The Gal Next to Me Is Trying Too Hard to Make Me Fall in Love With Her
The menu was finalized, and all of my classmates agreed to it.
After that, I spent my days busy helping to make signs and posters and ordering ingredients for fried bread, and before I knew it, it was early November.
The sky was clear, but the wind was cold, and today I couldn’t do without my winter clothes.
Finally, it was the day of the cultural festival.
What if it doesn’t sell?
What if I disappoint everyone in the class and make them resent me?
Above all, what if I end up causing trouble for Amagi-san, who was the reason I got involved in the first place?
What should I do?
Those anxieties overwhelmed me last night, and I barely slept at all before the cultural festival began.
Headache, stomachache, and dizziness.
While being worried about by those around me, I waited for customers as the cooking staff.
But soon, I didn’t even have the luxury of feeling anxious.
“How many people are in line right now!?”
“Probably thirty or forty!”
“We don’t have enough hands, so go get someone who can help!”
“We don’t have enough portable stoves and pots either, so I’ll go home and get some!”
“At this rate, the bread rolls will run out soon! We need to prepare more!”
The fried bread stall set up in a corner of the schoolyard by Class 1-2.
Less than an hour after opening, it was already bustling with customers, leaving no room for others to catch up.
In the cooking area, voices shouted like angry cries, and everyone worked frantically. The headache and stomachache vanished due to the overwhelming busyness.
“Wow, this taste is so nostalgic!”
“Delicious!”
“The cocoa flavor is good too!”
Customers standing around the shop eating.
Since our cultural festival attracts people from outside the school, people of all ages, from children to adults, are eating fried bread and smiling.
I’m not the only one making it, but… I’m honestly happy.
I finally feel a sense of accomplishment for having completed the task given to me.
“Hey, Saeki! Sae-ki! I love you!”
Amagi-san, who came to buy fried bread, spotted me and waved her hand.
As I carried the tray of cooked bread to the register, I bowed slightly and said, “Thank you for coming.”
“That’s so natural! There’s a long line. When will your shift end?”
“In about an hour, but I’m not sure if I can leave. I think there will be even more customers around lunchtime…”
“Oh, I see… I wanted to go around with you…”
I agree, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
I’m trying to call someone who isn’t on shift right now, so it would be heartless to leave just because my work is done.
“Stop saying such boring things and go have fun,”
the boy in my class said, patting me on the back.
Confused, I turned around, and he sighed with a look of exasperation on his face.
“Why are you on shift in the first place? Everyone said it was okay because Saeki was working so hard on the preparations, right?”
“Well, but… I was the one who suggested the fried bread, so I have to fulfill my responsibility…”
“Are you serious!? Amagi san is here to pick you up, so hurry up and go! Everyone else is fine with that, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Seriously, I feel bad for you, so take a break.”
“You’ve been looking terrible since this morning, so I’d be in trouble if you didn’t skip work.”
“Have fun with Amagi san!”
Everyone said this, and they half-forcefully took my apron off and kicked me out of the store.
They waved goodbye and returned to their respective jobs. They worked even harder to make sure there was no room for me to come back.
“They’re all such nice people! Good for you, Saeki!”
“Well, you see…”
“What’s with that face? Aren’t you happy?”
“No… I’m just not used to being treated so specially, and I’m worried that they kicked me out because I can’t do the work…”
“You’re being too self-deprecating! Just be a little more honest!”
Honest… Honest…
I think being able to accept kindness without resistance is a talent. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that, even if I try my whole life.
“By the way, Saeki, if Subaru is working at the store right now, won’t it be too crowded?”
“It’ll be fine…She’s not here today.”
“Why!? It’s the cultural festival!”
“Work. Since skipping regular classes is a problem, she often takes daytime shifts during events like this. It’s been like that since middle school.”
“I see… Being popular is tough…”
She said, gazing off into the distance.
Her eyes held a light that was different from loneliness.
“…I’m jealous…”
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the cultural festival.
A small voice, condensed with envy, that no one else but me could hear.
It’s not that I had forgotten… I see, Amagi wants to be like Subaru. She wants to be so popular that she doesn’t have time to go to school, someone who can make a living just by being a model.
As far as I know, Amagi isn’t there yet.
But what about next year? What about the year after that?
Maybe she’ll become a model who can rival Subaru and even surpass him.
She’s capable of it.
Because I’ve seen her efforts and her high abilities up close, I’m confident that she’ll succeed someday.
“What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly go quiet?”
She might not even have the time to teach me anymore.
She might stop showing up every morning saying she loves me, we might see each other less, and she might move to a better place.
Eventually, she might fall in love with someone else…
“Urya!”
“Huh!?”
Suddenly, Amagi-san’s hands wrap around my cheeks.
She squishes them, pulls them, and plays with them like slime.
“Hahaha! Saeki, you look funny!”
“Hey, hey! Stop it!”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying! Hihihihi!”
She played with my face until she got bored, then suddenly let go.
She took a light step backward and spun around. Her hair, which looked like it was made of sunlight, swayed, and the bracelet I had given her before sparkled.
“Even though I’m busy with work, I haven’t changed.”
She smiled as usual.
Her red eyes saw right through me.
“I’ve always liked Saeki, and even though I have work, I’m going to the school festival! I’ll go even if I have to split myself in two! I won’t be satisfied until I do everything I want to do!”
Saying that, she took my hand and said, “Let’s play!”
The slender back walking ahead feels somehow very large.
The smile she occasionally turns back to show is incredibly cute.
Following her footsteps is unbearably fun.
—At the same time.
I felt pathetic. I felt sick to my stomach.
When I look downcast, Amagi-san worries about me.
She clears away my confusion.
She solves everything.
I know all that, yet I’m still depressed.
She brought me to a place where I can shine, and thanks to her, I’m being praised by many people, yet I’m still ashamed of my lack of confidence.
I need to stand up straighter.
I want to become a man Amagi san can be proud of.
“Hm?”
She let out a sound and stopped abruptly.
She took out her smartphone, quickly operated it, and put it back in her pocket.
“Is something wrong?”
“……Eh? No, nothing!”
She said, and smiled.
It was a forced smile, unlike before.
Maiban