Episode 5 – Let’s deepen our secret relationship at home

Saara nods her head at my suggestion that we go back to class separately.
I thought to myself, “I bet she could be the center of the class”, she probably doesn’t have these kinds of problems.

“A secret relationship?”

So I suggested.

“Yes. Like a relationship that the other students don’t know about.
“Ah, that’s good. That sounds fun.”

Okay, she is on board.
I thought she would agree with me if it sounded interesting.

But, of course, she seemed to have a good guess.

“Maybe you’re one who doesn’t want to show off too much?”
“Ugh. ……, well, something like that. Ah, the chime’s about to ring, so you go ahead.
“Okay.”

It was just about time to go, so Saara left the rooftop without pursuing the matter any further.
The rooftop is a very empty, inorganic space that suddenly feels very lonely.
The first time I went to the rooftop, I was so used to this kind of atmosphere. ……

“I’m sure Saara will have lots of friends.”

I muttered to myself on the empty rooftop and climbed down from the roof to keep up with my class.

◇

“Ayado san, do you want to visit any club activities? What are you good at?”

Once again, during break time, the left side of the room was the hangout.

“Eh, Ummm…”

Saara glanced at me and chose the right words to reply to Sato san, who had come to recess for the fifth consecutive period.

“Well, would you like to hear what everyone else in the class is in?”
“Ah, sure! Well, I’m in…”

Then Sato san, who loves to talk, guessed the club activities of each and every one of them to the extent that I was surprised that she could remember them all.

“——That!”
“Eh ? Well, what about that …… Iida kun?”

As Sato san listed them one by one, my name was not called.
Saara raised that question, and naturally, Sato san turned to me.
Her short bob of black hair sways and turns toward me.

“Iida san, you used to be in the art department, right? I heard you were a ghost member and just left.”
“Don’t you know too much about it, Sato-san ……? I’m in the cooking club now, in case you were wondering.”
“I have a lot of friends! So, are you a ghost member of the cooking club too?”
“……Well, that’s about it. It’s not that I’m not out at all, and there are a lot of ghost club members besides me over there.”

Saara nodded several times in response to my answer, and eventually replied, “I can’t decide yet,” and that was the end of the conversation.

After school, I went home as usual.
Saara seemed to have something to discuss with her homeroom teacher, so she was taken away right after HR.

As I was leaving the classroom.

“See you”

Saara turned to me and waved lightly.
It was natural, so I returned it with a “hmm, see you tomorrow.”

–Just after Saara left the classroom, a group of people at the front of the class turned to me.

The person staring at me was Yamamoto Saika, who was definitely a central figure in the top group if there was a caste in this class.
He was in the same junior high school.
His blonde wavy hair made my gaze pierce for a few seconds, but I quickly lost interest and left the classroom with the other boys around me.

…… This is why I don’t like to stand out.

◇

When I returned home, I looked in the refrigerator and found that the foodstuffs were too unprepared.
I changed into my casual clothes, folded up my bag, put it in my pocket, and went to the local supermarket.

“Eggs, milk, and ……”

While buying the most interesting items, I also put the cup noodles and retort curry that I had consumed a little in my basket.

“The new rush of new potato chips has been great lately. Are there Something interesting …… oooh.”

While pushing the cart while looking at the shelves, the tips of the carts collide with each other at a turn.
With the impact, I hear a woman’s panicked voice in a whisper.

“I’m sorry! I was looking away and …… eh?”
“It’s me too. …… hmm?”

When I looked at the other person, to my surprise, I saw Saara in her school uniform.
Even though it was a chance encounter ……, our rooms are next to each other, so it’s only natural that we would use the same place when it comes to stopping at the supermarket.

“Saara is shopping, too?”
“Yes, I am. I’m just looking for something unusual.
“Not the good stuff?”
“I like the oddball stuff on these shelves.”

I know the feeling. Especially since Saara seems to like that sort of thing.

“Ah, Sora kun, you’re making retort pouch and cup noodles? Even though you are in the cooking club?”
“It has nothing to do with club activities. It’s not that I don’t cook. It’s just that when I buy vegetables, I have a hard time consuming even a single carrot.”
“Ah, I understand that. The big ones, if you put them in a stew, you end up with about four servings.”

Cooking for one person is difficult.
What is difficult is that the cost of the time and effort required to cook for a single person is too high.
If I cook, I end up eating the same dishes over and over again before they go bad.
The freezer of a one-person household is currently a full apartment, with ice cream squeezing out the space that could be used to store the leftovers.

“What about Saara?”
“Eh me!? I, of course, cook. ……?”

I heard a slightly brusque reply and looked at Saara’s cart, which was …….

” ……salted sea urchin, canned mackerel. Nori tsukudani (seaweed boiled down in soy sauce). …… I’m sure you don’t make much more of this stuff than I do.”
“umm,……, I’m old enough to enjoy …..”
“I’m not blaming you. If you can’t make it, you can’t make it.”
“Muu”

Saara was rather miffed at my one-step-back comment.
Was she angry?

“I tried my best to cook. I just didn’t have a chance to cook.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t doubt you.”
“Really? Ah, umm. Then”

Saara’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands as if she had come up with a great idea.

“If I cook it, will you eat half of it? We’re neighbors, right?”
“That’s fine, of course, but …… is it okay?”
“No problem. I’m really glad you’re doing this, because the only problem with dieting while cooking for yourself is the amount of food.”

After cheerfully announcing this, Saara dexterously skipped with the cart in her hand and made her way to the chicken section.