Chapter 22: Planning.

After that, Momiji came to my house every single day.

My initial plan was thwarted by her repeating last words, “I’ll come back here tomorrow.” I had a feeling it would be more trouble than it was worth if I tried to just shoo her away.

If only I could’ve made a good excuse before the Golden Week holiday came up… My regrets never stop piling up, it seems.

While wallowing in self-deprecation, she came over, and I tried to devote myself completely to my studies, all while she read through the novel.
However, as she did, she suddenly called out to me.

“Hey, in volume 7, the protagonist and the heroine…”

I had only read up to volume 5, and she almost spoiled it for me.
I turned around to look at her, almost bursting to talk to someone about what she was reading… Yup, I have to do something.
I’ll get spoiled otherwise.

From that point on, I threw away all pretenses and started to read the novel as well.
At first, I thought she’d joke around and say, “You never go out for fun, but you still read novels,” but she just accepted it without hesitation.

Although the both of us started reading at the same time, she had a faster pace than me.
Thus I was always in danger of getting spoiled—or so I thought.
My fears were unfounded as she kept reading contentedly and silently in her corner.

In the end, looking back at that Golden Week, I can say for certain I studied a lot and read a lot of nice books.
However, despite it all, she was glued to me from start to finish.

Oh well, the novel was fun, and I’ll consider it a plus that she rarely even talked to me through that whole thing.

“So, it’s just the three of you after all.”

“It’s fine.
Let’s just try again next year.”

After the holidays, when I came to the clubroom I saw the same faces I’d seen before, except the teacher was also there.
According to the advisor, Mrs.
Tainaka, no new applicants appeared in the end.
Well, I wouldn’t like a full club, so I’d say this was a rather nice result.

“So, what’s the first thing you’ll do?”

“The welcome barbecue.”

“Are you college students or something? It needs to be outdoorsy, at least,” she said, humming and thinking after.
“But where are you going to have the barbecue? Depending on the location, I’ll have to go with you.”

“I’m thinking of somebody’s house for now.”

“Really? I thought we’d do it at a riverbank or a park since we’re the excursion club.”

“And I thought we could start off with a welcome party and take it easy.”

Seems the boss already has plans for the BBQ.

“My house is a bit…” Yuki immediately intervened, reacting differently than usual.
Maybe she felt she’d be at a disadvantage, or maybe something was wrong.

“What about your house, boss?” I asked.

“It’s not impossible, but both of my parents are quite busy this month, so there’s a good chance they won’t be home for the holidays.”

“Yeah, and regarding fire, you’ll need to be accompanied by an adult.
If you have a parent or guardian around it’s fine, but otherwise, I’ll be there.”

I understand that when it comes to overnight stays, such as camping, there must be an adult present, but is that also true when dealing with fire? Thinking about it, from a teacher’s point of view, an outdoorsy club might be tough to handle, even though the amount of activities isn’t high.

However, since Yuki already refused, the choice would be between me and the boss.
My house isn’t too large, but it has a decent garden.
It won’t be a problem, I think.

“Erm, what about the barbecue set? I don’t have one,” I added.

“I do,” the boss said.

Since that kind of equipment is generally bulky, it would be easier to do it at her house.
Sure, her parents might not be there, but if the teacher is, she can safely lead the way.
Well, it all depends on the boss.

“How about the boss’ house? I mean, if it’s inconvenient, we can do it at mine.”

“We have the teacher, it’ll be fine.”

“Tachibana’s house, that’s fine.
When do you want to do it?”

“Whenever is fine for everyone,” she asked for confirmation, but honestly, I don’t mind any date.
What I mean by that is, I don’t have any plans.

“Any day is fine,” I said.
“What about you, Yuki?”

“…Anytime,” she sounded dissatisfied due to me being the one who asked.
Despite that, she was willing to participate.

“How about next Sunday? I’ve got things to do on Saturday,” Mrs.
Tainaka added.

We’re basically always good to go, so it’s fine to just fit in with her.
But we’re also making her work on a weekend, and that makes me feel a bit sorry.

That’s fine with me too.”

“So next Sunday then.
Where is your house, boss?”

“It’s about 20 minutes from school and 10 from the station.”

“That’s pretty close.
I guess we can just meet up at the station then.”

“Sure.
Oh, teacher, how much is the club’s budget?”

“It’s only 3000 yen a month,” she answered.
(T/N: 23-ish dollari-doos.)

I never stopped to think about it, but yeah, there is a club budget.
We’re a rather small one, and the teacher is pretty laissez-faire, so she just left it up to the students to decide how to spend the money.

But 3000 yen? That’s less than what I’d expected it to be.
Well, if our club grows, they might invest more in us as well as some sort of management strategy.
Guess that happens for every other club, not just ours.
Actually, considering we’re a three-person club, and with the number of clubs this school has, it might be a lot.

In any case, I’ll just let the boss decide what to do with the money.

“That’s not much,” she felt the same way.
“Then, on the day of the BBQ, we’ll meet at the station’s west exit at 11 AM.
Then, we’ll pass by the supermarket and then go to my house.”

“Okay,” Yuki and I answered.

“Mhm, just don’t be late,” she added.

Thus, the barbecue’s details were set in stone without much trouble.