By Zephyria It was when he drooped his shoulders with a sigh.
“I’ll help you.”
Huh?
At first, he thought he had misheard. When he blinked and looked up, Ashley said with his usual smiling face.
“I’ll help you. What should we do first? Clean up first?”
“W, what? Why?”
This time, he definitely heard it. But Koi still couldn’t believe what his ears had heard. Ashley Miller is going to help me clean up? Why all of a sudden? What for?
He must have some ulterior motive.
He suspected it first, but that also didn’t make sense. That was an assumption that could only be made when he had something to gain from him. There was not even a speck of dust that Ashley Miller could gain from Corner Niles.
Even the dust in his house, that guy has more of it.
Koi, who added a self-deprecating humor, straightened his face and looked at Ashley before he could laugh in vain. Still, he couldn’t rest assured. Even if he had nothing to gain, it was still hard to believe that he would do that without any intention.
“I don’t believe in kindness without a reason.”
He said with a lot of wariness. The smile slowly disappeared from Ashley’s face. The two stared at each other in silence for a while.
Hoo, Ashley was the first to let out a sigh.
“Actually, I came because I wanted to ask you something.”
I knew it.
“What is it?”
When he asked, unable to grasp what it was, Ashley, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, finally opened his mouth.
“About the assignment.”
“Assignment?”
At the unexpected words, Koi blinked and repeated what he had said. Ashley scratched his head awkwardly and said.
“That, that team assignment from Teacher Martinez. The one we both got A+ on.”
“Ah, ah ah.”
Only then did Koi realize what he was talking about and let out a light exclamation. Now he seemed to know what Ashley wanted to ask. As expected, Ashley continued to speak in a rather slow tone as if he was quite troubled.
“Why did you put my name in?”
He had an expression that he couldn’t understand at all. Seeing that face, Koi felt a little relieved for the first time. In addition, he felt a little mischievous, so he deliberately asked back brusquely.
“Why? Do you have a complaint?”
“It’s weird.”
Ashley frowned. Koi felt unfamiliar as if he was seeing his bare face for the first time.
“You said it too, you don’t believe in kindness without a reason. Why did you do that? I can’t figure it out no matter how much I think about it.”
Ashley, who had his arms crossed, looked down at Koi. As if telling him to speak quickly. Koi stretched his body as much as possible so as not to be intimidated by him. Even so, he had to lift his head all the way to see Ashley’s face.
“It’s nothing. I just put your name in because we’re on the same team.”
“Really?”
Ashley still couldn’t believe his words. Koi hesitated for a moment and then answered honestly.
“I was worried that I might not get a good grade if I said I did it alone because it’s a team assignment.”
“The other guys took their names out and submitted it just fine, though?”
“That’s them.”
Koi said stubbornly.
“Anyway, it’s a team assignment, so what if Teacher Martinez deducts points because he thinks the team members didn’t participate properly.”
It was an important assignment for me, but you just ran away.
As he glared at him, recalling his belated resentment, Ashley asked again.
“Still, weren’t you angry?”
“Yeah. So I wrote my name above yours.”
At Koi’s answer, Ashley widened his eyes and then started laughing out loud. Koi stared at him in bewilderment as he laughed so cheerfully that he bent over, wondering what was so funny.
“I owe you one.”
After a long time, Ashley said with a face still full of laughter.
“It’s okay, you did it for me.”
Koi said readily. Inwardly, he added that he had helped him earlier, but he didn’t bother to say it out loud. However, the words just now were meant to tell him to leave now, but Ashley didn’t leave, but stood there and looked around the store once.
“You’re going to clean up now, right? Let’s do it together.”
“What?”
Was he serious?
When he asked in surprise, he turned around and started walking without wasting any more time and asked.
“What should we do with the ceiling? It would be better for me to wipe that, right?”
At those words, Koi, who had raised his head, hesitated for a moment at the dizzying height and finally answered, yeah.
“Wait a minute, I’ll wash the rag for you.”
Koi ran out and came back with the cleaning tools. Ashley, who was waiting in the same spot as before, received the rag from Koi and started wiping the ceiling. Seeing him stretching out his arm and wiping the stains without a footstool, Koi felt a moment of self-reproach, but soon returned to reality. There was a lot to do. He hurriedly started wiping and organizing the messy display case.
*
Thanks to Ashley’s help, the cleaning was easier than expected. Soon, the store was as clean as before, but the problem was the empty display cases here and there. Five beers were also missing from the refrigerator.
How much is all this?
Hoo, it was when he let out a deep sigh.
“Is it over now?”
At Ashley’s voice, Koi raised his head. Ashley, who looked no different from when he started cleaning, was looking down at him. Koi, seeing the perfect Ashley Miller even in this situation, nodded weakly, yeah.
“You can go now. Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome. …Are the empty items okay? There were a lot of things that were ruined.”
“It can’t be helped.”
As soon as he finished speaking, another long sigh came out. Ashley, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
“…I’m going to have a party on Friday.”
Wondering what he was talking about all of a sudden, Koi looked up and Ashley continued.
“I need a lot of snacks and stuff. I want to buy them here, can you calculate it for me?”
“…Okay, then.”Koi waved his hand as if to say, “Do as you please,” then went inside the counter and sat down. Seeing him collapse onto the counter, Ashley turned around and started packing his things.
When he returned to the counter, Koi had already fallen asleep. Ashley paused for a moment, then took out a notepad and pen from beside the counter, left a message, and placed five 100-dollar bills next to it.
The sound of the bell woke Koi up with a start, and he jumped up to find himself alone. He hurriedly came around the counter, and the sight of the Cayenne leaving the parking lot entered his view. After standing there for a moment, Koi turned back to the counter and belatedly discovered the money and the note.
What is this? 500 dollars?
His eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly checked the message that Ashley had clearly left. It listed several items, with a haphazard mix of types and quantities. Koi tilted his head, but he understood the reason when he closed the store and checked the remaining stock to see what items were missing.
*
The next day, Koi went to school at the usual time, his heart pounding with anticipation as he looked around. Ashley and his gang were always conspicuous, so he would run into them even if he didn’t want to, but for some reason, they weren’t to be seen today.
That’s strange.
He checked the time and became anxious, opening and closing his locker for no reason as he looked around. Could he be absent again today…?
Just as he thought that, he suddenly felt the atmosphere around him change. Of course, this was also familiar.
Ashley Miller had arrived.
Koi turned his head with a happy heart, confirming that his expectations were correct. But he immediately discovered an unwelcome face as well. Nelson’s gang was loitering at a distance from Ashley’s group.
Retreat for now.
Koi slowly backed away, then turned around and ran like crazy. After what happened yesterday, Nelson must be grinding his teeth. If he got caught now, he would be bullied far more severely than yesterday. He had to avoid Nelson’s eyes at all costs. The semester would be over soon, so he just had to endure it a little longer.
What if he comes to the store again?
An uneasy premonition flashed through his mind, but that was another matter. First, he had to overcome the immediate crisis. Koi ran and ran towards the building where his class was, panting for breath.
*
“Huh.”
Ashley’s exclamation made the guys with him wonder and ask.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
“What is it? What?”
Leaving the guys who were asking while looking around, Ashley stared in the same direction for a while. He was just as puzzled, so he had nothing to say.
He realized what the situation was when he turned his head in the opposite direction. The moment he met Nelson’s eyes, he saw the other man flinch in surprise and hurriedly take the other guys away with him. Ashley understood why Koi had run away so desperately.
“…Hmm.”
His friends were still bewildered and looked at each other as he stroked his chin and pondered something, but no one knew the reason.