ãShiori. On Sunday, are you free? Thereâs a movie I want to see.ã
On the other side of the table, Maika looks at me after finishing her
Sunday, of all days.
I sigh in my mind.
I donât want to say it, but I canât keep quiet.
ãâ¦Sorry. I have an appointment with Sendai-san. Can it be next week?ã
Inside the family restaurant, which is reasonably crowded with people who have come to eat dinner, I answer, trying to blend in with the voices coming from all over the place.
I didnât want to mention Sendai-sanâs name because I was afraid she would bring up the subject of âvisiting the house,â but I didnât want to lie to Maika any longer.
ãOkay, but are you going somewhere with Sendai-san?ã
ãBuying some stuff.ã
I stopped eating my fried food and answered truthfully.
ãHeh. You two were going shopping together.ã
I donât know if sheâs smiling or grimacing, but Maika is looking at me with a very happy expression on her face.
ãWell, yeah.ã
ãI donât think both of you have the same taste. What are you going to buy?ã
ãEarrings. Sendai-san is supposed to choose it for me.ã
On Sunday, I am supposed to fulfill a promise I made to Sendai-san. It was a promise that Sendai-san made to me as a punishment on my way home from Maikaâs house, a promise I had not been able to fulfill. I couldnât keep it on hold forever, so I decided to go out this coming Sunday.
ãI see. Itâs been more than a month since you had your earrings pierced. Still, it seems strange that you are so close to Sendai-san that you ask her to pick out your earrings.ã
Maika says while looking at the area around my ear, which is hidden by my hair and not visible. Then she added as if she remembered.
ãSpeaking of which, what happened to our talk about going out to play?ã
I knew it, this topic seemed unavoidable after all.
I swallow the sigh that is about to come out of my mouth, but it is still not enough, so I take a sip of my oolong tea before answering.
ãAhhâ Yeah. Sendai-san was okay with it.ã
I now give the reply that I had been leaving unanswered, taking advantage of the fact that Maika did not ask me.
ãIâve always wanted to see Shioriâs room, and Iâm glad. When is it okay to go?ã
ãCan you do it next month?ã
ãIsnât it subtle and far away?ã
ãShould you go early?ã
I think I need more time before Maika arrives.
Me and Sendai-san are living as usual, but we are not really back to normal. Not that things will be back to normal next month, but I think we will be more like roommates than we are now.
ãOkay then, next month.ã
Apparently not wanting to come to our house as soon as possible, Maika accepts my proposal.
ãNext month, settled. Iâll ask Sendai-san about her schedule.ã
ãOkay. Iâm always good.ã
Reassured by the lighthearted reply, I bit into my last piece of fried chicken.