Part 48: A Paper Cup and Coffee

BGM: Culture Festival


06/09 (SAT), Noon
Good morning.

Morning.

Miharu arrives at school as I'm thinking back over the past week. We agreed to meet before moving on to help our class with stuff. Just waiting on Mao now. Then the Three Musketeers will have gathered.

You seem less concerned than earlier this week. Did something happen?

Nah... I just went on a refreshing walk.

Hmph. I'll take your word for it. As much as I love your troubled expression, I'd much rather see you relax today. Especially when the fruits of Naomi's labor are on display.

Not every day that you concern yourself with her.



You think? I'm more than willing to admit that she's been working hard for this.

Yeah.

There it is. That's the smile I want to see. I'm glad that even I can make you wear it.

Geez... You really know how to exaggerate...

Mornin', troops! Sorry. Kinda overslept.

Mao turns up five minutes late. Her face, not to mention the bags under her eyes, make it obvious that she's pretty worn out.

Figured I'd be solid, but then I started to read some manga I had lying around... Man, I'm beat.

Not like you're any different during the week. We did set the meeting time expecting this to happen though, so let's go.

…...



Good job!

I'm not sure my vocabulary can cover just how awful that was. They honestly thought making the room dark and putting a crystal ball in it would make it feel authentic. Let's not even mention how they literally just called it Fortune Teller.



I won't blame them for throwing on some black cloaks considering their budget, but there's something to be said about having us simply print out a customer's fortune and hand it to them.

You're spitting lots of venom today.

C'mon, I had some fun at least.

Miharu wasn't wrong, though. It was very... meh, to say the least. The fortune telling itself was done via PC program- bought by one of the girls familiar with that sort of stuff- so that wasn't bad. You put your date of birth and some other info in, and then it spit out a result based around horoscopes. It was our job to print and hand out said results to anyone who wanted them. She probably didn't get permission from the creator to use it for this, so the idea was a bit of a grey area. Then again, charging 100 yen per go probably tipped the scales.

More importantly, now we get to actually enjoy the culture festival.

If by 'enjoy' you mean spend time in the library till noon before going home, then yes. Well, once we're done with Naomi's class, I mean.

Relax. I'm doing the same. Though, hey, might as well get a look at what's going on elsewhere before that!

…...



Phew. I'm beat.

We actually ended up walking around the whole school. Mao doesn't have it in her to skip stuff she has no interest in if she sees that people put effort into it. Not sure if I should praise her for that or not. We're used to her dragging us around like this since last year, so neither me nor Miharu are bothered. Not that we'd admit it to her, of course. Well, we do skip out on the stuff going on at the auditorium and courtyard, so you could argue it is more a case of self-gratification. There is still plenty to see and learn from going around and checking out different stuff, at least.

Speaking of, there's one major thing I notice while we're doing so.

There are plenty of people carrying cups around, aren't there?

Indeed. They even have plastic lids on them.

Looks like letting people take their cups around campus was the right idea. They must be pretty busy.



Hopefully it's all going okay.

Curious, are we? Guess it's time to begin our raid on her class, then!

We've passed by once already, so we know which way to go. The corridors have been gradually filling up with people as the day drags on. We make our way through the crowd with one destination in mind.

…..



Ooooh, they've got it all nice and fancy looking!

The first year classrooms are up on the third floor, with Naomi's being at the end of the corridor. There seem to be a lot of customers, too. Possibly thanks to the tickets they're selling at the reception area. One door is being used as the entrance, with the other as the exit. A number of people are making their way out, plastic cups in hand. It feels similar to what you see at big coffee shop chains.

Granted, this is largely meant to be used as more of a rest area. You can see the dripping procedure as well, so I guess that's part of the experience. There's a nice fragrance making its way to the hallway. That's a good sign. It's probably one of the reasons why it's so busy. You normally don't get the chance to enjoy something like this at school.

I split the tickets between the three of us before we make our way in.

Huh? Where's Naorin?

I don't see her anywhere...

Lemme go ask.



She approaches one of the girls at the door to ask. Seems like this is where you pay if you don't have a ticket. 200 yen a cup makes sense when you take the budget into account.

Looks like she went out with some friends to stock up since they're running low. She just left, so it'll take a while before she's back. Guess they got a lot more customers than expected.

She must have this place under tight control. I'm impressed.

Wanna come back later?

Nah. Might as well stick around now that we're here. We can always come back again.

Sounds good. My feet've been begging for a seat anyway.

Miharu nods in agreement. We hand our tickets over and get some coffee.

BGM: Regular Ordinary Girlish Chat


They're the same chairs we use for class, but they have nice tablecloths and decorations set up on the desks. Makes it an ideal spot to sit down and escape all the activity outside. The coffee's nice and fragrant, so they've definitely worked hard on it. I can just imagine Naomi doing her best to teach everyone how to brew it. I hope to get the chance to taste her coffee once she's back.

Naomi's fondness of Lion House is rather apparent.

It is kinda similar, now that you mention it. Feels like a spin-off.

Makes sense, considering how often she came. I helped her pick out the coasters and things, too.

Heh. You truly are a big influence on her, aren't you?

Mao asks for some milk and extra sugar. I take a peek into her cup to see the results. Her coffee is almost pure white. She takes a sip before changing the subject.



Oh yeah, was there a new transfer student or something among the first years? I noticed someone I hadn't seen before. They're small and have white hair. Couldn't get a proper look, but I caught sight of them this morning.

I'm not too familiar with the other years, so I couldn't tell you.

Same. I'm surprised you noticed, though.

It's hard not to notice a kid like that. They stand out as much as you, Rinny. Looked a bit young to be in high school, but their boyish appearance was kinda cute. No doubt they get tons of chocolate on Valentine's Day.

Did they stand out that much?

Yup. Want me to ask when we get the opportunity?

BGM: A Dot on a Piece of Paper


It... can't be...

All the dots connect as she describes this person to us. White hair, young looking, boyish... There's only one person I know who fits that description.

I'm probably overthinking things. They had our school uniform on, right?

Yup. That's why I figured they're a first year. Oh hey, looks like they're back.

A few girls make their way through the entrance holding large plastic bags. Naomi is nowhere to be seen, though. Mao heads to the back to ask again.

Apparently, she's talking to someone she knows. And whaddaya know, it's the transfer student we were talking about. I wonder if something happened between them?

No way!

I shout my thoughts for all to hear. I'm not overthinking things. I can't figure out why, but I just know.



Sorry. Do me a favor and wait elsewhere.

Rinny? What's up?

I make eye contact with Miharu. Looks like we're on the same page. I rush out of the classroom, leaving Miharu to deal with Mao.

He's here.

Yu's come to my school.