Chapter 39: Studying for a test with my childhood friend

Studying for a test with my childhood friend

The final chime of the school day rings, and classmates begin to prepare to go home.

I remained seated at my desk, absentmindedly gazing out the window. I had been working a part-time job yesterday, so I was feeling sleepy all day today.

A slight vibration in my pants pocket caught my attention. Taking out my smartphone, I saw it was a short message from Aya.

“What are you doing after school? Do you have work again today?”

It has been a week since I proposed to Aya on the rooftop and we started dating.

Despite being a new couple, we hardly interact at school. We haven’t even kissed, hugged, held hands or spent lunchtime together.

It wouldn’t be wise to openly display affection right after she broke up with Tokita, as it could garner animosity. And I didn’t want Aya to be seen as someone frivolous.

Glancing over, I noticed Aya seemed to be texting while talking to her female friends. Girls are adept at multitasking, I thought.

I quickly replied to her message.

“I don’t have work this week due to the midterm exams. How about studying together after school?”

Aya glanced at her phone shortly after I sent my response. Her profile seemed to hold a faint smile.

“Sure! Where should we go? The library?”

Her reply came in just a few seconds.

The library, huh…

I looked out the window. The soccer club was starting practice on the schoolyard, but with midterms starting later this week, there were fewer members participating. Notably absent was Tokita, who should be the star player. Most students, including Tokita, were focused on studying in the library.

“The library might be crowded. How about a family restaurant?”

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“OK.”

“Shall we walk home together today?”

Last week, both of us were busy with part-time jobs after school. Aya was helping out at Ryuuji-san’s store, and I was occupied with my own job. So, walking home together hadn’t happened for a week.

No response.

I felt Aya’s gaze on the back of my head as she read my message.

Finally, a reply from her.

“OK.”

The short reply had a stamp attached to it. It was a stamp of a monkey dancing and saying “Woo-hoo!”

I almost burst out laughing. Aya rarely sent stamps in our messages, so this was quite unusual. I assumed her excitement about walking home together after a while had elevated her mood. I was feeling the same way.

Leaving the school building, I waited for Aya in front of the gate. Many students were heading home, as midterm exams were approaching. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

She approached among the crowd of students.

Upon seeing me, Aya’s lips curled into a small smile. However, her eyes quickly darted left, then right, and finally downward. Her cheeks turned bright red.

Indeed, it might be embarrassing to meet up openly in front of other students.

A few more steps and she finally lifted her head.

“Boyan, sorry for making you wait…”

Her lips formed a smile, yet her eyebrows knitted in a puzzled expression, forming a wrinkle on her forehead.

It was a funny expression, and I had to stifle a chuckle, knowing that my own face might be slightly red as well.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah…”

We exchanged awkward smiles and quickly left through the school gate.

From an outsider’s perspective, we probably looked like a naive couple. If they didn’t know about the event on the rooftop, they would find it hard to believe that we were capable of kissing, let alone the all-night sex during the school trip.

“Oh, by the way, when the tests are over, we’re going fishing!”

Walking beside me, Aya looked up at me. Her eyes were shining with excitement.

We had promised to go fishing together after the midterm exams. Aya had always been fond of fish. Perhaps it was because of her sushi-loving father. So, this would be her first time fishing, and she was looking forward to it.

She seemed so happy and excited that she didn’t care about the gazes of other students anymore.

“Aya, you’ve never been fishing before, right? Do you have the clothes and equipment?”

“My dad will get me lures and stuff… depending on my test scores.”

“Well, then, we better do our best.”

“You too, Boyan.”

Saying that, Aya playfully raised and lowered the tips of her fingers, mimicking the motion of a goldfish scooping game at a festival. While she wanted to go sea fishing, it might be better to get used to fishing first at a fishing hole or a fishing park. After all, I was a beginner too.

I somehow pictured us sitting on a breakwater, absentmindedly casting our fishing lines. Imagining such a scene made me feel content about the idea of growing old together like that.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at a family restaurant near the station.

Inside, it was packed with students from our school. It seemed like everyone had the same idea.

“Aya, my house—”

I started to speak but stopped myself.

Nobody would be home until evening today. If we were alone together in my room, I was confident that I wouldn’t be able to resist my urges. One round probably wouldn’t satisfy me, and we would end up in a situation where studying wasn’t an option.

“Want to come to my place?”

“Aya’s house?”

“Yeah, my mom’s home today…”

Aya’s cheeks turned pink as she looked down.

It seemed like she saw right through my thoughts.

- - -

“Welcome, Boyan!”

Aya’s mother’s cheerful voice echoed at the entrance.

“I’m here to study. I’ll be helping Aya out.”

“That’s a relief. Boyan, please help her with various things.”

“I’ll help him too.”

As Aya muttered with a pout, she took off her shoes.

I followed her inside and we headed upstairs together.

“I’ll bring some drinks later!”

With Aya’s mother’s voice at our back, we walked down the corridor and entered Aya’s room.

…

Aya’s room still had a sweet scent to it.

Wrapped in warm-colored furniture and carpets, various items were casually placed on the floor. It looked cluttered yet not messy—it was Aya’s room.

