CH 5.1

Junior’s Invasion. (Part 1)

I thought that my part-time job would be no big deal on weekends because weekdays are so quiet, but I had forgotten that it was Golden Week.

I was so busy that I was troubled the whole time I was on shift, and my Golden Week was over in the blink of an eye.

After the holiday, I asked Hinagata what she had been doing, and she told me that she had been playing basketball all day.

The league was over, and now the inter-high school qualifying rounds were coming up.

It seemed that Hinagata had not fulfilled her condition that she proposed to me: ‘If I score 20 points, please go hang out with me again.’ I didn’t ask her, but the fact that she didn’t say anything was proof of that.

School is somewhat over with me being drowsy , and I have a shift, so when I left after school, I put my bag down and got on my bicycle to go to work.

Perhaps because Golden Week was over, the supposedly peak hours passed by in a leisurely fashion without much fanfare.

“Right. When I was done with the training, I felt like I had just had a good practice.”

A fellow senior staff member other than Mise-san asked me if I had gotten used to the job, to which I replied without a second thought.

“As expected from an ex-baseball player. You’re a real hothead, aren’t you?”

I tilted my head at the senior who was smiling.

“Ehh- Is that so?”

I thought I could feel a gaze on me, and then I saw Mise-san sneaking a peek at me from behind a shelf.

“Y-you are already getting along…?!”

Since the staff members get to see each other a lot, we must get along somewhat.

When we ran out of topics to talk about, I returned to my workplace, the washing area, and Mise-san came up to me.

“D-don’t you think th-that it’s still too early to be getting along with each other?? It’s only been two weeks.”

She asked me, looking at me as if I were a monster.

“No, I think it’s quite normal…?”

I’m not a total stranger, and anyone can make small talk.

“That’s how you get over the ‘awkward April’ that occurs every time you change classes in no time at all… Tonomura-kun…”

Mise-san mumbled in a low voice with a distant look in her eyes.

“How are you doing this year, Mise-san?”

“Don’t ask.”

“I’m sorry.”

During the weekdays , I learned that the hours between 19:00 and 20:00 were the busiest, and the rest of the time was pretty quiet .

As I was getting used to it, I sometimes started my shift at 18:00.

On the other hand, on weekends and holidays, which I experienced for the first time, sometimes it was busy all day , and other times it was very intensive.

I was bored and asked Mise-san how she was doing at school.

“I know you read novels at school. Do you have any recommendations?”

“Wh-! Ehh! Tonomura-kun, you want to read some novels too?”

Uwooo, the sparkle in her eyes was amazing. It was as if she had found a friend.

“I was wondering if you have any recommendations for me… to read?”

“I do, I do. I’ll bring it to school next time!”

“Thanks. Please do me a favor. A simple one first please.”

“Sure, Sure! I’ll pick one that’s good for beginners!”

Mise-san was more excited than ever.

“Ah, but what should I choose? That one is good, and that one is good, too, but…ummm…ummm…ummm…”

She seems to be having a lot of fun worrying about which novel to choose.

“If you are like this on a regular basis, I’m sure you will make friends at school.”

“Heaaee?”

“If you show your face properly, it will be more presentable and less difficult to talk to people.”

“Fuhyaaa”

Covering her face with both hands, Mise-san turned away.

“T-tonomura-kun is my… friend…?”

“You’re my senior and I’m your junior here, but at school… Well, yes. I think it’s safe to call me a friend.”

“Th-then… Uhmm… let’s ex-exchange co-co-co…contact info…?”

…The stuttering…

Perhaps she was aware of it, but Mise-san’s face was getting redder and redder from the bottom to the top.

“My cellphone is in my locker, can we do it after?”

“Yeah, sure… but is it okay to exchange contact information with me…?”

“Ehh, why do you say that?”

“Because I’ll be the only loner and negative person on your contact list, won’t I? Don’t you think it will make your brilliant list of contacts look dull, Tonomura-kun?”

“No, it won’t.”

What kind of worry is this?