Chapter 87

Loner and Juliet

Missed Calls #

“Phew, that was a good bath. My little sister took a bath before me, so it’s probably late now…”

(Oh, come to think of it, starting today, I’m supposed to talk on the phone with Asakura-san every night… I totally forgot, but is it okay even if I start now?)

“Let’s see, where’s my smartphone… huh, what’s this!?”

“Incoming calls: Asakura-san, 28 missed calls”

(Oh, during the one hour that I was in the bath, I got this many missed calls… 28 calls is more than the total number of calls I’ve received in the past year!?)

Ringtone: Skah~n♪

“Eek!?”

Ringtone: Skah~skahskah~~♪

“…………”

“Incoming call: Asakura-san”

“She, she’s calling…” gulp

Ringtone: Skah~skahskah~~♪

“……Hello?”

“Ah! Uh, hello? Oh, it’s Andou-kun? Good evening…”

(Phew… she doesn’t seem too angry. She’s the usual Asakura-san.)

“Yeah, good evening. Sorry I couldn’t answer the phone earlier, Asakura-san.”

“Finally, you answer! You promised to call me, what were you doing!?”

“I was just taking a bath…”

“Huh!? Bath!? Wait, does that mean… Ah, Andou-kun is naked right now!?”

“Asakura-san, calm down. Even I wouldn’t answer the phone when I’m stark naked… don’t worry, I’m wearing clothes now.”

“I-I see. That’s a relief– cough, cough! I mean, I’m relieved!”

(Hold on… did she just call me her boyfriend?)

“So, what have you been doing, Asakura-san?”

“Me? I was doing my summer homework since Andou-kun took so long to answer the phone. I’ve finished about half of it today.”

(Oh, summer homework, huh…)

“I see… so what are you doing now, Asakura-san?”

“Huh? I just told you, Andou-kun. I’m doing my homework…”

“Oh, I see. So what are you doing now, Asakura-san?”

“………… Andou-kun?”

“…What’s up?”

“Are you… doing your homework?”

“Of course I am.”

“By the way, how much do you have left to do?”

“…………”

“I understand… I’ll change the way I’m asking. How far have you gotten?”

“Um…I’ve only gotten two pages done in science other than math…”

“Andou-kun! What have you been doing for this one week of summer vacation!?”

“I’m sorry! I was reading light novels!”

“Geez… anyway, how much progress have you made in math?”

“Oh, I’ve already finished math.”

“Huh? What do you mean by ‘finished’?”

“Exactly what it means. I finished all of the math homework the day it was given in the last class.”

“The day it was given… so you finished all of the math homework for the summer vacation in just one day!?”

“Yeah, it was just simple review problems, so it didn’t take that long.”

“Well, even if you say that… wasn’t the homework packet given to us about 120 pages? And you did all of it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why can’t you apply that to other subjects…”

(Well… even if you say that…)

“Sigh… from tomorrow on, make sure to work on it properly, alright? You can still finish it if you start now.”

“Yes…”

“And I won’t help you if you’re in trouble because you didn’t do it later, okay?”

“I’ll be fine~~♪ I’ll be fine~~♪”

“Why… for some reason, I’m really worried.”

(Geez, Asakura-san is such a worrier. Even though I’m not some kind of “Nobita,” who’s always in trouble, forgetting about the homework and crying for help later…)

“So, getting back on topic… are you free tomorrow, Andou-kun?”

“Tomorrow? Yeah, I’m free! I don’t have any friends or plans to invite me other than you, Asakura-san!”

“I see, then I’m relieved… no, is it really okay for me to be relieved? Anyway, if it’s alright with you, Andou-kun… um, I want to see you…”

(Oh no… my girlfriend’s voice alone is so cute… Asakura-san is a real angel!)

“Oh, Andou-kun? Um… is that… not okay?”

“Huh? Ah! No, no, it’s totally fine! If possible, I want to be with Asakura-san every day too!”

“Andou-kun! Hehe, thank you. Me too ♪”

(Oh, I’m so happy… I never thought I, the former “loner,” would have a girlfriend and be able to talk about such happy things with her… it’s like I’m in “heaven” thanks to Asakura-san.)

“So, where should we meet up? Should we go to the usual family restaurant–”

“Ah! Um, about the meeting place, I’ve already decided…”

“Huh, where?”

“I wonder where it could be… isn’t it the usual family restaurant?”

“Well… it’s actually… at my house.”

“Huh?”

(Her house? Wait a minute! Is it possible that a couple who just started dating are meeting up at her house… could this be that kind of situation?)

“Oh, Andou-kun?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Actually, my parents will be home tomorrow…”

(It’s happening… it’s happening!!)

“They’ll be there?”

“Huh?”

(Wait… this isn’t going in that direction.)

“So, um… if it’s possible, I’d like you to meet my dad tomorrow…”

“Wha–!?”

And then, I was… thrown from heaven into hell.