After all, I usually walked alone, went to school alone—solitary schooling, for short. Having someone beside me made me nervous... If there were a cardboard box for ripe mangoes, I'd really want to hide inside it.
Note: In Bocchi the Rock!, the protagonist Hitori Gotoh performed onstage from inside a cardboard box for ripe mangoes because she was afraid of the audience's gaze.
Walking together without talking was kind of awkward... I glanced sideways at Yuihama.
Yuihama didn't seem to mind the silence much as she climbed the stairs one step at a time.
Maybe I should say something... While I was hesitating, we had already climbed the stairs and reached the entrance.
To change into her indoor shoes, Yuihama set her paper bag in front of the shoe lockers. Her movements were remarkably careful and gentle, making me curious.
Now was my chance! A chance to talk to her!
"...What's that? Something you brought?"
"Ah, this?"
It was as though Yuihama had only just remembered after I mentioned it. She held the paper bag out and beckoned me over.
Uh, we weren't far enough apart to need hand signals... Thinking that, I moved a little closer.
Like she was peeking through a gap in a jewel box holding a secret, Yuihama slowly pulled apart the handles of the paper bag.
Inside was a small white box with a round handle attached to the top. It would probably be convenient to carry once the handle was folded up. This kind of packaging was usually for cakes, right. Therefore, I deduced that there was a cake inside!
Oh, right. The day we went out together, we'd talked about what kind of birthday cake to get for Yukino before parting ways. She must have gone out of her way to buy it.