School was over, and I was in Hayasaka Akane’s room talking to her. Kirishima is busy with his part-time job, so I feel like she called me over to drown her sorrows. Akane is one of the few friends I have, and she invited me here promising me tea and sweets, I have a weakness for those two things, so I had no choice but to accept.
—What about you and Yanagi-kun?
—He asks me a lot of questions about my relationship with Tachibana-san. Sometimes I don’t know what to answer, and I just listen to him.
It seems Yanagi-kun tends to call Akane at night sometimes. Imagining Akane nervously talking to the guy she likes in her pajamas after her night shower is kind of… Cute.
When a man talks about romance with a girl who is not his girlfriend, and tells her he is heartbroken, it is a subtle invitation to ask if she will be there for him when he can’t take it anymore.
—So, what are you going to do with Kirishima?
—Huh? What?
Akane gets nervous and her teacup starts to shake. I seemed to have caught her off guard.
—W—What about Kirishima-kun? I… I haven’t told you anything about him, have I Aya-chan?
—But you like him?
—How do you know?
—I’m not that stupid, Akane.
At my words, Akane gave up and told me everything that has happened so far. I’m a little surprised by everything she told me. I had limited knowledge about what was going on in her love life, but I never imagined that she would go to the extent of sharing it with Tachibana.
—I… I’ve been thinking about forgetting Kirishima-kun…
—Why?
—Because Kirishima-kun won’t choose me. Do you know how painful it is to wait for someone who’s not for you? There’s no point in liking him anymore…
—And you’re sure about that?
—I’m just forcing an impossible relationship. Kirishima-kun loves Tachibana-san very much. And my feelings are hurting more and more when I realize that… So… I have no choice but to forget about it.
—Hmm, in that case, I’ll give you a test, and we’ll see if you’re ready to forget him.
—Sounds interesting.
Akane showed mysterious motivation and clenched her fists.
—Give me your phone.
—Why?
—I’m going to delete Kirishima-kun’s phone number.
—No ~! I still have to be in contact with him to find out what he will decide! — she replied while hiding her phone.
Well, she has a point to make. I looked down at her desk, and saw the printed copy of the survey about choosing the career she wanted to study, but there were no specific names of the universities she wanted to go to.
—Kirishima said he wanted to go to college in Tokyo because he couldn’t afford to live on his own… Hey, Akane, you should go to a college far away from here. — I said as I took a pen and went to the desk.
I tried to write the name of a university based in Kyoto, but again, Akane resisted that idea.
—Don’t resist, Akane. The farther away you are, the less you will be able to see him, and the easier it will be to forget him….
—Then he will forget me too! I… I can’t go that far away, I don’t have that much money… And I don’t think I can live on my own either…
—Hmph…
I glanced around her room again, and my attention landed on a keychain of a game character that was on the shelf. The design was very nice, but I’m sure Akane is not the kind of person who plays those kinds of games.
—What’s that?
—Ah, it’s a gift from Kirishima-kun, he won it in the game room.
I got up, and walked towards the keychain, and tried to throw it in the trash can. But…
—Stop!
Akane grabbed my arm with both hands.
—Why do you want to do something terrible? It’s a keychain containing memories of Kirishima-kun!
Despite having uttered her wishes of wanting to forget Kirishima, attempts to do so have been a total failure. I had noticed that under her pillow was the movie ticket she was planning to go with Kirishima, and as soon as I tried to approach her, she growled at me, while clinging to that ticket with all her might. I had grown tired of struggling so much, so we sat back down and had tea.
—…Akane, do you really want to give up Kirishima?
—Y—Yes.
That’s what she says, I don’t know what to believe, but maybe she wants to do it her way.
—You see…I’m aware of the kind of body I have, and the way other men look at me…
—It’s a no-brainer.
—A—Aya-chan!
Akane’s face turns red. She felt embarrassed to continue the conversation, but I urged her to continue.
—So, to overcome that fear, I started working part-time at a place where a lot of guys go.
—What kind of job?
—A Maid Café.
—Well, it’s a very classic job.
—What do you mean by that?
Well, let’s just say that those kinds of places don’t have the same relevance as they used to. And everything seems to point out that Akane hasn’t told Kirishima that she’s working in a place like that.
—I’m a little dependent on Kirishima-kun.
—A little is not the term I would use.
—I always get help from him, so I want to start fending for myself. I can’t keep relying on him to always be there to save me.
If Akane could eliminate her aversion to men who only want something from her body, she would have a wider range of options in terms of love and would stop being in love with Kirishima.
—But, I’m not sure I need to go that far.
I put my cup down on the table and stood up.
—I don’t think Akane will lose to Tachibana.
—Huh?
—Well, I’m going home. It’s been a hard day and I’m tired.
—S—Sorry…
—Don’t worry, I haven’t had fun in a long time.
I got ready to go home, put on my coat, and tried to leave the room, but Akane pulled my sleeves preventing me from leaving.
—Umm, hey, Aya-chan… I’d like to know, what was the result of my test?
—You failed.
