Chapter 59: Beautiful Girl, Doing Summer Homework and Having a Sleepover (Part 1)

"Hey, Ayumi-chan, can you pass me the eraser?"

I handed the eraser to Sakurako-chan, who was sitting right across from me.

To my left sat Moeka-chan, happily humming to herself. The five of us from the Cooking Club were gathered around a square table. Since there were only four sides, the smaller ones—Moeka-chan and I—ended up sharing one. Directly in front of me sat Sakurako-chan, with Ryoji on the left and Togo on the right.

Everyone had a math workbook open in front of them.

And the place where everyone had gathered? My room.

It used to be plain and empty, but now it’s decorated in warm tones of light pink and cream. Cute plushies were scattered around—some I’d bought myself, but quite a few were prizes Ryoji had won from crane games. He used to grab figures from shounen manga he hadn’t even read and pile them up in his room, but apparently, he just enjoys the act of winning them rather than keeping them.

Once, he gave me a plushie as a prize, and I got so happy that he switched from figures to plushies ever since. He brings them to me pretty often now. I think he finds the bigger ones more fun to win anyway. Though, when all your prizes come from arcades, the characters tend to repeat—it gets a little boring after a while.

So, why is everyone hanging out in my room right now?
It all started with one message from Ryoji on the group chat.

I was sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Man, I’m exhausted. Everyone came to my part-time job today... but it was kinda fun too.

As I was thinking that, my smartphone buzzed beside my pillow.

Could it be Aoi-kun? I reached for it, guessing it might be him. Ever since that day at the beach, he’s been texting me every night—well, almost every night. He’s surprisingly diligent. Since I’m usually free, I always reply, even if I type a little slowly.

Expecting another message from him, I turned on my screen.

A new notification popped up—Messenger. Huh? It’s from Ryoji. What’s up with him?

Ryoji: Ayumi, help me with my homework!

Homework? For a second, I blinked in confusion before remembering—oh, right, we had summer homework!

Wow, that was close. I’d completely forgotten after everything that happened this summer. Judging from this, Ryoji probably hasn’t touched his either.

Ayumi: If it’s something I can help with, sure. What subject?

Ryoji: Math.

That reply came instantly. Math, huh. I’m not exactly a genius, but I’m definitely better than Ryoji, who barely listens in class.

Ayumi: It’s due tomorrow, right? …Where do you wanna work on it? The library or something?
Ryoji: Can I come to your place?
Ayumi: My house? Sure, that’s fine.

That was unexpected. He used to come over all the time back in middle school, but lately, not so much.

Just as I was typing “Sure,” new messages started pouring in.

Moeka: I’m coming too~!
Sakurako: Me too!
Togo: Count me in!

And just like that, everyone jumped into the chat.

Where did they even come from…? Well, it is a group chat, so they could all see the messages. Still, that was fast. I couldn’t help but laugh as I stared at my screen.

Moeka: Is it really okay if we come?

Ah, at least she asked properly.

Ryoji coming alone wouldn’t be a big deal—he’s been over before. But four people total… that might be a different story.

Ayumi: I’ll check with my mom first.

Having four friends suddenly show up might not exactly get an instant yes.

…Or so I thought. But when I asked, she said it was totally fine—no hesitation at all.

Ayumi: Yep, it’s okay!

Everyone replied in excitement.

I couldn’t help but feel happy myself. I’d never had four friends over at once before. I started thinking about cleaning my room, making snacks, all sorts of preparations. Rolling around on my bed with my phone in hand, I realized how childish I was being.

Excited one moment, embarrassed the next—what was I even doing? Seriously, what am I doing alone in my room?

While I was lost in that little spiral, my phone buzzed again.

Moeka: Hey hey, can I stay over at your place, Ayumi-chan?

I practically jumped upright on my bed, sitting back on my knees in a panic.

S-stay over!? A girl staying at my house!? Wouldn’t that count as… improper relations or something—oh wait, I’m a girl too. So it’s fine, right?

A sleepover, huh… Fifteen years on this planet, and this would be my first one. Having friends stay over—it’s actually kind of exciting.

But then I stopped to think about the logistics.

My family’s just me—who barely has friends—and my younger brother Kaname, who’s always out playing with his own. Our house isn’t really equipped for guests. We don’t even have a spare futon for another girl to sleep on—that might be a problem.

For the record, Kaname’s not home until the day after tomorrow. He’s on a three-day seaside school trip.

Even if he were here, he’s polite with guests, so it wouldn’t be an issue. He wouldn’t cling to me or anything… probably. Still, it’s actually perfect timing that he’s gone—tomorrow and the next day are ideal for inviting everyone.

Ayumi: I don’t really have anywhere for people to sleep, though…
Moeka: That’s fine, I’ll sleep with you, Ayumi-chan!

Wait, no, no, no! This is a single bed! If we share, that means we’d have to… be really close!

Even if I’ve decided to live as a girl, I’m still a total beginner at this kind of thing—it’s way too much for me right now!

Sakurako: If Moeka’s staying over, then I wanna stay too.
Ayumi: Then there really won’t be any room left, will there…?
Sakurako: Then I’ll just sleep with you and Moeka on your bed, Ayumi-chan.

Three people on that bed? No matter how you look at it, that’s physically impossible.
And besides, it’s midsummer—right in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave. Sleeping that close together would be…

Ayumi: That’d get super hot, wouldn’t it? I don’t think we can all sleep together.
Sakurako: A sweaty Ayumi-chan…
Moeka: Wait! Hold it! Sakurako-chan! Go cool your head for a sec!

