Chapter 19: The Beautiful Girl Shows Off Her Lunch

After everything that happened, I was really glad we’d found a good club.

Well… technically it was more of a hobby club, and only the five of us were in it, but I still thought it was great.

After deciding on our club, we headed back to the classroom.

"Hey, hey, Sakura-san, which club did you join?"

"Yeah, which one?"

"Where’d you end up joining?"

My classmates immediately crowded around, asking one question after another.

"Uh… the Cooking Club… or, well, Cooking Hobby Club."

"I kinda wanna join too!"

"Me too!"

"Too bad we can’t join multiple clubs!"

…Does everyone really like cooking that much? That seems pretty rare for high schoolers.

"Sakura-san in an apron… huff huff"

"Her homemade cooking… we could eat it…!"

"I want her to lick the finger she cut with a knife…"

No, no, no! That’s all kinds of wrong!

And for the record—I hate blood! So I’m not licking any fingers! Also, having someone else lick theirs—how is that not gross!? No way!

"Fufufu, too bad, everyone! The Cooking Club is already full due to overwhelming popularity—applications are closed!"

"What!? What did you say!?"

Yoshikawa-kun grinned smugly as he announced it to the crowd.

W-wait, what!? That’s news to me! Does that mean we just got lucky!?

"Hey, Yoshikawa! We’re friends, right?"

"Let us in, man!"

Ah, those were the guys who always hung out with Yoshikawa-kun.

"Friendship, my friends, can be cruel at times."

"Dammit! What’s with that smug face!"

"Where did we go wrong, Yoshikawa… was it the committee… dammit!"

As always, that group’s energy was something else.

"But really, we got lucky. I didn’t think the club would fill up that fast."

"Eh… y-yeah, I guess so. Maybe you’re right…"

For some reason, Sakurako-chan wouldn’t meet my eyes. She looked distant, as if she were mentally calculating prime numbers.

"Sakurako-chan?"

"A-Ayumi-chan, please don’t look at me with those sparkling eyes…"

"Ayumi," said Ryoji flatly, "to be honest, the ‘no new members’ thing was a lie."

A lie!? What’s the point of lying about that!?

Now that I thought about it—if the Cooking Club were really that popular, it wouldn’t have gone down to zero members just because five seniors quit. I should’ve realized that earlier!

"Why lie about it, then? If someone wants to join, just let them."

"If we did that, probably half the class would join…"

"No way. There’s no way that many people are that into cooking."

I laughed at the absurdity of that.

"Sakura-san, everyone’s not into cooking—they just want to be with you."

If my classmates really liked being around me that much, that was… kind of nice.

After all, back in middle school, I was basically ‘the person who always slept on their desk.’

…But wait.

Let’s think about this logically. Even if I’ve become a girl, my personality hasn’t changed—I’m still passive as ever.

It’s not like I’ve done anything to stand out, and it’s only the third day of school.

So the logical conclusion is… yeah, this is another lie! No way I’m falling for it twice!

"That’s another lie, isn’t it? I might be easy to fool, but I won’t fall for it twice!"

"Wait! Wait! Ayumi-chan! I swear this time it’s the truth!"

"Really? Everyone actually wants to be with me?"

Hard to believe, honestly. They tease me all the time anyway.

"I’m serious, Sakura-san! It’s as true as how honey on cucumbers tastes like melon!"

Wha—what kind of logic is that!?

Also, that doesn’t taste like melon at all—it’s just gross! Yeah, definitely a lie!

"Ugh, Yoshikawa-kun, be quiet! You’re confusing Ayumi-chan! This time it’s really true, okay?"

Sakurako-chan looked straight into my eyes as she said that.

Whoa—she’s way too close! That’s nerve-wracking!

Sakurako-chan was so pretty that when she looked at me like that, I couldn’t even speak properly.

But unlike before, she was really meeting my eyes, so maybe this time… it was true?

Which meant everyone really did want to be with me…?

"Wah, that’s kinda embarrassing. Ehehe, I’m really happy."

Before I knew it, I was smiling from ear to ear.

"!!!"

The classroom erupted in a wave of noise.

Uh oh. Not only did I smile—I said it out loud!

I hurriedly covered my mouth.

"M-Moeka… I can’t anymore… there’s no way such a cute creature exists in this world… who even cares about gender anymore…"

"T-this is incredible! Ayumi-chan just broke the record for this term’s highest cuteness output! I can’t even stand up anymore!"

