Almost everyone I have ever met had told me that they hated Mondays.

It was mostly the same for me, but today was different.

I was happy to greet Monday today because of the shipwreck of a weekend I had.

Haaah... this school year has been really busy for me so far.

Shizu is eating lunch with some other girls today since they invited her, which is pretty cool to see her make some new friends.

As her childhood friend, I feel very proud of her to be able to make new connections.

I'm like a proud father... Yeah, nevermind. That sounds really weird.

"Haruto~ I have a surprise for you today!"

As per usual, Sakura was hanging out with me during our lunch break.

It's not because I don't have any other friends, I promise.

"What's the surprise?"

"Here here! Come look!"

Sakura brought out a large bento box out of her backpack and handed it to me. "Ta-da! I made you an extra super special bento box for lunch today!"

"Wow, you didn't have to go this far for me. I'm really grateful though."

"It's okay, I wanted to make this for you to show my gratitude," Sakura beautifully smiled. "You've saved me so many times that I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"That's something I should be saying to you."

I truly wouldn't be where I was right now if it weren't for Sakura, so being extremely grateful is an understatement.

She's been there for me at my lowest points in life, so it could easily be said that she saved my life.

"May I taste it then?"

"Mhm! Please go ahead," Sakura cheerfully nodded.

I opened the bento and immediately felt blessed at the sight that was in front of me.

Egg rolls, teriyaki chicken, white rice, and sauteed vegetables.

There was an entire feast in front of my very eyes.

This was not to the level that a high school girl could do.

What a monster this girl is...

"Here I go," I said as I scooped an equal portion of everything and shoved it into my mouth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sakura nervously glancing at me.

After I thoroughly chewed and swallowed the food, I turned towards Sakura and gave her my honest opinion. "The food was splendid, please marry me!"

"E-Eh?!"

Sakura backed away from me with a large blush on her face. "W-What are you t-talking about?"

Ah, she looks like she's about to blow up.

"Sorry, I was just joking about the marriage part. I really liked the food though."

"Mou... you're such a bully," Sakura pouted. "I'm happy to hear you liked the food though, my efforts didn't go to waste."

Sakura smiled at me with the most radiant smile I've ever seen in my entire 16 years of living.

It was breathtaking, to say the least.

I had trouble breathing when such a beautiful girl aimed such a bright smile at me.

It made me feel special inside.

"It was really good, I hope I get to taste it again soon."

"Mhm! I'll make sure to improve next time so you enjoy it even more!"

Eh? It was really good already! How can you improve on perfection?!

As I thought that, my phone buzzed with a new notification.

—

[Shizu]: This new anime movie is coming out soon! Let's go watch ASAP~

[Me]: Which one?

[Shizu]: The one with the mysterious dude that goes into the highschool of the elite.

[Me]: Oh, okay. That's cool with me.

[Shizu]: I'll pay this time since you paid for our food last weekend~

[Me]: Thank you so much, my benevolent childhood friend.

[Shizu]: Is that sarcasm?!

[Me]: Idk, is it?

[Shizu]: ...

—

Looking over my little conversation with Shizu, I let out a light chuckle.

It was just so fun interacting with her because of her nostalgic reactions.

It was just like this several years ago, minus the part about cell phones since we weren't old enough.

What a riot that girl is.

"Hey hey, Haruto? Why are you looking at your phone with such a lazy smile on your face? Who are you texting? Is it anyone dangerous? I'll take care of them for you, y'know? I'll always protect you so you can always rely on me," Sakura rambled.

Ah, so we reached the yandere level of Sakura today...

Let me explain what I mean by "yandere level."

Sakura has many levels to her that can be changed on a whim or by an action through an external force.

Some levels include: motherly side, rebellious side, sadistic side, and many others.

Of course, one of those levels ended up being the "yandere level" that we had accidentally reached today.

Looks like I'm screwed now.

"Ah, it was just Shizu. Don't worry," I tried to appease Sakura.

"Shizuku...? What were you talking about with her?"

"W-We were planning on seeing a movie together..." I nervously said.

"Just you two alone?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah..."

Sakura's face hardened as I answered her question truthfully.

"What a strong opponent... I need to try even harder!" Sakura whispered to herself.

"What do you need to try harder for?"

"Don't worry about it, just watch me!"

Sakura stood up from her sitting position and pumped her fists. "I won't be the childhood friend that loses!"

Eh? I feel like I'm missing something.

Were Sakura and Shizu having a competition behind my back?

That makes me kinda lonely that they didn't include me.

Hey hey, I want to be included too?

"Can I join the competition?"

"No!"

Looks like I was rejected.

How unfortunate.