First Hangout

We went to the nearby coffee shop. I ordered a cup of cappuccino since I didn't feel quite awake yet, and the breeze outside didn't help either. The girls mostly did the talking for me while I just sat silent, staring at my newfound phone.

It wasn't that I was shy. I liked minding my own business when there was a gathering of some sort. It was a habit. Definitely wasn't a socializer, but I did try to talk here and there because if I didn't start working on my social skills now, when would it be the time? This was a perfect situation to experiment and put everything Saki taught me into practice.

Before I knew it, almost two hours had passed by. Surprisingly enough, we didn't talk anything about grades and work-related stuff. It was completely light-hearted and gossipy. They loved talking about their exciting moments in life and also mundane ones too.

I was jealous of that ability. Being able to turn anything into a lengthy conversation was something only these girls could do. Never in a million years would I think about me doing so.

"Phew. We talked so much it's past twelve now. What should we do next?" Ichinose asked.

Saki seemed to have returned to her usual self after drinking coffee. Honestly, I wanted to go to the dorm and rest, but the urge to explore the town was far bigger.

"How about the mall? We have to do some shopping, right? It only makes sense!"

Saki was more excited than ever. The girls also matched her energy, so I guessed it was decided that the mall was our next stop.

"Yeah! We could wander around the mall and have lunch once we're hungry."

"I'm full from the snacks, so that might have to wait another hour. Haha..."

Her laugh was so full of guilt and shame that it was funny. After doing everything she could to try and stop me from buying unhealthy snacks, she was now the one eating more than I did.

I just chuckled silently, but it was loud enough for Saki to hear, and I was rewarded with a punch to my arm.

She deviously smiled as she looked at me. She was one heck of a girl, I could tell you that much.

Anyway, we got going after finishing our drinks. Every building here was close to each other, so we got there quite fast on foot. It was a ten-minute walk from the café, and things were just the usual.

I didn't talk much while the girls were talking and taking pictures wherever we went. They managed to capture some photos of me looking scatterbrained.

"Look at him, not a thought behind those eyes." The girls laughed hysterically after Saki said that. I still looked good, though. I didn't mind that they had those pictures.

The mall was gigantic compared to other buildings we saw. I counted six floors; each floor had a diverse selection of shops for students to play around and purchase essential and miscellaneous stuff.

The mall was impressive. I wasn't into activities like window shopping or gossiping, but I liked it this time because I got some friends with me. My laziness could never walk around alone like this.

"Look at that hoodie. It's so cute!" Saki's eyes sparkled.

"Hey, don't spend all your money on your first day."

"Ohh, these are matching hoodies! Come on, I get the white and you get the black."

"Did you even hear what I said?"

Come to think of it, this was the first time Saki and I had gone to the mall together. Well, this was my first time in the mall ever. Seeing her genuinely happy like this was endearing, so I decided to play along with her only on this particular day.

I entered the clothing shop and grabbed the black hoodie on display right at the window. The hoodies' designs were simple, really. Both had an adorable cat doodle and some hearts surrounding the cat as the front design. For the back of the hoodie, there was a big doodle of cat ears, which were very cute also.

"Looks cute."

The material was soft too. I didn't see any reason not to buy it, so I tried it on immediately. It fitted me nicely.

"Both of you look adorable," Azuma smiled.

Azuma was like the mother of the group. Even Saki started calling her "mom" sometimes. Ichinose blurted out once as well.

"I know, right!? I love this so much." Saki was like a rabbit jumping up and down from excitement.

I took off the hoodie to see the price tag. "1,788 P," it said. After buying this, my account would have 41,814 points left, which didn't sit well with me. However, some sacrifices were necessary to make one happy.

"This is the last thing I'll buy, yeah? I spent almost 10K already. Poverty is coming soon if I don't stop myself."

"Okayy!"

We proceeded to the checkout counter. While the three of us were walking normally, Saki was skipping like a kid in a candy store.

"Hiryu-kun! Go ahead and pay first. I'm gonna explore this section a little."

Before I knew it, she had already vanished from my sight. Ichinose and Azuma were browsing around the sweater section behind me, so I was left alone waiting in line.

Well, it wasn't a long line. In front of me stood only one person, and from their slim build, I deduced that it was a girl. Then again, it made me uncertain because they were wearing baggy clothes. That person had their hood on, so I could only guess.

This clothing store was somewhat hidden compared to other stores, so I didn't expect there to be any people here at lunchtime. I hated waiting in line, but this wasn't that bad.

About a minute later, the stranger was done with the checkout. They turned around and walked past me. Unfortunately, my eyes weren't fast enough to catch a glimpse of their face, but I was confident that it was a girl.

Setting that matter aside, I walked to the counter and handed the hoodie to the employee. That was when I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me.

"Aren't you the guy standing on top of the ranking?"