Volume 2 - CH 1.1

The sun was harsher than I had expected; I could feel my skin burning.

I checked the weather  on my  phone and saw there was  no chance of rain . I’m glad for the sunny weather, but it’s supposed to be the hottest day of the year.

It was the last Saturday of April.

The campsite we came to for the BBQ was dominated by families, and there were no other groups of high school students like us.

“*Cough* *Cough*”

Across from the BBQ, Sugiuchi, who was blowing air through the coals with a fan, was choking on a cloud of white smoke.

“Hey, Tonomura, you’ve got to get yourself in gear.”

“I don’t need to get fired up, the igniter is excellent.” And I fanned myself with the fan I was given.

“Kaaah. You’re a modern kid who just wants to have fun and be easy.”

“You’re a modern kid, too.”

Sugiuchi and I have been friends since junior high school, so there was no restraint in our conversation.

While we boys were building the fire, the three girls were preparing food near the watering area.

Then, My classmate Uchinokura-san came over to me.

“Ucchi, anything wrong? Want help with something?”

Uchinokura-san shook her head when Sugiuchi, the fist to notice her, called out to her.

“I’m thinking of collecting money. It seems that it will be appropriate later.”

Uchinokura-san, who seemed to be the most organised and reliable of the members of our group, joined us this time. It was a good decision to put her in charge of accounting.

As the ace of the basketball team, she is tall for a girl, and when she stands alongside Sugiuchi, who is short for a boy, there is a slight height difference.

“Hey, Tonomura, give me the money.”

“Isn’t that a twisted way of saying it? You give some too.”

I took out my wallet from my bag and gave the money to Uchinokura-san.

The amount was quite large, but when divided among several people, it was surprisingly small.

“Thanks.”

“Uchhi, let me help you?”

“I think I can handle it by myself.”

“I-I see.”

Apparently, Sugiuchi likes Uchinokura and has been trying to make a move on her whenever he can. He’s been glancing at her for a while now.

“Why another BBQ?” I asked what I had been wondering this whole time.

“Huh? If more than five or six of your closest friends get together, one normally opts for a BBQ.”

“What kind of normal is that?”

While being amazed, I set the net on the moderately lit stove.

Carrying the food and drinks all the way here was a pain, but at least it will be easier on the way back.

“No, I’m glad that there is a day off of women’s basketball today. I mean it.”

When Sugiuchi said that, Uchinokura-san replied—

“Yeah, I guess so. I just happened to be free today.”

Well, Sugiuchi knew that the club activities were closed, so he proposed the idea.

I’m grateful for that, because it saved my life too. Hinagata, who is also in the women’s basketball team, would be able to participate.

As I was waiting for the other two, I saw Honma Konatsu walking towards me with something in her hand.

She is a junior who just entered our high school this year and is also a member of the same beautification committee I’m in.

There was a rumor that Honma liked me when we were in junior high, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.

The reason why I thought so is because Honma has an appearance that would not look out of place in an idol group, and she gets along well with both boys and girls. Even if she liked me at the time, the boys around her wouldn’t leave her alone, so it wouldn’t be any surprise if she changed her mind.“Senpai, look at this!”

Honma happily presented me with a four-leaf clover.

“Isn’t it amazingー? I just found it over there.”

“It’s true. It’s amazing. I haven’t seen one in a long time.”

As I was admiring it, Honma took out her phone with a smooth move and snapped a selfie with me.

“Don’t take pictures.”

“Isn’t it okay? I’ll  forward it to you too, senpai.”

She operated her phone with super fast fingering and I received a text .

It was a picture of me holding a clover and Honma smiling gloriously like an idol.

I don’t remember exchanging contact information with her. I guess she found my account from the group chat we made for this BBQ.

“Make sure you save it.”

What? Yeah, sure.”

“I caught a glimpse of Honma-chan. She was looking for it like crazy.”

Sugiuchi said in a whisper.

“What? Not at all. What are you talking about?”

Ahahaha, Honma puts her hand over her mouth and laughs. Is it just me, or does it look like she’s not smiling behind her eyes?

“Anyways, why did Homma come today?”

It was a subtle mystery.

It seemed that Sugiuchi had invited her.

“Ehh!! That’s an awful thing to ask—!”