[At Polaris Academy]
"Do we really have to come all this way just for your lunch?" Ayaka complained, being dragged to the high school campus, which stood next door.
"I told you~ I want to try out that garlic peppered beef bowl the high school kids keep talking about," Kaori-san argued, tugging at Ayaka's wrist as they walked through the hallways of the high school campus.
Polaris Academy consists of two branches: Polaris High on the left and Polaris Middle School on the right. The two campuses are adjacent to each other and often share specialized rooms and equipment since they are essentially owned by the same founder.
The reason Ayaka and Kaori were visiting the high school campus was that a newly hired cook had revised the cafeteria menu. After overhearing the high school students rave about the new dishes, Kaori became curious and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
After ordering, they sat at an empty table in the corner, placing their lunches on the table. Kaori looked eager to take a bite and appeared satisfied after tasting the garlic peppered beef bowl she ordered.
"So good!" Kaori exclaimed, letting out a moan of satisfaction.
To be honest, Ayaka thought it was quite a hassle to come all this way just for lunch. However, seeing her friend enjoy herself made the small inconvenience worth it a little.
As Ayaka took a bite of her egg roll from the bento her brother made, she looked up to find Kaori reaching out with her chopsticks, offering her a piece of beef from the garlic peppered beef bowl.
"Try some," Kaori urged, tempting Ayaka to take a bite. Since Kaori-san had been so impressed by it, Ayaka decided to have a taste.
People around them were secretly glancing at the two. Ayaka, who happened to be my sister, we shared similar features that caught people's attention. Kaori-san, too, was quite attractive by today's beauty standards.
After tasting it, Ayaka had to admit it was quite delicious.
Kaori, staring at her chopsticks, grinned and remarked, "Could this be an indirect kiss? If this were an anime, people would be making yuri bait edits of us from our friendly interactions." She said this sheepishly, fully aware that others were watching.
Ayaka, feeling a bit disturbed, replied, "I'm... going to pretend I didn't hear that just now." Then, while continuing to eat, she added nonchalantly, "Also, I still prefer my bento."
She didn't want to give Kaori-san credit for the beef bowl. Also Ayaka wasn't particularly lying about her statement; her bento was specially made to cater to her tastes, containing all her favorites cooked by her brother. There was no arguing from the beginning.
"You're only saying that because your brother made it," Kaori retorted.
"Of course! It has all my favorites, after all." Ayaka decided not to argue further, as that was essentially true.
Kaori then muttered, "Bro-con."
Ayaka pretended not to hear her, continuing her meal, as she was already used to her friend's quirks.
"Anyways—" As Ayaka was about to talk about something trivial, something caught her eye in the distance. She noticed that others were staring in the same direction, all focused on one specific person. She had wavy orange hair and hazel-colored irises, shining brightly with confidence. It was a face everyone recognized on this campus, as she worked as an idol off school. That's right— the girl we are talking about right now is Haruka Yoshioka-san, the idol.
As Ayaka discreetly observed Haruka from afar, she accidentally made eye contact with her and quickly looked away, sensing that something troublesome was about to happen.
Haruka-san, however, noticed Ayaka's familiar face. 'Wait, she's...'
Ayaka pretended not to see Haruka-san's gaze, returning to her food and engaging in trivial conversations with Kaori-san as a distraction. But it was all in vain as Haruka-san walked over to their table and asked, "You're Ayaka Saito, right?"
"Nope," Ayaka replied.
"Whoa! How does Ms. Haruka-san know about our Ayaka?"
Just as Ayaka was about to deny her identity, Kaori-san, caught off guard by the moment, grew curious about Haruka-san's connection to Ayaka.
"I was an alumna of our middle school branch. If I remember correctly, Ayaka-san became well-known after winning the student council president election while only in her first year," Haruka-san recalled.
"Oh yeah, that did happen," Kaori-san confirmed, recalling the same memory.
Thanks to Kaori-san, Haruka-san was able to verify Ayaka's identity. Haruka-san then politely asked if she could join them at their table. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked.
"Sure! It's our pleasure," Kaori-san replied, not even bothering to ask Ayaka's opinion as she was eager to mingle with the celebrity in front of her.
As the girls ate their lunches, Haruka-san inquired, "By the way, do you guys know a boy named Yukiya Saito-kun?"
She remembered Yukiya talking about a younger sister attending the same middle school she had gone to. Although he didn't mention any names, the resemblance was uncanny.
Ayaka quickly replied, "We don't," denying any connection, feeling that something troublesome might arise if she confirmed our relationship.
"Isn't he the brother you loved so much?" Kaori-san teased.