It was just like it had been three weeks ago, on the final day of our school trip when we embraced each other countless times.

Trouble.

The room’s door is still open, but the moment I close it, I feel like I’ll succumb again. To press her against this door…

“Boyan…”

Beside me, Aya looks up at me with flushed cheeks. Why is she looking at me with such a longing expression? Is she deliberately trying to shatter my restraint?

No, not now.

Her mother will be bringing drinks.

I take a slow deep breath and turn towards Aya.

“Aya, should we go downstairs to the living room? I don’t think I can focus on studying here…”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Aya responds awkwardly, and we both leave the room.

In the living room on the first floor, we start studying at a low table.

We sit on cushions placed on the carpet, facing each other across the table.

Aya’s mother moves around, preparing drinks, snacks, folding laundry, and getting dinner ready. The ambient sounds of her activity oddly help enhance concentration.

“Okay, it’s my turn next.”

“Ready when you are, Boyan.”

Instead of studying in silence, we’ve been exchanging questions based on the test material. It’s more engaging and fun, and it feels easier to remember.

I intend to capitalize on my exceptional memory regarding details related to Aya. That’s my strategy.

“Alright, done. Aya got four out of five questions right. I win.”

“Boyan, you cheater. I was going easy on you.”

“In an actual test, there’s no holding back, is there?”

“Ugh… Alright, now it’s my turn. I’ll challenge you with the most difficult questions.”

Behind me, I can hear Aya’s mother stifling a chuckle.

I can almost hear her saying, “Same as always.” She probably assumes we’re childhood friends with a close bond. At least, I doubt we appear to be a newly established couple.

Maybe this is how we’ll be, even if we get married. I hope so.

“Aya, despite being smart, you tend to make careless mistakes when you’re anxious.”

“I know that.”

“When indicating possibility, ‘may’ sounds less confident than ‘can’.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Despite her competitive nature, Aya readily takes advice from others. It’s one of her many strengths.

“And for ‘might,’ it’s the past tense of ‘may.’ But you use ‘might’ when you’re even less certain than with ‘may’.”

I’m just repeating the key points from the reference book.

“I see.”

“So, for example, what does ‘I might go fishing with you’ mean?”

I present her with another question.

She frowns a bit before speaking up.

“I can go fishing with you!”

“….Yeah, that’s right.”

There’s a heated look in Aya’s eyes as she gazes at me. It’s not the kind of look she’d give to a childhood friend—it’s a look she’d give to her lover.

When I almost instinctively reach out, her mother’s voice comes from behind me.

“I’m going out for some shopping. Boyan, are you staying for dinner?”

Dangerous.

I was about to forget her mother’s presence and make a move on Aya. It’s as if her mother, rather than sensing the atmosphere, just suddenly remembered something and called out.

“Oh, Boyan, feel free to stay for dinner.”

Aya’s expression returns to the familiar one she wears around me.

“Sorry, I have to help my sister with something tonight.”

Tomorrow, my sister has a relatively big makeup job and she had asked me to assist with the preparations.

“I see.”

Hearing the tinge of disappointment in Aya’s voice, I regret not declining to help my sister.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon~”

Aya’s mother hurriedly left the room.

In the suddenly quiet living room, only the sounds of our breathing can be heard.

“Boyan, I… I want to go fishing with you.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

She smiles gently.

I feel like hugging her as well.

Every time we’re alone like this, it’s the same.

I stand up, trying to shake off those thoughts.

“I’ll get us some drinks.”

“I can do it.”

“It’s okay, I’m closer to the kitchen.”

I head to the refrigerator with cups for both of us.

As I pour green tea in the kitchen, I look back at Aya in the living room.

She’s sitting cross-legged with her knees spread wide, in what they call ‘seiza’ style.

The setting sun streaming in through the window paints her blouse and cheeks in shades of crimson, giving her an enchanting aura. Though she might just be lost in thought, her expression is quite seductive.

“So defenseless.”

I murmur softly.

Since I’m the only one here, I understand that Aya can let her guard down like this.

Still, the idea of someone else seeing her like this stirs up possessiveness and jealousy within me. To feel jealousy toward an imaginary person, I must still be quite messed up.

“Aya, how about taking a little break?”

I return to the low table and put the cups down.

“Sure, Boyan, thanks.”

As I sit across from her, Aya stretches her arms overhead, letting out a soft “uhhnnn.”

Her exposed white upper arms captivate my gaze. Her stretch accentuates her ample bust beneath the blouse, almost as if it’s going to burst through.

“Haaa…”

I let out a sigh and cross my legs beneath the table.

Slowly extending one leg, I gently touch Aya’s slightly open thigh beneath the table.

“Hey, Boyan… that tickles…”

She shivers slightly, but she doesn’t close her legs.

I glide my foot along her leg, feeling the resilience of her thigh against my toe. The sensation is soft, and the touch is making the already heated area between my legs even harder. I can feel my heartbeat racing.

“Nh, ah… wait, this is the living room…”

It’s fine.

If she’s gone to the supermarket near the station, it’ll be at least thirty minutes before she’s back.

“Ah…”

Finally, my toes brush against Aya’s panties.