By Zephyria Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Koi thought as he watched Ashley’s girlfriend walk toward them. She stopped a couple of steps away and meaningfully scanned Koi from head to toe.
“Ash.”
Soon, her face was full of smiles as she turned to her boyfriend. Ariel naturally placed her hand on his shoulder, stood on tiptoe, kissed him, and gave a friendly smile.
“I have something to talk about, is that okay?”
“I have class.”
Ashley said with an unwilling face. He stopped resting his chin on his head, but his arms were still draped over Koi’s shoulders. Ariel glanced down at his arms and then back at Ashley.
“How about we have lunch together?”
“Well, sure.”
Only when Ashley answered did Ariel smile brightly, kiss him on the lips again, and turn around.
Koi watched her leave for a while, and when he raised his head, he saw Ashley still looking in that direction.
“Um, Ash?”
Koi carefully called him. Only then did Ashley seem to come to his senses and lower his gaze, and he continued.
“You’ll be late for class.”
“Ah.”
Ashley muttered as if he had just remembered.
“That’s right.”
He released his arms from Koi’s shoulders and started walking first. Koi hurriedly followed.
The face of Ashley, whom he glanced up at, was somehow serious, unlike before.
*
When the ice hockey team gathered for lunch, the atmosphere was more chaotic than usual. They glanced in one direction and whispered quietly.
“What do you think they’re talking about?”
“Wait, let me read their lips.”
“They’re not breaking up, are they?”
“Why would they suddenly break up?”
“It’s not sudden.”
One guy lowered his voice even more.
“I think Ash is losing interest in Al.”
“What? Why?”
“That’s ridiculous, she’s the queen of our school.”
Hushed screams erupted from here and there, and then the guy continued.
“I heard that Ash and Al haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“What? We saw them hanging out together before, haven’t they met since then?”
“I don’t know, but I guess they haven’t seen each other often. Anyway, Al is very upset about it.”
“What’s going on?”
The guys, who had been whispering while watching Ashley and Ariel, found a new informant.
“Koi, don’t you know anything?”
Bill asked Koi, who had naturally become a member of the group, and everyone looked at him. Koi, who had only been listening to their conversation until then, was flustered by the sudden attention and quickly blinked.
“Uh, well, I don’t really know either.”
Half of it was true and half of it was a lie. He didn’t know exactly when they had hung out together, but if it was true that the last time Ashley bought drinks from the store where Koi worked, saying there was a party, then it had been quite a while since they had gone on a date.
Ashley had spent time with Koi throughout the rest of the vacation.
Since Koi mostly met Ashley in the evening because of his part-time job, he might have met Ariel during the day. But somehow, that didn’t seem likely. However, he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t dated Ariel because he was hanging out with him. Even though he thought it was the most reasonable explanation in his head.
Of course, how could I believe that Ash chose me over his girlfriend?
Koi thought that and stole glances at Ashley and Ariel. Sitting across from each other at the table, they were talking about something with serious faces.
*
“So, what exactly has been keeping you so busy?”
In a corner of the noisy cafeteria, Ariel asked with a dissatisfied face, not even touching the food in front of her. Her arms were crossed below her chest, and her face, glaring at him, seemed to say, ‘Try making an excuse, and I’ll smash it all to pieces.’ Of course, Ashley had no intention of making excuses.
“I had a lot to do.”
Ariel raised her eyebrows at his vague answer. She was clearly angry.
“You could have called.”
That was true. Ashley paused and sighed.
“Yeah, that was my fault.”
At the readily given apology, Ariel gave him a suspicious look and then blurted out the question she had been holding back.
“Are you cheating on me?”
“What?”
Ashley’s face contorted and he looked disgusted. Ariel pertly raised her chin.
“Never mind, then.”
“Of course not.”
Ashley visibly gritted his teeth. Ariel, seeing him poking at the unappetizing vegetables with his fork as if he was displeased even by the suspicion, cleared her throat and said.
