Chapter 43: Brand-New Power - part 2

Late June.

The temperature is starting to rise, and it’s getting to that hot time of year.

The sky is clear, but the blazing sun is more annoying than pleasant.

When I glance over at Michelle, who’s sitting at the edge of the classroom... she’s squinting up at the sun like she’s glaring at it.

"The summer vacation’s starting tomorrow, but don’t go too wild, alright? Also, make sure you’re not late for the departure time on the summer trip!"

A tall teacher wearing glasses calls out in front of the whiteboard.

The students grab the bags hanging from the sides of their desks and start filing out of the classroom.

Summer vacation starts tomorrow.

It’ll last through July and August.

A total of two months off.

During the break, there’s an event called the summer trip—a school trip with the teachers and all the students in our grade.

This year’s destination is Miami, Florida.

And when you think Miami, you think “Miami Beach”… in other words, the ocean.

A fitting place for summer.

Students have a fair bit of freedom in choosing their group members for the trip, so it'll be me, Ned, Michelle, and Gwen.

Gwen still hasn’t come back to school, but… she said she’d be back by the time the summer trip starts.

…Hope she’s feeling better.

Ned had been learning how to push a wheelchair and everything, and I was genuinely impressed.

It seems like his own way of making sure she’s not inconvenienced.

I followed his lead and studied up on how to help too.

Though... when it comes to stuff like the bathroom or bath, I’ll probably have to leave that to Michelle.

When I mentioned that, she gave a firm thumbs-up.

She seems pretty motivated.

They’re all really good friends.

I found myself thinking—I’m lucky to have the friends I do.

Anyway, setting that aside for now.

"Peter… help me out, man…"

The one saying that with a pitiful expression in front of my desk is—

"Ned…"

Ned Leeds, in the flesh.

"Let’s do the summer homework together, yeah? Please?"

Summer break comes with homework.

But it's not that much.

If I put in the effort, I could finish it in a day.

Ned, on the other hand, says it'll take him about three days.

That’s probably just the difference in our academic abilities.

Well, Ned’s kind of... lower-middle of our grade.

"...I'm not letting you copy mine, alright?"

"I-I know that…!"

Yeah, no way he actually knows that.

As I sighed at my friend’s clearly sneaky intentions, I suddenly noticed Michelle wasn’t at her seat.

…Huh? Did she head out already?

"Ned, do you know where Michelle went?"

"Huh? If you're looking for Michelle—"

"Behind you."

A voice suddenly comes from behind, and I turn around.

I bump into something with a thump... and realize it’s Michelle, making me nearly fall out of my chair.

"Wh—whoa! S-sorry…"

"Hmm…? Did you do something you need to apologize for?"

When she looks at me with those straightforward eyes… I can't exactly say anything back.

While I give a sheepish smile, Michelle walks around to the side of my seat.

…It’s one thing to let Ned stand around, but I feel kinda bad having Michelle stand too.

As I start to stand up, thinking that, Michelle glances at me and tilts her head.

"What’s up, Peter?"

"Ah, no… I just felt bad being the only one sitting."

"You don’t have to worry about that."

Saying that, Michelle grabs two chairs from a nearby empty desk and brings them over to mine.

Ned thanks her and takes a seat, and Michelle sits down beside him.

Which means… there’s no point in me staying standing either.

…Not that I planned to have a long conversation anyway.

"So… um."

I was caught off guard and distracted, so I forgot what we were even talking about.

Then Michelle pokes me in the side.

"Peter, summer homework."

"Oh, right."

Why does Michelle seem to know more about this than the person actually involved?

"So Peter, c’mon—let’s work on the homework together tomorrow at the library, yeah?"

Oblivious to my confusion, Ned pleads with me again.

"Can’t. I’ve got work tomorrow…"

"Huh? You’ve got a job?"

"…Wait, Peter. You’re working at the Daily Bugle again?"

Michelle asks.

"Sort of. But this is something different."

The Daily Bugle’s still half-destroyed.

They’re operating out of a prefab shack and still publishing papers somehow.

Luckily, the computers survived, and they’re using them after pulling them out of the crumbling building.

…By the way, Jameson’s PC didn’t make it.

I saw Shocker blast it myself.

Well, anyway.

Tomorrow’s job has nothing to do with the Bugle.

"I’m doing pizza deliveries right now."

When I said that, Ned gave me a suspicious look.

"Whoa whoa, Peter? You juggling two jobs or something? Are you strapped for cash?"

"Hmm, if you want… I could lend you some?"

Michelle took out her wallet.

"Ah, no, it’s fine… There’s just something I want to buy."

"I see."

Michelle returned the wallet to her bag.

