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 8
Appearance is indeed important.
Even if someone has a good personality and is kind, if their outward appearance seems off, their evaluation may drop.
This becomes even more crucial in high school.
If my childhood friend Saori rejected me because of my appearance, then I should work on improving it.
At the very least, I want to restore my relationship with Saori as childhood friends.
Right now, she is rejecting me, and she is not very willing to repair our bond. However, for the sake of my younger sister Emi, I want to try and mend things.
I do understand the importance of appearance, but since I’m not good at picking out clothes, this is my biggest challenge.
For now, I’ve decided to go shopping for clothes in the city on my next day off.
The next morning.
After leaving home and parting ways with my younger sister Emi at the usual intersection, I took out my phone from my uniform pocket and checked my schedule.
I was walking along my usual route to school.
Yesterday, my sister pointed something out to me—
That taking care of one’s appearance is important.
It’s hard to notice these things on your own, but when someone else points them out, they become clear.
After checking my schedule, I started searching online for summer clothes.
“So, this is what’s trendy right now…”
I don’t buy clothes very often.
Even when I do, I just try on something at a store I happen to stop by, and if it looks good, I buy it.
I’ve never put much thought into what suits me best.
“Huh, there are a lot of options…”
Looking at different clothing websites, I realized that brands have distinct styles and designs.
For now, I was thinking about getting a T-shirt.
Since it’s summer, casual clothing seems like the best choice.
“Good morning, Toma!”
As I walked alone on my way to school, Suzuka Kamiya called out to me.
She greeted me with a bright smile.
I looked up from my phone and greeted her back.
“What were you looking at?”
She walked up beside me and peeked at my phone screen.
“Oh, this.”
“Is that a clothing store’s website?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you looking for something to buy?”
“Kind of. I figured I should start paying more attention to my appearance.”
“Appearance, huh… By the way, what kind of clothes do you usually wear?”
“Shirts with random English words on them. And pants I’ve had since middle school.”
“Yeah, that’s… not great. You should go for something fresher, more high school-appropriate.”
Even though Suzuka had never seen me in my casual clothes, she looked a little taken aback.
I put my phone back in my pocket and started walking alongside her toward school.
“Hey, can I come with you to the clothing store? We’re going to be hanging out more from now on, and I’d love to help you pick something that suits you.”
She offered enthusiastically.
“I don’t mind, but I won’t be going alone.”
“Oh? Who else is coming?”
“My little sister. She’s the one who suggested this in the first place.”
“You have a younger sister? That’s fine with me!”
Suzuka seemed excited about the idea of shopping with both of us.
“So, when are we going?”
“This Saturday.”
“Tomorrow, then.”
“Yeah. Are you free?”
“I should be. Let’s make it official.”
And just like that, I made plans with Suzuka for the weekend.
“By the way, which school does your sister go to? Is she in the same school as us?”
“No, she’s two years younger. She’s still in middle school.”
“Oh, a middle schooler. That’s kind of funny, though—having your little sister be the one to point out your appearance. She must pay a lot of attention to you.”
“Yeah, she’s a bit nosy, but she’s not a bad kid. She always starts conversations, so she’s easy to talk to. I never get bored when she’s around.”
“She must be pretty talkative, huh?”
Suzuka touched her chin thoughtfully as she imagined my sister.
“Yeah, kind of. She also likes cooking and cleaning. She helps out a lot.”
“She sounds really considerate! A middle schooler who’s already that independent—you should treasure her.”
“I know. I don’t think anyone else cares about me as much as she does.”
My social circle is pretty small, so having Emi around has been a huge help.
Without her, I wouldn’t have anyone I could talk to so openly.
“So, have you decided which store to go to?”
Suzuka asked as she walked beside me.
“My sister’s picking that. She has a place in mind.”
“Oh? Is it in the city?”
“Probably.”
“A department store or a specialty clothing store?”
“Not sure, but considering my sister, it’s probably a department store. She usually shops with our mom at those.”
“Hmm, I see. Well, I also want to buy some clothes, so after you and your sister are done shopping, could we stop by the store I want to check out?”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
The conversation with Suzuka flowed naturally.
I decided I’d ask my sister later about the exact store we’d be going to.
By the time we finished making our plans, we had arrived at the school’s entrance.
“So, what time are we meeting up tomorrow? Morning or afternoon?”
“I’ll have to check with my sister first. I’ll message you later since we have each other’s contact info.”
“Got it. Let me know once it’s decided.”
After switching into her indoor shoes, Suzuka mentioned she had something to take care of and didn’t head straight to the classroom.
“Where are you going?”
“The broadcasting room. It’s my turn to do the morning announcements today, and I have to be there in about ten minutes.”
With that, Suzuka hurried off.
I switched into my indoor shoes and headed toward the classroom.
As I walked down the hallway, I took out my phone again and sent a message to my sister, asking about our plans for tomorrow.