Chapter 11
The next morning
Mao: (Sigh... I didn’t sleep at all last night.)
(How am I supposed to face Makoto when I see him? No, not just Makoto—Subaru and Hokuto, too.)
(I wonder if he’s talked to them at all since then. It’s a possibility, so they might be just as mad as Makoto is.)
(It’s my fault though; I can’t exactly blame them for it.)
(But I’m great at apologizing. I’ll just prepare myself for the worst and meet them head-on.)
Mao: Hey guys~ ♪
Ahaha, it’s always weirdly nerve-racking to come hang in here since I’m not in your class, even if I come over here every time.
Well, it’s probably different for you guys since you are in the same class.
Subaru: Oh, finally! You’re late, Sally! By five minutes!
Hokuto: Don’t lie to him. We just got here early. Isara’s right on time.
Subaru: Wait, seriously? Crap, I got the time wrong again!
Hokuto: That doesn’t matter this time. It’s a problem when you’re late, but it’s actually nice when you’re early.
Makoto: Ngh... Yeah, but the other people might have to get things ready for you, so arriving too early can be a problem too.
Mao: (Uh, huh? Everyone’s acting so normal, it feels a little anti-climactic.)
(Didn’t Makoto tell everyone? I wanna ask, but it’d be really awkward to bring it up now...)
Hokuto: Well then. Now that we’re all here, I’d like to start sharing our ideas.
Hokuto: I’ll go first. ...Hehe, look at this. I made maracas out of empty bottles ♪
Subaru: Oh, it makes a fun shaky-shaky noise when you wave it around! Shaky-shakity-shake... ☆
Hokuto: Yes. There are pebbles inside them; I found them on the beach.
I remember all the fun I had making these with my grandma in elementary school...
So I’m sure the audience would love shaking them around with us during the live.
Makoto: You really love your grandma, Hidaka-kun.
Um, hmm. There’s a lot of feelings there, but that might actually be a little too handmade.
Subaru: Hold up! If you guys don’t want it, lemme have it! Daikichi’s gonna love this!
Hokuto: It’s not that I don’t want it, but if it’ll make Daikichi happy, he can have it.
Subaru: Sweet! Thanks, Hokke! I’ll give it to him when I get home!
Uhh, then I’ll go next? So like, how about these picture frames made out of sea glass!
Since we’re selling bromides, I bet there’s a bunch of customers who’d want the picture frames to go with, right?
Mao: Yeah, it’s a summery item, too. It’s a pretty smart move to sell a frame that holds the bromide.
I think it’s great, so I’m in. What about you guys?
Hokuto: I agree with Isara. It’s a good idea, coming from Akehoshi.
Subaru: You could’ve stopped before the “coming from me” bit. But whatever! I’m just happy I got picked!
Hokuto: We don’t have much time, so I’ll keep going. Isara, Yuuki, which one of you wants to go next?
Mao: Sure, I can go. I’ve got this brooch made out of sea glass.
But when I looked it up, it seems like it’s hard to mass produce... I’ll see if I can make more when I have the time.
Makoto: Umm, that just leaves me. This is a silkscreen-printed handkerchief.
I thought of it when I put the hanky I used to wipe that ramune off my face into the wash.
Oh, Hidaka-kun. Thanks for letting me borrow it.
Hokuto: Hm, you even ironed it. Thanks for cleaning it before giving it back.
We’ll be doing silkscreen printing with the T-shirts too, right?
If so, we can make them both at the same time, so I think we should do it.
Mao: All right then, guess we’re going with the sea glass frames and handkerchiefs.
We’ll have to go buy the tools for the printing, along with the hankies and T-shirts. And we’ll need a design, of course.
Subaru: Sure thing! I wanna go shopping~!
Mao: Wanna tag along then? We’ll have a lot to carry, so it’s better the two of us go than just one.
Subaru: Yep, let’s go together! It’s no fun being on your own—two people’s much less lonely!
Hokuto: Then Akehoshi and Isara will go shopping, and Yuuki and I will come up with designs.
Fufu, just you wait—we’ll come up with a design that really feels like us.