Chapter 31 - Kawajima's Friend

Thursday. During the story selection, the one chosen turned out to be Ryousuke's story. They said that the story he chose had what everyone needed. Romance, adventure, and fighting.

So, it was decided that they would do a play with that story. The title was 'Avvilas'. It tells the story of a princess who runs away from her own kingdom because she refuses an arranged marriage set by the royal family. Against all odds, she and her knight whom she loves embark on their adventure.

That's about it. Although in the end, things don't end well. Yes, the story ends with a bad end.

With the members having been divided into five divisions, they performed their respective duties. The club's activities can be said to be very fun, although they are busy, but everything is fun.

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'What?! Why didn't you say it earlier Mr. Premulae...? Mr. Premu, what else? I forgot his name'

While walking towards the men's toilet, it was Ryousuke who was memorizing his lines as the evil landlord. Since he was part of the acting division, he was assigned to be an actor and was eventually chosen to play this evil character.

Yesterday, the club had agreed to take the story Ryousuke chose as their final decision. And today, he was still memorizing the lines he needed to say. It was still two weeks away for their drama performance time, so he wasn't in too much of a hurry.

"Ahh..." the feeling when you're done with your business is the best. Ryousuke thought.

Walking out of the bathroom, he was about to head back to class. After all, the lunch break only had a few minutes left.

"Anoo! Excuse me, aren't you Midori's friend, Umm- Toru... Kun?"

Just then, someone called out to him from behind him. It was a girl's voice. Turning around, he saw that he didn't really know her. Although, he could tell for sure that she was a pretty girl.

"Yes I am, and you are...? "

"oh, sorry. My name is Sayaka Mayu. I'm Midori's- Eh, Kawajima's classmate Kawajima. " the girl explained.

'ahh, indeed. I just remembered' Ryousuke recalled that perhaps this girl in front of him was Kawajima-san's close friend whom she often talked about.

"oh, yes. Kawajima-san did mention you a lot. Hello, my name is Ryousuke Toru" he replied. While extending his hand to the girl as a sign of introduction.

Receiving Ryousuke's hand, Mayu gently grasped it. "Yes, greetings, Toru-kun!" she smiled.

Nodding his head with a calm smile, Ryousuke removed his hand from her. They were currently in the corridor of the second floor, which meant that even though it wasn't too crowded with other students, there were still some people who noticed them.

So, before talking further, he led Mayu to a seat near a nearby vending machine. So that they could talk more comfortably.

"You're not with Kawajima-san, Mayu-san? Don't you guys usually eat lunch together?" he asked. Knowing that the two were best friends who were always together, or that's what Kawajima said about them.

Sayaka Mayu nodded. While sitting beside Ryousuke, she explained. "We already did. We just finished and she's currently in class. I was just going to buy a drink, until I met you."

Indeed, it seemed like a coincidence that they could meet like this. He nodded at her explanation.

Standing up, he took the money from his wallet and headed to the vending machine beside them. "Hoo, just like that. What do you want to buy?"

He asked her, since she said that her original intention was to buy a drink, he did not mind helping her.

"ah, Strawberry milk please~!" Sayaka Mayu replied while smiling happily.

"Got it!"

*pip. He pressed the buttons. One for strawberry milk and another for chocolate milk. After that, he gave the strawberry one to her.

"hmm~~ thank you! *slurrp", Sayaka Mayu quickly drank her drink. It seemed like she was really thirsty. Ryousuke also sat down and drank the chocolate milk in his hand. "Yes-"

*ding dong deng deng!

The bell rang. Signaling the end of recess. Ryousuke, hearing it immediately finished his drink and threw the trash into the trash can.

He stood up, about to go back to his class. "Ah, looks like recess is over. Then I'll go back to class. Nice to meet you, Mayu-san"

Although, Mayu stopped him. She held the hem of Ryousuke's uniform and restrained him. "uh, W-wait!"

'Does she need something? ' he thought.

"Yeah? "

"...I actually have some things I want to talk to you about. It's about Midori-chan... "

Looks like he was right.

"But recess is over. How about we talk about it after school?" he suggested.

"Agreed! Then after school! We'll meet at this place."

"Got it. Then, I'll see you later."

"bye~~"

Walking away from Mayu who was still drinking her strawberry milk calmly while waving at him, he returned to the classroom.

'Wait, why didn't she come back right away? Isn't she afraid of being punished by the teacher?' he thought. When he saw Mayu who was just sitting and showed no signs of returning to her class.

Clearly, Mayu was being punished. She was enjoying the drink in her hand so much that she even forgot that the reason Ryousuke left was also because the bell had rung.

So, by the time she got to her class, it was already too late. Even if stupid Mayu regretted it, it didn't change. Poor Mayu.

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The last lesson of the day was chemistry. A subject that, arguably, was hated by almost everyone. Who wants to know the periodic table? They'll forget it anyway in the end. Thoughts like that, thoughts that are really common among students who are lazy and reluctant to use their brains.

As agreed from two weeks ago, today's chemistry lesson also seems to be held in groups. Just like last week.

Ryousuke was in the same group with girl A and guy B. Not bad. It was better than having to be in the same group with Oni, or any of his mischievous friends that might end up affecting his grades. Indeed, chemistry lessons were quite complicated. They combined various materials into glass and had to be careful with it. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

*ding dong deng deng!