"I’d die for Sakura-san! No, actually, I might be dying right now!"

My classmates were collapsing left and right.

What on earth just happened!?

"H-hey, everyone! Are you okay!?"

"Ayumi, you really should understand how cute you are."

C-cute…?

Ryoji, you know I used to be a guy! Don’t say stuff like that!

Sure, if I were actually a girl, I guess being called cute would be nice—but still!

Anyway, putting aside the whole ‘face’ thing, I guess it couldn’t be helped if my classmates just ended up following us into the Cooking Club.

They probably all had other clubs they actually wanted to join, though.

And while it was nice that they wanted to hang out with me—it was better to say this clearly.

"I’m really happy everyone wants to be friends, but I’d like people who actually want to cook to join the Cooking Club. I mean, just hanging out is fun too, but since it’s a club, I think everyone should go for the activities they really want to do—like sports or whatever."

When I said that, my classmates nodded.

"If Sakura-san says so, guess we have no choice!"

"Then cheer for us during competitions, okay?"

"And let us taste your cooking sometimes!"

Looks like everything wrapped up nicely.

Mission complete! I did my best!

Once the class finally settled down, I returned to my seat.

After everything that happened, I was starting to get hungry.

Since there was supposed to be a welcome event for new students in the afternoon, I needed to eat my lunch now while I still had time.

…Although, the fact that the student council was hosting it made me a little uneasy.

Well, maybe the student council is still normal—it’s probably just the president who’s, uh, like that. Right? Hopefully.

I took the wrapped lunch box out of my bag and set it on my desk.

Fufufu… I made this lunch myself! Mom trained me hard, and in the time between the entrance ceremony and now, I’d gotten pretty decent at cooking. Sure, my cutting’s still uneven and all that, but it tastes pretty good.

All my skill and effort were packed into today’s lunch! Probably.

Although… it would be more satisfying if someone else were around to eat it with me.

"Hey, Ayumi-chan, don’t go eating by yourself!"

Moeka-chan dragged her desk over and connected it to mine.

"Yeah, let’s all eat together!"

Sakurako-chan came over carrying two chairs, setting them down beside me.

Whoa… this feels like real, proper friendship.

There was a bit of clattering as Ryoji and Yoshikawa-kun showed up too, lugging over their desks and chairs.

"Hey, Ayumi, mind if we join in too?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Tagawa, I’m really glad I became friends with you."

Yoshikawa-kun said that while shaking Ryoji’s hand. I wasn’t really sure why, but those two got along suspiciously well.

Once everyone had taken their seats, I opened the lid of my lunch box.

Today’s menu was fried chicken, rolled omelet, sautéed spinach with bacon, and potato salad. The rice was shaped into small barrel onigiri wrapped in nori.

"Whoa, Ayumi-chan, you made all that yourself? If you were my daughter, I can totally see your mom going all-out every morning!"

"That’s amazing. My mom just stuffs my lunch with frozen food, honestly."

"Uh, actually… I made it myself."

When I said that hesitantly, both of them froze, eyes wide.

"R-really!? Ayumi-chan, you can cook!?"

"Ugh! You’re always so fluffy and spacey, yet somehow your feminine skills are off the charts!?"

"I’m not spacey!"

I turned my face away from Moeka-chan. "Fluffy" makes me sound like some airheaded ditz!

"Still, that’s really impressive. You made all this yourself, right? What time do you even wake up in the morning?"

Yoshikawa-kun glanced between my lunch and me with genuine curiosity.

"I got up at five today."

"F-five!? I’m still dead asleep at that hour! How do you even get up that early, Ayumi-chan?"

"Well, I wouldn’t have to if it were just the lunch, but I make breakfast too. That’s my job in the morning."

"Hold up, wait a sec! We’re both girls, right!? How is there such a huge difference between us!?"

Strictly speaking, we weren’t exactly the same gender… but I let that slide.

"Minase looks like the kind of girl who’d be good at making sweets, though. At least, judging by her face," Ryoji said from the side.

Wow, "judging by her face"? Rude!

Though… it’s true that Moeka-chan has that cute, friendly vibe that totally fits the image of someone who’d bake cookies or make cupcakes.

