When I reunited with my arrogant childhood friend, she had become a talented and beautiful girl – Even though she has probably forgotten about me and I don’t want to be toyed with, for some reason she keeps getting involved with me!?

Morning

The morning of the Student Council Vice President, Kazuki Sato, starts early.

The alarm he set for 6 a.m. rings. Today is the day for morning bag checks at the school gate.

I have to get up… I have to get up…

… Why do I have to go to school early in the morning and do bag checks?

Normally, this is something the Disciplinary Committee should be doing, right? Ah, I’m sleepy. I’m seriously tired because I was playing games with Futaba until 3 a.m. I didn’t get enough sleep…

Ah, I can’t anymore. My eyelids are heavy…

“Senpai, please wake up. It’s morning.”

The morning call from the saint-like girl stopped me from going back to sleep.

In my blurry vision, I saw Hiyo, bathed in the soft light from the window.

She bent over and shook my body.

“… 5… 10 more minutes…”

“No, that’s not acceptable. We’re already barely on time, so please get up quickly. Today’s breakfast is your favorite rolled omelette.”

“… I’ll go wash my face.”

I got up sluggishly and washed my face in the washroom.

My consciousness seemed to wake up a little…

“Okay, breakfast is ready.”

“… Somehow, you seem pretty fired up today, Hiyo.”

“Really? Well, you’re my partner today.”

I see, so it’s like she has to hold it together because I’m unreliable.

“You’re definitely misunderstanding something by that face…”

Hiyo said this with a resigned expression and sat at the dining table.

Today’s breakfast is grilled salmon, miso soup, rolled omelette, and natto.

I started getting woken up in the morning and having breakfast made for me ever since I joined the student council… no, ever since I gave her the spare key…

When I gave her the spare key, Hiyo was full of motivation, saying, “I will come to wake you up every morning.” And I jokingly replied, “Well then, I’ll count on you for breakfast too.”

I had no idea she would actually do both…

“…What? Why are you staring at my face? Is there something on it?”

“No, just… it’s becoming normal to have you here by my side every morning.”

At that, Hiyo’s eyes widened for some reason.

“…Then, please never let go of this ‘normal’, okay?”

Hiyo said this with a faint smile.

Lunch Break

“Huh? Ik-kun? What’s up?”

When I came to the student council room to do some work while eating lunch, Aoi-san was there.

It wouldn’t have been strange if she was here before, but now Akane is the student council president, and Aoi-san is the acting president. I didn’t think there was a reason for her to be here during lunch break.

“Why are you here, Aoi-san? It’s lunch break now.”

“…………”

Huh? Is she ignoring me?

“…Why are you here, A-chan? It’s lunch break though.”

When I said that, she smiled pleasantly and began to talk, “Well, you see…”

“I was preparing for Akane-chan’s handover.”

…Isn’t this something she doesn’t have to do during lunch break?

“I struggled a lot when I was handing over too, so it’s better to start early with these things. Didn’t you feel the same, Ik-kun?”

“…My time? Let’s see…”

I try to recall my junior high school days, but I don’t remember struggling much.

“Aha… Your face says it wasn’t a big deal. Sit next to me.”

Aoi-san moved a little, patted the empty space on the sofa, and urged me to sit down.

I sat next to her, ate my lunch, and started working.

“…Are you sleeping properly, Ik-kun?”

Just as I finished one task, Aoi-san stared at my face.

“Today… I only slept for about 3 hours.”

“Again, you were playing games with Futaba-chan until late? You need to sleep properly or you’ll ruin your health.”

“No… We did play games, but… We stayed up late because we watched anime in real time and had a discussion about it.”

“Heh, is that fun?”

“It’s incredibly fun. Well, it might be because Futaba is the one I’m doing it with.”

“Hmm…”

Aoi-san looked slightly unhappy as she reached out her right hand and touched my cheek. Then she smirked devilishly.

“That’s it. I just had a good idea.”

No, that face is definitely up to no good.

“Why don’t you take a nap now? Here.”

As I thought, it was an outrageous suggestion.

“…Um, are you sure you should be suggesting something so irresponsible?”

“I’m not the student council president anymore.”

But that suggestion was exactly what I wanted. If I continued like this, there was a chance I might fall asleep during class.

I’m the vice president of the Ao-ringed Gakuen student council. I can’t afford to set such a bad example for the other students.

…Well, Futaba from the same student council was fast asleep from the first period though.

“…Then, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Hmm?”

Why is Aoi-san patting her lap?

I want to sleep, so I wish she’d move away quickly.

“If you don’t hurry, lunch break will be over, you know?”

“Um…I can’t believe it, but…”

“I’ll give you a lap pillow. Like I used to do.”

“Well then, thank you very much.”

I took off my indoor shoes, laid my head on the knee of Aoi-san, who was grinning, and lay down on the sofa.

“Wha-!? Hey!? Wai-!?”

I would usually decline, but… I’m sleep-deprived. I’ll accept anything for the sake of sleep.

Besides, I’ve heard that sleeping with a lap pillow makes your sleep deeper, so it can’t be helped. (Thoughts abandoned)

“…Somehow, A-chan’s lap feels nostalgic and calming.”

“Eh!? Ah, ah, is, is that so!? Ahahaha…!!”

I closed my eyes as I watched Aoi-san, who was flustered.

Click, click, click.

I heard the sound of a shutter. That sound awakened my consciousness.

“…Ah.”

When I opened my eyes, Aoi-san was sneakily taking pictures of my sleeping face with her phone, looking like a child who had been caught in mischief.

“…I thought about waking you up with the shutter sound.”

“No, that’s clearly unreasonable.”

Really, what’s fun about taking a picture of someone’s sleeping face?

Well, knowing her, she probably intends to use it for teasing. Looking at the time, there are 5 minutes left until class starts. I need to head to the classroom soon.

“Could you keep that photo a secret?”

I don’t mind having my sleeping face photographed, but I definitely resist showing it to others.

“Eh? Oh, it’s okay! I’m not planning to show it to anyone. This picture is… it’s only for me.”

Aoi-san said that while clutching her phone.

“Oh, can I use this picture as my phone’s wallpaper?”

“Please absolutely do not.”