Bonus Short Stories
A Lunchtime Chat
Depending on the day, any one of the six of us could be found somewhere different during lunchtime.
Tatsuya and Reita liked eating in the cafeteria, and lately I’d been joining them there too. Although my mom did make me bentos every now and then, it depended on her mood. I could have bought something from the school store, but then I would’ve had to eat in the classroom with the girls. That would make me the only guy eating among a group of girls, which would be pretty awkward. So obviously, eating with the guys in the cafeteria was much more my speed.
Today, however, was a rare occasion in which the girls joined us in the cafeteria, so all six of us ate together.
“I just thought it’d be fun to eat in the cafeteria for once,” Hoshimiya explained cheerily.
“Since Hikari suggested it, I also held off on making a bento today,” Nanase said.
“Huh? Nanase, do you always make your own bento?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes, though it’s nothing impressive. I just heat up frozen food and haphazardly pack it up.”
“You say that, Yui-Yui, but you’ve always got something fancy looking in your lunch box,” Uta pointed out.
Smiling, Nanase replied, “Well, maybe I spruce it up a tad.”
“My mom usually makes lunch for me, but I thought eating in the cafeteria might be nice every once in a while,” Hoshimiya said.
“And it gets boring eating a bento every day!” Uta said bluntly. “Oh, but of course I’m thankful to my mama for making it!”
Hoshimiya looked like she agreed with Uta’s take although she didn’t say it out loud. Hoshimiya is way too easy to read because she’s so expressive. But that’s part of what makes her cute, so I’m not complaining.
“What do you guys normally eat?” Uta asked us.
“Hmm, I typically buy the lunch of the day because it’s cheap,” I said.
“Yeah, but the lunch of the day is tiny,” Tatsuya cut in. “It’d be good if you could order a large one.” Of course an athlete like him—who burned through tons of calories every day—wouldn’t be sated by the volume of food I consumed. He always had a large donburi for lunch.
“I recommend the yakitori don. It doesn’t sound exciting but it’s good,” Reita said, nodding in agreement with his own suggestion.
I get you, I thought. It’s a safe and delicious choice, like shoyu ramen.
“I’ll get katsu curry!” Uta declared and ran off to the lunch ticket machine. With that, the rest of us scattered to buy our respective lunches and then gathered around a table to eat.
“Um... This is a lot bigger than I thought it would be,” Nanase said once we’d all sat down. She’d ordered a ginger pork set lunch, a relatively large portion.
“Yuino-chan, you don’t eat enough anyway!” Hoshimiya said.
“Don’t tell me that. I’m not even a light eater compared to you,” Nanase replied.
“Stop it! I feel like I eat too much when I’m with you two!” Uta interjected.
“Uh, that’s got nothing to do with them. You’re just a glutton,” Tatsuya said, jabbing a finger towards her katsu curry.
Yeah, a normal katsu curry is already a pretty generous serving, and yet it’s still no match for Uta’s appetite. It’s truly a mystery where all that food disappears into that tiny body.
“Our cafeteria probably decides portions with guys in mind, so even the normal-sized meals are pretty big,” Tatsuya commented.
Oh, good point. Probably because our student body is eighty percent male. I appreciate the results though.
“I don’t want to hear that coming from you, Tatsu!” Uta retorted.
“I’m not saying I’m not a big eater,” Tatsuya said, coming to his own defense. “But a large guy like me needs to eat an equally large meal.”
“Are you implying that I don’t need to eat as much because I’m small?!” Uta exclaimed.
“Oh, you got it! I’m surprised you managed to figure it out that quickly,” Tatsuya teased.
“What do you mean by that?!” she roared.
Eating my own food, I watched their usual banter kick off in that manner when suddenly I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I turned to see Nanase looking at me apologetically. “Um,” she started hesitantly. “Err, would you eat this? Only if you want to.” Her gaze fell on her side dish of boiled spinach.
“You don’t like it?” I asked.
She nodded; it was kinda cute. “Yes. I feel bad throwing it out,” Nanase said sheepishly.
“Sure, I’d be happy to. I’m surprised there’s something you don’t like though,” I said with a grin.
A small pout formed on her lips and she grumbled, “What exactly do you think I am?”
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