srsly? no pressure
> No worries! Swimming in cash this month lol
thanks love ya!
> Love you too ♡♡♡
“Ugh...” Ruka and Hinaru said together. Both of their faces scrunched up.
Meiri looked surprised. “Um, why the cringe?” she asked.
“I’m getting diabetes from seeing something that sweet first thing in the morning...” Ruka complained.
“Plus your BF’s so old, Mei-chi... Red flag?” added Hinaru.
Meiri pulled her phone away. “He’s not old! He’s in college! And a model too.”
I don’t think he’s “old” like Hina says, but he’s an amateur model in college messing around with a high school girl he met at a photo shoot... He even repeated a year. Twice. You can’t tell me that’s not sus. I get that age is just a number when it comes to love, but going after someone Mei’s age when the modeling world’s full of older, pretty women... Ruka had her opinions about Meiri’s boyfriend, but she also didn’t want her friend to get all pissed off again like yesterday.
“’Kay, Mei, take two,” said Ruka.
“Huh?”
“Totes jealous of your super nice boyfriend, Mei! I wish I had one!”
“Uh-huh, real sincere.” Meiri poked Ruka in the cheek.
Ruka grinned, though that was a little tricky with all the poking. If that’s enough for her to feel like she got me back, I’ll take it.
“Y’know, I’ve been wondering about this for a loooong time. Why don’t you get a boyfriend, Ruka-chin?” Hinaru asked.
“What do you mean, why?”
“I mean, you’re popular with the guys, aren’tcha? And you just said you wanted a BF. So why not go out and get one?” Hinaru grabbed a piece of candy from her bag and started rolling it around in her mouth.
Ruka had only said she was jealous to calm Meiri down, but Hinaru had taken her seriously. To Ruka, though, her reason for not getting a boyfriend was a no-brainer.
“Hanging out with you two’s way more fun!” said Ruka. “Doesn’t matter what we’re up to. It’s always the best with you guys!”
As the three girls giggled together, the room suddenly went silent. Ginka Shijunana had arrived.
Again, Ruka noticed her shining silver hair and eyes along with her pretty face. All that sparkly jewelry was hard to miss too. Everyone in class seemed to be holding their breaths. Of course, that included the girls who had been around during that whole mess yesterday, but the boys were also acting like they’d sensed something.
After setting down her bag at her desk, Shijunana headed toward Chinami at the front of the room. The class rep’s face tensed, and she looked uncomfortable. That wasn’t surprising when the girl who had revealed her secrets and made her cry was coming right for her. Everyone else in class seemed too fixated on Shijunana to make a move.
Shijunana stopped in front of Hayami and said, in her clear and dignified voice, “Hayami...san. I wish to apologize once more for yesterday’s incident. My sincerest apologies.”
“Ah, uh, buh...” Chinami didn’t seem like she could handle words right now. She was doing better than yesterday, but she still didn’t seem okay enough to accept that apology. As Chinami started to panic, her eyes darted all over before stopping on Ruka.
“Be right back,” Ruka said. Not like I have a choice when she looks at me like a little puppy. And since I smoothed things over yesterday, it’s my job to see it all the way through... I guess?
“Want us to come along?” Hinaru asked.
“Nah, I’ll be fine solo. Oh, but I’ll take these.” Ruka snatched something from Hinaru, then went to rescue Chinami.
“Ah, I was looking forward to those! Fine, whatever...” Hinaru grumbled as Ruka walked away.
At the front of the classroom, Shijunana shot a questioning look at Ruka while Chinami relaxed a little.
Yup, coming up here really was the right call. “Shijunana-san, you’re way too uptight this early in the morning. Chinami’s freak-ing-out!” At the end of that sentence, Ruka swung her hand between the two girls after each syllable to make her point.
“Ah, apologies...” Shijunana awkwardly replied.
Ruka wondered if Chinami wasn’t the only nervous one up here. Maybe Shijunana didn’t have much experience apologizing. Gotta teach her, then. She held out the bag of candy she’d snatched from Hinaru. “If you’re gonna say sorry, throw in a bribe.”