Finally, the school dismissal bell rang. The students who had been left behind by the teachers, immediately made all kinds of noise.

He had an appointment with Sayaka Mayu after school. After saying goodbye to his friends, he immediately went out and walked towards the place from earlier in the day.

'... Looks like she hasn't come yet'

Ryousuke saw that the seat where they had talked earlier in the day was still empty. Which meant Mayu still hadn't come.

'I guess I'll have to wait'

He had club activities today. But the drama club wasn't too strict, so it didn't matter if he was a little late. That's why he decided to meet her after school even though he knew that he still had club activities.

The classroom hallway could be seen passing by many students walking away. Either going home or heading to other activities. Ryousuke stared down the hallway, waiting for the girl to come. Until,

"Toru-kun!"

She came. With her eager steps, she approached him.

Sayaka Mayu walked quickly to his place. She was not with Kawajima. He thought that since this was a matter dealing with her, then she would bring Kawajima with her, but it seemed he was wrong.

Ryousuke nodded while waving back at her. "hello, Mayu-san" he continued, "want to go somewhere else? I know a good tavern near here"

"Is the food good there?"

"Yes, of course. "

"Then no need to wait anymore, let's go"

"Okay, follow me."

The two of them went from the school area to an area that looked more crowded. Many other students were also seen playing with their new friends. Although it was mostly girls. Ryousuke guided Mayu towards the shop he often visited, Amaki's coffee shop.

"Here. Let's go in", Mayu nodded. And they entered the coffee shop.

"Welcome, ara~ Toru-kun! Table for two?" the store clerk greeted them. "Yes, table for two" he replied. Then they were directed to a table on the left by the window.

"Thank you. Would you like to order something, Mayu-san? " After they both sat down, he asked the girl in front of him who was looking through the menu. "Etto, Strawberry Pudding, chocolate ice cream, and... Uh, I don't like bitter drinks. Is there another option?"

"You can choose juice. Look, here."

"oh, yes. Then the last one is orange juice!"

"For me, one black coffee" he also ordered one.

The clerk recorded the order and told them to wait. After the employee left, Ryousuke finally said to Mayu, "You ordered a lot, Mayu-san. Will it all fit in your stomach?"

"It's fine. Eating is one of the greatest joys given by god, so we should enjoy it as much as possible" Mayu replied. Ryousuke just smiled at her answer, seemingly starting to understand a bit about what kind of person Kawajima's friend was.

The food arrived shortly after. Ryousuke took the black coffee he ordered and drank it. 'Bitter... But good' he thought.

"umm~~ delicious!" Mayu also seemed to enjoy her food. She ate the ice cream and pudding with gusto. Ryousuke felt that this was not the right time to ask about the real problem. So, he waited for Mayu to finish her food quietly.

"Thanks for the meal"

Seeing her finished with her food, he finally spoke. "So Mayu-san. What is it that you want to talk to me about Kawajima-san? "

"Right" Mayu stopped her drink. Now there was no longer any trace of cheerfulness, and what was seen was a serious and slightly angry atmosphere in her.

"Actually, lately it seems like Midori-chan has something on her mind. And obviously, it's not something happy. I tried to ask her about what happened, but she didn't seem to want to tell me. Do you know anything about this Toru-kun?" Mayu explained.

Hearing this, of course Ryousuke thought about what he might have done to Kawajima to make her like that. But he couldn't think of anything. They were fine, even the relationship between the two of them had gotten closer recently.

"Sorry, I don't know. Maybe it's related to family problems or something?" he replied.

"No. I don't think so. Midori-chan already told me about her family stuff, and I don't think this is the case. I'm sure, it's related to something at school" Mayu calmly said. If it was like that, then he would believe it. 'Not a family problem... That means it's about something related to school, right?'

Ryousuke thought, maybe it's about class problems? But he realized that Mayu wouldn't be here if that was the case, because she would already know.

The thing that allowed Mayu not to know about this could only mean one thing, which was that this matter was related outside of class. There were only two options left, because of how small Kawajima's relationship was, which was that this matter was related to him, or...

"Maybe... A problem with her club? " he thought.

"It seems that Toru-kun also thinks the same as me. Yes, I feel that way too. Maybe this is a problem related to her club" Mayu emphasized his thoughts. It seems to be true, that's probably the case.

"Yes. It's most likely about the club problem", speaking of this, Ryousuke recalled the face Kawajima made two days ago when they went home together after finishing the library. When she was asked by him if she enjoyed her time at the book club, Kawajima replied with a face that seemed to be gloomy.

"So, what do you want to do, Mayu-san? I also don't like it when Kawajima-san gets sad about this matter"

"Yes. I want to help her, it's just that, as I said at the beginning, I don't know the problem. I guess I have to find out what happened to her. " Mayu replied. Firmly stating her intentions.

"I see. Then I'll do it too, I don't want Kawajima-san to feel sad, after all I'm also her friend" Ryousuke also offered himself to help.

Hearing Ryousuke's decision, Mayu with a happy smile said, "I see, as expected from Toru-kun! You're such a good person!"

"haha, no. I guess this is a normal thing right?"

"Toru-kun is nice anyway! I can understand a bit why Midori-chan is close to you"

The two smiled. After deciding on their destination, the two ended up spending their time discussing the plan to find out the cause of Kawajima's problem. In fact, Ryousuke ended up having to ask permission in his club's group chat not to attend the meeting this time.