[Short Story] Use it properly. | Three-Topic Story

Ryuya's birthday is coming up soon.
I'm going to give him a present on that day and confess my feelings.

I've been going to the same school as Ryuya since kindergarten all the way through high school. We're even in the same class now. As inseparable childhood friends, I find myself by his side before I even realize it.

I have always loved Ryuya. His silky hair, his rough hands, his low, resonant voice. When he pats my head, my heart is filled with happiness. I don't want to ruin the close relationship we have now, but I hate the idea of him being taken by another girl even more.

Recently, I heard a rumor that Minami from our class is targeting Ryuya. It's just a rumor, but there's no smoke without fire. Come to think of it, she did ask me the other day, "Does Ryuya have a girlfriend?" Maybe she's actually serious.

But I just can't accept having Ryuya taken away right in front of me. I don't even know if Ryuya knows about the rumor. But Minami is cute, so he might be swayed if she hits on him. I'd rather tell him how I feel than just cry myself to sleep.

That's why I'm definitely going to confess on Ryuya's 17th birthday. I'll give him the present on the way home and tell him then.

“Akari!”

It's Ryuya's voice. I turn around, making sure he doesn't suspect what I was thinking.

“What?”
“I can't walk home with you today.”
“What's wrong, do you have something to do?”
“Well, you see, Minami called me.”

My heart leaps. My body stiffens involuntarily.

“Oh, I see. I wonder what it's about.”
“I don't know. But it's going to be late, so you should go home first, Akari.”
“Okay.”

I watch Ryuya leave, pretending to be calm. In truth, I want to follow him. But I'm too scared to take even a single step.

I give up on following him and invite my friend Kaori to go to McDonald's instead.

“Do you think Minami is going to confess to Ryuya?”
“What are you talking about? Aren't you two dating?”
“No, we're just childhood friends.”

I try to drink my cola, pretending I'm fine. But I panic because I can't get the straw into my mouth.

Seeing this, Kaori looks exasperated.

“Akari, are you really okay with Ryuya being taken?”
“No, it's not like that.”
“Then why have you been so restless since earlier?”
“Eh, I'm just normal.”
“You're not normal. You don't even realize you're spilling your cola right now.”

I look at the cup and see cola leaking from the lid. I must have tilted it too much. I hurriedly reach for a tissue to wipe it up.

“If you're worried, let's go check. I'll go with you.”

Kaori eggs me on. But I can't find the courage. Just imagining Ryuya standing next to Minami makes me feel sick. If I saw that, I don't think I could stay there. I'm scared.

"You're actually in love with Ryuya, aren't you? It's so obvious, I can tell."

Kaori saw right through me. I resigned myself to telling her the truth.

"Tomorrow is his birthday. Ryuya's. So, I was thinking of giving him a present and confessing."
"Is that so? In that case, shouldn't you tell him sooner?"
"Maybe, but if he's with Minami, I can't say it."
"You don't know that for sure. Honestly, today would be better, but if you're going to tell him tomorrow, I'll support you."
"Thank you."

Kaori's support is encouraging. Whatever the outcome, it seems the time has come for me to settle things once and for all.

The next day, Ryuya's birthday.

"Akari, let's go home together today."

Ryuya called out to me nonchalantly, unaware of my feelings. I wonder what happened with Minami. I'm curious, but for now, I walk alongside Ryuya.

"You know, my eyes have been hurting lately. Is it called eye strain? What should I do?"

Ryuya talks about such trivial things. Honestly, I'm not in the headspace for that. I'm thinking about when to take out the present I hid in my bag, so my mind is elsewhere.

"Hey, are you listening?"

Ryuya leaned in to look at my face. That was when I decided to muster up my courage.

"Hey."
"What?"
"Today is your birthday, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks."
"This."

I took the present out of my bag and handed it to him without looking at his face.

"Awesome."

Ryuya seemed genuinely happy. He started unwrapping it right away.

"You know, I'm happiest when I get something from you, Akari."

—Wait, what did he say?

"A towel, huh. I'm a sweaty guy, after all."

Ryuya keeps walking as if nothing happened.
I savored the words Ryuya had just said.

━━I'm happiest receiving it from Akari.

Huh, but I wonder if nothing happened with Minami. I'm curious.

"Come to think of it, what was that about you saying Minami called you out yesterday?"

Maybe I didn't need to ask now, but it slipped out before I realized it.

"Oh, that. She asked me to do homework with her, so I went to the library."
"Is that so?"
"We did our homework together."
"Hmm."
"She asked me this and that, but what was it again? I can't remember."
"Oh, really?"

"What's with that? You're not interested in hearing about it?"

I was teased by Ryuya.

"That's not true. And then?"
"But that girl is strange."
"What is?"
"The homework we were supposed to have done together, she said she forgot it today."
"Didn't she just forget to bring it?"
"No, it looked like she had her notebook."
"What do you mean?"
"She lied about forgetting to bring her homework."

"I wonder why."
"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't finished well enough?"

I ponder Minami's strange behavior. But no matter how much I think about it, I can't come up with a reason why she didn't turn in her homework. Was she so preoccupied with Ryuya that she didn't do it properly?

"Hey, about the gift."
"What about it?"
"Please use it properly."

That was all I could manage to say. Saying something like "Please go out with me" was too high a hurdle.

"Yeah, I'll treasure it. Since it's a towel Akari gave me."

Ryuya smiled. That smile was brighter than the setting sun.

I participated in Yasu-san's three-topic story challenge for the first time in a while.
The topics were difficult and I was at my wit's end, but I managed to shape it into something.

Yasu-san, who writes about writing theory every week for the three-topic story challenge, is amazing.