Chapter 46: First Celebration
And so, on the afternoon of the first semester's closing ceremony, everyone went home once and gathered at Kousuke's house at 1 PM.
With each of the eight of us bringing drinks, snacks, cakes, ice cream, fried chicken, donuts, and more, the table became quite a lavish spread.
Kousuke's 6-tatami Japanese-style room and the adjacent room of his older brother, who had gone off to university this spring and left it mostly empty, had the sliding doors removed and things pushed to the corner, making it almost a 12-tatami Japanese-style room combined.
We brought in cushions, pillows, and low chairs, placed a large table in the middle, and planned to chat, play games, or watch DVDs together.
The seating was
Obata, Kashii, Tachibana, Sarakata
Table
Aoi, Tanaka, Kousuke, Ise
like that.
Snacks and drinks were crowded onto the table, along with Kousuke's Mama's curry.
Kousuke's Mama's curry is insanely delicious. All the boys started with curry before moving on to snacks.
We were supposed to toast first, and since Kousuke told Sho to do it.
'I know I've caused some trouble, but I'm happy to have fun with everyone like this! Good job on the first semester, cheers!'
'Cheers!'
Sarakata and Obata-san, who didn't know about my worries, had a '?' look on their faces, but everyone else gave me an 'Ah!' look and toasted toward me.
Each of us clinked glasses with our preferred drinks like cola, fruit juice, or tea.
The hungry boys wolfed down the curry, while Kashii-san watched with an amused smile.
Ise-san tried talking to Kousuke, but since she didn't get much of a response, she made a 'Huh?' face.
Obata-san started pointing out Aoi-kun's bad manners.
Tanaka-kun, stuck between Aoi and Kousuke, tried to be considerate to both.
I chatted a bit with Sarakata-kun, whom I hadn't seen in a while.
※Since this chapter has a lot of people and conversations get crowded, names are included at the start this time.
Kashii 'Hey, Tachibana-kun, I actually made a cheesecake. Want to try some?'
Tachibana 'Huh? I'd love to!'
Kashii 'Great! Kousuke-kun, can I borrow a knife from the kitchen?'
Kousuke 'Of course, Sho, you know where it is, right?'
I headed to the first-floor kitchen with Kashii-san.
Kashii-san's casual clothes were a long white and light blue dress, tied at the waist with a string-like belt, giving off a refreshing and elegant vibe.
Even though it was getting hot, Kashii-san somehow looked cool with those colors, which was kind of mysterious.
But I couldn't come up with anything witty to say...
Kashii 'It's kind of tricky being in someone else's house for the first time, isn't it?'
Tachibana 'I know! Why does it feel so awkward?'
Kashii 'I've cut it up, so can you carry it over?'
The cheesecake was insanely delicious! Just as I was about to ask for seconds.
Ise 'Is there still cheesecake? It's so good!'
Kashii (I wanted Tachibana-kun to have more! But when people enjoy it, I can't help but give them some.)
Tanaka, Sarakata 'Kashii-san's cheesecake! Amazing!'
That's how it went, everyone chatting noisily, sometimes switching seats, and having a great time.
Celebrations are so much fun. No wonder the outgoing kids are always eager to do them!
And so, around 2 PM, we cleaned up a bit.
We carried the dishes and cups to the first-floor kitchen, and Kashii-san and Obata-san washed them.
Kousuke and I brought new cups, plates for spreading out potato chips, dishcloths, and hand towels.
Tanaka and Sarakata sorted out the trash.
Aoi and Ise-san were lounging around reading manga.
Watching Aoi and Ise, I couldn't help but think, doesn't this kind of show people's true nature?
Aoi 'Ah! I'll go help out on the first floor!'
Tachibana (He must've felt uneasy just sitting there.)
Ise 'I'm in the pet category, so I'm not gonna cave to that kind of pressure, okay?'
True nature, huh.
Once the cleanup was done and we'd put out new snacks, Kousuke spoke up.
Kousuke 'I edited a video of last year's "Riverside Showdown: Tachibana VS Aoi." Wanna watch it?'
Huh? Sounds like the title of a B-grade movie.
Isn't that the pretty violent one?
It's a video of boys fighting. There are girls here, and Aoi, who lost, might feel awkward about it, right?
Aoi 'Huh? There's something like that? I wanna see the part where I got KO'd!'
Obata 'Did you edit the video that everyone recorded as evidence?'
Kousuke 'Yeah, I edited it.'
So, we decided to watch it.
————————————
Obata-san, Ise-san, and Kashii-san live in the same neighborhood and were all close friends when they were little.
Apparently, something happened between Kashii-san and Ise-san around the middle years of elementary school...
Ise 'Hey, Obata-chan, what's up!'
Obata 'Narumi, you're always so energetic, huh?'
Ise '! Only Obata-chan calls me Narumi!'
Even now, Ise-san and Obata-san get along pretty well.
Lately, for Ise-san, the reading "Shigezane" has become more common than the correct "Narumi."