A while later, we left the school grounds after I sent Orimura-sensei a report and left the key to the pool where she told me to. Given that she was still a little weak from what happened, I escorted her back to her house, meeting up with Minori-senpai halfway.
"See you on Monday, senpai. I'll call you later, alright?"
"Un. Take care, Onoda-kun."
Yuika-senpai's voice was faint as she leaned into me, her eyes already half-closed. Minori-senpai shot me a knowing look before nodding and taking over.
"Looks like you put her into too much work, Onoda." The green-haired girl narrowed her eyes at me as she supported Yuika-senpai.
"Well, swimming is tiring, senpai." I put on a playfully innocent look, dodging her gaze. "But she's happy, isn't she?"
With her expression turning slightly suspicious, Minori-senpai looked from me to Yuika-senpai and back. "I hope you're telling the truth, Onoda. If you did something to her, I'll make you regret it."
At this, Yuika-senpai came to my rescue, "Minori, it's not like that. Onoda-kun took great care of me."
She then looked at me and winked. I know, we can straight up tell her that we already crossed the line but Yuika-senpai wants to be the one to break the news to her.
Besides, it's not like nothing happened between Minori-senpai and me yet.
"... Knowing him, he might have taken advantage of you. I have to make sure." Minori-senpai was still relentless.
Because of that, I took a step forward. After making sure that no one was around, I pulled them both in my arms before whispering, "Then, Minori-senpai should come with us next time. I'll also show you how I teach Yuika-senpai."
Yuika-senpai giggled a little while Minori-senpai remained skeptical.
Nonetheless, she didn't push me away and instead hit my shoulder with her forehead, "Okay, next time I will be there. And also, Onoda-kun. You'll be busy on Monday. You don't have to keep trying to visit us in the clubroom... We'll be coming to help out."
"Oh, right! Onoda-kun, we'll join Haru and the others. You do what you need to do. Make your booth a success for all of us." Yuika-senpai also chirped in, her eyes sparkling with a hint of excitement.
Since their club had also been pulled by the 'collaboration, their success now also hinged on us.
"Mhm. I'll keep that in mind. Well then, I might be late for my part-time job. See you too, Minori-senpai."
The green-haired girl nodded as I released her while the orange-haired girl stayed a few seconds longer in my embrace as if she was recharging her energy from me.
As I walked away, I glanced back twice and found them watching my back, prompting me to wave my hand and smile.
At both times, Minori-senpai had her eyes narrowed while Yuika-senpai had a sweet smile. It's quite tempting to run back and kiss her again but I know I had to get going.
Once I reached the station, I quickly sent them a message. Yuika-senpai had a positive reply, thanking me again for today. As for Minori-senpai, her reply was flat and emotionless. Still, I teased and thanked her for allowing me to get her contact.
I mean, it's not like she still hated my guts, it's simply just the way she was. Just like with Yuika-senpai, breaking down her walls was what I needed to do.
The first half of my train ride was spent in silence while chuckling to myself every time Minori-senpai would reply. Surprisingly, she's more talkative over text messages than in person. Each of her replies would be a few sentences long.
I even thought she was so mad at me but once I mentioned something that made her laugh, the girl replied with a single emoji.
That kind of contrast in her was really charming.
Unfortunately, that relaxing moment was abruptly cut short when my phone buzzed with an incoming call from Orimura-sensei. I picked it up, expecting her to grill me about the pool key or the report I wrote and sent to her.
Maybe she only had the time to read it completely.
"Sensei?" I said, lowering my voice to the minimum as it was rude to answer a call inside the train. I wasn't alone in the train car, after all.
"Shameless brat, why does your report only contain teaching her? What about the activity? There are float boards and floaty rings there that you could use."
I couldn't pinpoint if she was annoyed or amused but I could tell she was also on the road. Maybe they had just finished with that meeting with Hirari High and they're on the way back.
"I apologize, sensei. I failed to gauge Yuika-senpai's stamina. I exhausted her from teaching the basics of swimming. I was worried that pushing her to do activities might lead to an accident."
A straight lie but what can I do? It's still the truth, no? Yuika-senpai was truly exhausted after the lesson but then... we did all that and she got drained of her energy further.
A sigh echoed through the phone, and for a moment, I thought I might have gone too far with the lie. But then Orimura-sensei spoke, her voice tinged with something that wasn't anger. "Alright, I'll believe you, Onoda. But I guess it's better than her coming to me complaining about being forced to swim laps. G-good job."
"Am I being praised?" My lips curved up slightly at the corners, surprised by her unusual response.
"Yes, you are. So, shut up now, brat. We're going back. Where are you?"
"On the train. I have a part-time job to get to." I replied, keeping my voice low.
Then suddenly, the sound of the car engine and the familiar voice of Ryouko-san also filled my ears. Orimura-sensei put me on loudspeaker or maybe it was Ryouko-san who asked her for it.
"Too bad, Ruki-kun. I thought we could still catch you in school. Good luck with your part-time job," Ryouko-san's voice was playful, hinting at something more than just a simple greeting.
"Mhm... See you soon, Ryouko-san. And please tell Orimura-sensei, she owes me for that lesson."
"Pfft. She hears you loud and clear, Ruki-kun."
The line went quiet for a second before Ryouko-san's laughter filled the air again. "Alright, we'll be seeing you soon. Don't overdo it at your job, okay?"
"I won't. Thanks for the concern, Ryouko-san." I replied before adding, "Take care driving. I'll be on my way, Ryouko-san, Orimura-sensei."
The train stopped at the station and I quickly gathered my things before exiting.
Today would be the 9th lesson for the batch I was instructing with the basics of boxing. And tomorrow will be the final lesson.
I was lucky that no one complained yet and there were already people reserving for the third batch. I guess I'm getting the hang of this part-time job.
Of course, Hisa-jii was not giving up on convincing me to become a professional and sometimes, the other members of the gym wanted to try me out with sparring. Good thing I was only there during the lessons, or I would unnecessarily spend time brawling in the ring.