A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 2.5

Friday, April 22

After school on Friday.

Wakamatsu was lying on the bed in Shizuku Mizuhara’s room.

“Hey, why don’t you talk to me at school?”

“I do talk to you.”

“No, no! You only say the bare minimum!”

Wakamatsu turned to his classmate, who was glued to her desk studying.
They barely talked in the classroom. Unless Wakamatsu initiated the conversation, their exchanges were limited to handing in assignments and official announcements.

“I do have normal conversations with you.”

“Only when it’s just the two of us.”

Shizuku sighed, looking slightly annoyed.

Wakamatsu lay on his back, staring at the white ceiling. He was lost in thought when suddenly—

“Hey.”

Her voice snapped him out of it. He sat up and approached her desk, where she showed him a worksheet.

“I’m stuck on this part.”

It was the final question—one that required summarizing the writer’s main point.

Shizuku stood up and gestured for Wakamatsu to take her seat.

He read through the one-and-a-half-page passage and thought about the answer.

After sharing his thoughts, Shizuku compared his response to the model answer.

Standing beside him, she pointed at a sentence in the model answer.

“Why would I lose points if I leave this out?”

“Well, it’s written separately from the other key points, but it’s still important.”

“But there aren’t any words emphasizing it nearby.”

“It’s a little tricky, but see this example here? The fact that the author took the time to explain it with an analogy means it’s important.”

Shizuku nodded, seeming to understand.

“Wakamatsu, you’re really good at this.”

“R-Really? Well, Japanese is my best subject.”

“Yeah, you grasp things quickly. Is that why you’re good at everything?”

A compliment was always nice to hear.

“I’m not good at summarizing. Any tips?”

“Maybe marking the key points as you read? I never really think about it.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll ask the teacher later.”

This time, she didn’t seem satisfied. She took a picture of her answer sheet with her tablet.

“Okay, submitted!”

“Is that from a past exam?”

“It’s from my cram school. I’m catching up on the studies I missed while I was out of school.”

That made sense. High school lessons weren’t easy to learn alone.

Sakugaoka High School, where they studied, was a prestigious school known for its high-achieving students. Over 90% of them went on to top universities.

Even with self-study, missing six months of the first year was a big deal.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Go where? I thought we were just relaxing today.”

“We are, but we need to buy materials first.”

“Materials…?”

Shizuku tucked a small eco-bag into her pocket and packed her wallet and a handkerchief into her shoulder bag.

“We’re making aroma candles together.”

“Aroma candles? You can make those yourself?”

“Yep! You can do it with just stuff from the dollar store. Let’s go shopping.”

She took his hand, leading him to a store inside the train station.

Shizuku had prepared a shopping list in advance, carefully checking off each item as they moved through the store. It was a small shop, but it had everything they needed.

Back home, Wakamatsu stepped into the kitchen for the first time and followed her instructions.

They filled a small pot with water and heated it to melt candles in a double boiler.

After crushing crayons for color, they mixed in their favorite shades.

Shizuku’s turned out beautifully, while Wakamatsu’s—despite choosing art as an elective—ended up a murky mess.

“You told me to bring my perfume, right? Here.”

“Ah, so that’s why I said to bring the whole case.”

Wakamatsu randomly added drops of his favorite perfume into the melted wax.

Shizuku did the same, infusing her candle with her scent.

With the ventilation fan on full blast, they continued working.

Using paper cups, they secured the wicks in the center with chopsticks before pouring in the melted wax.

Now, all they had to do was wait for it to cool and solidify.

They sat in the living room, chatting while the candles hardened.

“You’re really stylish, Shizuku. I’ve never made something like this before.”

“Scents have a relaxing effect. That’s why I wanted to try making them.”

“Huh, I see.”

As he sipped the tea she had made, he thought about where to place his candle.

Since it was supposed to be relaxing, maybe near his bed or desk?

Even if the color was a little off, lighting it would probably make it look nice.

Once the wax had set, they cut open the paper cups with a cutter to remove the finished candles.

Though imperfect, they had turned out pretty well.

“Hey, let’s trade!”

“Trade?”

She wanted to exchange his weirdly colored candle for her beautifully made one?

That felt way too unfair.

“You don’t have to worry about it. I can still love something even if it looks a little odd.”

“What are you even saying?”

“I actually like the way yours smells.”

“…Huh?”

Wakamatsu was caught off guard by her words.

“They say scent is closely tied to memory. So, remember me when you’re at home, okay?”

That also meant Shizuku would remember him.

“But your scent is different from usual, Wakamatsu.”

“Yeah, I use a different one on weekdays. You still smell like the usual Shizuku, though.”

“Of course—I wanted you to remember me.”

“…What even is that?”

Wakamatsu chuckled, embarrassed.

She grinned back, looking genuinely happy.

“How about a goodbye kiss?”

“Not happening. See you, Shizuku.”

As he left, she teased him all the way to the door.