My Childhood Friend, Who I Made a Promise To Spend the Future With, Dumped Me... But Ever Since I Started Dating a Beautiful Girl From School, My Childhood Friend Has Been Acting Strange - Episode 10

After the morning homeroom ended, Tōma Suzuki remained silent in the classroom.

He simply couldn’t think of anything to say.

On the other hand, Saori Azusa also had a difficult expression on her face, looking a bit troubled.

She, too, was at a loss for words and hesitated to speak.

The two of them were in the classroom.

Right after the morning homeroom, Tōma had walked over to where Saori was sitting.

They were both looking at the class duty journal that was opened on Saori’s desk.

The journal had a section where they had to write down their impressions from the first period to after-school time, along with a record of any issues that occurred during those times.

Today, the two of them had been assigned to write the journal together.

However, since that incident, they had barely spoken to each other.

The situation was incredibly awkward, but Tōma took the initiative to break the silence.

“Tōma, what should we do?”

“…What do you mean? We have to do it. It’s already been decided.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right…”

Tōma had a troubled look on his face.

Feeling trapped by an unavoidable fate, he couldn’t help but hold his head in distress.

It seemed that Saori was just as concerned.

“Well, we have to do it together anyway. I guess it’s fine, at least for today.”

Saori spoke in a detached tone, not looking at Tōma as she remained seated.

“For now, let’s take turns. Class duty is meant to be done cooperatively. I’ll write the journal in the morning. Tōma, you handle erasing the blackboard and distributing handouts before class.”

“Got it. I’ll do that.”

“In the afternoon, we’ll switch. You’ll write the journal, and I’ll handle the blackboard and other tasks.”

“Alright. But why am I the one writing the journal in the afternoon?”

“Because I have plans in the evening. I need to leave early. That’s all. Since I’m handling the journal in the morning, that’s how it is.”

Their conversation was brief, lasting only about two minutes.

After that, Tōma left the classroom and headed to the staff room to collect the handouts for the first-period class from the teacher.

Upon returning to the classroom, he distributed the handouts to his classmates.

Once that task was done, there was nothing left for him to do as class duty.

All he had to do was return to his seat and wait for class to begin.

From his seat, he absentmindedly watched Saori, who sat diagonally in front of him.

She seemed to be writing something in the journal, but Tōma made no effort to approach her.

Instead, he spent the remaining time before class started by fiddling with his smartphone, using the chatter of his classmates as background noise.

“Haaah… That was suffocating.”

Tōma let out a deep sigh.

“That must have been tough.”

“Of course it was. I never expected to be on class duty with Saori today.”

Currently, it was lunchtime.

Tōma was sitting on a bench on the rooftop, eating lunch alongside Suzuha Kamiya.

As usual, he had bought some bread from the school store.

Meanwhile, Suzuha had brought a homemade bento, which she placed on her lap.

She held chopsticks in her right hand and had started eating.

“So, what do you want to do today? Do you want to eat a bento?”

“But wouldn’t that be a bother for you?”

“I made rice balls, so you’d eat those, right?”

Previously, Tōma had mentioned wanting a rice ball with salmon meunière as the filling.

It seemed Suzuha had remembered and made it for him.

“Thanks.”

Grateful, Tōma accepted the foil-wrapped rice ball.

It felt slightly heavier than the one from last time.

“Isn’t this a bit big?”

“Maybe. I made it a bit larger this time. I enjoy making bento. I have more if you want?”

“No, I can’t take too much. If I eat too much, there might not be enough left for you.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I made extra. See?”

Suzuha pointed to a small container placed next to her main bento.

“Oh, I see. Well, then… I’ll gladly accept.”

Tōma took the small container from Suzuha and opened the lid.

Inside, there were classic bento items like tamago-yaki, sausages, and broccoli.

The container was about two sizes smaller than a regular bento box, making it the perfect amount to eat alongside the rice ball.

Tōma usually bought bread from the school store for lunch, but it never fully satisfied his hunger.

When he used to spend lunch breaks with Saori, she never brought a homemade bento either.

Like Tōma, she always bought bread from the school store.

Though it wasn’t fair to compare, he felt happier in this moment.

“Tōma, what are you planning to do about Azusa-san?”

“Well, I haven’t decided yet… But my little sister seems to want me to get along with Saori again.”

Reflecting on his sister’s feelings, Tōma spoke to Suzuha.

“I see. If that’s the case, maybe trying to reconnect as childhood friends wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how to close the distance between us.”

“Well, since you’re both on class duty today, maybe use that as a chance to talk?”

Suzuha suggested, as if she had just come up with the idea.

“We already talked a little this morning.”

“And how was it?”

“Pretty awkward. The conversation didn’t last long. It felt like Saori was closing herself off… Like there’s still a distance between us.”

“I see… But for your sister’s sake, I hope you and Azusa-san can get along again.”

“Yeah… Saori isn’t usually the type to hold grudges, so maybe time will fix things.”

After sighing again, Tōma picked up his chopsticks and began eating the side dishes from the container.

They were so delicious that his worries seemed to fade away.

“And also, thanks for today’s lunch. It really helped. It was delicious.”

After finishing the food, he turned to Suzuha, sitting beside him, and expressed his gratitude.

“Yeah, I’m glad it was worth making.”

She responded with a warm smile.

“But if I rely on you too much, I’ll feel bad. Maybe just once a week?”

“Really? You usually just eat bread, right? Does that really fill you up?”

“Not really… Then, how about I make a bento too? Would that be okay?”

“Wait, have you ever made one before?”

“Not yet. But if I get some advice from my little sister, I think I can manage.”

“Really? I’d actually like to try your cooking. Maybe not this week, but starting next week?”

“Yeah. I promise you won’t regret it!”

Tōma spoke with confidence.

Seeing his enthusiasm, Suzuha gave an approving nod.

That day, Tōma spent his lunch break with Suzuha.