Photo Finish

Chihara took a sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"The world can come to an end, and humanity can collapse altogether, but I will never give up boba," she said. "Not even if I had the choice to save them both."

"Pfft, what the hell kind of analogy is that?"

"It's an expression of love, Kinoshita."

"Mhm. Sure. What did you end up getting?"

"Oh, this? It's creamy taro. Kind of like— uh... Somewhere between vanilla and coconut. It's pretty good. Wanna try some?"

"I'm okay. Thanks, though."

"Mhm."

We were sitting on a bench next to a massive planter. All around us, people drifted past like background NPCs.

"What was your drink again, Kinoshita? Oolong milk tea, right?"

"Roasted. That's the most important part, but yeah."

"Can I try it?"

"Oh. Sure."

I handed it to her, but just as I was about to turn away, my eyes immediately snapped back.

Chihara lifted the cup with both hands, and — without so much as a flicker of doubt — placed her lips around the same straw I'd been using.

My brain stopped working. She, on the other hand, seemed completely fine. Her eyes widened, and a flush of red streaked across her face, but not for the same reason mine had.

"Whoa~! You said this is roasted oolong milk tea, right? It's so good! But how did I completely miss it? As the boba expert I claim to be, this is my first time hearing of it!"

"Uh... Y-yeah, it's... pretty good."

"I'm writing this down. Next time I go out, I'm getting that one for sure."

She handed the cup back to me before taking her phone out and adding it to a notepad. Probably a list for future boba orders.

As for me, I leaned back on the bench, glancing at nothing in particular.

It's fine. She drank out of my straw. Nothing serious. At least, that's what I'm telling myself to control the chaos in my head. One thing's for sure: pretending that I'm entirely indifferent is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined, especially when she has no clue about the things she does and how they might seem.

"Hey, Chihara. You're a first-year, right?" I asked. "How's the college life treating you so far?"

"Oh, it's freaking amazing. A thousand times better than high school. Having my own schedule, more freedom to do whatever I want, and sleeping in if I wanna — responsibly, of course. Not to mention being able to go out without asking my parents. I mean, I'm at the mall! On a school day! If they knew I was here right now, they'd probably ground me."

"Sounds like you were quite the sheltered kid growing up."

"You've no idea. I couldn't even get involved in any student organizations unless it was the student council, but all that kids' politics stuff? Yeah, no. I can see the appeal, but being in a position of leadership isn't for me. Like, could you imagine if I became the president of the Festival Committee? The ship would sink so fast."

"Ah, come on. It can't be that bad."

Chihara pointed her cup at me and winked.

"Bold words for someone who's never seen me in a group project. Remember when I said that I'm kind of a loose screw sometimes?"

"Maybe so, but I don't doubt you'd do your part just fine."

"Heh. Thanks, Kinoshita."

She stood while finishing up the rest of her boba.

"Let's walk around for a bit before we head home," she said. "My legs are gonna fall asleep if we stay like this for any longer."

"Sounds good."

I picked up the bags of supplies and holstered them around my wrist, leaving one hand free to hold my boba cup.

After a while, Chihara came to a stop in the middle of the corridor. She didn't even notice a large group of high school students having to split the pole to not bump into her.

Curious, I followed her gaze to see a photo booth glowing with bright neon lights.

"Kinoshita..."

Her head slowly twisted like this was some horror movie, revealing a grin that made me flinch.

"W-what...?" I gulped.

"I just had the bestest idea ever."

It doesn't take a genius to know what that idea is, and I am certainly nowhere close to a genius.

"Absolutely not," I immediately said.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!"

"Nope."

"Just this once!"

"Not a chance."

"Please~? I'll buy you another boba! Roasted oolong milk tea, right?!"

Chihara leaned way too close to me, clasping her hands together as if making a wish that would never come true. Her brows curled, and her eyes... Those big eyes that have clearly never failed at persuasion... I felt myself falling for it. Suddenly, whatever wish she was making didn't seem too far out of reach.

"...You're unbelievable, you know that?" I sighed.

