Chapter 69

It's time for the school trip.

The destination for the middle school class is Los Angeles, USA. I tried to pack light, but ended up with two bags—a suitcase and a carry-on. Still, I packed blouses for each day, a spare uniform jacket and skirt, some casual clothes, and a few pairs of shoes, which quickly filled the suitcase.

Usually, when we go on family trips, we end up with even more luggage, so I think I did pretty well this time.

I hope it will be fun~

The school trip, however, is just a sightseeing tour.

We were taken to the Chinese Theater and Beverly Hills, and went shopping on Rodeo Drive.

At a jewelry store known for its blue boxes, I bought matching necklaces with my close friends as a keepsake.

We discussed various motifs—heart, key, leaf—but in the end, we settled on a cross.

We immediately put them on. Even though they were hidden under our uniform blouses, the fact that we were wearing new, matching necklaces made us feel excited. Matching things make us feel so close! I even wanted to do more shopping.

The prices were in dollars, and paying by card felt so unreal that my sense of money was off. Before I knew it, I had a lot of loot in both hands. I was scared I might keep buying unnecessary things. I decided not to look at anything else.

The hotel we stayed at was a first-class one, fitting for our school. The dinner was meat-heavy, as you'd expect in America, with large portions.

I tried to eat everything at every meal to avoid wasting food. It was delicious, and I thought I could handle it.

But soon, my stomach started to feel strange. Eating meat every day was tough. Not only at dinner, but also at lunch. This country is all about meat!

The portions were so large that I tried to stick to just one piece of bread when offered more. But honestly, I would have preferred just bread. As someone who loves carbs, the meat, meat, meat was too greasy and hard to handle. I wanted to eat tofu. My stomach always felt heavy...

My roommate, Serika, also said, "It's tough to eat this much before bed." But she left a little meat on her plate, didn't she?

I felt like everyone's faces were getting rounder than before the trip...

I brought emergency snacks in case the food didn't agree with me, but my stomach was always uncomfortable, and I didn't feel like eating them.

At night, Serika and I did some exercises to promote digestion. But it didn't seem to help at all.

During this time, we had a visit to a Protestant school.

I wondered why we were visiting a school that wasn't a sister school, but maybe they wanted to add some educational value to the trip, which was otherwise just shopping and amusement parks.

In front of real Christians, I felt a bit guilty about the cross necklaces we were wearing under our uniforms. We checked with each other that our blouse buttons were securely fastened.

"Maybe we should have chosen a flower or a heart."

"Yes..."

But the school felt liberating and wonderful. Seeing American students lounging in the large courtyard made me feel like I was in a foreign drama. I even wanted to study abroad.

Lunch was provided by the school we visited.

I was secretly looking forward to it because this school was vegetarian. No meat! Gentle on the stomach!

I was excited to see what the menu would be, but when the dishes came, they were all a dull brown. Hmm?

I cautiously tried them, and... they were terrible. What was this unique flavor?

I've never had it before, but I bet it's worse than hospital food. I might not be able to finish it, even with my strong stomach. What's gluten?

After days of meat, I thought I could skip a meal, but this was tough.

Looking around, no one seemed to be enjoying their food. We were all on the same page. A regular salad would have been enough. Why such a strange taste and texture?

But among us, Hayate continued to eat calmly.

I was a bit surprised.

I thought Hayate would be the first to leave food on the plate if it tasted bad.

It definitely wasn't good, but he didn't show any signs of it.

...Right. It's not nice to waste the food the school prepared for us. I should reflect on that.

I tried to follow Hayate's example and eat, but... ugh, it's still terrible. How can he eat with such a poker face?!

For dessert, we could choose between carrot cake and mint cake. Out of curiosity, I chose the mint cake, which turned out to be blue. What is this blue cake...?

One bite tasted like toothpaste. No way...

Hayate and I made eye contact. He looked at me and the cake with a disappointed expression. What's up with that!

Other than that, we spent our days at amusement parks.

Thinking about it, this was the first time I was going to an amusement park with my friends from Ruan. It made me happy!

I eagerly went on one ride after another, but then I got motion sickness...

The attractions in America's dreamland are more intense and scarier than those in Japan. Plus, the rides are longer.

Maybe it was the meat-heavy diet, but I felt really sick.

I had no choice but to take a break.

"Are you okay, Rika-sama?"

"Yes, I'll be fine if I rest a bit. Please go on the rides without worrying about me."

Serika and the others tried to stay with me out of concern, but I told them to enjoy themselves. They said they would check on me after one ride, but I told them to have fun. Some others also said they wanted to rest a bit.

I sat on a bench and spaced out. Then, I saw Hayate and Enjo walking by. Hayate, who usually has a poker face, looked like he was having fun. Maybe he likes amusement parks.

He walked briskly with the other male students to the next attraction. Then, Manaka and the others followed them. They looked energetic.

Today, everyone was in casual clothes, so it was hard to tell who was from Ruan. The place was big, too. I wondered if I could find anyone else I knew.

Oh!

I saw the girly committee president walking with Miharu!

There were other friends from our groups, but the committee president and Miharu were going on the rides together!

Damn, an amusement park date, how envious!

After a while, Serika and the others returned, and there were male students behind them. They had waited in line together and gone on the ride. They were smiling at each other.

What, why are they all doing date-like things without me?!

And why are the male students leaving? Shouldn't they continue together?

Maybe... no, it's just my imagination. It's fine. Don't worry about it.

At night, we went on a haunted house ride. It was better at night, with a spooky atmosphere.

"By the way, I heard a ghost appeared at last year's summer camp."

"Right. A student from Class 5 saw it. A drenched female ghost!"

"I heard it was tearing apart a corpse."

Everyone got excited, saying it was scary.

I was scared too, especially since the story was getting bigger.

"Rika-sama, didn't you participate in last year's summer camp?"

"Yes, but I don't know anything about that story."

I definitely won't go to the summer camp this year.

When I returned from the meat-heavy school trip, I had gained 3 kilograms. What should I do!

And it seems that the boys and girls who aren't me have become a bit closer! Why?!