A funny little coincidence

Getting out of bed, and later on out of the house was, in fact, a painful experience. But at least I could say that it was worth it, I guess.

I arrived in the classroom before Souma did, and as soon as he noticed my lifeless expression in my chair, he hurried over to me.

"Yes, I did. It was worth it, every second of it." I said before he could get too close.

He just chuckled.

"Ok, now let me tell you about yesterday!"

I wished that "contagious excitement" was a literal phenomenon – I could use some of it right now.

"She said yes!" Souma exclaimed, crouching down to my level and whispering close to my face. "We're going to the aquarium next weekend. It's like a whole day kind of thing, I'm so pumped!"

"Good job, and good luck." I was exhausted.

"Thanks. But, hey, get back on your feet before the teacher yells at you. You can tell me about yourself later. Rest well, princess."

I nodded, watching him sprint away.

A few more minutes passed, and I found myself uttering the exact same statement as soon as I noticed someone approaching me from the side, exuding an abundance of energy. The flowy skirt, the swift movements. And then, the tapping on my head.

"I was up late and regret nothing."

Aoki laughed.

"I know, same. I already shared it, and it looks great. But I think I say that every time, don't I? Well, for what's worth, a certain someone called me to say how much she loved it, too." Her tone shifted from happiness to playfulness.

Those words startled me awake, like a puppy when the owner arrives home.

"You heard it right, Haruto. I knew you'd like to hear that." She patted my shoulder. The puppy analogy felt a bit too accurate for comfort, so I shrugged it off.

Honestly, I still didn't understand what she was trying to do. Maybe she just enjoyed seeing couples forming. Unusual, to say the least. Then again, who knows?

By the time lunch came around, I looked at my notebook and saw some math equations, random notes, small doodles here and there, and what looked like a crime scene of me drooling on the paper. All in all, it looked like a page to be kept, because it represented my day like no other.

"I'm so excited for this trip!" Souma shook me as I was about to doze off in my chair. "Nothing can go wrong. Nothing."

"Hm? Yeah, sure thing." I took in his words before processing what he just said. Yep, nothing could go wrong on the school trip next week. The... school trip? When did that become a thing? I think the answer to that mystery lies on my desk.

"Where are we going?"

He facepalmed, and the sound of his hand meeting his forehead resonated in the air.

"We're going to Nagoya. Next week. Leave on Tuesday morning and come back Wednesday in the afternoon."

"Sounds good to me." I replied nonchalantly.

He shook me by my shoulders again.

"Of course it is! Think of the possibilities, man. Oh, I guess not really since your virtual princess isn't from this school, huh? Poor guy."

I didn't think about that. In other words, his treating this as one long-lasting date, and I'm just going to be there third-wheeling on occasion, maybe being left alone in some corner.

"We need to go shopping for it." Souma added.

"What.? What for?"

"I don't know, ask me tomorrow after I've had time to think about it." He replied with a shrug.

I let out a sigh, and he stopped pestering me. Aoki sat with us for lunch again, she often alternated between us and her other group of friends. Souma, of course, always kept me company, maybe intentionally, otherwise I would end up eating alone. I was completely zoned out of their conversation and checked my phone.

Kaede Sakurai: My week is ruined.

[Momo-chan on her knees crying]

Haruto Sasaki: Oh, no! What happened??

Kaede Sakurai: I'm being coerced into hell!! (school trip btw).

That's a funny little coincidence, isn't it?

Haruto Sasaki: Really? Me too, that's crazy! Where are you going?

Kaede Sakurai: Uhm, Nagoya. Some cultural itinerary. Next Tuesday.

Haruto Sasaki: There's actually no way... Our school is going too.

[Surprised cat with crazy eyes and open mouth]

Kaede Sakurai: Hm?

Kaede Sakurai: What?

Kaede Sakurai: No way.

Haruto Sasaki: Yep, you read it right. See you then!

Kaede Sakurai: See you then. But actually no, don't vanish until then!

Haruto Sasaki: ~Swoosh~

"Ahem, guys." I interrupted their conversation, capturing their attention simultaneously. "I just got the news that Sakurai's school is going on the same trip, same day and all."

"Kaede is going?" Aoki barely let me finish my sentence, unable to contain her surprise and excitement. "That's amazing!"

"So that means it's going to be a lot of people there, probably more schools, too." Souma added. "Man, I hope it's not too crowded, then."

I agreed with Souma. If it's too crowded, that means we would end up getting pushed around, and the teachers would be too worried not to lose students, so there's going to be a lot of yelling and orbiting. But surely me and Sakurai can still find some time to at least hangout, or so I hoped. And I figured that Souma wanted to be alone with Aoki as well, so it was a blessing and a curse. Because now he had more eyes on him, but I could have company other than those two.

Initially, I wasn't overly excited about the trip when Souma first mentioned it, but when I learned that Sakurai's school would be there too, my heart began to race. I didn't want to set unrealistic expectations of spending hours together, but just the idea of being in the same place got me filled with anticipation. At this point, Souma's suggestion of going out shopping almost seemed reasonable, and I couldn't help but start thinking about my own preparations.

At this point, all hope of me paying any attention to class was long lost. Somehow this had become common, and I wish I wasn't sacrificing school so often. But if I'm allowed to excuse myself, this was a unique moment in my school career, and I would probably remember this forever, so it's all going to be worth it in the end... Right?