Let’s rewind a bit and return to lunchtime.
Lunchtime during the sports festival is different for each group since it changes depending on whether there are any matches. We ended up eating a bit early.
The kids who experienced the sports meet last year practiced much harder this year, and naturally, the second graders were the most enthusiastic. Their performance was great too.
Usually, if you win a lot, you end up having to watch more matches, which pushes lunchtime back. Thanks to the many matches our class had, our schedule got delayed quite a bit.
On top of that, I arrived a bit later because I was finalizing the group routine for the cheer performance in the afternoon.
“Hey~!”
After finishing all that, I came to our spot and saw Miki was already there.
To ensure that the kids who ran around in the morning could get enough rest—and so that guests from other schools or parents who had to work on Saturdays could visit—lunchtime was pretty laid-back. It would be a problem if any students skipped lunch due to preparations.
“Hello.”
Miki was a bit older than me, but it felt a bit awkward to keep being formal with a colleague from the same workplace. More importantly, Miki herself said, “I’m in first grade, so you can just talk casually!” So I ended up speaking casually with her. I still spoke formally to Shii since she was in the grade below.
“Everyone’s really putting in the effort~ Our class’s boys seem all lackluster, though.”
“Our boys were the same.”
I answered like that and sat near Kagami.
It turned out that many of the other kids had parents visiting too, so it was a bit hard for everyone to sit together. Still, it was somewhat comforting that everyone was nearby.
“But when the matches finally come around, they really get serious.”
I think it was like that when I was in school too.
When deciding on basketball or soccer, everyone’s all, “What’s the point? Just pick something!” Then, as the match day approaches, they suddenly get pumped and start running around as a group. I, who didn’t particularly like sports, also ended up having to play one of the ball games, and it was surprisingly fun once I got into it.
Isn’t that how teenagers are? They think everything is tiresome and looks boring until they actually try it and end up pouring their hearts into it.
Well, I guess I’m a teenager now too, so it’s the same.
I’m currently wearing that cheerleader outfit that I swore I’d never wear until last year.
“Alright, alright.”
As Koko and I sat down, Kagami smiled and placed a lunchbox in front of us.
It was a three-tier lunchbox, but it wasn’t so large as to be overly ridiculous. It was just right for the three of us—Kagami, Koko, and me—and considering some leftovers to share with friends, it was a good size.
Inside, there were classic side dishes and rice.
Karaage, rolled omelette, sausages cut to resemble grilled octopus legs, and some vegetable dishes. Just looking at it made my mouth water; you couldn’t go wrong with that combination.
The contents of the three lunchboxes were almost the same, but the words written in seaweed on the rice were different. Kagami’s rice didn’t have any words, just a suitable amount of seaweed flakes, while Koko’s lunchbox had “Go Koko!” written on it, and mine said “Go Koto Ne!” Well, to get precise, it was “Waiito,” but it’s the same meaning.
They must have spent some effort early in the morning writing those.
“Wow, cute~”
Miki reacted. Yuka, sitting nearby, looked at our lunchboxes and smiled. Kagami was puffing her chest out with pride.
Seeing Miki’s reaction and us, the boss smiled warmly and opened her own lunchbox.
The contents of her lunchbox weren’t that different from ours, of course, although a few sides were different. I guess she’s just now beginning to enjoy a normal life.
I was glad to see the two of them getting along well. Sometimes, long-lost family members can end up drifting apart.
“Well then… Thanks for the meal.”
I picked up my chopsticks and said that, grabbing a sausage and putting it in my mouth.
It was normal.
A perfectly normal delicious taste. But that was what made it good. To be honest, if Kagami had laid out a nine-tiered lunch like a boss, I would’ve thought, “That’s amazing,” but at the same time, “This isn’t really how it should be.”
Since this would be my last sports festival that I truly enjoyed, I preferred to keep it just as it was—ordinary.
Well, Kagami’s “yearning for normalcy” was quite sincere. She was diligently trying out things I and Koko might have done with “other families,” and sometimes her effort even looked a bit tear-jerking.