Shijunana’s eyebrows lost their almost-perfect shape as she frowned at the bag. “I do not believe this type of thing is appropriate for an apology.”
“Sure they are. They’re crazy good.”
“They look like ordinary candies, though...”
“Yup.”
“In that case, I understand even less...”
“You gotta feel it with your heart, y’know?”
“I...do not know.”
“Pffff...! Ha!” A burst of laughter cut through their conversation.
Ruka and Shijunana both turned and saw Chinami trembling with a hand over her mouth.
“Hayami-san?”
“Ah...!” After a quiet yelp, Chinami covered her face and looked down at the floor.
She was trying to hide her smile, but Ruka could definitely see between her hands because her shoulders still shook a little.
“You two can handle the rest.” She thrust the bag of candy at Shijunana’s chest and turned around.
First yesterday, and now today... I’m almost too good! Ruka was feeling pretty fired up from what she’d just done. As she started walking away, she listened to Shijunana and the class rep talk things out.
“I thought about it a lot after heading home yesterday... I talked to you because the teachers told me to, Shijunana-san, but the way I did it was so awkward that I caused you trouble... I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize about, Hayami-san. The fault was entirely mine yesterday.”
“No, but...”
“I mean it. I trampled all over your considerate actions and then embarrassed you in front of others. Upon reflection, I realized how utterly foolish I was.”
“Why don’t we say we were both at fault, then?”
“Yes, I would appreciate that.”
Now that Shijunana and Chinami had made up, the tension lingering in the classroom was gone. Everyone looked relieved to see the issue resolved. Ruka, too, felt nice and refreshed. As she went back to her seat, Hinaru and Meiri held out their fists. Without a word, Ruka lifted her own for a fist bump with her friends.
Ruka worked part-time at a café called Bianco two or three times a week because it was close to school and the uniforms looked good. Maybe her reasons for working there weren’t the best, but she got along great with everyone from the couple who ran the place to the other employees. She thought it was a pretty fun place to work.
“Got your order right here, my guy!” Ruka placed an espresso and a tart in front of a middle-aged man with stubble. The reason she spoke so casually with the customers was because the folks who owned the place had told her to be herself at work. That made life easier for Ruka, so she wasn’t about to complain. “Take your time!” she added with a smile and a little nod. After roughly a year of working here, she was used to the whole routine.
Ruka glanced up at the pendulum clock and realized it was time for her break. “Back in a few!” she called out to the owner behind the counter.
He handed Ruka an iced coffee. She knew that he was offering it to her, so she thanked him and took it to the staff room.
Inside, she saw a slender girl collapsed on top of a small table.
“Yo, Tokiwa-san,” Ruka said to her coworker.
“Ah, Ruka-san... Good work out there...” Tokiwa Yagi lifted her head, fixed her crooked glasses, and smiled at Ruka.
There was a tablet and a stylus on the table, so Ruka asked, “Oh, were you drawing manga?”
“That’s right... Hee hee. I was...drawing manga...at work... Hee hee hee...”
Ruka took a seat across from the girl whose weird giggling really didn’t match her pretty face. Tokiwa was part of her college’s manga club, and she drew manga for events every few months or so. Normally she drew at home, but apparently she was using her break time at work for that now.
In other words... Ruka could guess what the deal was. “Hey, Tokiwa-san...”
“Y-Yes?”
“How’s the manga going?”
“Eeep!” Tokiwa squeaked.
Even without knowing the details, Ruka knew her coworker was in a pinch. Well, Tokiwa-san’s always helping me out at work, so maybe this’ll be a good chance to pay her back. After a quick sip of iced coffee, she looked straight at Tokiwa and asked, “Is there anything I can do? Y’know, to help you out?”
“R-Ruka-san, you’d do that...?”
“Of course. I mean, you’re always giving me a hand.”
“My angel...” Tokiwa’s eyes teared up behind her glasses. She tightly gripped her messy hair, which was sticking up all over the place. “W-Well, you see, I haven’t been able to come up with any ideas at all... S-So, I’m sorry to ask, but... Could you tell me some stories about your high school, Ruka-san...?”
“Oh, you want some gossip? On it!”