It’s been three days since that incident with Okamoto and his goons trying to assault Maeda-senpai. Surprisingly, things haven’t been going well for them, not even Okamoto who has a famous politician as his daddy.

   For these few days, this incident had been making headlines on multiple news channel. Every time I turn on the news, I see Okamoto’s father Okamoto Goro being surrounded by reporters and being asked about his thoughts on his son being arrested. I even see some reporters from foreign country in the mix. Looks like they’re actually interested in the voice record I sent to them and they want some follow-ups.

   ‘My son is innocent! He’ll definitely be released!’ he insisted every time.

   ‘But sir, we received a voice recording from an anonymous source that your son plotted the assault against a fellow female student along with his two friends.’ one reporter claimed.

   ‘That so-called evidence is fake and shouldn’t be trusted! Whoever that sent it to all of you will be found and punished accordingly!’

   I’m so glad I had the foresight of making Hiroi-senpai delete the original. Okamoto senior is infamous for being ruthless and merciless towards those that stand in his way. He was charged multiple times for harming his political opponents, but he was never found guilty since the prosecution witnesses often conveniently disappear when the trial was about to start. Now that the work of the voice record was done, I’ve deleted it. It might or might not be too late, though.

   On day four, Hiroi-senpai and Maeda-senpai came back to the school to visit us. And they’re holding hands.

   ‘It just, happened I guess.’ Hiroi-senpai said after being pestered by Nagano and Nitta to tell them what had happened.

   ‘That’s not answering anything!’

   ‘Tell us more! Tell us more!’

   ‘Allow me.’ Maeda-senpai offered when her new boyfriend is all tongue-tied for being too nervous. ‘It’s not much of a story, though. After that incident, we’ve started meeting up more and more. A few dates later, I realized that he’s actually a really nice guy, and I was a huge idiot for turning him down before. So this time, I was the one who confessed to him. He said yes, so we started going out.’

   ‘Just like that?’ I asked Hiroi-senpai while raising my eyebrow.

   ‘Hey, what’s wrong with that? I still like her, and she somehow developed feelings for me. That’s all there is to it.’ he said.

   I shrugged. ‘As long as you’re happy.’

   ‘Are the two of you planning to go to the same university?’ Nagano asked them.

   ‘Totally. The only problem is, I’ve never taken any entrance exam since I didn’t plan to go to one. Now that it’s too late for me, we have to wait for another year before taking the entrance exam.’ Maeda-senpai answers. ‘Kotaro already passed his and should enroll into the place first, but he said that he wanted to enter the same semester as I am.’

   ‘There’s no point in going to the university without being in the same class as you, Maeda-san.’ he told her.

   ‘There you go again, being all formal! Didn’t I tell you to call me Satsuki?’

   ‘But, I’m not used to it.’ he complained.

   ‘Well do something about it! We’re not strangers or even friends, you know? We’re a couple!’

   ‘I-I’ll try…’

   Well it’s all happy ending. Okamoto and his goons will probably face jail time, Hiroi-senpai and Maeda-senpai actually started to go out.

   Fast forward to today. It’s White Day. According to tradition, boys who received chocolates from girls exactly one month ago are supposed to gift them back something three times the price of what they got. I couldn’t care less about the three times part, but I at least prepared something appropriate.

   I made lots of white macarons with dark chocolate ganache fillings. I added some white chocolate bits into the macaron mixture before they’re baked. As for the ganache, I added some orange zests and orange juice for some additional flavors. After I’m done, I packed them up with small and transparent plastic package bags for easier distribution. Since there are so many of them, I had to bring a recyclable bag just to carry them around.

   Most of the girls at my class turn their heads like markeets when I go inside the classroom. I raise up the recyclable bag up high for them to see. They immediately line up in front of me in anticipation.

   ‘Oh, it’s macarons!’

   ‘Thanks, Bandou-kun!’

   ‘Yeah, yeah. Just remember to savor them. Heaven knows why I still bothered even though majority of you had ulterior motives.’ I grumble.

   I hand Murata a bag with extra macarons in them.

   ‘Here, Murata. I gave you extra since you didn’t ask for anything in return.’ I tell her.

   ‘You didn’t have to at all. But since you went through all the trouble, thank you very much.’

   While we’re talking, Suzu has already eaten at least half of her shares.

   ‘These macarons are so yummy~! Thank you Takkun~!’ she tells me while looking absolutely blessed.

   ‘Are they that delicious? Hey, let me try some, Nao.’ Masato requests from Takeuchi.

   Takeuchi responds by holding the bag tightly.

   ‘No can do! If you wanted some, you should have given chocolates to Bandou-kun!’ she tells him.

   ‘What? No way! Giving chocolates to another guy is just weird! Besides, I only want one. Come on, don’t be stingy!’

   ‘Again, the answer is no!’

   Takeuchi notices that there are still some bags left inside the recyclable bag.

   ‘Did you receive chocolates from girls other than us?’ she asks me.

   ‘Sure did.’

