A Story About a Handsome Girl Having Her First Kiss Stolen by an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 25

June 11 (Saturday)

“Let’s make a pairing!”

This was our first holiday date, as we had promised long ago.

I thought hard about what kind of “romantic” date plan Mizuhara wanted.

Something that would make her happy and that I could do without any stress. I considered things like going to the movies, an aquarium, or the zoo, but I chose something that would give it a more date-like feel.

These days, unless you’re looking for exceptional quality or brand-name items, you can create a satisfying pairing at a low cost.

We wait for Mizuhara Shizuku at the central ticket gate of our respective nearest stations.

It was 11 o’clock on a Saturday. Because of the time of day and the day of the week, many people were walking around the station. Among them, I noticed a particularly cute girl, and it was Mizuhara Shizuku.

Her medium-long hair was curled inwards, and she was wearing an elegant spring-colored dress that was tight around the waist, showing off her body lines.

I feel kind of embarrassed that I was the first to spot Mizuhara in the crowd just because she’s cute.

“Yay Mizuhara.”

Pretending to be calm, he called out.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Oh no, I arrived a little early.”

It’s before the appointed time of 11 o’clock.

A melody plays on the platform, announcing the arrival of a train. As it is a train heading towards the city, there are quite a few people waiting. I quickly board and sit Mizuhara in the only available seat.

He stands in front of Mizuhara holding a hanging strap.

As I was checking the reservation plan for a pairing store on my smartphone, two high school girls sitting next to me started talking to me, “Excuse me.”

“You’re the one who commutes from here to Sakugaoka High School every morning, right?”

“Yeah, but…huh?”

“You know, once I felt sick on the train and they carried me to the station staff room.”

Oh, that happened too.

A hazy memory begins to take shape. I remember taking a girl in uniform to the station staff room.

“It was so cool, it made a big impression on me,” the girl said bashfully.

Well, standing near the entrance may indeed have been a good thing, as he was able to carry it smoothly to the stationmaster’s room.

“I remembered well. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Um, can I have your contact information? I want to thank you.”

“That would be nice.”

Pushed by the girl’s innocent eyes, Wakamatsu took out his smartphone. After exchanging accounts, the girl’s cheeks flushed with joy. A boy wearing the same uniform next to her said, “I’m glad for you.”

The girl pushed her friend away, telling Wakamatsu to stop, and started talking to him, saying, “The students at Sakugaoka High School are really smart, aren’t they?” Sakugaoka High School is a public high school that boasts the highest academic ability in the Seventh District and is also one of the top schools in the prefecture. When I mention the name of the high school, I often get compliments like this.

“Haha, my grades are pretty low in school though.”

“But even so, at my high school, I’d still be at the top of my grade!”

“I’m not that great. There are a lot of amazing people in the advanced course or medical school course, though.”

Wakamatsu continues talking as the girl asks him questions. About his studies, club activities, hobbies and special skills.

When the topic turned to romance, the girl’s friend spoke up.

“Do you have a boyfriend now, Wakamatsu-san?”

“picture…”

The girl tells him to stop, but her friend seems to find it amusing. Wakamatsu is at a loss for words. He turns to Mizuhara Shizuku for help, but Mizuhara is glaring at her smartphone as if she doesn’t care.

Neither the answer “no” nor describing Mizuhara Shizuku as “boyfriend” seemed correct.

“I don’t have a boyfriend…”

As I speak, I feel heat rising in my cheeks.

“There’s someone you’re dating right now.”

As I turned my face away in embarrassment, I heard the girl say, “Huh…” in a mosquito-like voice. At the exact moment the conversation stopped, an announcement was made on the train.

Mizuhara, who was sitting below, nudged Wakamatsu and called out, “I’m getting off.”

As soon as we reached the platform at our destination, Mizuhara turned to look at us.

“You were getting hit on.”

“Oh, is that a flirting thing?”

“If he were just saying thank you, he wouldn’t have exchanged contact information. He wouldn’t have asked so many questions.”

“Seriously? It was just an extension of the conversation…”

Although Mizuhara acted as if he hadn’t heard, it seemed he had been listening carefully.

“You look even cuter today,” she muttered gruffly. This classmate was the only one who described Wakamatsu as “cute.”

“Do people say that Mizuhara has a distorted sense of aesthetics?”

“What’s that?”

“I mean, seriously, only Mizuhara calls me cute, you know?”

“None of them have any sense of style,” Mizuhara said, looking back with a smile quirking at the corners of his mouth.

After walking about 10 minutes from the station, I arrived in front of the restaurant I was looking for. When I stepped inside, most of the seats were filled with couples.

We sat side by side on chairs and discussed and decided on the decorative design, thickness, and weight of the rings. This process was quite fun. There was also a campaign to put our initials on each other’s rings, so we asked them to do that and waited for the rings to be completed.

It took about 20 minutes to finish the ring, and when I tried it on, it fit surprisingly well.

Wakamatsu was happy, but Mizuhara just looked at him and said, “It suits you,” and didn’t try to put the ring on.

“Mizuhara, don’t you wear a ring?”

“Wakamatsu will put it on later.”

What would be a good situation for someone to put a ring on their lover? Mizuhara’s words “like a lover” kept repeating in my head.

Wakamatsu and his friends also took a look around the store at the rings on sale, then left.