School Trip, Day 1, Night [Aisa Perspective]

“So, so, how was it? The date!”

“Um…”

Rikako presses Aiko with relentless enthusiasm.

Being in a hotel but with futons spread out in a Japanese-style room, it was the perfect setup for this kind of talk.

Yuuki and Mie were also listening intently to Aiko’s words.

But the report that came out of Aiko’s mouth was…

“We kissed.”

“Huh!?”

That was way more intense than expected!?

“What, what, did Takizawa-kun totally make the first move!?”

Rikako dives in with her question.

Yuuki’s face is flushed with curiosity, and even Mie seems more excited than usual.

“Um… I was the one who did it.”

“!?”

Everyone freezes in shock. Aiko continues without hesitation.

“I was talking to Aisa about it, right? She said if we were alone in a dimly lit place, the mood would just happen, so at karaoke…”

“Aisa!?”

Rikako practically lunges at me. I caught a glimpse of Yuuki twitching too.

I get what they want to say.

But I’ve got a lot I want to say too.

When Aiko first asked for advice, I was totally clueless, but afterward, I did some research and sent her what I found.

“Thanks, Aisa.”

“Uh, well…”

Still, Aiko’s questions were always so bold that I couldn’t really give proper answers… I kinda just threw out stuff I’d seen in manga or whatever on impulse…

“So that means Aisa’s also…!?”

“Is that true, Aisa-chan!?”

Now Yuuki crawls out from her futon and closes in on me.

“Ughhh… I haven’t! I haven’t done anything like that!”

“Oh, really?”

This time, it’s Aiko who looks surprised.

I get that she’s shocked I haven’t made any progress despite giving her advice, but my heart’s taking damage by the second…

“W-Well, tomorrow’s your turn, right, Aisa?”

“If you don’t make any moves here, maybe I’ve got a shot…?”

“Wha!?”

Aiko tries to comfort me while Yuuki eggs me on.

My face is burning, and I’m totally overwhelmed.

Amid all this, Rikako suddenly turns serious and says,

“Hey, about tomorrow…”

“?”

Seeing Rikako’s expression, everyone stops joking and listens.

“Do you think I could get some alone time with Hayato?”

Her face is dead serious.

For some reason, my heart skips a beat at that.

Rikako’s expression overflows with earnest longing.

“That’s totally fine, but the question is how to make it happen, right?”

Aiko says.

She’s right. Since Aiko and Takizawa-kun are already dating, it worked out because they already had each other’s consent before everyone else’s agreement.

“Maybe we could subtly split up and leave the two of them alone…?”

“Even then… hmm…”

Aiko’s racking her brain. Even if couples peel off one by one, with five girls, it’s bound to get tricky somewhere…

“How about after Aisa’s group splits off, we figure out a way to make it work? I think we can pull it off.”

“Please!”

“Leave it to us!”

“Is that really okay?”

If Aiko says it’ll be fine, it probably will be…

“Focus on your own thing, Aisa, alright?”

“Ugh…”

“If there’s no progress tomorrow, maybe I’ll…”

“No way!”

We kept bickering back and forth, but before I knew it, everyone had fallen asleep.

I must’ve drifted off too, thinking about how to approach Kouki tomorrow.