One day, a week later.
── Kiin koon kaan koon…
「Alright, time’s up. Put down your writing tools and pass your answer sheets to the front.」
As the teacher acting as the exam proctor said so, I put down my writing tools and passed my answer sheet to the seat in front.
Once all the answer sheets were collected in the front row, the teacher immediately began counting them.
「…Okay, all the sheets are here. That concludes the midterm exams. There’s no homeroom today, so you’re dismissed. Good workー.」
「「Thank you for your hard workー.」」
With that, the teacher quickly left the classroom. And so, the long midterm exams finally came to an end.
「Haah, it’s finally over…」
I stretched as I muttered that. But it’s still before noon, and thinking about having free time from here on makes me feel a bit happy.
「Good work.」
「Nnn? Ahh, good work, Sasaki-san.」
As I stretched again, Sasaki-san called out to me from behind. So I responded to her.
「How did you do on the tests, Sasaki-san?」
「Unn, well, I guess I did a bit above average? But I’m confident I scored better than usual for sure.」
「Haha, I see, I see. Yeah, then it was worth having the study sessions together!」
「Yeah, I guess so. How about you, Yamada? How did you do on the tests this time?」
「Well, I think I did pretty well. And since Sasaki-san helped me with my weak subjects, I’m pretty sure I scored better than usual.」
「Fufu, I see. That’s good to hear. Then, once again, thank you for organizing the study sessions. You really helped me with a lot of problems I didn’t understand.」
「No, thank you too. I’m really grateful to you for teaching me all sorts of things, Sasaki-san.」
And so, we thanked each other with smiles.
「Ah, right. By the way, Sasaki-san, do you have any plans after this? If you’re free, how about we grab some lunch at a burger place or family restaurant before heading home?」
Since it was still before noon, I made such a suggestion to Sasaki-san.
During this exam period, Sasaki-san hadn’t been making bentos, so we’ve been eating lunch separately for a while.
That’s why I wanted to eat lunch with Sasaki-san again after a long time. But…
「Ahh… sorry. Actually, club activities are resuming right after noon today… So I have a club meeting starting soon.」
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「Ah, I see. Okay, got it. Then, good luck with your club activities!」
But Sasaki-san had club activities starting soon, so she had to decline my invitation.
Well, it’s understandable since Sasaki-san is in a sports club. And she did mention that they have practice matches and tournaments coming up soon.
「Yeah, I’m really sorry. But if I’m free after school next time, I’d love to go to a burger place or family restaurant… so please feel free to invite me again.」
「Eh… Ehh!? Really!? Yeah, got it! Then, I’ll invite you again next time!」
「Thanks. Then, I’ll be waiting for the next invitation. Then, see you later.」
「Yeah, see you laterー.」
With that, I parted ways with Sasaki-san.
It was a bit disappointing to be turned down for lunch, but I was genuinely happy that Sasaki-san told me to feel free to invite her again.
(Alright, if I get another chance to invite her, I’ll definitely try again!)
So, feeling positive, I started getting ready to go home. Then…
「Yossu, good work.」
「Nnn? Ahh, good workー.」
As I was thinking about these things and getting ready to leave, this time my friend Natsue called out to me.
「Haha, you seemed to be having a fun conversation just nowー. Kazuki, you were smiling happily the whole time.」
「Having fun… Ahh, you mean my conversation with Sasaki-san? Was I smiling that much?」
「Yeah, you looked really happyー. Well, we’ll talk about that later… So, Kazuki, are you free after this? If you are, want to grab some lunch before heading home?」
Natsue made such a suggestion.
「Nnn? Well, I’m free, so I’m totally up for it… But are you sure? Don’t you want to go home with Sakurai-san now that the tests are over?」
「Ahh, Sakurai-san’s club activities are resuming today. So she asked me to go home ahead of her.」
「Ah, I see. I get it.」
Well, that makes sense. Sakurai-san is in the girls’ basketball club, which is a sports club. With the midterms over, it’s only natural that the basketball club, like the volleyball club, would resume activities.
「Got it. Then, shall we have a post-test celebration while eating at a family restaurant near the station?」
「Ohh, that sounds great! Alright, let’s head to the family restaurant right away!」
「Yeah, got it.」
With that decision made, we quickly left the classroom and started walking towards the family restaurant near the station.