Chapter 11 - Canteen

Wednesday. Today, the weather is not good. It was raining heavily from the start of the morning and it still didn't show any signs of subside. I would normally go on foot to go to school, but due to the current weather conditions, I feel lazy to go in the morning, with the cold morning air coupled with the rain. So I chose to go with my dad's ride.

My dad, in his cute little car that he drives to his office every day. What's the name again? Oh yes, Hunda Y-Box. A small car that looks cute according to some people. My father also bought this car because when he wanted to choose a car as a means of transportation for his work, he brought mom with him and she said to buy this cute car.

My father, I still remember clearly, at that time he had a sour face. Looks like he wants a cooler car to show off to his coworkers a bit, but whatever. Father is still father, he cannot go against mother's wishes.

Enough talk about cars. Currently, sitting in the back seat of the car, I wait for the car to arrive at the school. While playing games with my smartphone, time passes quickly. "Ryou, we've arrived", my father said.

"Okay", I put my phone in my pocket and was about to take out an umbrella, when in front of the gate, I saw a long line of cars that looked like a traffic jam. 'hahaha, new surprises every day', I thought. Impressed by the number of students who think the same as me.

"Then I'll go, see you dad"

"yes, study properly"

"Okay, be careful on the road", with that, I opened the car door and opened the umbrella that was in my hand. Soon after, my father immediately got off the road and went to his work place. "huhhh, cold" I immediately felt the big difference in temperature after getting out of the car. Normally, at this hour the air would be fresh and cool, but today it was so cold that I regretted not wearing a jacket.

Not wanting to linger outside, I walked quickly into the school building. Changed my slightly wet shoes in the locker, while not forgetting to keep the wet umbrella in the umbrella basket. I continued my brisk walk towards class in search of more warmth.

"Good morning"

"ou! Good morning, Toru-kun!" As usual, Juutaro was as excited as ever. "Ame, he hasn't come yet?"

"Yeah, I guess not. I told him to be more passionate about life, but he... Well that's fine. I'm sure he'll be here soon!"

"okay, huft. Btw today feels very cold huh"

"What? Cold from where? I don't feel cold at all" ahh... I forgot, Juutaro could be said to be a heater himself. He would never feel cold even if he were tossed into the north pole naked. I felt stupid asking him.

"No, it's fine. Maybe you're right, now that I think about it, I also felt that the cold earlier was just an illusion"

"Hahaha! Right?"

"Yeah yeah" I said, returning his usual brilliant smile by rolling my eyes.

"hey Toru-kun, how was the visit to the drama club yesterday? Did everything go well?" suddenly, Juutaro asked me, changing the topic quickly. Hmm.. Yes, yesterday, I remember what happened yesterday in the club room. The club I looked at with admiration at first, after seeing the beast show yesterday, now I have a slightly complicated feeling about it. On the one hand, I understand that they do it for a reason, namely to select applicants who want to enter. But on the other hand, I still feel a little traumatized by seeing it.

Just imagine, a senpai, who incidentally should be seen as someone their underclassmen would respect, on the first day they showed themselves, they immediately acted like that. And as an added point, leader Akira's overly strong storytelling power also contributed to my confusion as to what yesterday's events were like for me.

But, if I could put it in one word, then maybe it was... Surprise, I guess.

"Yesterday was really full of surprises. I can't say much about what happened, but you won't believe what I saw"

"Is that so? The drama club seems to have a lot to talk about huh. As for me, after entering the soccer field yesterday, the senpais immediately tested us one by one and ended up with a heated inter-generational ball match. We lost, but yesterday it was still fun. Ha ha ha! "

"haha, I see. Good for you"

"Right?! I can't wait for another session~~"

We continue our chat. Even when Ame arrived, we continued to ask him questions about the video game club. Ame, with his chuunibyou language, seemed to feel comfortable being there.

Soon, the homeroom began. Our homeroom teacher Takashi sensei came and did his usual morning homeroom session. Followed by the first lesson, namely biology. Only after that, the launch break finally arrived.

This time, Ame didn't bring his lunch. Therefore, he would go to buy food in the canteen. And as his friends, we went with him and decided to eat our lunch in the canteen. Like I said before, this school is huge. Many new students get lost because of how big the school is. Our class, Class 1-C is on the second floor of the main building, which is very easy to remember because you just have to go in, climb the stairs, and you'll be right there.

The canteen itself is on the first floor. Most of the first floor is used for various things of a general nature, such as administrative rooms, canteens, lockers, and so on. We walked down the stairs, and after a while, we finally arrived at the cafeteria.

"... big huh" I said. Looked around the canteen which had more than ten tables. This cafeteria alone seemed to be able to accommodate more than half of the kamigaoka students alone just by looking at its size.

"That's right" Juutaro also seemed interested. He eagerly looked around with a glint in his eyes. Ame, don't ask. He just stood still with his mysterious face.

"Ame, quickly go order. We will mark a seat for you"

"okay" so we went to find an empty table and were seated right away. Not long after, Ame came with a set menu in hand. 'karaage hah, good choice'.

"Okay then, itadakimasu"

""itadakimasu""

We ate our food quietly. Today my lunch is omurice with some other side dishes. My mother always makes provisions for me with totality and that makes me very happy. Indeed, mother-made food is the best.

While I was enjoying my lunch, something happened that made me stop my eating time.

"Ah! Toru-san!"

Walking with the food tray in both hands, was Kawajima-san. She noticed my presence in the cafeteria and immediately called my name while walking here.

"Kawajima-san, long time no see" I said to her, feeling a little nostalgic for our last meeting. As expected, Kawajima-san smiled nervously and was about to answer when she stopped. Just realized that I'm not alone.

"Toru-kun, is she your friend?" Juutaro asked me. I nodded in response and said, "Right. Introduction, her name is Midori Kawajima. Kawajima-san, please introduce me. The blonde is Juutaro, and the quiet man over there is Ame"

"h-hello"

"hello, nice to meet you, Kawajima-san"

"Hello"

As I expected, it looks like I didn't go wrong in choosing friends. Unlike the general reaction of others to be reluctant with her, the two of them didn't seem to mind at all and greeted him back properly.

"Kawajima-san, aren't you with your friends?"

"ah! I forgot! She must be waiting for me now"

"Then you can't keep her waiting right?"

"Right, then I'll go now. See you later, Toru-san, Juutaro-san, Ame-san"

"see you again"

"Yes! See you later Kawajima-san!"

"un"

What a surprising meeting. I didn't expect that I would meet her again so soon right after entering the cafeteria. Looks like she eats here often, I'll keep that in mind.

Apart from that incident, the rest of the break went normally. We finished our meal, the question regarding the relationship between me and Kawajima-san from the most curious Juutaro, and after that we went back to class.