I raised my gaze.
Kagami was looking at me with a slightly nervous expression. She seemed much more tense than when we just went on a picnic together.
“Koko, how is it?”
Feeling a bit mischievous, I leaned forward slightly and asked while looking at Koko.
“It’s delicious!”
Koko shouted with a bright smile.
A smile appeared on Kagami’s face.
Seeing that expression, I also said, “It’s delicious.”
“That… That’s really great to hear.”
Kagami was smiling, then slightly lowered her head. She picked a side dish from her lunchbox with her chopsticks and carefully chewed it.
After a while of doing that, Kagami, still with her head down, murmured, “I made it, but it’s good.”
“…”
I decided not to pry into that expression and just quietly ate my lunch.
The karaage Kagami made was delicious. The rice was well-cooked too. Even after some time had passed, it was still good.
I finished everything without leaving a single grain of rice.
Kagami looked at my lunchbox and showed a slightly touched expression again.
Ah.
Now that I think about it, I had been so focused on eating that I forgot to share with the other kids—
“Here.”
Yuka, not forgetting, handed over a rice ball to me, Koko, and even Kagami. It was a triangle-shaped rice ball with a sheet of seaweed, just the kind one thinks of when they hear “Japanese rice ball.”
“Thanks.”
When I said that, Yuka shyly smiled.
“Yuka got up early and worked hard to make those.”
“H-Hey, Grandpa!”
Yuka’s face turned bright red thanks to her grandfather’s unsolicited explanation next to her.
“Now, eat mine too~”
Miki smiled and offered her lunchbox as well. After that, the friends started handing out one by one what they brought. Not just lunchboxes, but also cherry tomatoes, bananas, and snacks like chocolates.
Koko and I ended up munching on everything, and by the end of lunchtime, our stomachs were a bit too full.
Well, I would burn it all off cheering anyway. There were also running matches. Plus, my body was pretty sturdy.
So I wasn’t really worried.
*
Our homeroom teacher, Suzuki-sensei, was someone who wanted every student in her class to enjoy the sports festival fairly.
Rather than a few good athletes monopolizing every event and boosting the class’s sports festival performance, she thought it would be better if everyone could just enjoy the sports festival together.
I was fast at running, but rather than putting Koko and me in every running event, Suzuki-sensei adjusted the team so that other kids could also participate adequately. Thanks to that, the distribution of students was a bit more varied compared to last year when she was the homeroom teacher.
I was in the short-distance running, and Koko and Yuuki were in the relay.
So ideally, after the inter-class cheer competition that used the entire playground, I could relax and wait for a while without anything to do.
But then again, unexpected situations tend to arise in every event.
With so many students, it would be odd if a couple of them didn’t get injured.
This time, a kid who was supposed to run in an event got hurt. During the cheer competition, she seemed to have sprained her ankle slightly, but it became swollen slowly, and now she couldn’t even walk comfortably.
It sounded like nothing was broken, but running was off the table.
For reference, the event was “Bring the Written Item.”
Right. The kind of event that usually pops up in love comedies.
“…I’m sorry.”
Nanami said with a slight grimace. As her friend pointed out, she was visibly wobbling.
“It’s okay; it’s not your fault.”
She probably sought me out since it was a running competition and she had seen my abilities in the morning. It seemed best to respond to that.
Suzuki-sensei was asking me too.
Since there was a finale to think about, I wasn’t planning to expend all my energy here. After all, it was an event, and most of the students participating here weren’t the ones taking the other events seriously either.
But…
I glanced over at Nanami.
Also, Sasaki, who was looking after her ankle.
Even if the main story may have ended, Sasaki still strongly had that ‘harem protagonist’ vibe. She was still hovering around the girls and gently inserting herself into conversations. It’s not like it was her own intent or anything.
So I just wished that event wouldn’t affect me.
If I opened the note and saw something written like “Man,” who on earth would I take? Sasaki is my only male acquaintance that close to me.
I’d rather see something much more complicated written on there.
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