…Borrowing money from the girl I like… that’s just way too pathetic.

Come to think of it—

…the reason I’m saving up money right now is to get a present for Michelle in the first place.
Buying her a gift with borrowed money… there’s no way I could do that.

I recall something Mr. Stark told me the other day—his advice on “how to win over a cute girl.”

According to him:
"Gifts are the best way to a girl’s heart. Think that sounds materialistic? Then you don’t understand a thing. A present that a guy’s wracked his brain over, trying to pick out just for her—of course the girl can tell how much thought went into it. Feelings matter, naturally. But if you’re asking which shows more feeling, handmade or store-bought, that totally depends on the girl, so it’s not reliable. Now, if you can guess exactly what she wanted and give it to her—sure, that’s a passing grade. But the real gold star? It’s something she didn’t know she wanted, but once she gets it, she thinks ‘wow, I did want this.’ That’s the best kind of gift. That’s why I always go with accessories. As long as your taste matches, there’s no problem. Don’t know her taste? Then do your research. …Well, in Pepper’s case I just give her my credit card and tell her to buy whatever she wants. But that’s beside the point. Just be careful about cheap stuff, alright? I’m not saying price equals value, but the amount you spend is often the clearest way to make a girl think ‘he cares this much about me!’ You get it, right? So basically—"

…Too long.
Way too long.

To sum it up: “Buy a good gift to win her over.”

My goal is to buy an accessory during the summer trip to Miami and give it to her.

…Miami’s a resort city, so there are plenty of places for that kind of thing.

That’s why I’ve been working so hard at my part-time job—to earn money ahead of time.

Setting that aside for now—

"So, how about the day after tomorrow… at the library when it opens at 10?"

I made the suggestion.

I want to get everything done as early as possible… and ideally be finished by the evening.

"Got it."

"Mm, okay."

…Huh?

"Michelle, you’re coming too?"

"…What?"

I only asked because I didn’t think she would come—but the way Michelle reacted, it was like she heard me say she couldn’t come… and her expression looked completely crushed.

I-it’s just that, Michelle… she’s better at studying than me…

I honestly never expected her to show up for something like this.

…If Gwen were here, she’d probably elbow me in the ribs right now.

Not the time to be thinking about that!

"A-ah, sorry, Michelle! No, really, you’re totally welcome to come!"

"…Okay."

Seeing Michelle smile and say she’s looking forward to it… I found myself wondering:
Are study sessions really that fun?

And so, the day of the so-called “Let’s Finish Our Summer Homework” session.

Since we live in neighboring rooms, we naturally met up in front of our doors as usual.

It was summer break, so we were heading out later than usual. I had time to take a shower before leaving my room.

Just as I was locking my door, I heard the sound of the one next door opening.

"Ah, Michelle? Good mor──"

I froze in place.

…A black and white checkered… skirt.

Michelle was wearing a skirt.

…She usually only wears pants or shorts, so—

Her long, slender legs were incredibly thin and graceful.

The black knee-high socks were the same ones she wore with her shorts… yet somehow, they looked completely different to me.

Sure, when we went to the sweets festival she wore a skirt too, but that was a long skirt dress…
This feels a little rude to say, but seeing Michelle in such a… girlish outfit was really surprising—

"Good morning, Peter."

Her voice snapped me back to reality, and I immediately shifted my gaze back to her.

Mr. Stark always says, “Don’t stare at a woman’s legs or chest! She notices way more than you think.”

…W-was I obvious?

Thinking it’d be bad to avoid eye contact too obviously, I looked into Michelle’s eyes—
Her cobalt blue gaze met mine directly.

…No sign of suspicion, no look of discomfort.

“Y-you’re wearing a skirt today. That’s… rare, huh?”

I carefully spoke up to Michelle, making sure not to sound suspicious or awkward.

“Yeah. I don’t wear skirts that often.”

“R-right, I thought so.”

“Mm. But this one’s special.”

She pinched the hem of the skirt and gave it a light flutter.

D-don’t look, don’t let your eyes wander…
…Mr. Stark, this is seriously hard.

“This is… an outfit Gwen picked out for me.”

“…I see. That so.”

Michelle spoke with a soft, happy expression, like she was holding something dear, and I nodded along.

Then she glanced at the watch on my wrist—the StarkTech smart watch Mr. Stark gave me—and spoke.

“…We should get going. It’d be unfair to keep Ned waiting.”

“Ah, yeah. You’re right.”

Even though I felt a little guilty, I couldn’t quite bring myself to think of Ned as “poor guy.”

Just imagining him left behind with teary eyes… nah, that’s not happening.

I followed behind Michelle and started walking.

The study session—well, the “Let’s Finish Our Summer Homework” session—wrapped up sooner than expected.