   ‘Wow. Maybe there’s a honmei from all those chocolates you got.’

   ‘I highly doubt it.’

   On the first break, I go around the school so that I could hand the return gift to girls that gave me chocolate. I start with Nitta and Takaki since the two of them are in Class 1-3. The good news is, both of them are inside their class. The bad news is that both of them are surrounded by their classmates. Nitta especially are surrounded by a scary amount of students whom I assume are her fans. If I try to call them, I’ll definitely get glared at.

   Thankfully, Takaki notices me and excuses herself so that she can come out and talk to me.

   ‘Is there anything I can help you with, Bandou-kun?’ she asks me.

   I take out two bags of macarons from the recyclable bag and hand them over to her.

   ‘These are for you and Nitta for the chocolates the two of you gave me during Valentine’s Day.’ I tell her.

   ‘Oh my, you shouldn’t have. We didn’t get you chocolate so that we can get these in return.’

   ‘I know, but traditions are traditions. Please take them.’

   ‘Well, if you insist. Thank you very much.’

   I happen to make eye contact with Nitta right before I leave. She waves at me while smiling. I just nod at her and leave since I don’t want to upset her fans.

   Next, I head to Class 1-4 to look for Ogasawara. Thankfully, she’s inside her class too. Our eyes meet, and I beckon her to come out. I then hand her a bag of macarons.

   ‘It’s a return gift for last month.’ I simply say to her.

   ‘Thanks.’

   She stares at the macarons closely. ‘Pretty sure these worth more than three time of the chocolates I gave you.’

   ‘Who cares? Just take them.’

   And so she did. I was about to leave when I see Hamasaki and Tsutsumi sitting next to each other inside the classroom. I’m kind of curious as to how are Ogasawara faring while having to see that almost everyday, but I’m not that insensitive. However, she’s much sharper than she looks.

   ‘Our relationships are somewhat back to normal, in case you’re wondering.’ she tells me all of a sudden. ‘We still go to school together and do stuff together occasionally.’

   ‘You didn’t have to tell me that, you know.’

   ‘Well I wanted to tell someone. All my classmates are way too considerate and try to avoid the subject when I’m already fine.’

   ‘You definitely are. I still remember that you told us you’re not going to hang out with them anymore since it pains you.’

   ‘Guess I’m bad at keeping my words.’

   ‘No you’re not. You’re just moving on. Those are two different things.’

   She chuckles. ‘See? This is why I wanted to talk to someone about it. I needed someone to tell me that.’

   ‘Well, I still have some macarons to hand out, so I’ll be seeing you.’

   ‘Yeah. See ya.’

   Next is Nagano. Her classroom is just next door, so I could get this over with quickly. However, she’s not inside her classroom. Bummer. Oh, well. I can just go to Koikana later. I have to give my return gifts to Takeda and Aki-san anyway.

   Finally, I have one bag each for Iseri-senpai and Itoh-senpai. I don’t know which class Itoh-senpai is in, so I decide to visit Iseri-senpai first.

   We bump into each other as I was about to peek inside her classroom. Her friends step back and watch over us intensely as usual.

   ‘Hey, Bandou. Are you looking for someone inside my class?’ she asks me.

   ‘I was looking for you, actually.’ I tell her as I hand her another of the bag containing the macarons.

   ‘Oh, you made macarons? Can I try one right now?’

   ‘Of course.’

   She takes one out and puts it in her mouth. She swallows it after a few chews. She then starts to tremble and looking really frustrated.

   ‘Are you okay senpai?’ I ask her.

   ‘This tastes way better than the chocolate I made for you.’ she tells me.

   ‘Well, practice makes perfect?’

   ‘How long had you been making sweets?’

   ‘I think it was two years ago.’

   ‘So you had been practicing for two years?’

   ‘Um, I only practice for half a year since I wasn’t that interested in making sweets.’

   ‘And yet the stuff you made are this delicious?’

   ‘Like I said, senpai. Practice makes perfect. Just keep on practicing.’ I try to comfort her.

   ‘Yeah, I will. There’s no stopping me now.’

   ‘Now then, I’ll be excusing myself.’

   ‘Sure. See you.’

   All her friends groan loudly as they’re cheated of a rom-com scene once again. Not that we have any to provide with in the first place.

   Now then, I wonder which class Itoh-senpai is in. I was about to peek through the entrance of each class until I find the right one when I saw Shimada-senpai up ahead.

   ‘What are you doing here, Bandou-kun? This is the floor where the second years’ classrooms are.’ she asks me once she saw me.

   ‘I’m looking for Itoh-senpai. Do you know which class she’s in?’

   ‘I believe she’s in Class 2-3.’

   ‘Thank you, sensei. By the way, I made this for you.’

   She stares at the bag that I hand over to her.

   ‘Is this for that one small piece of chocolate I gave you?’ she asks me.

   ‘It is. Please enjoy.’

   She chuckles. ‘Maybe I should make you some chocolates for real next year.’

   ‘Do you have a habit of cooking, sensei?’