But she didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Does that mean you'll do it?!"

"Only once."

"Yay! Let's go, let's go!"

Since there was no room in the booth to place our bags, we had to leave them outside.

"Come on, Kinoshita!" Chihara squealed.

"What the... There's barely any space in there."

"So? Come on!"

Before I could retaliate any further, she reached out, grabbed my arm, and yanked me in.

"W-wha—?!"

The curtain snapped shut behind us with a soft thwap, sealing us inside a cramped box of blinding white light.

"There," Chihara said triumphantly. "See? Plenty of room."

"Does it... really seem that way to you...?"

My shoulder was pressed against the wall, and my other shoulder was very much not pressed against a wall. It was pressed against hers.

I became hyperaware of everything all at once: the warmth of her arm against mine, the faint scent of her shampoo, and the way her hair brushed my cheek when she leaned forward to tap the screen again.

On the monitor, shining stars exploded across a countdown screen.

"Okay! First pose!"

"Huh? I'm not ready! W-wait, there are multiple?!"

"Yep! I picked the four-strip option."

"That's too many!"

She ignored me, grinning at our reflection on the screen. We were ridiculously close. My face was half out of frame because I was trying to create space between us without phasing out.

"Get closer, Kinoshita!" she said. "The top of your head is cut out!"

The timer began flashing.

Two, two, one...

Snap.

"Kinoshita! You're literally out of frame!"

"I'm... I'm as close as I can get."

"Huh? No, you're not!"

As the timer ticked down once again, Chihara latched onto my arm and pulled me down, making for the most awkward position.

Snap.

"Wha—?! You ruined that one!" she exclaimed.

"What are you on about? You're the one who decided to pull me down—"

"Ah! No time! Get ready, Kinoshita!"

"Huh?!"

In the split second before the picture was taken, Chihara leaned so close that our cheeks touched.

Snap.

My brain blue-screened as the flash went off.

When my vision returned, Chihara was already tapping the screen excitedly.

"Haha~! Look at you, Kinoshita! Why are you making such a stupid face?"

"T-that's because you literally assaulted me..."

"Pfft, you're exaggerating. Anyway, the next one's coming! Get ready!"

The countdown for the second shot started immediately.

Chihara held up a peace sign right under her chin, while I steadied myself.

That's three out of four photos taken. This is the last one. Since Chihara went through the trouble of dragging me in here, I should at least make an effort on this one.

Three.

I leaned a bit closer.

Two.

I managed to muster the most genuine smile I could, ensuring I looked directly at the camera this time.

One.

But I wasn't looking at the camera. Instead... I was looking at her through the screen.

Snap.

"Phew. It's over..." she sighed.

"Yeah..." I mumble, letting out a deep breath.

For a second, neither of us said anything. The screen in front of us whirred, then displayed a panel of the four photos we had taken.

"Hehe... Hahaha~! That was so freaking stupid! Oh gosh... I feel like I just lost a few years off my life, but it was well worth it. That was so much fun."

"...Hah. Yeah. I don't even remember half of what went down in the last minute."

Chihara poked my cheek with a quirky smile.

"Welcome to the world of living in the moment, Kinoshita. Anyway, now that we've got the photos ready, let's do some editing."

While humming to herself, she cycled through each photo, making some small adjustments to the lighting and saturation. Then, she began sticking random stickers on each of them.

She gave herself a pair of cat ears, some whiskers, and a golden halo. As for me...

"Wait a second... Is that a duckling on my head? And why do I get the red horns?"

"Because you made that photoshoot ten times harder than it needed to be. Besides, between you and me, who do you think is more angelic?"

"...Whatever."

"Pfft~ Not to worry, Kinoshita. I'll at least reward you for joining me."

After putting the finishing touches, a small socket next to the screen ejected two photo strips. With yet another blinding smile, she handed one to me.

"Here."

"Um... I don't..."

"This isn't optional, by the way. Take it as evidence."

"Evidence? Of what?"

"Of today. So you don't pretend this never happened like you did yesterday."