“I hate my life, I hate my life, I hate my life…” Amasa repeated over and over again as they began running the cafe as servers. Fukuna was wrong about two things for her. The first being this was no fun at all. The second was that boys from other classes didn’t care at all how she was dressed all skimpy. It really wasn’t enough to get their attention… Not that she cared about that or anything.
She was absolutely livid with this situation. Having to wear such an embarrassing outfit, dealing with somewhat rude customers who were overworking her, and worst of all, not being paid for this. There was no way she could even force a smile onto her face.
“Wow, there’s a lot of work to be done.” Tahiko yelled over the multiple voices calling for his attention. Most of the female students were interested in getting served by him. Which wasn’t all bad for her since that meant less work for Amasa. But why did they have to be so shallow with him? A part of the girl kind of wanted him to not be so popular. At least not for these reasons.
Fufufu, jealous?” Fukuna came in and asked her as the girl had been caught staring at the boy. “He’s really popular with the girls, isn’t he?”
“Why should I care?” She turned her head up in dismiss the silent accusation. “And don’t act all high and mighty. I know how you feel about him.”
“Heheh, at least you don’t doubt me anymore.” Fukuna didn’t deny that accusation at all. It was indeed true she was seeking the boy out as a potential romantic interest. Though for a girl like her, there were always plenty of boy looking her way. “And it’s totally not because he saved my life either.” She said to nip that point before it was mentioned. Not that it stopped Amasa from mentioning it.
“I’m not seeing why else you would decide otherwise.” She replied. “Unless his so-called good looks are enough for you.”
“It’s not that… Okay, that’s a part of it.” She couldn’t deny he was nice on the eyes. “But, I guess you could say I’m glad he’s from another world. He doesn’t bring along any of the baggage of trying to date around here.”
“But that is kind of the problem.” That girl should know as well as her that he was not of this world. Not only that, but this boy was also trying to find a way back home. Sure, he didn’t seem to actively try to be doing that. And when Tahiko became more serious, Amasa put an end to that. So in essence she was also a part of slowing him down. “One day, he’ll be gone for good.”
“But somehow that just makes it more romantic.” Fukuna responded rather positively to the idea. “My heart races when I think our time together is so limited.” She took a hand and placed it over her heart.
“And so far you haven’t made him aware of your feelings.”
“We’ve been so busy lately with preparing for this event, I haven’t found a good time.” She admitted. “But, I do plan on confessing to him if we get lucky with the forest.”
“What!?” Amasa wasn’t expecting that response. Now to be fair, her knowledge of romance usually involved a lot of delays from the romantic couple. Hearing someone say they were going to confess so soon was foreign to her.
“Apparently hearing I’m going to actually do something has gotten you a bit nervous.” She replied in a teasing manner. “What’s wrong? Thought you didn’t like him.”
“It’s not that.” She quickly replied, not wanting to be misunderstood. Or perhaps, maybe just didn’t want that girl to think that of her. “I’m just surprised at how quick you’re moving.”
“Well, I’ll only do it today if we can get partnered up for the forest.” She said. That already was a small chance as it were with the numerous other boys she could get paired with. So even Fukuna wasn’t expecting to do it so soon herself. “I just want it to be a special moment.”
“Sounds like a good way to make an excuse.” Amasa breathed a sigh of relief in hearing that. Unless the universe truly hated her, then the odds were in her favor. “Whatever, it’s not like I’m going to stop you if that does happen.”
“That’s good to hear.” She smiled at her in response. While it wasn’t a conversation so out of the ordinary, Amasa did find it strange. Why tell her? They still weren’t friends in her view, so why should that girl care about her feelings on the matter? Was she suspicious of Amasa’s feelings for Tahiko, because she’d deny that she liked that boy at all, even to herself. Then again, it could be because officially that was her brother. Perhaps an attempt at getting a blessing beforehand?
Anyway, it wasn’t important to her enough to bother as more students from other class streamed in. Most of them were annoying to her, and she couldn’t tell who was who with all these costumes. To fit with the holiday spirit, there were werewolves with convincing furry costumes, vampires where they painted their faces gray, and even some other creatures of the night. The only bright side was at least it wasn’t just a bunch of sexy version of something already existing.
Meanwhile, there was one person watching all of them without their knowledge. No, it wasn’t a demon. But rather, it was Chisa, peeking around the entrance. She was hesitant on entering, which did make her look a bit silly as more student walked in and out through said door. No one seemed to pay her any mind though, which was a bonus.
“Aw, why did I have to wear this today?” The reason for her holding back was from her outfit. Now of course, everyone was in costume. So it wasn’t weird of her to also be wearing something to fit the holiday. The problem she had was what specifically she was dressed as. That being a black french maid outfit. Her mom bought it for her because she thought her daughter would look adorable in it. And since the girl didn’t want to be stuck wearing only her school uniform, which would make her stick out like a sore thumb, she had no choice but to wear this.
Which was a problem because she didn’t want them to see her like this. Especially not Tahiko since she at least wanted to try and impress him. He looked pretty cool in that orc outfit there, and she thought her costume sucked for not really fitting the vibe of their scarefest.
Then, as she was peeking in the room, the boy turned his view towards the door. There, he caught a glimpse of her as she attempted to hide her head away.
“Ah, there you are.” He got excited and ran up to her in an instant. “I’ve been waiting this whole time for you to get here.”
“You were?” She barely had time to say much else before he took her by the arm and dragged the girl out into the room. It made her nearly forget about her apprehension just hearing those words.
Of course, they had agreed upon meeting each other here. He took the morning shift for his class, and she had gotten duties during the afternoon. So she was free to come by, which is what he requested from her. That was why she came to this class at this time in the first place.
“I really wanted to be able to serve you.” He said, seating her at a table. Then, right after saying that, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. It was that aura aiming right at him again that he could never quite pinpoint. Though unlike the times before, what Tahiko didn’t realize was this was now coming from the girls of his classroom. This kind of jealousy being a little different than the one the boys sent his way.
“It’s not that big of a deal.” She replied. The feeling of people glaring at them wasn’t lost on her either. Chisa already didn’t like being the center of attention. It was worse knowing that this kind of attention was rather negative towards her as well. “I’m not really a special person.”
“But, you are my friend. So of course I’d be a bit biased for you.” He held no qualms about being honest with her on that. Not to be mean to all the other girls who seemed to be showering him with praise, but he wasn’t particularly close to any of them. “Now don’t worry, I already got some special treats just for you.” Quickly, the boy rushed to where they held the tea and cakes to grab her some food to eat. The girl wasn’t even given the opportunity to choose what she wanted.
“Tsk, what’s so special about her?” Fakuna was among the many who were not fans of this sight. Amasa didn’t like it either, but she certainly didn’t feel as strongly about it as with everyone else. Knowing how these girls felt about him, she was concerned about what was to come with his life for today. It seemed the thing they should be most concerned about wasn’t demons at all.