"I get that a lot. ‘You’d be cute if you just stayed quiet.’ But they also call me a runaway locomotive once I start talking, haha!"

Moeka-chan laughed cheerfully.

Hmm… I don’t think she’s that bad. Maybe a mildly energetic locomotive at most.

"Sakura-san, that omelet looks so perfect—it seriously looks delicious," Yoshikawa-kun said, peeking at my lunch box.

Meanwhile, he was pulling a yakisoba bun out of a convenience store bag.

"Yoshikawa-kun, you just have convenience store bread?"

"Yeah, both my parents work full-time, so they don’t have the energy to make lunch in the mornings. It can’t be helped."

Ah, both parents working, huh.

My mom’s a full-time homemaker, so she has the time for stuff like this. But when both parents have jobs and still do housework… yeah, making lunch every morning sounds tough.

"I see. In that case, want some of my omelet?"

"What!? Seriously!? You mean it!?"

"Y-yeah."

As the conversation suddenly shifted toward me, I was taken aback.

Does he really like tamagoyaki that much? Also, why did he suddenly switch to polite speech?

I was about to tell him, “Go ahead and take one,” but then I realized—someone who bought bread from a convenience store wouldn’t have been given chopsticks. Still, having him reach directly into my lunchbox felt… weird.

"Hm. Then I’ll pick one up for you—go ahead and eat."

I took a piece of tamagoyaki with my chopsticks. All that was left was to get it safely into his mouth and mission complete.

"O-ohhh! This is like a dream come true!"

Yoshikawa opened his mouth wide, looking like a baby bird waiting to be fed. It was kind of funny.

But for some reason, he wasn’t leaning forward.

"Oh, are you worried that I used these chopsticks? I haven’t used them yet, so it’s fine."

"N-no! If anything, I was kinda hoping you had! A-anyway, here I go—thank you!"

I carefully popped the piece into Yoshikawa’s mouth.

"Wooooah, that’s amazing! This is the peak of my life right here!"

He looked so genuinely happy that I couldn’t help smiling too. Hearing someone say “It’s delicious” really does make it all worth it for the person who cooked.

"Hey, Ayumu! You’re spoiling him! You’ve never done something like that for me!"

Ryoji, come on. You already have someone making your lunches—show some gratitude and just eat. And besides, friendship isn’t some kind of customer service job.

When I glanced back at Yoshikawa, he was gone. His friends had somehow lifted him up and were carrying him out of the classroom.

"Ayumi-chan! I don’t think that kind of unfairness is very healthy!"

Moeka leaned forward until her face was inches from mine.

"You like tamagoyaki too, Moeka-chan? You can take one if you want."

"Ahhh! That’s not the point! It’s not about taking one—it’s about you feeding me, Ayumi-chan!"

"No, no, Moeka. Ayumi-chan definitely doesn’t realize what she’s doing," Sakurako said with a sigh.

I had no idea what they were talking about, but if they didn’t want any, I was perfectly happy to eat it myself. Getting the tamagoyaki to turn out this nicely didn’t happen often, so I was pretty proud of it today.

"Well then, time to dig in."

"Hey, Ayumu. Doesn’t that make it an indirect kiss with Yoshikawa?"

"…Thanks for the meal."

"Wait, wait! Ayumi-chan, you haven’t eaten anything yet! You’ll get hungry if you stop there!"

Yeah, but still…

An indirect kiss, huh. I hadn’t thought about that. Technically, the chopsticks never touched Yoshikawa’s mouth, so even if I used them now, it wouldn’t really count.

But once the thought entered my head, I couldn’t shake it. Curse you, Ryoji… you and your unnecessary comments.

"Here, take my disposable chopsticks. I got them with the side dish I bought at the convenience store."

I accepted the chopsticks from Ryoji. He, on the other hand, was using the proper ones that came with his lunchbox.

It’s not like I think Yoshikawa is gross or anything—just that the image of an indirect kiss with a guy was a bit too much for me to handle. I guess that’s one line I still can’t cross.

…How long will that feeling last, I wonder?

It’s been two weeks since I became a girl. It’s not a long time, but I can tell I’ve started to get used to it, bit by bit.

What kind of person will I become from here on out?

As those thoughts drifted through my head, I took a piece of fried chicken with Ryoji’s chopsticks and popped it into my mouth.

Yeah. It turned out really good. And that made me a little happy again.