The three of us headed for Ichikura Station in our uniforms.
Eda and Mia are beautiful girls, and Iâm just a bonus.
Both of them are my girlfriends. I donât think anyone would believe me if I said that.
We took the bus to the outlet mall.
It was a weekday afternoon, so there didnât seem to be many people there.
We were only here for the right, but even so, Mia was quite excited.
âMia is quite childish, isnât she?â
âReally? You wanted to go out with me, didnât you?â
âAs I said, I invited everyone, thatâs why I invited you as well.â
âYes, yes.â
It was refreshing to see Eda being talked down like this.
As for Eda, she felt frustrated because she couldnât get the upper hand.
When we arrived at the outlet mall, we headed straight for the jewelry store.
âSuch an inexpensive thingâ¦â¦â
âYou donât have to wear it if you donât want to?â
âI, Iâll wear it!â
âKoumei! Two rings so Rino-chan gets one too.â
Thatâs how I bought two new rings.
Then I gave one to Eda.
âWeâre all matching.â
âS, so what?â
While glaring at me from behind her glasses, Eda accepted the rings with both hands.
Then she put the ring on her middle finger.
âIt suits you, Fukiko.â
âThat doesnât matter.â
Eda seemed to be pleased, although she didnât say much.
I didnât miss the fact that she stared at the ring for a minute and then nodded once in satisfaction.
âWhatâs next?â
I asked both of them.
Mia pondered for a moment and then looked at Eda.
âIs there somewhere you want to go, Fukiko?â
âNot really, butâ¦.â
âLetâs just hang out.â
Mia suggested, so we decided to walk around the mall, even though we didnât have anything special to do.
Eda and Mia walked side by side, and I followed a little behind them.
For me, it was interesting to see how the two of them had a certain vibe that naturally gave way to each other.
Some people tried to talk to them, but when Eda glared at them, they quickly left.
âHey, stay closer.â
Mia turned around and said to me.
Sheâs not angry, but sheâs not happy.
âPlease do something boyfriend-like.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
I asked as I approached them.
Eda looked at me and smiled.
âMia, I feel sorry for you if you expect that from Okutani-kun.â
âOi, Eda, donât use me as a target just because you canât beat Mia with words.â
âAra, what are you talking about?â
Eda quietly took her eyes off me.
Mia said.
âFor example, you need to think about what you are going to do nextâ¦.Like pulling me along more.â
âThat saidâ¦.â
This is an outlet mall.
Since we had gotten the ring we were after, we had nothing more to do.
But Iâm spending the same amount of time with both of them.
Maybe it was the boyfriendâs job to plan some kind of event.
âAhâ¦â
Suddenly, Eda stopped and spoke up.
It was more of a reaction of discovery than an idea.
Mia and I also stopped and waited for Edaâs words.
âIâve got an ideaâ¦â¦â
âWhat is it? What is it?â
Mia asked Eda happily.
Edaâs eyes behind her glasses looked straight at Mia and she said,
âI want to see a movie.â
The place where Eda stopped was in front of a movie theater in the outlet mall.
There are posters for the movies currently on view.
âIs there something you want to see?â
âThis.â
Eda responded to my question by pointing to one of the posters.
ââ¦â¦.Impossible, no, no, no!â
Mia shook her head, raising her voice.
Raising an eyebrow, Eda said in a cold voice.
âLetâs look at it together? Mia.â
âIâll watch another one, but not that one! Please!â
The poster Eda pointed to was a horror movie poster.
The title was Channel 2, a horror movie whose film was quite a hit.
âWhat about you, Okutani-kun? Do you want to see it?â
Apparently, Eda was trying to get me on her side.
But thatâs not the case.
âNo, I havenât seen the first one, so I donât want to watchâ¦.The second one first.â
âR, right!â
Mia, who was hiding behind my back for some reason, shouted.
âTh, this is the second one! If we want to watch it, we have to start from the beginning.â
ââ¦..Ara, what a coincidence. Iâve never seen the first one either.â
At this point, Edaâs goal became clear.
âThen, letâs watch the first one together.â
âEh?â
Miaâs expression hardens.
Seeing this, Eda spoke quickly like a fish out of water.
âYou know that video rental store near Ichikura Station? Letâs rent it there and go to my house. Why donât we watch the first movie there?â
âW, wait a minute!â
âMia, you said it yourself, right? You said we have to start from the beginning.â
âTh, thatâs right, butâ¦â¦â
Eda, who has been beaten up before, shows her true colors as she seeks revenge.
âIf you want, we can watch it at night for a better atmosphere.â
âWhy? Why? Wait!â
Mia grabbed my uniform and asked for help.
I opened my mouth to say something, but Eda interrupted me.
âIf itâs night, Mikoto-san and Yotsuba will be able to comeâ¦. Tomorrow is summer vacation, so you can stay at my house if you wantâ¦.Ah, you can contact Rino-san as well?â
âEh, ahâ¦..Un.â
I just replied in a flowing manner.
Don. Then, Mia pushed me back.
When I stumbled 2 steps forward, I turned around to look behind me.
âIâ¦..canâtâ¦.â
âItâs okayâ¦..Weâll all watch it together without Mia.â
âHeyâ¦.Itâs great that weâre all getting together, butâ¦.. Le, letâs not watch that movieâ¦. Okay?â
I asked Mia, who was a little teary-eyed.
âAre you that scared?â
âI, Iâm scared! Just by thinking about it⦠Aah!â
Mia looked at me and Eda as if she remembered something.
âMy mom and dad wonât be home todayâ¦..What do I do?â
âEh?â
âHey, Koumeiâ¦..Come stay with me.â
It seems that just by talking about it now, Mia has become scared.
And she didnât want to be home alone this evening.
âMiaâ¦..Okutani-kun is coming to my house today, remember?â
âNo! Koumei is coming to my house!â
She became like a spoiled child.
As expected, Eda was not going to go further than she already went.
Miaâs reaction so far was enough for her to get her revenge.
Eda said softly.
âIâll join you for the sleepover.â
âAre you coming to my house?â
âYes.â
âNo scary videos, okay?â
âOkay.â
Apparently, regardless of my intentions, we were going to have a sleepover today.