   ‘Nope. I prefer to eat out.’

   ‘Maybe I should book a doctor’s appointment one year in advance just in case.’

   ‘Hey, have some more faith in me, will you?’ she demands.

   ‘I’m sorry sensei, but I just can’t trust a complete amateur to cook something decent.’

   ‘My ma-I mean my mother is coming over next week from our hometown to teach me how to cook, so you have nothing to worry about, okay? Besides, I have one whole year!’

   ‘I’ve seen too many people messing up even though they’ve been practicing for years.’

   ‘Well not me! Just you watch!’

   I would love to continue our banter, but some of the students are looking on with curious stares. Therefore, all I did was thank her for the whereabouts of Itoh-senpai and go to 2-3.

   Contrary to Nitta and Takaki, Itoh-senpai isn’t surrounded by her classmates at all. On the contrary, they seem to be avoiding her. Itoh-senpai herself is sitting all alone at her desk and reading some sort of novel.

   I get the attention of a male student who was heading inside the classroom.

   ‘Excuse me. Can you please help me call Itoh-senpai?’ I ask him.

   He immediately gets very nervous.

   ‘Oh. Itoh-san, is it? S-sure. Just wait here.’

   ‘Um, you don’t really have to force yourself.’

   ‘It’s fine. I’ll, um, try my best.’

   The male student walks extremely nervously towards Itoh-senpai and gets her attention. When he succeeds, he gestures towards me. Itoh-senpai looks over my direction. I wave at her. She waves back, nods at the male student and gets up from her seat.

   ‘Do you have any business with me, Bandou-kun?’ she asks me once she’s outside.

   I hand her a bag of macarons. ‘Yes, I would like to give you this. You know, as a return gift for last month.’

   ‘Oh my. Thank you very much.’

   ‘Um, I should probably mind my own business, but are you being avoided by your classmates?’

   She smiles sadly at me. ‘I guess you could say that.’

   ‘I’m, well, I’m sorry to hear that.’

   ‘Don’t be. I brought this to myself, so I don’t deserve any pity.’

   ‘Um, what kind of book were you reading just now?’ I ask in an attempt to change the awkward subject.

   ‘A light novel written by Hiroto.’

   That caught me by surprise. ‘Oh. He told you about his job?’

   ‘Yes. I was very surprised when he told me that he writes light novels for a living. At first, I bought all the series he wrote just to support him. After reading a few of them, I find them quite an interesting read. I especially love his “My Elder Sister is a Villainess”.’

   Whatever happened to not telling her, Hiroto? You’re going to dig your own grave if she finds out that you based the elder sister in the series on her.

   ‘That’s good. That means he starts to trust you now.’

   ‘I suppose so, even though I absolutely don’t deserve it. That said, now that I’m kinder to him, even our parents are starting to treat him better. They actually allow him to join the rest of us for meals now.’

   ‘Good for him.’

   We didn’t talk that much since we’re not that close in the first place, and I’m still kind of guilty for slapping her. Furthermore, break time’s over, so I had to quickly rush back to my own classroom.

   There isn’t any consultation today, so I had plans to go work at Yamamoto Canteen this evening. Before that, I quickly head over to Koikana. Once there, I see Aki-san sweeping the floor with a broom.

   ‘Oh, hello there Bandou-kun. Are you here to see Ai-chan?’ she asks once she sees me.

   ‘It’s not just her. I wanted to see you and Takeda as well.’

   I hand her the last of the bags while leaving one for Miyako-san.

   ‘Thank you for these, Bandou-kun. We were so broke we haven’t been eating anything luxurious for a while now.’ she tells me.

   ‘Is the situation of the shrine that bad?’ I couldn’t help but ask.

   ‘I wouldn’t say that it’s bad, but we’re doing our best to cut cost.’

   ‘Didn’t you get some sales during the New Year?’

   ‘We did. And during Valentine’s Day too. Unfortunately, our sales only boosted for those two days. For every other days, we got next to nothing.’

   ‘Please tell me if you’re ever organizing a fund-raising event. I’ll do my best to help out.’ I tell her.

   She smiles at me. ‘Thank you. We’re planning for one in the near future. We’ll be counting on you when the time comes.’

   ‘Of course.’

   While we’re still talking, both Nagano and Takeda came back.

   ‘What are you doing here, Bandou-kun?’ Nagano asks me.

   ‘I’m here to give you girls the return gifts for Valentine’s Day.’

   ‘Return gifts? Awesome!’ Takeda says excitedly. ‘I knew it was worth it to give you some cheap chocolates!’

   ‘I didn’t have to know that, Takeda.’

   ‘Oh, these are macarons, right? I’ve never eaten one of these before.’ even Nagano looks excited.

   ‘Well, I’ll be leaving since I have to go to work. See you all next time.’

   ‘Take care on your way there.’ Aki-san tells me.

   When I got to Yamamoto Canteen, I hand the last of my bag of macarons to Miyako-san. And thus end my mission to hand return gifts to all the females who gave me chocolates last month.