“Okay, I’ll believe you. But you have to reply to my messages right away from now on, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good.”
Only after hearing Ashley’s answer did Ariel finally relax her expression. Watching her start eating the salad she had piled high, Ashley asked.
“Was anything wrong?”
Ariel frowned as she sprinkled yogurt over the vegetables.
“There was. That’s why I wanted to talk to you so much.”
“What is it?”
Ashley asked. Ariel put down the empty yogurt bottle and looked at him.
“There’s a vacancy on the cheerleading team.”
“What do you mean by vacancy? Are you short on members?”
At Ashley’s question with a frown, Ariel made a serious face.
“That’s right. We barely filled it when one person quit last time.”
He had heard that another member had joined the cheerleading team to replace the one who had quit due to an injury before the vacation. But now there was another vacancy. Ariel glared at him and blamed him.
“Do you know how worried I was? But you didn’t call, and you didn’t send me messages.”
Ashley awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Ariel glanced at him and asked.
“You’re going to the party, right?”
“What?”
When Ashley raised his head, Ariel sighed as if she was dumbfounded.
“The homecoming party, don’t you remember?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Ashley remember and trail off. Ariel was intently looking at his face. Ashley reluctantly answered.
“Right, I have to go.”
Only then did Ariel avert her gaze and start eating her salad again. Ashley put the meager sandwich in his mouth and thought.
I have to buy a ticket.
*
“Ash!”
Ashley, who was walking back after dropping Ariel off at her classroom, turned his head at the sound of someone calling from behind. Koi was running toward him. Seeing him, his face naturally relaxed and a smile appeared. Ashley stood there and waited for Koi to come closer.
“Did you finish talking to Al okay?”
Koi, who had run hard and stood facing Ashley, asked. Ashley started walking first and said.
“Well, more or less.”
“I see. That’s good.”
Ashley looked down at Koi’s head as he walked side by side and nodded, and he felt the urge to cover him from behind again and rub his chin on the crown of his head. Ashley pretended not to know his own feelings and looked straight ahead as he continued.
“The cheerleading team is short on people.”
“What? Again?”
Koi, who had shouted without realizing it, quickly added.
“Oh, I heard about it before. Someone got hurt and there was a vacancy.”
You guys were talking about it in the classroom before the vacation.
Koi thought inwardly. Ashley readily answered without much suspicion at the words he had inadvertently blurted out as a forgotten memory came to mind.
“That’s right. I guess they filled it and then someone else left.”
“I see…”
Koi, who had nodded habitually, asked again.
“Then isn’t that a big problem? The season is coming up soon.”
The reason they were trying to find a member before the summer vacation was to finish practicing by then. It would take time to coordinate with a new member. Ashley agreed as well.
“That’s why she’s so worried right now. I guess she just wanted to complain to me.”
Of course. The person she would rely on most in times like these would be her boyfriend.
Koi, who had been nodding, thought.
Then there might not be many opportunities to spend time with Ash in the future…….
Koi, who suddenly felt lonely, quickly shook his head. It’s only natural that his girlfriend is his top priority. I’m so grateful that he hung out with me during the summer vacation.
“Haa.”
Suddenly, a deep sigh was heard from above his head. Koi reflexively raised his head and saw Ashley with a serious expression. ‘Huh?’ he wondered, but Ashley, still looking straight ahead, said.
“Al said she’s going to consult with the coach, but well, wouldn’t it be better to change the choreography?”
“Uh-huh…”
Koi didn’t know much about the field, so he could only respond vaguely. When he trailed off, Ashley suddenly looked down at him and narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not thinking about anything, are you?”
“Huh? Uh…”
Koi stammered with a flushed face. Ashley pretended to choke him as if he knew it.
“Ah, ouch, that hurts! It hurts!”
In fact, it didn’t hurt at all, but Koi flailed and pretended to be in pain. Ashley’s laughter was heard from above his head. He hoped that days like this would continue in the future. Koi smiled along.
Even then, Koi thought that the matter was unrelated to him.