Chapter 18: At the Christmas Party 2 [Side: Rena Kashii]
I like seeing everyone happy. That's why preparing for a party makes so happy, imagining everyone's joyful faces.
On the morning of the party, I asked Mama to help make various delicious dishes, like salads and fried chicken, things I knew everyone would enjoy.
I also made a cake with Mama's help. And for the first ti, I made beef stew by myself. I think it's tasty, but I wonder? I worked hard, hoping everyone would enjoy it.
Everyone (the Girls) arrived just before 12 PM. They were overjoyed when I explained the seating, the day's plans, and how I arranged for them to get presents from their crushes.
At 12 PM, the boys arrived. Atsuki, Koishi, Kousuke, and Tachibana.
After much thought about the seating, it ended up being a "divide and conquer" formation (?) proposed by Obata-chan.
Kousuke Girl Girl Atsuki
Koishi Obata Rena Tachibana (Honorifics omitted)
The boys were divided, and the girls were grouped together so they couldn't escape into conversations among themselves.
Later, when I explained it to Tachibana-kun, he said, 'You're a tactician.'
Tactician isn't a complint (omitted below)
Koishi-kun tried to talk to , bypassing Obata-chan, so Obata-chan started lecturing him.
We all toasted, and the al began.
Everyone said it was delicious! I was so happy.
But I was a little disappointed.
I had overcooked the beef stew, and the ingredients had disintegrated, almost disappearing.
Being particular about appearance, I felt a bit down.
But then, Tachibana-kun next to whispered,
'Kashii-san, don't you pour this over rice?'
'No, I don't. But it goes well with rice, you know? It's also delicious with bread ♪'
Apparently, it was his first ti having beef stew. As I thought, "I'm sorry it's so unappetizing for your first ti."
'It's really, really delicious!'
Tachibana-kun ate it with a big smile, repeating "Delicious! Delicious!"
I'm so happy! I quietly pumped my fist! I'm overjoyed!
But it was so unappetizing and embarrassing that I couldn't say I made it.
Still, I couldn't suppress my happiness, and with a smile, I said,
'That's good! Even if it's flattery, I'm happy! There's more if you want seconds?'
Tachibana-kun devoured a second helping. Watching him murmur "It's delicious" like a sigh, my heart felt a little tight.
I thought, "Three servings will upset his stomach," but I couldn't suppress my feelings and ended up saying,
'Tachibana-kun, would you like another serving?'
'Really?!'
He replied eagerly. Can he really eat that much? But I'm happy.
'You said it was delicious, and I thought it might be flattery, but it really was delicious, wasn't it?'
I couldn't look at Tachibana-kun's face due to a mix of happiness and embarrassnt.
'This is the first ti I've ever eaten sothing this delicious! And I can't flatter.'
I prepared the third serving with a smile. I watched Tachibana-kun eat with a happy feeling.
Afterwards, we cut the cake. We were originally supposed to change seats occasionally, but I stayed next to Tachibana-kun and talked about various things without getting up. Because of that, Obata-chan had to deal with Koishi-kun the whole ti. But wait, Koishi-kun isn't here? When I asked Obata-chan, she said she sent him to the convenience store for an errand.
I see⭐︎
'Tachibana-kun, can you eat cake?'
'Of course! This cake is delicious too! Super delicious!'
I'm happy because I made half of this cake too.
'That's good! I'm glad you liked it! I hope everyone else thought so too.'
'It's this delicious, so they're definitely happy! Like I said earlier, this is the first ti I've ever eaten sothing this delicious!'
Everything Tachibana-kun said made so happy that I couldn't stop smiling.
Afterwards, everyone played various gas and had fun.
I stayed by Tachibana-kun's side the entire ti.
And then it was ti for the final exchanging presents.
I asked Obata-chan to make sure Tachibana-kun's present went to . Originally, only Atsuki-kun and Kousuke-kun were supposed to exchange presents in pairs, and the rest were random, but I made a selfish request. Obata-chan said, "The drawing for the exchange will look unnatural. Well, it's good for Rena to be selfish," and agreed.
Tachibana-kun perfectly drew my present (as planned).
Inside was a pair of adult-looking n's gloves that could be matched with anything. Atsuki-kun, Kousuke-kun, and two girls had their presents predetermined, so it beca an exchange among the remaining four people, and we had a rule that if you drew your own, you'd redraw, so I thought it would mostly go to the boys. Obata-chan is so handso, so I chose sothing that would be okay for Obata-chan too!
'Thank you, I'll cherish it!'
'I'm happy if you liked it!'
Afterwards, I drew Tachibana-kun's present (as planned).
Honestly, Tachibana-kun is quite childish and talks about warlords to girls, so I didn't expect much. But these things are about the sentint!
When I opened it, it was a thin pink ballpoint pen with silver decorations. It was quite well-made and elegant.
'Cute! Wasn't it quite expensive?'
'A little, yeah. I chose this because the decoration looked similar to a hair clip Kashii-san often wears, and it was cute.'
He noticed sothing like that. I thought he was passionately talking about Torii Suneemon, but realizing he pays attention to quite a bit made a little embarrassed. I'm so happy, he chose it while thinking of .
But sothing bothered a little.
'You chose it for , didn't you? I'm happy ♪ Thank you, Tachibana-kun ♪ But it could have gone to soone else, right?'
'I didn't think about that at all...'
That's just like Tachibana-kun (lol). But I thought, "Please don't give a present you chose while thinking of to another girl."
I was incredibly happy with the present he painstakingly chose, and I really liked the ballpoint pen, so I couldn't stop smiling.
After everyone left, I excitedly told Mama and my older sister that Tachibana-kun ate three servings of the overcooked beef stew, saying "Delicious! Delicious!", that he also ate the cake and said it was delicious, and how happy I was to see him enjoy it.
Suddenly, I asked Mama out of curiosity.
'Mama, do you also feel happy when Papa eats a lot and says it's delicious?'
'Of course, I do ♪ It's special when soone important to you says it's delicious.'
'I see.'
As I was understanding, my older sister said,
'Rena is such a pushover! Such a pushover! Tachibana-kun! Rena can be won over with just one more push!'
I retorted to my older sister that I'm not a pushover!
As I looked at the pink ballpoint pen I received as a Christmas present today, I wondered, "How did he know I liked this color?" "What kind of did he imagine when he chose it?" I'll ask him soday.
What kind of face will Tachibana-kun make then?
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Afterwards, Kashii-san found a different color of the ballpoint pen, and the story of her asking Sho why he chose this color ca up in Chapter 10's "Invitation to Go Ho Together."
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