Completed Chapter 17: "A tint of sweetness"

Chapter 17 of Completed

The last period teacher announced next week will be midterms week. Everyone in the class groaned and said, “Ugh seriously? Man it's already time for midterms.” The teacher said, “If you got a score lower than a 65, then you would be forced to take remedial classes in winter break.”

Rie poked Eiko's arm. Eiko turned to look at her and whispered, “What is it?” She whispered back, “Can you help tutor me in math? You know how I suck at math.” Eiko smiles and gives a thumbs up in response. Rie's eyes lit up and whispers, “Thank you so much! I will definitely treat you to something nice in return.” Eiko shook her head and said quietly, “No need to. That's what friends do!”

Itsuki tapped Eiko's shoulder and asked, “What are you girls planning?” She turned around and said, “A study session.” Itsuki said, “Oh! Can I join you? I have a bit trouble with chemistry.” She said, “Sure, but I am just average with chemistry. It's not my best subject.” He nodded and said, “It's fine. That's good enough. I don't plan on getting a hundred on it anyways. I just want to at least do better than average.”

The teacher ended class. Hiroyuki walk up to the group and said, “I heard you guys discussing something. What are you guys doing?” Rie said, “Ah, just a study session. Want to join us?” Hiroyuki said, “Sure. I don't really need help for midterms but I can help you guys.” Itsuki said, “Why don't we go to the cafe to study?” Eiko exclaimed, “That's a good idea! We need food to keep our brains working!”

They all packed their bags and went to the cafe together. They sat down at a table and a waitress comes to their table. The waitress asked for their order. Hiroyuki asked everyone, “Have you all decided what you want?” Rie said, “I want a parfait!” Eiko said, “A matcha mille crepe and a mocha.” Itsuki said, “Just a latte.”

Hiroyuki nods and looks at the waitress. He said clearly, “One parfait, one matcha mille crepe, one mocha, a latte and one espresso.” The waitress smiles and repeats the order. She said,” Your order should arrive in ten mins.” He thanked her and she left their table. Rie, Eiko and Itsuki look at him with amazement. He said, “What?” Rie said, “We didn't expect you to remember all our orders.” Itsuki said, “It was nice of you to tell our orders.” Eiko said, “I didn't expect for you to order an espresso. That's like something an adult would order.”

He said, “You all are weird. I just did what any normal friend would do. I am just craving for some espresso. We should start studying now. What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Itsuki said, “I have some trouble with chemistry but everything else is average.” Rie said, “I suck at math but I am good at literature.” Eiko said, “I do fine in all my subjects but it wouldn't hurt to raise my chemistry grade higher.” He said, “Alright. I know how to help you now. Open your notes and workbooks and tell me what parts trouble you.”

They start discussing about it and Hiroyuki manages to help all three of them. He assigns them questions and makes them explain their answers. The waitress brings their order and said, “Sorry for the delay! Here's your order!” Hiroyuki said, “That's fine. You didn't take that long.” The waitress thanks him and walks away.

Eiko sees the waitress squealing to the other waitress about how good looking and reliable Hiroyuki was. Then, she looks at Hiroyuki helping Rie in math. She sees how patient he is and how he tries to explain it in the best way he can. He looks up and notices Eiko staring at him. Their eyes met.

Hiroyuki asked, “Did you finish your questions, Eiko?” Eiko's mind went blank and she said, “uhhhhhhh. Yeah I did! Want to check them?” She becomes a bit flustered. He smiles and nods. She slides the book to his side. He checks them.

She looks down at her hands. She was playing with her fingers and said in her mind, “Why couldn't I stop staring at him??!! I feel so embarrassed! I hope he doesn't notice.” She shyly looks up to see Hiroyuki. He is still checking her answers. He puts the pen down and looks back at Eiko. He said, “You answered all the questions correctly. It seems like you understand the concept. Why don't we all take a quick break?” Rie said cheerfully, “Yay! I need a sugar break. My brain needs more energy! Time to charge up!”

Rie slowly eats her parfait and enjoying each bite of it. While drinking his latte, Itsuki stares at her happily eating the parfait. Eiko gets a knife and cuts her mille crepe into four slices. Then, she takes a bite of a slice. Her eyes gleamed and she continued eating in big bites. She notices Hiroyuki staring at her. She blinks and said with her mouth full, “Do you want some?”

He starts to laugh a bit and said, “I didn't knew you can be such a glutton.” She swallows her food and said, “Do you got a problem with that?” He said in a tender tone, “Not really. I just find it endearing.” Her heart starts to feel light and skips a small beat. Eiko looks at her mocha. She said to herself, “Did my heart just skip a beat? Why did it felt light after he said those words? It makes me feel strange. Is there something wrong with me?”

She sips her mocha and puts it down. She looks at him and said, “I thought you were going to make fun of me again.” Hiroyuki becomes silent for a minute and his smile turned neutral. He said, “I won't treat you the same way, I treated you before. I want our relationship to change and I want you to find me more likeable than before.”

Rie and Itsuki’s ears perked up from what they overheard. They looked at Eiko to see her reaction. Eiko was about to eat another bite of her mille crepe but put her fork down. She looks at him with honest eyes. She said, “I know that our friendship had a rocky start and I honestly want to know more about you. I want us to get along better. It makes me a bit happy that you felt that way.” Her lips form a small smile. Rie and Itsuki were in glee and start saying, “Congratulations on taking a step closer to being good friends!!!”

Hiroyuki's face lits up and he had the biggest smile on his face. He said joyfully, “Alrighty! We take a long enough break. Let's go back to studying!” Itsuki and Rie whined a bit. Itsuki said, “You're ruining this good moment.” Rie whined, “I don't wanna go back to studying.” He said, “If you two get higher than an 80 on all your midterms, I will take you both to somewhere nice!” Itsuki and Rie's eyes shined and became motivated from his words. Eiko laughed and grinned at the scene.

Author's Note

ignore grammar problems, please tell me what you think of it? I hope you enjoy chapter 17 and thank you for waiting patiently for each chapter! I created a discord group that I can give you updates when a new chapter comes out. Here's the link to my group: https://discord.gg/vyQrfME