A few days after the midterm exams ended...

'It’s finally here~! Even Ichika-chan is starting to feel nervous...'

Because today is the long-awaited day of my promise with Kiyotaka-senpai.

In this world, it’s the first time for Ichika-chan and Kiyotaka-senpai—

Our fateful date.

So of course I’d be nervous, right?

'It’s almost time for the meeting...'

I was so excited that I actually arrived at the meeting spot a whole hour earlier than the scheduled time.

For this day, I carefully prepared everything.

From recommended outfits for a date to recommended date spots...

Ayumi-chan, Kasuga-chan and Tetsuko-chan told me all about them, so I believe I’m perfectly prepared.

'Since Ayumi-chan and the others even cheered me on... I absolutely can’t mess this up!'

Just as I reaffirmed my resolve, he finally arrived.

"K-Kiyotaka-senpai! I’ve been waiting~!"

"Sorry... it seems I kept you waiting."

Suppressing my nervousness, I tried to speak to Kiyotaka-senpai as normally as possible.

"Um, Amasawa..."

"Yes? What is it!"

"That outfit... it suits you very well."

"Wha!?"

I accidentally made a weird sound.

Sure, I chose these clothes specifically for today...

But I never expected Kiyotaka-senpai—who’s basically a beginner at romance—to say something that would make a girl’s heart flutter.

"...What’s wrong? Did you not like it?"

"No... it’s just unexpected... that Kiyotaka-senpai could say something so cool..."

"If you’re going on a date with a girl... complimenting her outfit first is common sense. Matsushita told me that."

"Kiyotaka-senpai? Today is a date with me, okay? Mentioning other girls is forbidden~!"

Though honestly...

Maybe I should give Matsushita-senpai some credit.

"Sorry about that... so? Have you decided where we’re going?"

"Yep! I’ve decided! So Kiyotaka-senpai, just follow me!"

"Then I’ll do that..."

And just like that...

The date between Kiyotaka-senpai and me began.

* * *

"Kiyotaka-senpai~! Hurry up!"

"There’s no need to rush so much. I’m following you."

The first place we arrived at...

Was the movie theater.

"Excuse me~! Two popcorns please!"

"Yes, two popcorns. What flavor would you like?"

"Kiyotaka-senpai? Do you have a preferred flavor?"

By the way...

Has Kiyotaka-senpai ever eaten popcorn before?

Well, it doesn’t really matter.

"I’m fine with anything... but if I had to choose, salt."

"Then two salted—"

"Wait."

"Huh!? Kiyotaka-senpai?"

Suddenly, Kiyotaka-senpai interrupted me.

"Excuse me... one popcorn is enough. I don’t need one for her."

"Y-yes."

Wait wait!

Why does it turn out like that!?

Does that mean he gets popcorn and I don’t!?

"Alright, let’s go inside—"

"Where are you going~?"

Maybe because my voice suddenly dropped very low...

For a moment, I thought Kiyotaka-senpai’s expression twisted slightly.

'I guess I did surprise him... I do feel a little bad...'

But still...

I can’t accept this unless Kiyotaka-senpai explains it himself.

"Well... that is... preparation for watching the movie with you."

"Hmm? With only one popcorn?"

"...So you’re interrogating me now. Is this the fate of a White Room student? Anyway, you seem to be misunderstanding, so listen."

After saying something that sounded oddly familiar, Kiyotaka-senpai began explaining.

"Let me be clear... the reason I bought only one popcorn isn’t because I wanted to keep it all for myself."

"Then what is it?"

"Watching a movie together while sharing popcorn from the same box... doesn’t that sound kind of romantic?"

"Wha..."

Even though today is a date...

Kiyotaka-senpai seems more aggressive than usual.

'I’m supposed to be the one teaching senpai about romance... yet I’m the one getting my heart racing...'

While I was too embarrassed to even look at his face...

"Come on, Amasawa. Aren’t you going? The movie you wanted to watch is about to start."

Kiyotaka-senpai even leaned forward to peek at my face while saying that.

"Waaah!!! I-I’m going! I’m going!"

"Then... let’s go."

And then...

The movie began.

'Th-that’s when you appear... you’re so cool...'

The movie I chose was a romance film.

One where the protagonist and heroine go through many hardships.

'Their love was opposed by their parents... and even their friends... but now it’s finally about to come true...'

At that point, I glanced at Kiyotaka-senpai’s face beside me...

But he was still completely expressionless.

It seems he won’t awaken to the concept of romance so easily.

'I wanted this movie to make senpai’s heart race so he’d naturally become aware of me sitting beside him... so why is my heart the one racing instead!?'

Even when I reached out to grab popcorn...

I intentionally brushed against his hand, yet Kiyotaka-senpai remained expressionless.

Meanwhile, Ichika-chan—the one supposed to be making the moves—ended up turning red instead.

And then...

The movie quickly reached its final kissing scene.

'T-They’re kissing! I wonder... how would I feel if I actually kissed Kiyotaka-senpai?'

Incidentally, even during this scene, Kiyotaka-senpai didn’t break his expressionless face.

"Kiyotaka-senpai! That was a great movie~!"

"Yeah... it was quite interesting."

Well...

The date has only just begun.

The real challenge starts now.

And just then—

"Ayanokōji-kun?"

"Hm? You are..."

Well well...

It seems an unwanted interruption has appeared before us.