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) Latest content publıshed on novel⁂fire.net

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."