CH 2

2nd Meal

A Man Who Cooks For Himself And A High School Girl 2

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude…”

“Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sorry about the messy room, but you're welcome to relax as you please. The management company should be here in about 30 minutes.”

“Thank you very much.”

I met a high school girl next door who was locked out of her own apartment, and I decided to let her up to my house while we waited for the apartment management company to bring her the master key….Don't get me wrong, I definitely did not force her into my apartment…

Because, as much as I contacted the management company on the spot, I couldn't have said, “Well, you can continue to sit there and wait for them while sitting around there.” For an average person, anyone would at least say, “Would you like to come and wait for them at my place?” But I never expected her to respond, “Well, may I?”

Well, It’s not like I mind her coming over to my place because it doesn't bother me in the least, but I wonder if it's appropriate for a high school girl to enter the room of a guy she has never met before, even if they're neighbors...

Or is this what it is like to be a high school student these days? Do they just go along with whoever they want? I was a high school student myself until two years ago, but I can't help but feel that there is a huge difference in the way we think about things. Is this what they call a generation gap?

As I was looking at her with a distant look in my eyes, a high school girl who was sitting on the cushion I had prepared for her opened her mouth.

“Uhm…Is Onii-san a college student?”

“Hmm? Ah, That’s right. Are you a high school student?”

“Yes, I’m from Utatane High School.” (歌種(うたたね)高校)

“I knew you were a Utatane High School student by looking at your uniform. My university is Utatane, too. Utatane University.”

“Eh, is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Utatane High School is a private high school about a ten-minute walk away. It is an integrated junior and senior high school, and because it is affiliated with our university, once you enter junior high school, you can continue your education at the university through the internal school system. However, because I am an outsider who entered Utatane University after passing the general entrance examination from a local high school, so I don't know much about the situation at the high school.

Then, perhaps because she realized that the unknown man was a college student from her neighborhood, the high school girl smiled in a friendly manner, as if her nervousness had been lifted a little.

“What’s college like? It's totally different from high school, right?”

“I guess so. Except for seminars, there are basically no class divisions, so it can be quite difficult to make friends. But the schedule is more flexible.”

“Heh~ I heard that my friend's older brother attends Utatane University too, and he—”

Just then, an electronic sound that goes *Beep Beep Beep* came from the kitchen. “Wha–?” The high school girl turned around as if startled.

“Sorry, The sound came from the rice cooker. Looks like it’s done cooking the rice.”

“Eh? You make your own rice, Onii-san?”

“Yeah, but I've only been cooking for myself for about six months, though.”

When I replied to her, I remembered that during the first half of my freshman year, I had lived a life of only convenience store lunches. Then the high school girl's eyes sparkled and muttered, “That’s nice…” But, when I tilted my head at her, she gave me a shy smile.

“I don't have a rice cooker or anything like that, so I can't really eat rice that's warm…”

“Oh, really? Then what do you do for food?”

“Bento from the convenience store or side dishes from the supermarket…

“Eh…?”

I thought to myself, "That's not very nutritious," and put myself on the back burner until about half a year ago…But what is a girl in high school eating like that…?

“...You can have some food here if you want. I can't serve you much, though…”

“EH…!?”

The high school girl's face lit up for a moment, but then she shook her head in surprise.

“T-This isn’t right, you already help. I can’t bother you anymo—”

*Gyuuuuuuuuu—*

At the wrong time, or in a way, the best timing; the sound of a belly like a cute puppy's whine echoed in the small room. Two seconds later, the high school girl's face turns an amusing shade of red.

“...If it’s okay with you, do you want some?”

When I asked the high school girl again, who was looking down while her shoulders are shaking, she gave me a small nod.