In order of who finished first: me, then Michelle, and then Ned.

Michelle was a little behind me since she took time now and then to help Ned with his work.

Once I finished, I stuck by Ned, while Michelle focused on completing her own assignments.

And so, by just before 3:00 PM, the three of us left the library.

Since we were already out, we dropped by a café we often visit together.

Michelle sipped her cream soda with a loud slurp.

…A bright red, syrup-soaked cherry floated lazily on top of the cola.
She was treating it with such care—maybe saving it for last?

Michelle always eats sweets like they’re the most delicious thing in the world.

…To the point that the rest of us sometimes get heartburn just watching her.

Wait—
Now that I think about it—

“Hey, Michelle, do you have a part-time job or anything?”

“Mmm… gulp… yeah?”

She swallowed her ice cream and gave a nod.

She eats all those sweets, but… where does the money come from?
Just a passing thought.
She never talks about her family, and asking directly feels a little too intrusive.

“What kind of job is it?”

“Oh yeah, I’m curious too.”

Ned chimed in, echoing the question.

Then Michelle, the one being asked—

For just a moment, her entire expression seemed to fall away.
Like a light had gone out in her face.
Then, almost as if nothing happened, she smiled again.

I blinked, unsure I’d seen it right, and looked to Ned—
…But he didn’t seem to notice.

Did I imagine it?
But it felt… too clear to be a mistake.

While I was still stuck on that, Michelle quietly replied.

“Cleaning up garbage… I guess.”

“Cleaning?”

…Now that she mentions it, Michelle had said something before about “doing cleaning” or something like that.
So that was her part-time job, huh?

“Yeah. Cleaning. A job where I go around the city picking up trash and making it cleaner.”

““Huh…””

Ned and I both gave surprised reactions at the unexpected answer.

I mean… Michelle’s cute, so I kind of assumed she’d be doing something like waitressing or customer service.

Or maybe helping with bookkeeping since she’s smart…

…But no, I should drop it.

She doesn’t seem like she really wants to talk about it.

I forced the conversation in a different direction.

“Come to think of it, the summer trip is just two weeks away.”

"Yeah."

"Mm-hm."

The two of them nodded.

Then, Michelle's cheeks softened into a smile.

"I'm looking forward to Gwen coming back..."

"I see, I see. Makes sense. You two are pretty close, after all."

Ned nodded in agreement.

It was true—Michelle and Gwen were close.
Even though it hadn’t even been a full year since they met, they got along incredibly well.

...Though, come to think of it.

It’s clear Gwen sees Michelle as a friend, no doubt about that.
But there's also a part of her that dotes on Michelle like she's some kind of small animal.

Overprotective, even.

...I wonder if Gwen’s feeling lonely right about now too.
She probably is.

And then—

"I went swimsuit shopping with Gwen, too."

She dropped a bombshell.

"...Eh?"

I let out a weird noise without meaning to.

Right, the summer trip destination was Miami.
...Gwen had announced—loud and proud—that she wanted to hit the beach during our free time.

M-Michelle… in a swimsuit?

...No, bad idea!
I forcibly distracted myself to keep my brain from running wild.

"Heh, heh... So you bought a swimsuit, huh?"

"Yeah. …It’s kind of embarrassing, though."

Embarrassing!?

...I pinched my own shin as hard as I could.

Sure, it’s perfectly normal to want to see the girl you like in something cute.
But no! Keep that nose of yours in check.

I—I needed to calm down. Time to picture Rhino’s face.
...Okay. That did the trick. Killed the mood in one go. I'm calm now.

"Well, y'know... It depends on Gwen, right?"

And with that, Ned threw cold water on the conversation.

He had a point.

It all depended on how Gwen’s injury was healing.
I had no idea how she was doing now, but if her leg was still in bad shape, we’d have to go for something like a museum or shopping.
Otherwise she’d get left out, and that would just be sad.

"Yeah, you're right... I might’ve said something kind of thoughtless."

Michelle said that and hung her head, looking downcast.
It wasn’t so much that she was sad about possibly not being able to go to the beach—it was more like she was ashamed she hadn’t considered Gwen’s condition more carefully.

Not wanting to see her like that, I spoke up.

"But it's okay to look forward to it. I’m sure Gwen... would want to go if she's feeling better."

"Yeah, yeah. It’s not something Michelle needs to beat herself up over."

"...Yeah."

Michelle gave a small nod, and I glanced over at Ned.
He looked relieved, too.

"...I want to see Gwen again, soon."

As she said that, Michelle picked up the cherry from her cream soda and ate it.
It was soaked in syrup, so sweet it barely tasted like cherry anymore—and she ate it like it was something precious.