367 - Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week

Sendai-san's Day Chapter 367 "...Sendai-san, are you going somewhere?" We had no plans to go out today. That's why this question seemed odd. Yet, I couldn't help but ask because Sendai-san looked like she was dressed to go out. I knew she would come to this place after changing, but I didn't expect to see her looking ready to leave. The clock strikes seven. I can only stand still in the shared space, fixated on Sendai-san. "Miyagi, do you want to go somewhere?" Sendai-san smiles, with a full face of makeup and a look I'm not accustomed to seeing. "Not at all." She knows, just as I do, that I'm not going anywhere now. Our day is already planned. I move closer to Sendai-san. Reaching for her ear, I touch the blue earring. We will share a whole cake on my birthday. She promised me that last year. "I'll always celebrate Miyagi's birthday," she said. Her hand envelops my fingers as they connect with her earring. A promise layered upon a promise, tickling the depths of my heart, rendering me speechless. All I can do is continue to gaze at the different Sendai-san standing before me before it turns seven, distinct from the one I first saw. The dress Sendai-san is wearing could be described as something to wear for going out. It's refreshing because she rarely wears dresses. That's why I feel a bit unsettled. Yet, her face isn't unfamiliar—it's one I often see—which leaves me clueless about what expression I should bear. "So, Miyagi. Should I dress nicely again next year? Though I don't know if this is what you'd consider a nice outfit." Her hand withdraws, and she lightly lifts the skirt of her dress to show it off to me. "You look like you're ready to go somewhere." As I mutter a response, Sendai-san furrows her brows slightly and asks uncertainly. "Is it bad? This outfit." "It's not bad... I think it suits you." It's not something that needs saying, but her eyes, like a discarded puppy's, compel me to speak the words I hadn't intended to. "I see. I'm glad." Sendai-san softly says and greets me with a smile. "Hey, Miyagi. Did you wait?" "What for?" "For me. You were here before me." "Not really, I just stepped out of my room." "At least play along with the outing pretend. We're supposed to be meeting, you know." Truly, Sendai-san's thoughts can be peculiar. Back in high school, she proposed something called "pretend friendship," and we went to see a movie together. Time has passed since then, and we've become college students, but we still haven't become friends. We're not even roommates anymore. Day by day, we're slowly changing, and we will continue to evolve. "I wasn't waiting at all." In truth, I waited for about five minutes. But in moments like these, saying "I wasn't waiting" is the norm. Though I don't know how we will change after partaking in this outing pretend, since Sendai-san dressed up so nicely, I should at least indulge her play for a little while. "Good. I thought I kept you waiting." An upbeat voice rings out, followed by, "Shall we go, then?" "...Sendai-san, is this fun?" "Isn't it fun, like we're going out? Shall we go to my room?" Her cheerful voice returns, leaving me with no choice but to agree with "Sure." Sendai-san grabs my hand. With a firm grip, she leads me to her room. Sendai-san picks up a smartphone from the table. After doing something with it, she places it on the bed before saying, "It won't go off today." "It's fine if it rings." "It's not fine. Today's Miyagi's birthday." There were times when Sendai-san would suddenly get called by work or by friends. Last year, I worried that such things might break our promise of "eating a round cake together on my birthday." Apparently, she remembered that. "I'll prepare the food, so the birthday star should relax right there." Sendai-san says this lightly and leaves the room. I sit as instructed, waiting for the meal to be ready. Soon enough, a potato salad that we made together and scallop carpaccio adorn the table. Along comes rice and warmed fried chicken, and Sendai-san takes her seat. "Miyagi, don't eat too much. We have cake later." "I know that." Sendai-san seasons the carpaccio of scallops with salt and pepper, finishes it with a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil. "Miyagi, happy birthday." Her voice, the brightest today, reaches me. "Thank you." "We match now." "Match? What do you mean?" "Our ages. Both you and I are twenty now." "There are many other twenty-year-olds too." "True, but let's eat." At her prompting, our voices overlap in "Itadakimasu." What should I start with? Without any real dilemma, I begin with the labor-intensive potato salad. "Is it good?" When asked, I answer, "It's good." I don't know if having boiled eggs in potato salad is typical, nor have I ever given much thought to the ingredients of potato salad, but the combination of potatoes and boiled eggs seems harmonious. They elevate each other, and the potatoes taste better than usual, as do the boiled eggs. The scallop carpaccio isn't bad either. Though it's my first time eating it, the freshness propels my chopsticks onward. Across from me, Sendai-san also eats the scallop carpaccio. She can do anything. She's skilled in cooking, so even though helping was a chore, everything on the table is delicious. The alcohol is supposed to come with the cake, so I can’t vouch for its taste, but if she chose it, there’s no doubt it’ll be fine. What will Sendai-san be like after drinking? Soon, I'll have my answer to what I’ve been somewhat curious about. "What? Is the outfit actually weird?" Sendai-san pauses her potato salad to look at me. "It's not weird." "Then why are you staring?" I can't answer why. My gaze simply drifts toward Sendai-san on its own. It’s not my conscious choice. "Is it wrong to look?" "Of course not." Sendai-san continues eating the potato salad as if it's the most natural thing. The unfamiliar dress suits her wonderfully. In fact, she looks great in anything and manages to look beautiful no matter what she wears. "...Sendai-san, if you dress like that again..." I say quietly before taking a bite of the karaage she bought. It's delicious, but not as good as the one she makes. "I'll wear a dress again, so why don't we go out together next time?" "I'm not going out." I firmly decline while eating more potato salad. On Sendai-san's birthday, I wore a yukata. Since I wasn't planning on wearing one but ended up doing so, I think I have the right to receive something similar on my birthday. So I decided that the something would be Sendai-san in a beautiful outfit. But because we set a meeting like this, today feels like a special day. And if we were to make plans to go out together, that day might feel special too. "You're so stingy, Miyagi." Even if she complains, my feelings won’t change. If there ever comes a time when we go out together, today is not the day to make that promise. "Well, since it's your birthday, I'll stop complaining now." "Then just eat quietly." "Since it's your birthday, shouldn't we talk a bit?" "There's no need to talk just because it's my birthday." Sendai-san tries to make birthdays into grand events, but I prefer them to be understated. I feel more at ease when my birthday blends into the ordinary days. That way, it feels as though it's only natural for tomorrow with Sendai-san to come, just as it feels natural for her to be here on my birthday. Next year, the year after that, and even beyond that. I want to believe that Sendai-san will be there on my birthday. "Alright then, I'll save my words for when you blow out the candles on the cake." Sendai-san says with a bright smile. "...Are you planning something?" "I'm saving up talk points to release them later. This year, I'm going to sing." "Sendai-san, you're really stupid, you know." I don't need a song. It creates too much of a birthday atmosphere. So, I decided to talk with her.