Chương 221: Chapter 219 – Birthday for the Two of Us (1)
Summer vacation was a long period of time, but when you actually experienced it, it felt oddly short.
On school days, fifteen or thirty minutes felt like an hour but during the vacation, the whole day passed in a blink of an eye.
It was especially true this year.
Today was August 6th, the summer vacation had reached its midway point.
The end of our vacation was fast approaching.
Time passed by quickly when you were having fun.
～♪ ♪♪
"…Ugh… Yes, yes, I'm waking up, I'm waking up… Nhh…"
We had to go to school today. My phone had been ringing for a while now because Umi had been calling me. Before going to sleep, I talked on the phone for too long with her and thanks to that, I didn't get enough sleep.
"Yes?…"
{Maki… Morning… Ugh… Sleepy…}
"Huh? Umi, did you just wake up too?"
{Yeah… I was about to go back to sleep before I noticed the clock… *Yawns*…}
It seemed like my sloppiness was rubbing off on her.
We had to go to school to prepare ourselves for the sports festival, but since today was the first day, I guess we could slack off a little. We had to get in the mood for real starting from tomorrow though.
{Ah right, Maki… I already said it last night, but… Happy birthday. So, how does it feel to be seventeen?}
"Sleepy as fuck."
{Well, bear with it. I'll be over soon, so get ready to go, okay?}
"Yes. I'll make you a coffee."
{Thank you. See you in half an hour.}
"Mm."
After the call ended, I hurriedly started to get ready for school.
Today, we had to watch the clubs receive their awards and get the sports festival committee members' contact information. After that, we should be free to do whatever.
Also, today was my seventeenth birthday. As promised, I would be spending the day alone with Umi, so I had to do my best for that to happen, including doing this morning 'errand' properly.
I took off my sweaty shirt, changed into my school uniform and went to the living room. There, my mom was sipping her iced coffee while nibbling on a piece of toast. That was unusual. Normally, she would've gone to work by now.
"Good morning, Maki. Happy seventeenth birthday. Here's your present."
"Thank you, mom. Can I open it?"
"Mhm."
After receiving her permission, I unwrapped the wrapping paper neatly and took a look at the present.
The moment I saw the red box with '0.01' logo on it, I wordlessly threw it at her.
"Ah, sorry, sorry~ I was half asleep when I wrapped it, so I must've made a mistake~ Teehee~"
"Just what kind of thing are you thinking of giving to your son?…"
"Are you saying that you don't need it? Weird… I thought you'd be running out around this time…"
"I-I don't need this!"
I still had some left, so I didn't need to worry about running out for a while.
Besides, if I wanted it, I'd buy it myself!
"Sorry, sorry. So, do you have something that you want? It's your birthday after all."
"Something like what?"
"I don't know, games? You've always asked for new games for your birthdays."
"I don't need new games, I have plenty of them for now."
New noteworthy titles were being released one after another, but for now, neither Umi nor I felt the need to buy them since we had a lot of games we haven't played yet from Riku-san's collection.
Besides, I only asked for games because I had nothing better to do. It wasn't like I wanted new games or anything.
Umi always accompanied me, so it didn't feel lonely even without playing games.
Her presence soothed me that much.
That being said, I understood mom's feelings of wanting to give me presents, so I didn't think that it would be right to refuse her outright.
But what kind of present should I ask for?
"Mom, can I ask you for something instead?"
"Of course. It's your birthday, dear, I'll do my best to grant your wish."
"Thank you… Then…"
There was only one thing that I currently wanted, so I decided to ask for it.
* * *
After mom received my request, the day proceeded with me receiving various congratulations from the others.
I was sitting at my desk at school, wiping my forehead with a handkerchief when Amami-san appeared in front of me with a smile on her face.
"Good morning, Maki-kun! The weather's good today isn't it? Perfect weather for your birthday!"
"Morning, Amami-san. Thank you. Sunny weather is nice, but I wish that it wasn't so hot, though…"
"Hehe, I don't mind the heat, but I guess if the sun is this strong, I'll get sunburned, huh?~"
The summer heat peaked during this month. The weather report had been reporting extreme heat for days now. The school had AC everywhere, but walking to school was an ordeal in itself because the asphalt was blazing hot.
That was why we were busy wiping off our sweat as soon as we got to the classroom. As we were doing that, someone knocked on the door.
"Heya, Rep~"
"Ah, good morning, Nitta-san, Nozomu."
"Yo, Maki. It's been a while since we talked at school during this hour, huh?"
Nitta-san and Nozomu poked their heads in from behind the door.
Since the class change, we rarely talked to each other before morning homeroom, so seeing them visiting me made me happy.
This was thanks to my birthday I guess.
"Happy birthday, Maki. Here, a present from me."
"Here's mine~ Don't be shy, Rep, take it~"
"Happy birthday, Maki-kun!"
"M-Mm…"
I was aware that they were going to give me presents, but when I actually received them, it felt unreal.
I've never had anyone wish me a happy birthday until last year. Since my birthday was during the summer vacation, I spent the day inside my room, relaxing and playing random games.
I'd done nothing special to celebrate. Even the meals I had were the same as usual. I tried to make a cake one time, but it felt depressing so I abandoned the idea fairly quickly.
Since I celebrated Umi's and Amami's birthdays, I knew that my turn would come soon.
I knew that, but everything still felt surreal.
"By the way, Rep, what happened to your beloved girlfriend? She always clings to your arm like a koala at times like this."
"Umi is a little bit— Never mind…"
"Eh?"
"Hm?~ So that's what you thought of me behind my back hm, Nina?"
As soon as she felt that tap in her shoulder, Nitta-san realized that she messed up. It was impossible to pretend that she didn't say anything and it would be even more impossible to pass it off with a joke.
"Koala? Panda? You want me to munch on eucalyptus and bamboo shoots? That's pretty funny, Nina~"
"I-I didn't say anything about pandas! A-Anyway, Rep, I gave you my present, so—"
"No."
"P-Please be gentle with me."
"No."
Seeing Umi grabbing Nitta-san's shoulders, Amami-san, Nozomu and I let out a series of chuckles.
This was probably the liveliest birthday I'd ever had, but it's not bad at all.
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