Episode 13: An After-School Date with Sora-san
Straight from school to Akihabara Station — the moment I got there, I bolted for the bathroom.
I took off my glasses to put in my contacts.
At school, I go full introvert-mode — can’t respond if someone talks to me, so glasses and a mask are my armor — but today I was meeting Sora-san. I wanted to look as close to “Ruri” as I could.
I put in my contacts and hurried through my makeup.
Once I finished, I left the bathroom and headed for the ticket gates where we’d agreed to meet. No sign of Sora-san yet.
“…Somehow, I’m really looking forward to this…”
I felt almost like a normal high school girl for a second. Sure, there was an official reason — “getting tips for the job” — but still.
Five minutes until our meeting time. Sora-san should be showing up soon.
“Excuse me, got a second?”
“…Eh?”
Someone spoke to me out of nowhere, and I looked up. Standing close by — I hadn’t even noticed him approach — was a man I’d never seen in my life.
“I thought you were cute. Like, exactly my type… think I could get your contact info?”
“Eh…”
Could this be — is this what they call getting hit on!?
Of course, the world could never just leave a beauty like me alone… I managed to think that for about one whole second.
“Line, Instagram, whatever works…”
What do I do. This is scary.
Also, seriously, what kind of person just walks up to a total stranger and demands their contact info!?
“I-I don’t, um, ah, um…”
“Come on. Oh, or if you’re free, maybe grab tea after this or…”
He closed the distance even further, and a small scream slipped out of me before I could stop it.
Scary. Scary. Way too scary.
Help me, Maria — I squeezed my eyes shut, and in that instant, someone yanked me back by the arm.
“She’s my girlfriend, so knock it off.”
Sora-san. She stepped between me and the man and shot him a sharp glare.
The man, who’d been so persistent with me a second ago, scrambled away in a panic.
“…You not used to getting hit on?”
“Ugh, ihi, y-yes… a-actually, normally I’m not put-together like this, I usually hide my face behind glasses and a mask…”
“Different from today, huh.”
Sora-san was in her school uniform too, since we’d both come straight from school — a short skirt paired with an oversized pink hoodie. Her makeup was different from her work look too.
“…I wanted to look cute, since I was meeting you, Sora-san.”
Maybe, given how bad I am with people, I should’ve just stuck to my usual plain look instead of getting greedy.
In the end, all it did was cause trouble for Sora-san.
“S-sorry…”
“No need to apologize. …Ruri.”
Out of nowhere, Sora-san looped her arm through mine. We’re close in height, so her face ended up right in front of me.
“You’ve always kind of wanted this, haven’t you?”
Walking around town arm-in-arm with a friend after school, having fun.
For an introvert like me, it’s the kind of real-life-enjoying dream that felt totally out of reach.
Maria’s always been busy with lessons after school, so we never really went out much, and whenever we did go anywhere it was almost always by car.
Walking around a city like this with a friend — I’d only ever seen that in slice-of-life anime.
“S-Sora-san!”
“What?”
“Can we get bubble tea, eat crepes, and take purikura!?”
“…What decade of high schooler are you?”
“Ugh…”
“But sure. Let’s do all of it.”
Sora-san said it with a gentle smile.
Outside of work, I think that might be the first time I’ve ever seen her smile that softly.
“Hey, Ruri.”
“Y-yes?”
“If there’s something you want to do, you should just say so, all the way through, like that.”
“Sora-san…”
This way, she said, and started walking, still arm in arm with me.
I don’t think I’ve ever not been scared of a crowd before. Not until right now.
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“One crepe, three hundred and ten yen…!?”
Sora-san had taken me to a dirt-cheap crepe stand.
Sure, it wasn’t the kind of flashy crepe piled with expensive fruit and fancy toppings, but even so, that felt almost too cheap.
“We’re eating crepes, drinking bubble tea, and taking purikura on top of that. Can’t exactly hit up expensive places for all three.”
“Th-that’s true… oh, I guess I actually have to budget now…”
“…Didn’t you say you used to run your SNS with a whole rich-girl persona?”
“Yes. Well, that’s, um, ancient glory at this point, I guess — more like fallen-heroine status now.”
“Calling yourself a heroine outright — kind of don’t hate that, actually.”
“Th-thank you.”
We ordered our crepes and sat down on a nearby bench. I got chocolate banana, Sora-san got custard.
I gave her the short version of how I ended up working at Sweet Stella. Sora-san’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“…You’ve actually been through a lot, huh.”
“Well…”
“I figured you just started working at a maid café because your need for validation pushed you into it.”
“Th-that’s not really it, actually. …Um, Sora-san, why did you start working there…?”
I wasn’t totally sure if I was allowed to ask something like that, but I decided to try anyway.
Because I really do want to get closer to Sora-san.
“…I’m broke. Like, seriously broke.”
Sora-san said it after taking a bite of her crepe.