My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 10

Lunch break—
I finished eating early and hurried over to Class 6, where Yua was.

Peeking into the classroom through the door left wide open, the first thing I noticed was a crowd gathered around a desk in the center.

At the heart of that group, as I expected, was my childhood friend.

Her seat was surrounded by a group of girls, and just like this morning, it was clear that trying to talk to her without a plan would only earn me a cold glare.

“…Man, doing this in front of people is nerve-wracking.”

Back in elementary school, the two of us used to play “Secret Society” all the time at school and in the park.

It sounded fancy, calling it a “secret society,” but in reality, it was just us sneaking around, trying not to get caught by classmates or adults—a sort of pretend spy game.

Looking back now, it might seem like a boring game. But at the time, running around together, sharing a secret and avoiding other people’s eyes, gave it a strange kind of thrill.

And today—I’m about to try that game again for the first time since we were kids.

We had a secret signal only the two of us knew.

Clap twice to get the other person’s attention. Then give a thumbs-up and point to the meeting spot, mouthing the words to say where it was.
It was simple, but it was the only way I could think of to get Yua to come with me alone.

“…I wonder if she’ll even remember something that old.”

Honestly, clapping in front of a crowded classroom is the last thing I want to do. It’s way too attention-grabbing.

Even so, I still wanted to try. I wanted to see how much Yua remembered of the days we spent together.

I rubbed my hands together in a circle and took a deep breath.

“…Okay.”

Thinking back to the past, I brought back my old “secret society” self.

—Clap! Clap!

Ignoring the fact that I’d just drawn the attention of everyone in the hallway and classroom, I clapped my hands together twice, loud and clear.

A few students nearby flinched at the sudden sound. Just like that, more and more eyes turned in my direction.

“Sora-kun…? —Ah!”

And then finally, my signal reached the person it was meant for.

Usually, Yua would rush over the moment she noticed me, but this time was different. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked away, glancing at me from the corner of her eye to see what I would do next.

Just from that reaction, I knew—she remembered the game.

I gave a thumbs-up and pointed in the direction of our meeting spot.

“Li-br-a-ry.”

I mouthed the word without making a sound, then jogged away from Class 6, trusting that she understood.

As I ran, memories of the past overlapped with the present.

I reached the library first and waited quietly, gazing absentmindedly at the bookshelves, hoping Yua would come.

The library was nearly empty during lunch, making it the perfect place for a private talk. In fact, I didn’t see a single other student, and even the librarian seemed to be out.

“Hope she gets here soon…”

I started to feel a bit nervous, wondering if my message had gotten through. The more I checked the time, the slower it seemed to move.

But then—I heard the door open, and all my worries disappeared at once.

“‘Li-br-a-ry’… Looks like I guessed right.”

Thank goodness. The message got through.

Yua walked quickly over to me and gave a little salute, standing up straight.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Codename ‘Sky’!”

“Don’t mock me, Codename ‘Lovely.’”

Just saying our old “secret society” codenames made me smile—it was such a mix of nostalgia and secondhand embarrassment, it made my chest tighten in a weirdly warm way.

We looked at each other—and burst out laughing.

“Ahh, this is hilarious… I never thought we’d be doing this kind of thing as high schoolers!”

“Same here. But I couldn’t think of any other way to get you alone. And hey, I’m impressed you even remembered the signal from our old game.”

“Of course I remembered! To me, every single day I spent with you was full of happy memories. I bet I’d still remember even in my next life!”

“…You seriously say stuff like that with a straight face, huh…”

Feeling my cheeks heat up, I turned away to hide it.

Not just her looks—even the way she talks now is way too cool…

“So? You went out of your way to call for ‘Lovely’—what’s the emergency?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a mission from HQ. Direct orders from our handsome-face-obsessed commander.”

“A dinner invite, then. From Kanami-san.”

“Wait—you got that from just ‘handsome-face-obsessed commander’?”

She nodded, totally unfazed by my cheesy line.

“Well, to put it plainly, my sister wants to see you. She said, ‘Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?’”

“Hmm.”

Yua hummed thoughtfully, looking unconvinced.

“It’s kind of sudden. Did you already have plans or something?”

“No plans. It’s just…”

“Just?”