After Moeka-chan’s message appeared, Sakurako-chan’s status changed to “Away.”
Did she actually go to cool off for real?

Ryoji: Guess it’s just me and Togo who aren’t staying over, huh.
Ayumi: Y-yeah. Sorry about that.
Togo: Nah, it’s fine. I mean, think about it—guys staying over at a girl’s house? No way. Don’t worry about it.

So, in the end, it was decided that the two girls would be spending the night.

When I asked Mom about it, she said we had a few spare futons, so no one would have to sleep on the floor. But when I told the group that, Moeka-chan sent a message that sounded almost disappointed.

Moeka: Aww, but I wanted to sleep with Ayumi-chan…

Haha… I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly as I looked at my phone screen. It’s nice that we’re close, but there’s such a thing as too close, you know?

And just like that, it was officially decided: today would be our “finish our homework” gathering and a girls-only sleepover party.

The doorbell rang.

"Coming!"

I had just finished cleaning and was doing a final check of my room when the doorbell suddenly rang. Startled, I called out and hurried to the front door.

Outside stood four familiar figures.

Ryoji had gone to meet everyone at the station and guided them here.

When I opened the door, they greeted me all at once.

"Hi, Ayumi-chan!"

Each of them smiled brightly as they waved.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," I replied, smiling back.

I led them inside and down the hall toward my room.

The closer we got, the more nervous I started to feel. What would they think of my room? It was definitely on the girly side now… What if they thought it was weird?

I hesitated for just a moment in front of the door, but I didn’t want to seem suspicious. Taking a quiet breath, I opened it.

"Wow, so this is Ayumi-chan’s room! It’s so cute!"
"There are so many plushies!"
"E-excuse me for intruding…"

Moeka-chan and Sakurako-chan stepped inside, their eyes darting around curiously as they looked at everything.

Ryoji, on the other hand, moved with the confidence of someone who already knew his way around. He went straight to the table, set down his bag, and claimed a cushion like it was his usual seat.

Togo stood awkwardly near the entrance. Well, that made sense—most guys would feel a little uncomfortable stepping into a girl’s room. I could relate; when I first visited Moeka-chan or Sakurako-chan’s houses, I’d been pretty nervous myself.

"Come on, Togo-kun, have a seat," I said, gesturing toward the table.

"All right then, now that we’ve made it to Ayumi-chan’s room…"

Sakurako-chan placed her bag down, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

"Let’s start exploring Ayumi-chan’s room!"

"Huh?"

I froze, completely unprepared for that announcement.

Moeka-chan, however, was already on board. "Ooh!" she cheered, raising a fist enthusiastically.

W-wait, hold on! It’s not like there’s anything bad in here, but still! Back when I was a boy, I barely owned anything, so most of what’s here now is stuff I bought after becoming a girl. There shouldn’t be anything embarrassing… hopefully.

Still, the idea of them poking through my things felt kind of… invasive. But maybe this sort of “room inspection” was just what girls did when visiting each other’s houses? Either way, I doubted they’d find anything interesting.

Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan crouched down to peek under the bed. Meanwhile, Ryoji and Togo stayed seated at the table, clearly aware that charging around a girl’s room was not something they could get away with. They watched the girls’ antics with an amused sort of patience.

Sakurako and Moeka looked mildly disappointed when they found nothing under the bed. Then their gazes turned toward the dresser.

...The dresser? That’s where I keep my clothes—oh no.

My eyes darted toward Ryoji and Togo. This could get bad.

"Wait—nooooo!"

I lunged forward just as Sakurako-chan reached for the drawer handles.

"D-don’t! You can’t look in there!"

"Ooh, I smell treasure!" Sakurako-chan teased, her curiosity only sharpening at my reaction.

I shot a pleading look at Moeka-chan, silently screaming help me! Would she notice?

"What’s wrong, Ayumi-chan?"

Her wide-eyed expression was pure innocence. Great. Totally clueless. Guess she’s no Yoshino-san.

"A-anyway! Just—just don’t open that, okay?!"

"Why not?" Sakurako tilted her head.

Ugh… take a hint already! I guess “room inspection” mode had completely overridden her sense of reason.

"Because, um…"

I glanced quickly at Ryoji and Togo. Both of them were watching with puzzled looks, clearly not understanding what the big deal was.

"Because there’s… underwear in there…"

My voice trailed off as heat rushed to my face. I could practically feel my ears burning. Why did I have to say that out loud? In front of the boys, no less!

"Ah… sorry."

Sakurako-chan finally realized what she’d almost done and looked flustered. She clearly hadn’t meant to dig through someone’s underwear drawer in front of guys—she’d just gotten carried away. Moeka-chan also bowed her head quickly. "Sorry, Ayumi-chan!"

I sighed. I wished they’d realized that a little earlier.

By the time everyone finally settled around the table, I already felt completely drained. If things were this chaotic before the sleepover even started, what was it going to be like after the boys left?

About an hour later, things had finally calmed down.

To my surprise, everyone was quietly working on their homework now. Ryoji was getting help from Sakurako-chan and Moeka-chan, while I was mainly helping Togo.

Since the boys would be heading home before dinner, we were trying to finish as much as we could before then.

Watching the clock and everyone’s progress, I thought to myself that, all things considered, it was going pretty well.