all over her.
As expected, she started to shiver after not moving for a while. Even so, she decided to wait it out, like a female protagonist, bucket in hand. No matter how long she waited, Clarissa didn’t return.
From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Clarissa just doused Nina in water and ran away. She had actually become a true villainess. That wasn’t good, for a variety of reasons.
With no idea what else to do, Nina tried asking the audience about this comedy, watching her from a short distance, which was when she finally learned that Dino hadn’t come to class that day.
She wished Clarissa had at least checked first if the essential actors in the scene were actually at school that day. Now Nina was soaked for no reason.
Clarissa might try hard, but she was fundamentally bad at following through.
“I feel like…rather than a villainess, she’d be better at playing the sort of heroine that seems perfect but isn’t…” Nina couldn’t stop her muttered complaints, but they weren’t going to help at this point.
She sighed, put away the bucket, and went home.