Chapter 33: The Drink
"Ha-Hachoo—"
Hikigaya, sitting in the classroom, looked tired, his eyes dull, as he covered his mouth and yawned nonstop.
"Hikigaya-kun, did you do something major yesterday? Why are you so sleepy today?" Sakayanagi asked, a little curious.
"Well... no, it's nothing." Hikigaya was truly embarrassed to talk about his schedule from yesterday.
Because Hikigaya-kun's Sunday life was just so wonderfully exciting!''
Today was the second Monday in May. Although Hikigaya was called by Shiina-san to the library to read last Saturday and then ran into Kushida-san from first-year Class D in the evening, spending a long time giving her psychological counseling, thankfully no one sent Hikigaya a message on Sunday.
No, rather, receiving messages from others is probably the exception for Hikigaya, right?
In any case, because no one disturbed him, Hikigaya was able to leisurely enjoy his wonderful Sunday time alone—specifically, setting an alarm, getting out of bed early... then turning on the TV to watch a few episodes of his favourite anime Pretty Cure, snacking casually while watching, and then climbing back into bed for a nap after it was over.
He slept until evening, and after dinner and a bath, he sprawled on the bed to read manga and light novels. Because he had slept for a long time during the day, Hikigaya had no drowsiness when it was time to sleep at night, and the novel was also at a particularly interesting and exciting plot point, so he ended up staying up until two in the morning.
That was the reason Hikigaya looked so exhausted today.
"I see. I won't ask then. Yukinoshita-san and I have something we want to discuss with you about this midterm exam. Let's meet at that Saizeriya restaurant you took us to after school this afternoon." Sakayanagi said with a smile.
"Eh?" Hikigaya was slightly startled.
"Also, your little dog Kamuro-san's grades aren't very good either, so remember to call her along, too."
Just as Hikigaya was about to refuse, the bell for class suddenly rang.
"Ah, class has already started. Well then, Hikigaya-kun, don't try to sneak away after school, okay?"
'This person! She timed it perfectly before coming to find me!'
Hikigaya glared fiercely at Sakayanagi. However, she lifted her pale, cute face like a kitten looking up, her highly textured silver hair fluttering slightly with the movement, and showed a cunning smile.
"..."
.
.
.
Saizeriya Meeting
The day's classes passed quickly in serious studying, and the dismissal bell soon rang.
Hikigaya packed his things, took out his phone, and sent Kamuro-san a text message with the meeting address. He looked up and saw several students with questioning looks surrounding Sakayanagi-san and Yukinoshita-san. It looked like the two of them wouldn't be able to get away anytime soon.
'Maybe I should take this chance to quickly sneak back to the dorm?'
The moment this thought popped into Hikigaya's mind, Yukinoshita, who was still talking to the students in front of her, turned and gave him a sharp look. He could only sigh, dragging his heavy feet as he left the classroom first.
Walking into the restaurant, Hikigaya was about to find any empty seat when he noticed Kamuro-san was already there. She was sitting idly at a four-person square table, with a glass cup of orange juice on the table. She was gently biting the straw in the cup, puffing out her cheeks and blowing air into the cup. The orange juice, which was nearly empty, immediately made a "gurgle-gurgle" sound as a few small bubbles appeared.
Hikigaya walked up to Kamuro-san's table. Kamuro-san, seemingly noticing the blocked light, waved her hand in Hikigaya's direction without lifting her head: "This seat is taken. If you're trying to hit on me, I won't consider anything other than studying until I'm a hundred years old."
Hearing Kamuro-san's excuse for rejecting being hit on, Hikigaya couldn't help but chuckle: "...I didn't realize you liked studying so much, Kamuro-san."
"W-What the, it's you, Hikigaya..." Hearing Hikigaya's voice, Kamuro quickly looked up and adopted a cold expression: "You never text me unless you need something... So, what is it this time with the shorty and the washboard?"
"The shorty and the washboard... You absolutely shouldn't say that to their faces." Hikigaya sat down in the seat opposite Kamuro, twitched his mouth, and warned her with a startled look.
There was a reason for Kamuro's annoyance with Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita.
After the four-person meeting settled on the idea of establishing the Service Club last time, Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita found Kamuro. Under the pretense that getting more students to sign letters of intent to join the club would increase the probability of the Student Council approving the club's formation, they had Kamuro run errands and recruit members in the class. She also had to collect information on some senpai to facilitate Yukinoshita in soliciting old exam questions from them.
In those few days, Kamuro-san was constantly running around after classes, so busy she was practically kicking herself in the head. If Hikigaya hadn't personally asked for her help, she would have quit long ago.
It was actually Hikigaya's fault, as he didn't want to be responsible for managing the club and only wanted to recline and collect a cut. He told the others that if they were willing to help, he would split the collected points equally with them after the matter was done, and then handed all the work over to the trustworthy and highly capable group.
"Tch..." Kamuro pursed her lips and picked up her empty cup: "I'm going to get a refill. What do you want to drink?"
"No, I can get it myself..."
"Coke, right?" Kamuro didn't seem to pay attention to Hikigaya's words at all. She went on her own and came back with two cups of drinks, pushing the Coke with ice toward Hikigaya.
"Thanks..."
Kamuro didn't answer. She simply propped her face up with her hand, looking out the glass window at the bustling street outside.
It wasn't until the two of them had finished their drinks that Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita finally arrived.
"You two are too late. If we had met at the cafeteria, all the delicious pudding would be gone by now," Hikigaya complained irritably.
"I apologize, Kamuro-san, for making you wait." Yukinoshita completely ignored Hikigaya and apologized to Kamuro for being late. Kamuro simply nodded with a cold expression.
'Hmph, you two ignored me. Just wait until I get my revenge!'
Thinking this, Hikigaya turned to Sakayanagi sitting next to him: "Sakayanagi-san, what would you like to drink?"
"Let me think... I'll have a hot cocoa. Thank you, Hikigaya-kun." Sakayanagi said to Hikigaya with a smile.
'How's that? Jealous? Even if you begged me, I wouldn't get you a drink.'
Hikigaya stood up, paid for Sakayanagi-san's and Yukinoshita-san's additional drink fees at the counter, and was about to get another cup when he saw Yukinoshita staring intently at the
beverage machine. She held a cup in her right hand and, for some reason, held her phone in her left.
"Hikigaya-kun, where do I need to scan a code to pay the points for this?"
"Huh?" Hikigaya looked at the serious Yukinoshita in astonishment.
'You must be joking, Yukinoshita-san. Have you never heard of a 'drink bar'? What kind of high-class family were you raised in?'
"No, you don't need to scan a code. It's, um... you know those self-serve buffets? This is the drink version of that."
"Is that so? The school's funding must be quite sufficient then."
Yukinoshita suddenly showed a gloomy smile and made a comment that Hikigaya couldn't quite understand. Yukinoshita let Hikigaya get his drink first and stood behind him, seriously observing his every move. When she saw Hikigaya press a button and the machine made a "whirr—" sound as it poured Coke into the cup, Yukinoshita's deep blue eyes instantly lit up.
Hikigaya got another cup and placed it on the espresso machine, gently pressing the button for hot cocoa.
Under Hikigaya's gaze, Yukinoshita-san took the drink she wanted with movements that made him break out in a cold sweat, and then followed Hikigaya back to the table.
Sakayanagi smiled as she took the hot cocoa from Hikigaya's hand and gently took a sip.
"Well then, let's begin."
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