"…You went on for so long just for this?"
Shuichi Hayashi, exasperated, handed over his bento box. "It's a disposable takeout container from the izakaya, chopsticks too."
"Thanks," Yukiko Fujimine sniffled, accepting the bento and passing him her bread in return. "Let's trade."
Wiping away tears, she eagerly opened the box and took a bite. Her heart sank. It's delicious—way better than anything I make! Losing to Shuichi in acting was bad enough, but now cooking too?
Ugh…
"What's wrong now?" Shuichi asked, biting into the bread and eyeing Yukiko curiously. The curry rice from last night's izakaya shift had been a hit with customers. Why did she look even more dejected after one bite?
After lunch, they tossed their trash in a nearby bin and headed back to the school building. Yukiko, who'd been walking ahead, suddenly remembered Shuichi counting the pleats on her skirt earlier. She slowed down to walk beside him.
"By the way, what happened to Wangcai… how did he die?" Yukiko asked, then quickly added, embarrassed, "I don't mean to bring up painful memories! It's just… if I don't know, I might not sleep tonight."
"Wangcai? He's not dead," Shuichi replied, amused. "He's still at my relatives' place, looked after by my little sister who's in elementary school."
"But you just…" Yukiko stopped in her tracks.
"What about me?" Shuichi grinned. "I was going to say I couldn't take care of him after moving out. I never said he died—you assumed that all on your own."
Jerk!
Glaring at Shuichi's back, Yukiko clenched her fists, fuming. Why'd you say something so misleading? Give me back my tears, you idiot!
Class 1-A.
Kogoro Mori had been bragging at the front of the classroom until, with just ten minutes before class, he scurried back to his seat and devoured his bento. Ever since Shuichi started working at the izakaya, he'd been preparing lunch for the three of them.
Kogoro finished eating and stood to toss his container, only to notice Eri Fei's bento barely touched. "Eri, why aren't you eating?"
"No appetite," Eri said, closing the lid. "Throw it out for me."
"What?" Kogoro blinked, stunned. "Why toss it? Sure, Shuichi made it with last night's leftovers, but it still tastes great."
Eri didn't respond. She stood, grabbed her bento, and headed for the trash can.
Just then, Shuichi and Yukiko entered the classroom, one after the other.
"Shuichi, where've you been?" Kogoro grumbled. "Eri was just—"
He cut off, catching Eri's warning glare, and quickly backtracked. "I mean, I was looking for you while eating lunch!"
Shuichi glanced at Kogoro's forced grin, then at Eri, whose expression was clearly off. "I promised Yukiko I'd tell her about the gymnasium case this morning. The classroom was too noisy, so we went to the soccer field."
"Are you two… fighting?" Shuichi asked.
"Pfft, as if I'd dare fight with Princess Eri," Kogoro muttered, leaning closer to Shuichi. "She's been in a mood all of a sudden. Didn't even eat two bites of the bento you made before wanting to toss it."
"Sudden mood?" Shuichi pondered, then started counting days on his fingers. "It's probably around that time. No wonder she's upset…"
"What's 'that time'?" Kogoro asked, confused.
"Her period," Shuichi said casually.
"Pervert!" Eri snapped, glaring at him.
"Creep!" Yukiko, seated to Shuichi's left, chimed in indignantly. "You're keeping track of that?"
"It's just a normal bodily function. What's there to be shy about?" Shuichi said, baffled. Isn't Japan supposed to be progressive about sex education? Why's this such a big deal?
In his past life, his tough female colleagues had been open about it, even asking him to grab tampons when they were stuck at work.
Glancing at the classroom clock—six or seven minutes until class—Shuichi didn't dwell on it. He bolted out of the room.
Moments later, he returned, panting, and pressed a steaming pack of milk into Eri's hands. "Sorry, I didn't realize earlier. You shouldn't be eating cold stuff right now."
"I got this from the vending machine by the cafeteria. It's still hot—drink up."
Eri stared at the milk, feeling its warmth in her hands. The tension she'd carried since lunch finally softened into a smile. "I don't even like milk."
"I know," Shuichi said. "That's why I got chocolate-flavored. You love chocolate, right?"
"It's not Godiva," Eri muttered, but her lips curved upward. She popped in a straw and sipped deeply.
Yukiko, seated on Shuichi's other side, watched it all unfold. A pang of envy hit her. Why doesn't anyone care about me like that during my period? And I actually like milk…
That afternoon, after two classes, Class 1-A held its first class meeting, as requested by their homeroom teacher, Ms. Yui Murakami. The main task was to elect class representatives to assist with managing class affairs.
Each student's preferences had been submitted on paper to Ms. Murakami the day before.
"You all know the roles and responsibilities of class reps from elementary and junior high," Ms. Murakami said with a smile. "If there's only one candidate for a role, they're automatically elected. If there are multiple candidates, we'll vote."
"Let's start with the health representative…"
After three days together, the classmates had gotten to know each other better. The elections went smoothly, and soon it was time for the sports representative, which Kogoro had signed up for.
Whether it was his lunchtime boasts about his "heroic" role in the gymnasium case or the class's assumption that the sports rep should be a hot-blooded goofball, Kogoro won by a landslide, becoming Class 1-A's sports representative.
What surprised both Shuichi and Kogoro, though, was that Eri was elected as the academic representative.
(End of Chapter)