'This girl, really...' Ayaka began to realize that Kaori-san was deliberately trying to sabotage her escape. This might be her payback for not admitting that the beef bowl was actually worth coming here for.
Haruka-san's eyes lit up as she said, "Great! Would you mind if I get his number?"
"About that..." Ayaka hesitated.
As the girls engaged in trivial conversations over lunch, I was back at Hokkyokusei High, plotting my next move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**[After School]**
The bell had just rung, signaling the end of classes for the day. As everyone packed their belongings, Mocha-san took a deep breath and tucked her phone into her pocket. Determined, she stood up from her desk and walked over to Aria-san, who was still packing her things from the last lesson.
"What is it?" Aria-san raised an eyebrow, noticing that Mocha-san had been standing beside her desk for over a minute now.
As if finally finding her courage, Mocha-san spoke up. "L-Let's go to the clubroom together!"
"Ha?" Aria-san's eyebrows shot up, clearly puzzled by Mocha-san's sudden request.
Nervously, Mocha-san asked, "D-Didn't you get a message from Yukiya-kun this morning?"
"What message?" Aria-san inquired.
In a panic, Mocha-san retrieved her phone from her pocket and opened her text messages, presenting her screen to Aria-san.
"H-Here!" Mocha-san bowed her head, politely handing over her phone with our conversation displayed.
Aria-san read through the messages:
Yukiya: [Since we couldn't find a club to our liking last time, I decided to form a new one instead. Wanna join?]
Mocha: [Sure]
Yukiya: [I have already submitted the club application. All we need now is to gather members and an advisor for our club.]
Yukiya: [Ah, don't worry. I already have some people in mind.]
Yukiya: [Let's talk more about the details tomorrow after school at the usual spot.]
Yukiya: [I got permission to use that place as our temporary clubroom.]
Mocha: [Okay]
Mocha-san then sent a pink bunny sticker giving a big thumbs-up, marking the end of our conversation.
As she looked back, Mocha-san realized there was no mention of Aria-san being invited to the club. She had just assumed that Aria-san would receive the same invite, considering she had been with us since the start of our club search.
'Wait. Could she have misunderstood our relationship?' Mocha-san worried that Aria-san might get the wrong idea about our relationship. While it had been Mocha-san's original goal to get closer, she decided to withdraw from the race early on, feeling she didn't have the confidence to compete against; first, an idol, second, the student council president, and now, a genuine ojou-sama who was likely among the wealthiest people on earth.
Aria-san frowned as she read the text messages, seemingly displeased. 'Why didn't he invite me?' Mocha-san thought, interpreting the expression on Aria-san's face. In reality, Aria-san was squinting at the small screen of Mocha-san's flip phone.
'Well, this is awkward,' Mocha-san thought to herself, feeling as if she had somehow offended Aria-san by showing her our conversation.
Still, she had to remember that the girl she potentially offended was a real-life ojou-sama. Intimidated by this fact, Mocha-san quickly tried to console her.
"M-Maybe he just doesn't know your Line ID yet, hahaha..." she said, wondering, 'Now that I think about it, how does Master Yukiya know my email address?'
"O-Or maybe he, um, wants to invite you in person," she added, making up excuses on the spot.
Aria-san glared sharply at Mocha-san and replied with a sarcastic tone, "I sure hope so." Her expression was intimidating, almost as if it were a threat.
Feeling intimidated, Mocha-san opened her mouth to excuse herself. "W-Well, I better be going now. S-See you later, alligator!" she stuttered awkwardly before grabbing her school bag and exiting the classroom.
...
[At the usual spot, in the old abandoned classroom]
As I sat on the makeshift throne I had built the previous week, Mocha-san knelt down, bending one knee as if showing respect to her one and only liege.
"Master, can I ask you a question?" she inquired, looking down and awaiting my permission to lift her head.
"You may raise your head and ask," I replied.
She complied, lifting her gaze and locking eyes with mine to convey her utmost sincerity. After gulping, she finally asked, "Who will be the other members?"
Mocha-san was hoping I would say Aria-san, but she was worried about what would happen if Aria-san misunderstood our secret relationship. She feared that Aria-san might become hostile. With her power and influence, Aria-san could easily sabotage what Mocha-san had built, posing a threat to her fulfilling high school life.
"You'll have to wait and see," I replied in my typical vague manner, as if I had a grander purpose in mind.
Snapping out of my alter persona, I added, "Anyways, I have something to tell you." I said this to break the tense atmosphere, stepping out of what I presumed was merely a roleplay.
'Mocha-san has really mastered creating this serious atmosphere in our roleplay. I have to commend her for that.'
Descending from my throne, I decided to let Mocha-san in on my secret plan, explaining what we would do moving forward.