Chapter 71: Chapter 4
December 13th (Sunday) – Ayase Saki
The hands on the clock next to my pillow were moving towards midnight. I finished all my studying for tomorrow, finished my bath, and as if she had waited for that exact ti, a ssage from Maaya ca in. After putting her brothers to bed, getting her own studies done, and watching the currently-airing late-night ani, she texts during this ti pretty often. For crying out loud… I turned on speaker mode and answered Maaya's call.
'Sakiii, did you give Asamura-kun my present?'
That's the first thing she asks ?
"I did."
'Oh! And how did it go?'
"I'm not sure. He had a weird look on his face, though I don't know why."
'I see, I see… Good, good. Hee, hee.'
…Sothing about this is making feel extrely suspicious.
"You gave him a book, right?"
Judging by the shape and weight, I don't think I'm wrong, at least…
'Yep, yep! Asamura-oniichan loves books, after all!'
Why'd she suddenly change her tone when saying that? And why did it sound like she was grinning to herself? Actually, Asamura-kun is my brother, and not Maaya's. And yet whenever it's just the two of us talking together, she'll start calling him 'Onii-chan' and such. Maybe it's because of that, but I'm starting to feel like they're actually siblings, and I'm just a friend.
"It was just a book…right?"
'Of course, of course. Not to ntion a book that should definitely help a young lad like him through the many problems that life may throw his way!'
Sounds fishy. I should investigate that.
"Really? That sounds interesting. I should borrow it from him after he's done with it."
'You can't! You hear ?!'
She didn't even waste a single second, not even a microsecond to imdiately tell off… Yep, I've gotta ask him about it tomorrow.
'But anyway, what did you give him?'
I sighed in disbelief at how nonchalantly my friend could change the subject and responded.
"A neck warr."
We discussed it beforehand and decided on presents for the other person. I'd consider that to be a suitable thod. It'd be such a waste to give the other person sothing they wouldn't like. However, Maaya didn't seem to feel that way.
"Whaaat?! No waaay!"
Since the call was on speaker mode, I was thinking I'd be able to handle the volu a bit better, but her voice still reverberated inside my brain.
"Wh-What's that reaction for?"
And since she seed so shocked, even I found myself becoming worried.
'That's so boring! It's got no personality to it!'
"You're exaggerating. It's perfectly normal."
'That's not the problem! Sasaki no Jou!'
"I thought you called 'Sasakinosuke' earlier…"
'How about Sasakigorou?'
"No thanks."
'Anyway, forget about that! Don't try to change the subject!'
Wasn't she the one who did that not even a minute ago?
'A surprise is the true spice of a present! Don't you know that?!'
She seed oddly displeased. Also, why is a surprise what's important, of all things? I think that giving the other party a surprise present has pretty much zero chance of being beneficial for the other person. It's basically like you're both strangers. Isn't it much more respectable to be aware of the other person's preferences? However, Maaya didn't seem to particularly enjoy my response. She's trying to tell that the joy of a surprise improves the other party's mood or sothing along the lines of that.
'The argunt of usefulness is sothing you talk about on the daily instead!'
"What do you an?"
'Things you need and want are things you should be telling each other at any given mont! Why did you give him sothing boring for a special event like this?!'
"Because this is a special event?"
'If you just give him what he expects, he'll never rember it. The surprise is what makes the present and event morable! The idea is to betray their expectations and get their hearts really racing, you hear ?!'
"R-Right…I guess?"
As expected, Maaya's example was extre. But since she always talks about ani, gas, or manga, I can't follow her at all. Instead, it makes assu she may just be making stuff up. I an, if I followed her advice, then I'd just feel restless, not knowing if the other person liked the present or not. And at so point, I'd probably just ask. I wouldn't want them to hate my present, after all.
…The importance of a surprise, huh? I an, if Maaya is that adamant about it, then maybe I should actually give it so thought. But since it's already too late now, I shouldn't stress over it too much. Because even if it is that important, I can just try again next year. And I should ask him if he likes surprises or not.
However, Maaya wasn't done yet. She gave a long oration about surprises and what makes them great. As my eyelids grew heavier, we both just stopped talking and ended up ending the call. I rolled around on my bed, feeling the urge to hug my pillow.
If a surprise really is that important, then I wish she'd told sooner.
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