Chapter 209 – From Now On, Together

I never thought I would hear such words from Amami-san.

Of course, it wasn't a bad thing. She would start studying for the entrance exam in earnest next year anyway, so this was just her getting a head start, which was good.

Currently, her grades aren't good, so going to cram school would help her a lot. There should be some courses that could help her with that.

Still, I wonder why she brought this up now?

At first, I thought that she was joking, but her expression said otherwise. Which is why I was at a loss on how to react.

"What happened, Yuu? Why so suddenly?… Did your parents say something?"

"No. This is my own decision. Well, I consulted with them, but everything is my idea. I mean, I've been slacking off all this time, so I thought I'd try working a little harder…"

She seemed dead set about her decision. Until recently, she had been talking about playing with her friends rather than studying. Just the other day, at her birthday party, she was still acting like usual with Nitori-san and Nakamura-san.

Something must have happened afterwards that made her change her mind.

"Can I ask you why, Amami-san?"

"Yes… Well, it isn't anything big, really… I just want to go to the same university as you two, Maki-kun, Umi…"

"Really? That's all?"

"Yes. That's all."

She giggled.

"You know, after the party the three of us talked for a bit, didn't we? After you two left, I started thinking about a lot of things. Mainly about how we won't be able to have fun like this anymore next year and how I'll miss you two when we graduate and go our separate ways. Then I realized that I don't want to be alone, I don't want us to be separated…"

"Huh? You didn't plan to go to university, Yuuchin? You could probably go to the same university as me even if you don't try that hard."

"Haha, well, actually mom told me that I could try to be an entertainer or an artist if I really hate studying. I know that it's a tough industry to enter though, and I don't think I have what it takes."

"No way, you should do just fine there. I mean, your mom should have some connections in the industry, right? Besides, you're talented, you could go anywhere…"

What Nitta-san said was right. Amami-san was quite talented, she could draw and sing well, she could go down that path if she wanted to. She may be  inexperienced, but that shouldn't be a problem for her as long as she could make it up with her skills. Besides, she was quite attractive, that should be a plus.

Eri-san most likely made that suggestion because of this fact. She knew that Amami-san should be able to land a job in the industry even as a high school student. She could make use of her contacts if she needed to as well.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in show biz, but… I want to have a little more time to decide… So, in the meantime, I want to study hard first…"

"And that's why you decided to try for the same university as Maki and me?"

"Yes. It would be more fun to be with you two, no? But more than that, whatever my final decision is, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit smarter. I don't want to regret anything later after all."

The school often told us to decide on our career path early, but we were still children. It's not so easy for us to decide how we would live the rest of our lives.

"I see. I understand that you've thought about this deeply on your own, but I think it's still too early for you to decide to go to a cram school for the summer vacation. I know that we will all go eventually, but it's a little too early for you. If you really want to study that badly, Maki and I can still teach you. You should think about it more."

"I agree with Umi. The school gave us a lot of homework to do already, so you should focus on that first and think about it some more, Amami-san. It won't be too late to enroll in autumn or winter."

Our school's assignments should have a similar level of difficulty compared to a regular cram school anyway, so it was a good place to start if she really wanted to focus on studying.

I wasn't saying that she shouldn't go to cram school. It's just, it would be better for her to review everything that she had learned first before going there.

As long as she was still a second year student, she had plenty of time to study.

"But, won't it trouble you two? It's your first summer vacation together. Won't I get in the way of your lovey dovey time?"

"Lovey… Um, yeah, Maki and I promised to see each other a lot during the break, but I'm not that heartless of a person, Yuu. I won't leave you alone for a whole month just to have fun with my boyfriend."

We'll be taking turns visiting each other's houses, but only when we don't have anything planned. There was no way that we would ignore Amami-san when she was clearly struggling.

"Sorry, Yuu. I've been neglecting you, haven't I? Maki is my first boyfriend, I still don't know how to control myself…"

"Don't be, it's fine… This is just something I started to think about recently… In any case, I'm glad I decided to talk to you about this. Thank you, Umi."

"Don't mind it. I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me."

"Hehe."

Thanks to Umi, Amami-san's face began to soften. The atmosphere began to loosen as her cheerfulness came back.

Having a serious conversation was good and all, but a lighter mood was always nicer than a heavy one.

For that to happen, Umi and Amami-san must stay on good terms with each other.

"The summer vacation hasn't even started yet, but our conversation is already this heavy, jeez! Well, thanks to Yuuchin, I'm thinking about my career path too, so this isn't bad. Well, instead of going straight to a cram school, why not try to go to a summer school first?"

"Ah right, that exists… You are useful sometimes huh, Nina?"

"Rude! Well, count me out~ Where are your notes? I still haven't finished copying them! The upcoming exam will kill me."

"Out of all of us, you're the one who should go there the most…"

We decided to put the discussion on hold and focus on the upcoming exam instead.

Everything was hectic for us, but at the same time, our fun summer vacation was about to begin.