[Action] On the Day of Saint Valentine.
The library was all but deserted, of course. On the afternoon of Valentine's Day, most people were out with boyfriends or girlfriends, doing the romantic things couples did, or else engaged in the endless chase of finding everyone to whom they needed to give chocolate.
Naoko got out her mathematics textbook, pensive. If not for this engagement, she would probably be at home reading a book alone--Aunt Amaya grew quiet on Valentine's Day, out of all the days of the year. It was the reminder, Naoko supposed. So they would have a quiet evening after Naoko came home from work, with hot cocoa and books.
It was funny that Furukawa-san had insisted on this study session. Naoko would've thought that someone as beautiful and confident as she would've had somewhere else to be on Valentine's Day. Still, she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of spending time with Furukawa-san, even if it was Valentine's Day and some people might get the wrong idea. There just couldn't be anything too romantic about studying statistics, even in their minds.
"Yanagisawa-san?" Furukawa-san looked more beautiful even than usual, and so perfectly neat that Naoko supposed she must have a date later, after all. "Thank you for taking the time to see me."
Naoko smiled. "You don't have to thank me," she said. It was true; seeing Furukawa-san was certainly no hardship.
Furukawa-san smiled. It seemed the words, as conventional as they sounded, really did mean something to her. "Then, shall we begin?"
After an hour, she sat up (she leaned over her paper when she wrote, Naoko noticed), stretched, and smiled again. "I think I understand it now. Thank you, Yanagisawa-san. You're a good teacher."
Naoko blushed. It was a meaningless compliment, she was sure, but still she fought the urge to look down shyly. "You don't have to say that. I know I don't have much practice at this sort of thing."
"But it's true! I didn't understand this in class at all, but you make it so clear." Now it was Furukawa-san, Naoko saw with surprise, who was blushing. "Before you go, I--I have something for you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small box of chocolates. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Oh!" Naoko's blush was back, real embarrassment mixed in this time. "Thank you, but you're not obligated to or anything...."
She looked Naoko straight in the eye, which Naoko was sure she herself could never have done. "They're not obligation chocolates. Is that all right?"
Naoko smiled. The blush wasn't going away, but she felt a pleasant flutter in her stomach to go with it. "Yes, Rie-san. That's fine."
Naoko got out her mathematics textbook, pensive. If not for this engagement, she would probably be at home reading a book alone--Aunt Amaya grew quiet on Valentine's Day, out of all the days of the year. It was the reminder, Naoko supposed. So they would have a quiet evening after Naoko came home from work, with hot cocoa and books.
It was funny that Furukawa-san had insisted on this study session. Naoko would've thought that someone as beautiful and confident as she would've had somewhere else to be on Valentine's Day. Still, she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of spending time with Furukawa-san, even if it was Valentine's Day and some people might get the wrong idea. There just couldn't be anything too romantic about studying statistics, even in their minds.
"Yanagisawa-san?" Furukawa-san looked more beautiful even than usual, and so perfectly neat that Naoko supposed she must have a date later, after all. "Thank you for taking the time to see me."
Naoko smiled. "You don't have to thank me," she said. It was true; seeing Furukawa-san was certainly no hardship.
Furukawa-san smiled. It seemed the words, as conventional as they sounded, really did mean something to her. "Then, shall we begin?"
After an hour, she sat up (she leaned over her paper when she wrote, Naoko noticed), stretched, and smiled again. "I think I understand it now. Thank you, Yanagisawa-san. You're a good teacher."
Naoko blushed. It was a meaningless compliment, she was sure, but still she fought the urge to look down shyly. "You don't have to say that. I know I don't have much practice at this sort of thing."
"But it's true! I didn't understand this in class at all, but you make it so clear." Now it was Furukawa-san, Naoko saw with surprise, who was blushing. "Before you go, I--I have something for you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small box of chocolates. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Oh!" Naoko's blush was back, real embarrassment mixed in this time. "Thank you, but you're not obligated to or anything...."
She looked Naoko straight in the eye, which Naoko was sure she herself could never have done. "They're not obligation chocolates. Is that all right?"
Naoko smiled. The blush wasn't going away, but she felt a pleasant flutter in her stomach to go with it. "Yes, Rie-san. That's fine."