My Childhood Friend Attacked Me When I Declared That Her Birthday Present Was 'Me' - Chapter 18

Clumsy Lies

“Sawa-chan! Is it true that you’re dating Yashiro-kun?”

“Yes, it’s true! We even went as far as exchanging marriage greetings, you know?”

” ” ” Kyaaaaa ーーーーーーーー♪ ” ” “

Ugh, you’re so loud. Can’t you let me rest during class?

But I won’t lift my head for sure. I won’t even join that annoying group of girls with their shrill voices.

It’s like a zebra jumping into a pack of lions. In internet terms, it’s like becoming a prime target, an easy prey, like a celebrity in the midst of a Twitter apology tweet.

I won’t do that, yes. I don’t want to make such a foolish mistake.

Oh, by the way… I glimpsed at it, but aren’t there some people who aren’t in our class? Is information slowly leaking out from our class?

“So which one of you guys proposed? “

It’s become a proposal, huh? It’s finally happening.

Not really a proposal, okay?

Not even dating, actually… it’s just self-proclaimed… gosh…

“Instead of calling it a proposal… um, Kota-kun said he’d be… my birthday present…”

Bang-! Kota slammed the desk forcefully and moved to Kaori’s seat…

“Uh, what… Kota-kun?”

I grabbed her hand and quickly ran out of the classroom.

We huddled together, hidden, and started talking.

I didn’t care about the eyes of the class anymore.

“Kota-kun, didn’t you want to avoid standing out?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to stand out. If possible.”

“Then why did you suddenly bang the desk and pull me? Everyone around was bewildered.”

“What do I care about that?”

“Why are you a little angry?”

“I’m angry at your words!”

“My words?”

“At first, I ignored it, but it’s not a proposal, right?”

“It is a proposal! The moat is already filled!”

“Some are still trying to crawl out of that moat, so it’s not a proposal yet. Also…”

“Also?”

“Don’t say I’m your birthday present!'”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why? Because… if that gets known, it will be a shame for generations to come!”

“I also have a chance to be included in those future generations because it’s still remaining in my belly!”

“Well, something in this belly of mine still has a chance to be a part of that future generations !”

“And that too!”

“Huh? Which one?”

“Not which one. That one. What you just said. Don’t go around saying we did it raw or anything like that! If you do, our marriage contract will be immediately revoked…”

“Though that’s impossible. Our parents already approved it.”

“… Well… even so, don’t say it! Keep this embarrassing fact hidden even from the rest of the class.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Even if it’s not embarrassing for you, it’s embarrassing for me…”

“Hmm~, if you say so… okay.”

“Ah, yeah. Thank you.”

“I get it. Instead of using words like ‘we did it’, we should create our own story, right? A fictional one?”

“Huh?”

“Got it! I’ll do my best!”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute.”

“Oh, everyone! Sorry, sorry! I have an important conversation with Kouta-kun, you know?”

She quickly left and she returned to her seat.

Did she get my point?

With a worried expression, Kouta slowly made his way back to his original spot.

“So, what was it again? What were we talking about?”

“Umm… you’re pretending to forget… We were talking about what kind of proposal it was!”

“Oh, right. That’s right. Um… first, Kota-kun came to me wearing a suit.”

“Huh?”

(Huh?)

“And then he handed me a bouquet with the number of roses matching my age.”

“Yeah, yeah! And then?”

” ‘Wow~ thank you!’, I said. I mentioned that I love roses, and Kouta-kun… knew. Then he said, ‘Did you know there’s a single purple rose among those roses?’ “

“Wow, then?!”

“Yes! There is. The purple rose is beautiful… I was about to say that, and then… from within the flower, a sparkling ring popped out, shining brightly.”

“What?!”

(What?)

“When I was taken aback… Kouta-kun, who had one foot down kneeling, said to me… ‘Marry me.'”

” ” ” ” ” ” Kyaaaaa ーーーーーーーー♪ ” ” ” ” ” “

The shrill voices doubled…

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute!

That girl thinks anything is fine as long as it’s not me being her gift…?

She presented such a cliché, cheesy marriage proposal… No, these days, it’s rare for someone to do something like that!

(Hold on!)

I wanted to say that, but… with half-closed eyes, I could see the sharp eyes of the lions aiming for their prey…

[Hmmm… surprisingly, he’s a romantic.]

[Even though he doesn’t look like that kind of character, he surprisingly does those things.]

That’s how everyone seemed to think, with faces expressing admiration… maybe…

“But there’s no ring, right? On Kaori’s finger.”

“We’re at school now, so… I’ll bring it next time!”

You’ll bring it?! No way! It’s not there! No? I don’t even have a ring at home!

“Oh, it’s time for the next class. Kaori, tell me the rest later, okay?”

“Sure! Bye-bye!”

After seeing off her friend, Kaori made a gesture with her finger as if saying [Good.]

You… What part of that is “good”?

I wanted to retort, but… never mind. I’m exhausted. I’m really tired.