Episode 14 – The Passion of the Princess on a Rainy Day

It is a usual morning when I wake up in a daze before the alarm rings.
As expected, Saara is not here so often, so today I make breakfast by myself.
I made breakfast by myself today, using dried vegetables, liquid miso, and miso soup with small portions of tofu.
Even so, the tofu is too big to put in the miso soup, so half of it is chilled tofu.
It is a very simple breakfast.

“It’s a lot more convenient, but ……”

It’s good in its own way, and it’s decent in its own way.
But when I think back to yesterday’s breakfast, I can’t help but feel the difference in content.

It is a quiet morning, I think.
It’s so quiet that the absence of my girl friend, with whom I always eat together, feels increasingly unnatural.
Strangely, I am conscious of her.
She has become the princess of the school, just a childhood friend though

“No no I shoudn’t. I was always like this.”

The last year has been uneventful.
Nothing good, nothing bad.
The only thing that happened was that I dropped out of club activities because I was too infrequent in attendance.

I get through it quietly, unremarkably, and without incident.
I never achieve the pinnacle of achievement, never fail lower in an exam.

I lived alone in my room, studying and playing.
It was also suitable for studying, playing, and thinking on my own.
I had no one I could call a friend, and I never invited anyone over.

Yes.
Morning as usual.
Breakfast as usual.
Just get dressed as usual and go to school.

I close the door as usual, take the key chain out of my pocket, look at the two keys swinging close together, and bang my head against the door.

(Of course it’s impossible not to be aware of it!)

She’s already gone to school, right?
I bet she doesn’t think I’m going to use the key to get in or anything, right?
I bet she doesn’t …….

“……don’t even know what’s going on over here.”

I let out a sigh and strode over to the school.

◇

After school that day, it suddenly started raining heavily.
The weather forecast was indeed cloudy, but the chance of precipitation was not zero.
This meant that the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

“Let’s cook something.”

I decided to kill some time in the cooking club until the rain stopped, so I sent a message to Saara and went to the club room.

“Ah, Iida. You came to the clubroom again. You must have a crush on Sensei, huh?”
“Murakami-sensei, do you know that in the U.S. there are news reports of female teachers being arrested for groping male students?”
“You say precisely horrible things. …… I thought adolescent boys were supposed to fall in love with their teachers.”
“I think you’re wrong about the nursery school kids against the nursery school teachers.”
“I see. I should have targeted Iida when he was in nursery school.”
“That would be an extra crime.”

Murakami Sensei is slightly disappointing in this pushiness and lack of reserve.
She is rather crisp looking, and I think she would be popular if she kept her mouth shut.
Just don’t think that the quiet Murakami sensei, or anyone else who knows her, must have eaten something bad.

“I wonder if you make it for someone else today too? Is it for me?”
“Can I record it and take it to the vice principal?”
“Sorry, that would seriously kill me.”

Well, I trust Murakami sensei’s ability, and I appreciate that she is involved with me, even though I am not a simple person.
I am grateful, but not too much when I think about Saara. ……

……No, no, no, no, why Saara in this context?
I’m a childhood friend of hers and she’s a childhood friend of mine, next to me, nothing more, nothing less.
The keys are shaking against each other in the bag, but I ignore them.

“But still, it’s raining like crazy.”
“I guess so. Do you think I’ll be popular if I go into “wet sister” mode?”
“I’m sure the mothers in the PTA will find you popular.”
“Wow, that could be serious. ……”

While engaging in such conversation, I started to cook.
Murakami-sensei came to help me several times during the cooking.
She’s a cool, silent person when she’s cooking. though……

While I was cooking, it was raining outside.
I guess I don’t need to use an umbrella.

◇

“I’m home!”
“Welcome home.”

I picked up Saara at home a little late, and she was wiping her head with a towel.

“Did you get wet, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. the handball team …… they asked me to do something for them.
“In the rain?”
“I have a lot of reservations for the trial admission, so if I miss today, I won’t be able to move them one by one and they’ll be far behind.”

Seriously, they say it’s hard being popular, but it’s so unimaginable. ……

“You avoided the heavy rain, right?”
“Ah, uh, ……”
“……, don’t tell me they made you do club activities in that heavy rain?”
“No, no! It’s not that, it’s, uh,…… from the junior guys,…….”

Ah….that kind of thing…

“After school, they told me to go to the corner of the field, and there was a warehouse, but it was uncovered, so I got hit with a torrential downpour that started pouring down.
“Wow, that’s tough.”
“……, if you were the person who ask someone out, what would you do?”

Well, That’s obvious because it’s a torrential downpour.

“This isn’t the time for confessions or anything like that. I’m going to put my clothes on her head, put her in storage, and get an umbrella. If you’re thinking about telling someone you like them or something, just leave it for another day.”
“…..”

When I replied, Saara laughed, “fufu”

“What, did I go crazy?”
“No, I just thought that’s what I wanted the most. I know, you can’t last long with someone who doesn’t care.”

Well, that’s right.
…… means.

“You know what? I’m soaking wet, and he’s like, [I love you.]”
“No kidding?”
“So I asked him, ‘Why did you just say that?’ And he said, ‘Because I’m waiting for my turn to get another chance.'”
“He’s being rude. Does he think that the Saara is some kind of limited-edition accessory that you have to wait in line to get?”

My brow wrinkles and I sigh at the way I’ve been treated.

Princess Sarla is already a celebrity at the school.
But – she’s an ordinary student.
She is a normal girl, not a distant figure like the celebrities on TV.

“…… Fufu”
“What’s the matter, from earlier? Did you enjoy the metaphor?”
“Mmm…… well, something like that? Fufufu……. let’s eat.”

She ended the conversation there.
I’m not sure what’s going on.
I’m glad she doesn’t seem to be feeling bad about me being rude