Once the class was over, Sotoka and I stayed in the classroom deciding what to do next.

“Do you think we should go with Sapphire?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she is trying to trick us or something like that? She is quite suspicious.”

“Yeah…”

So at the end, it was just the same as always. Sotoka and I in an empty classroom after the class was over. I went back and sat down on my desk, ready to continue my daily reading routine.

I took out the book from my back and started aimlessly searching the bookmark inside of it. When I found it, I readied myself to start reading through my novel. But that was the moment when Sotoka started talking.

“You know, Eriko? I think that joining Sapphire wouldn't be a bad idea…”

“Why do you think that?”

I asked her without paying much attention. I mean, is it really necessary to change the peace of our daily life? What's wrong with doing nothing at all? Is it really that bad just spending our afternoons in an empty classroom? When I was wondering about those things for myself, Sotoka continued talking.

“I mean, it's not that I don't like being here with you, it's just…”

“It 's just…?”

I looked at Sotoka’s eyes. She clearly wanted to say something but she wasn't sure if she was allowed to say it.

“Is it against the rules? On the other hand, if we join a club,  we could be together as long as we wanted to, and use the club as an excuse.”

“Mhmm…”

She is right. If we haven't got into any problems it is just by mere luck, but staying late in the classroom for no reason is clearly against the school’s rules. On the other hand, if we were part of some random club, we wouldn have any problem staying at school until it's already late.

“What do you think, Eriko?”

“I don't know… I really appreciate the time we spend together in this room. Are you sure about that?”

“I'm not sure at all. But it wouldn't hurt to try something different, right?”

“That's so like you, always trying new things. Hahaha~”

We continued chit chatting for a while, without caring for time or anything else. Finally, Sotoka asked the question that we were avoiding for so long.

“Well, shall we go with Sapphire, then? Fufu~”

“Yeah, let's do that. Haha~”

We grabbed our bags and prepared to leave the room when suddenly an unexpected guest came rushing into the classroom.

“Oi, you two! Are you coming or what?”

It was Kasumi. She had been running around looking for our classroom since we were nowhere to be found. She looked really annoyed. Her face was red, her breathing was heavy and there was a lot of sweat on her clothes and face for the long marathon she'd been through.

“Yeah, we were ready to go. You shouldn't worry that much. Haha~”

“You are such a worrier, Kasumi. You should relax a little bit more. Fufu~”

“That's right, Sotoka. She should relax a little. Haha~

We laughed away the fact that we were asking ourselves if we should go with them in the first place. We laughed away our peaceful days in an empty classroom.