My Story of Falling for the Class President

Chapter 18: At the Christmas Party 2 [Side: Rena Kashii]

I like seeing everyone happy. That's why preparing for a party makes me so happy, imagining everyone's joyful faces.

On the morning of the party, I asked Mama to help me make various delicious dishes, like salads and fried chicken, things I knew everyone would enjoy.

I also made a cake with Mama's help. And for the first time, I made beef stew by myself. I think it's tasty, but I wonder? I worked hard, hoping everyone would enjoy it.

Everyone (the Girls) arrived just before 12 PM. They were overjoyed when I explained the seating, the day's plans, and how I arranged for them to get presents from their crushes.

At 12 PM, the boys arrived. Atsuki, Koishi, Kousuke, and Tachibana.

After much thought about the seating, it ended up being a "divide and conquer" formation (?) proposed by Obata-chan.

Kousuke Girl Girl Atsuki

Koishi Obata Rena Tachibana (Honorifics omitted)

The boys were divided, and the girls were grouped together so they couldn't escape into conversations among themselves.

Later, when I explained it to Tachibana-kun, he said, 'You're a tactician.'

Tactician isn't a compliment (omitted below)

Koishi-kun tried to talk to me, bypassing Obata-chan, so Obata-chan started lecturing him.

We all toasted, and the meal began.

Everyone said it was delicious! I was so happy.

But I was a little disappointed.

I had overcooked the beef stew, and the ingredients had disintegrated, almost disappearing.

Being particular about appearance, I felt a bit down.

But then, Tachibana-kun next to me whispered,

'Kashii-san, don't you pour this over rice?'

'No, I don't. But it goes well with rice, you know? It's also delicious with bread ♪'

Apparently, it was his first time having beef stew. As I thought, "I'm sorry it's so unappetizing for your first time."

'It's really, really delicious!'

Tachibana-kun ate it with a big smile, repeating "Delicious! Delicious!"

I'm so happy! I quietly pumped my fist! I'm overjoyed!

But it was so unappetizing and embarrassing that I couldn't say I made it.

Still, I couldn't suppress my happiness, and with a smile, I said,

'That's good! Even if it's flattery, I'm happy! There's more if you want seconds?'

Tachibana-kun devoured a second helping. Watching him murmur "It's delicious" like a sigh, my heart felt a little tight.

I thought, "Three servings will upset his stomach," but I couldn't suppress my feelings and ended up saying,

'Tachibana-kun, would you like another serving?'

'Really?!'

He replied eagerly. Can he really eat that much? But I'm happy.

'You said it was delicious, and I thought it might be flattery, but it really was delicious, wasn't it?'

I couldn't look at Tachibana-kun's face due to a mix of happiness and embarrassment.

'This is the first time I've ever eaten something this delicious! And I can't flatter.'

I prepared the third serving with a smile. I watched Tachibana-kun eat with a happy feeling.

Afterwards, we cut the cake. We were originally supposed to change seats occasionally, but I stayed next to Tachibana-kun and talked about various things without getting up. Because of that, Obata-chan had to deal with Koishi-kun the whole time. But wait, Koishi-kun isn't here? When I asked Obata-chan, she said she sent him to the convenience store for an errand.

I see⭐︎

'Tachibana-kun, can you eat cake?'

'Of course! This cake is delicious too! Super delicious!'

I'm happy because I made half of this cake too.

'That's good! I'm glad you liked it! I hope everyone else thought so too.'

'It's this delicious, so they're definitely happy! Like I said earlier, this is the first time I've ever eaten something this delicious!'

Everything Tachibana-kun said made me so happy that I couldn't stop smiling.

Afterwards, everyone played various games and had fun.

I stayed by Tachibana-kun's side the entire time.

And then it was time for the final exchanging presents.

I asked Obata-chan to make sure Tachibana-kun's present went to me. Originally, only Atsuki-kun and Kousuke-kun were supposed to exchange presents in pairs, and the rest were random, but I made a selfish request. Obata-chan said, "The drawing for the exchange will look unnatural. Well, it's good for Rena to be selfish," and agreed.

Tachibana-kun perfectly drew my present (as planned).

Inside was a pair of adult-looking men's gloves that could be matched with anything. Atsuki-kun, Kousuke-kun, and two girls had their presents predetermined, so it became an exchange among the remaining four people, and we had a rule that if you drew your own, you'd redraw, so I thought it would mostly go to the boys. Obata-chan is so handsome, so I chose something that would be okay for Obata-chan too!

'Thank you, I'll cherish it!'

'I'm happy if you liked it!'

Afterwards, I drew Tachibana-kun's present (as planned).

Honestly, Tachibana-kun is quite childish and talks about warlords to girls, so I didn't expect much. But these things are about the sentiment!

When I opened it, it was a thin pink ballpoint pen with silver decorations. It was quite well-made and elegant.

'Cute! Wasn't it quite expensive?'

'A little, yeah. I chose this because the decoration looked similar to a hair clip Kashii-san often wears, and it was cute.'

He noticed something like that. I thought he was passionately talking about Torii Suneemon, but realizing he pays attention to me quite a bit made me a little embarrassed. I'm so happy, he chose it while thinking of me.

But something bothered me a little.

'You chose it for me, didn't you? I'm happy ♪ Thank you, Tachibana-kun ♪ But it could have gone to someone else, right?'

'I didn't think about that at all...'

That's just like Tachibana-kun (lol). But I thought, "Please don't give a present you chose while thinking of me to another girl."

I was incredibly happy with the present he painstakingly chose, and I really liked the ballpoint pen, so I couldn't stop smiling.

After everyone left, I excitedly told Mama and my older sister that Tachibana-kun ate three servings of the overcooked beef stew, saying "Delicious! Delicious!", that he also ate the cake and said it was delicious, and how happy I was to see him enjoy it.

Suddenly, I asked Mama out of curiosity.

'Mama, do you also feel happy when Papa eats a lot and says it's delicious?'

'Of course, I do ♪ It's special when someone important to you says it's delicious.'

'I see.'

As I was understanding, my older sister said,

'Rena is such a pushover! Such a pushover! Tachibana-kun! Rena can be won over with just one more push!'

I retorted to my older sister that I'm not a pushover!

As I looked at the pink ballpoint pen I received as a Christmas present today, I wondered, "How did he know I liked this color?" "What kind of me did he imagine when he chose it?" I'll ask him someday.

What kind of face will Tachibana-kun make then?

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Afterwards, Kashii-san found a different color of the ballpoint pen, and the story of her asking Sho why he chose this color came up in Chapter 10's "Invitation to Go Home Together."