My Childhood Friend, Sometimes a Schoolgirl—She Only Wears That Ribbon Around Me - Episode 32

“Maybe waiting more than thirty minutes early was a bit too much?”

Today’s date meeting spot was right in front of the station I use every day to get to school.

I’d arrived quite early and was checking the nearby clock, waiting for Minamikata to show up.

Still, no matter how nervous I was, I knew she wouldn’t come for a while. Unlike me, who rode a bike here, she was coming by train.

There was still time before the train was scheduled to arrive, but it wasn’t enough time to kill by going into a restaurant. Besides, since we were going to eat on our date, I didn’t want to eat or drink too early.

Even looking at my phone, I couldn’t focus on any game apps because I kept worrying about a message from Minamikata. So, all I could do was nervously check the time over and over.

For now, I figured I should get my feelings together while waiting so I could talk properly when I finally saw the girl I admired.

With this much time, I could at least rehearse what I wanted to say. I really didn’t want to waste this rare chance to get closer to her—

“Knock, knock… Guess who?”

But—my carefully organized feelings instantly went out the window.

Suddenly, my vision went dark, and warm, soft skin covered my eyes.

“Mi-Minamikata-san…?”

“Yep, that’s right!”

Sunlight suddenly poured back into my eyes as I turned around.

Minamikata Saho set her heels down on the ground—they’d been lifted to cover my eyes—and smiled innocently.

“Seriously, you’re like an angel…”

“Angel?”

“N-no… uh, never mind.”

Damn. I said that out loud.

Her blonde hair tied in twin tails shone brightly. She wore a white blouse with a cardigan over it and a calm-colored mini skirt—an easy, cute girl’s style.

Between her actions and her look, she gave off so much charm that calling her an “angel” didn’t feel like an exaggeration.

“Tsuzuki-kun, you got here really early. Did I keep you waiting too long?”

“Not at all. You’re actually earlier than expected.”

“A little. I didn’t want to be late, and, well… if you got here early, we could spend more time together, right? So, coming now was the right call.”

“!!”

So that means she took an earlier train just to see me!?

She shyly scratched her head, and my hopes started to soar.

“…I’m happy you say that, but are you sure this is the right place? Honestly, if we’re going to go out in the prefecture, there are more fun places like Omiya or Kawagoe.”

“It’s fine. Today’s purpose is to apologize to you, Tsuzuki-kun. Also, I don’t want to make you go too far because of my selfishness.”

“The apology? About you mistaking me for a creep near the girls’ bathroom, right? That happened ages ago, and I don’t really care.”

Honestly, just getting to meet her on a day off was more than enough for me. I felt like I should be the one thanking her.

“Well, I also wanted to come because it’s your hometown.”

“Huh? Why…? Like I said, there aren’t many fun spots here. As you can see near the station, there’s just a karaoke place and a small arcade.”

“It doesn’t matter if there aren’t many fun places. There’s a saying, ‘It’s not where you go, but who you go with.’ And besides, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

“You want to see something?”

“Not anything specific, but I want to know the town where you were born and raised. I feel like knowing that will bring us closer.”

Minamikata put her hands behind her back, holding her bag, and started walking forward.

“So… today, you have to tell me a lot about yourself, okay?”

“Y-yeah… sure!”

I never thought Minamikata would be this interested in me. Maybe this would change my whole school life.

“Standing around chatting isn’t great. Let’s get going and find a place to eat. Is there anything you want? Since it’s an apology, say whatever you like.”

“Something to eat… By the way, do you have any food dislikes?”

“Hmm, nothing in particular. As long as it’s not insects or weird stuff.”

“Don’t worry, there’s no place serving something that strange in this countryside.”

We definitely wouldn’t pick a weird restaurant on our first date, and I wouldn’t want to eat something like that either.

Near the station, there was a chain hamburger shop or a cheap Italian place. If we walked a bit, there were ramen shops and cafés. Hmm, what should I choose?

Ramen would be a bit much if we stayed inside a long time, and considering it’s just the two of us, a café seemed like the best bet, but I was too nervous to talk properly in a fancy place.

So, as a typical high school date, either a hamburger place or Italian felt right.

“…Is a chain fast-food restaurant okay?”

“If you’re fine with it, I’ll go anywhere with you.”

“Then, can we go to that place?”

After some thought, I pointed to the restaurant I’d chosen.