144 - Saturday’s Plans (Patreon)

RAW

On a Friday afternoon, the classroom was filled with an excited atmosphere.

Although the weekend weather forecast predicted gloomy skies, most students were chatting happily with friends, looking forward to their days off.

Amidst the lively chatter, Saki approached Ayaka’s desk.

"Hey, Ayaka! Here’s that drama I said I’d lend you."

"Thanks, Saki."

Ayaka smiled as she took the tote bag Saki handed her.

"This one’s seriously good. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop."

"Hehe, I’m looking forward to watching it."

"But you know, it has a lot of horror elements. You okay with that?"

"Huh?! It does?"

"Well, yeah, it’s a zombie series."

Ayaka was visibly shocked at the revelation. Saki gave her an exasperated look and pointed out, "I mean, the title literally has 'Dead' in it."

"I knew there were zombies, but… I heard the human drama was interesting…"

"Well, yeah, but it’s about survivors fighting to stay alive in a world collapsed by a pandemic. Of course, there are plenty of terrifying scenes where they get attacked by zombies."

Hearing Saki’s explanation, Ayaka looked slightly uneasy.

Just then, Haruto approached, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Spotting the foreign drama in Ayaka’s tote bag, he widened his eyes slightly in recognition.

"Oh, so this is the series you’re borrowing from Aizawa? I’ve been curious about it for a while."

"Really? But apparently, it’s scary. Are you okay with horror, Haruto?"

"Well, at the end of the day, dramas and movies are just fiction. It doesn’t really scare me."

As Ayaka looked nervous, Haruto responded calmly.

Seeing the exchange, Saki grinned mischievously.

"Ayaka, if you get scared, you can just cling to Otsuki while watching. You two are watching it together anyway, right?"

"Wha— No, that’s…"

Ayaka’s face turned red as she stole glances at Haruto.

"But that would make it hard for you to watch…"

Looking up at him as she said that, Haruto felt himself getting flustered, scratching the back of his neck before murmuring softly.

"Uh… I mean… it’s fine…"

"O-Oh, okay… Then maybe if a really scary scene comes up…"

"Yeah…"

Both of them blushed and looked embarrassed, making Saki shrug in exasperation.

"Seriously, you guys start flirting out of nowhere…"

"W-We weren’t flirting just now!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

Ayaka tried to protest, but Saki casually brushed it off.

As they talked, Tomoya, now ready to leave, approached and glanced at the tote bag Ayaka was holding.

"Oh! 'Hiking Dead'! Is that Tojo’s?"

"No, I borrowed it from Saki."

At Ayaka’s response, Tomoya turned to Saki.

"You’ve seen the whole thing, Aizawa?"

"Of course."

"That doctor’s line in the final episode was insane, right?"

"Oh! That part! Yeah, I did NOT see that coming—"

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you about to spoil it?!"

Ayaka quickly cut Saki off, panicking.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. But seriously, it’s such a great series."

"I actually binged Season 1 overnight."

Tomoya gave a thumbs-up as he said that, making Haruto chuckle.

"Yeah, I don’t think I could do an all-nighter… I’ve got plans tomorrow, too."

On Saturday, Haruto, Ayaka, Shizuku, Kazuaki, Tomoya, and Saki were all gathering at the Tojo house to bake sweets.

So, he needed to make sure he wasn’t too sleep-deprived.

As Haruto was thinking about this, Saki nodded solemnly.

"True. Otsuki, you need to make the perfect brownies. If you mix up the sugar and salt because you’re half-asleep, it’d be a disaster."

"I wouldn’t mess that up, no matter how sleepy I am."

"Ohh, confident, huh? As expected of a cooking guy."

"Even people who don’t cook wouldn’t make that mistake, right? Right, Ayaka?"

"H-Huh?! O-Oh, yeah, totally…"

Ayaka’s eyes darted around uneasily.

Sensing something suspicious, Haruto stared at her. Eventually, she muttered hesitantly.

"Umm… Actually… the tamagoyaki I put in your bento yesterday… I accidentally swapped the sugar and salt… Kiyoko fixed the taste for me…"

"Ahh… I see."

So, Ayaka had meant to make sweet tamagoyaki but ended up with a salty one instead. Luckily, Kiyoko had adjusted the flavor.

Haruto recalled the taste of yesterday’s bento.

No wonder the tamagoyaki had gone really well with the rice.

As he nodded in understanding, Tomoya brought up tomorrow’s plans.

"Anyway, we’re meeting at Tojo’s at 1 PM, right?"

"Yeah. Are we gathering somewhere first?"

"Maybe? Aizawa, should we meet up at the station like last time?"

"Hmm, I’m fine with that, but wouldn’t it be a detour for Akagi and Shizuku?"

Saki thoughtfully rested her chin on her hand.

"It’s not a detour for me at all. Not sure about Shizuku, though."

Tomoya, who didn’t know exactly where Shizuku lived, turned to Haruto.

"Wouldn’t going through the station be out of the way for Shizuku and Kazu-senpai?"

Haruto thought for a moment, mentally mapping out the routes.

"Yeah, they’d have to go out of their way."

"Then what should we do? Kazu-senpai doesn’t know Tojo’s address, so he can’t go alone."

As Tomoya crossed his arms in thought, Shizuku suddenly appeared at the classroom door.

"Shizuku-chan reporting in! Time to make our weekend escape, seniors!"

Expressionless as always, Shizuku urged them to leave.

Haruto took the opportunity to ask, "Shizuku, tomorrow’s meeting is at 1 PM at Ayaka’s place. How do you want to get there?"

"Hmm? Are we planning an ambush on Aya-senpai? Then, Aizawa-senpai can hold her from behind while I tickle her to submission!"

"Okay."

"Wait, what?! Saki, don’t just agree to that!"

Shizuku raised her hands like a surgeon about to operate and muttered, "Godhand Shizuku, at your service." Saki made an "OK" sign with her fingers.

Seeing Ayaka panic, Tomoya laughed and brought the conversation back on track.

"Shizuku, we meant how you’ll get to Tojo’s place, not how to attack her."

After hearing the explanation, Shizuku nodded.

"Then here’s the plan: I’ll go with Kazu-senpai straight to Aya-senpai’s place. Tomoya-senpai and Saki-senpai can meet at the station and come together."

"That sounds reasonable. Aizawa, that okay?"

"Yeah, that works."

"Alright, see you all Saturday!"

Tomoya waved, and Ayaka nodded.

"Looking forward to it."

"Alright, now that we’re settled, let’s go. Weekends are too precious to waste even a second."

With Shizuku leading the way, they left the classroom.

Later, Haruto and Ayaka stopped by a supermarket near their homes.

"Hey, Haruto. Should we get popcorn for our drama night?"

"Classic choice. What flavor?"

Haruto picked up a salted one and showed it to Ayaka.

"Simple and classic?"

"Hmm, but this caramel one looks good too…"

As Ayaka debated, Haruto chuckled.

"Why not just get three?"

"Is that even allowed?"

Haruto laughed.

"Of course! We aced our tests, and it’s Friday night!"

"Okay… But I’ll pick between soy butter and honey butter!"

After careful deliberation, she pointed at honey butter.

"No regrets?"

"None!"

Smiling, they headed to the register.

"Looking forward to it."

"Yeah."

With cheerful smiles, they hurried home.