Ponytail and Protein Bars 1
The midterms had ended.
“Ah, it’s finally over.”
Sōma was basking in a sense of relief as he was quickly on his way home.
Regardless of how he had performed, the mere fact that the tests were over lightened his heart.
Students who had left the school at the same time all had faces bright with relief as if a weight had been lifted.
He didn’t know their names or grades, but he felt like saying ‘Good job!’ to each other.
“Maybe I’ll head straight home today.”
He thought about hanging out with Shōhei and the others for a moment, but he decided to go straight home.
During the test period, he had completely refrained from baking, and now he wanted to indulge to his heart’s content.
What should I bake today?
Usually, there’s a strong sense of practicing or studying, but he just wants to bake without thinking about anything today.
“Cookies? Cake? Hmm, Cream puffs wouldn’t be bad either.”
While pondering over the options, he walked along the familiar route home from school. He was so excited about baking for the first time in a week that he wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings.
That’s why when Chika suddenly popped out from a side street, he was so startled it felt like his heart would leap out of his mouth.
“Sōma-san!”
“Whoa!!”
“I did it! It was worth lying in wait for you!”
As Sōma dramatically reacted, she jumped up and down in triumph.
“You’re becoming more and more mischievous, you know.”
“Is that so? Maybe you’re right. I just can’t help wanting to do these things to you, Sōma-san.”
Even a glare couldn’t wipe the innocent smile off her face, which made it all the more irritating.
“So, what is it? You want me to join you in something you want to do?”
“That’s correct! You could go by yourself for that.”
“Karaoke? You could go by yourself for that.”
His mouth turned into a deep frown as he was absolutely not in the mood for karaoke.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never been to karaoke before?”
“Of course, I have. But, you see, I want to try ‘that’.”
“‘That’?”
“Ordering from the food menu using the intercom and shaking maracas or a tambourine to add to the fun.”
“I get the food menu part, but maracas?”
If Miki had been there, he could easily imagine she wouldn’t have let Chika do something like ordering from the food menu.
However, maracas are just for shaking, so she could simply just do it on her own.
“When I go to karaoke with Miki-chan and the others, they really get into shaking maracas and such when I sing. But when I’m not singing, they’re busy feeding me snacks or helping me choose the next song, so I never get the chance to hold the maracas or tambourine. That’s why I want to shake them with all my might while someone else is singing!”
“That’s lame. That’s the lamest ‘thing I want to do’ ever.”
“That’s mean! Aren’t you supposed to help me with what I want to do?”
Chika puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Of course he has no intention of breaking his promise. He wants to support her in whatever she wants to do, no matter how trivial it may seem.
But this is, admittedly, a bit too trivial.
“If it’s now, even Saito would let you do that much.”
Saito has also recently begun to show understanding for Chika’s desire to be independent. That’s why she didn’t interfere at all with the recent midterm exams.
“Miki-chan has student council work today. She needs to sort out the paperwork backlog.”
“Then, how about your other friends?”
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“It seems like everyone else already has other plans. The only one of my friends who’s free today is you, Sōma-san.”
“Hey, don’t make me sound like a loner. I have friends to hang out with too, you know.”
He just prioritized making sweets today.
“I’m sorry, but let’s do it tomorrow. I’ve decided to make sweets today.”
He tries to leave quickly after turning down the karaoke invitation, but Chika grabs the hem of his blazer.
“Let’s go today. I really feel like shaking maracas.”
“I really feel like making sweets.”
“Muu.”
Chika puffed up her cheeks as if she never dreamed she’d be turned down, but he didn’t care.
‘Alright, let’s make cream puffs today. The kind filled with plenty of rich custard cream.’
He shakes off her hand, and within three steps, he has pushed the thought of Chika out of his mind.
But before he can take a fourth step, she grabs the back of his blazer’s collar, forcing him back to reality.
“Wait, please!”
“Ouch! It hurts when you pull from behind, so stop it!”
Turning around in anger, Sōma is confronted with Chika thrusting her smartphone at him.
“Do you know? The karaoke box in front of the station has improved their tiramisu.”
“Ah, really?”
He forget his anger the moment he sees the photo of the tiramisu.
“Look, it says here.”
On the karaoke box’s homepage, there’s a text that reads, 『The tiramisu has been powerfully upgraded with mascarpone cheese air-flown from Italy and plenty of home-roasted coffee!!』
“Also, this place is famous for its honey toast, a karaoke’s favorite. I’ve had it before, and it was really delicious. Don’t you want to try it, Sōma-san?”
“I do. Let’s go.”
Sōma nods eagerly like a child to Chika’s question.
The tiramisu that’s being heavily advertised and the honey toast that Chika highly recommends.
There are two intriguing sweets. How could he not want to go?
Even though he knows he’s being led by Chika’s strategy, his feet are already heading towards the karaoke box.
As he starts walking with a light step, Chika says with a heartfelt voice that was filled with realization.
“Sōma-san, you really are easy to persuade… You shouldn’t follow strange people so easily in the future, okay?”
“I can’t say anything back because I was lured by the tiramisu and honey toast, but it just doesn’t sit right with me when you’re the one who says it, Chika.”
It’s hard to take such a warning seriously from her, who is usually so childish.
However, Chika looks like an older sister and happily lectures him all the way to the karaoke box for some reason.
“Look, there are many bad and strange people in the world. Ultimately, the only person who can protect you is yourself. You need to observe carefully, think wisely, and always act with caution to stay safe. There would be many people who would be sad if something were to happen to you, Sōma-san. For their sake, as well as your own, please make sure to protect yourself.”
Although what was being said made perfect sense, he was gradually getting irritated.
“…Maybe we should just cancel the karaoke.”
“What!? You can’t say that now! No way-no way! I’ll do anything you say, so let’s go to karaoke together, please!”
“You too, be careful not to get caught by any bad guys.”
Chika clung to his arm with teary eyes, so he gently flicked her forehead.
She’s always up to some silly prank, teasing with a gleeful look—this is typical of her—acting all high and mighty with her lectures, and then suddenly she has the face of a crying child.
He felt it was more troublesome than usual, but he quickly understood why.
She was on a high spirit after finishing her exams.