“So… What is the reason for this?” Sayaka said as she sipped from her bubble tea. She was wearing a black crop top and black pants.

Even with simple clothing like that, she was outstanding. Sayaka attracted lots of attention regardless of gender. Now, usually, that attention would be focused on me but with my face mask and sunglasses, no one could see my face. Also, the fact that I wore a simple dress didn’t help either.

I didn’t do this because I want to hide my beauty or some kind of innocent girl crap, if anything, I like to flaunt my beauty. But for many reasons, I couldn’t let them see the cutest girl (me) in the world for a moment, it was because, um…

“You’re crying when you called yesterday. Did something happen in your home?”

“No… It’s much worse than that…” I replied, resting my head on the table. The fries that I ordered were left untouched. “Sayaka… I’m such a coward…”

“Huh? That might be true but is it a problem?”

“You’re not going to deny it? Uwaaa… Saya… Meany…”

“This girl.” Sayaka palmed her forehead before heaving a sigh. “We’re talking about a boy, right?”

To that, I nodded. “How do you know…?”

“Instinct, I guess.” She shrugged her shoulder. “So, is he a model or something?”

“No…” I shook my head.

“A playboy? A rich dude? A celebrity? An idol?”

“No, no, no, no…”

“If he’s not one of those, is he really worth crying about? Hey, this is not some kind of anime scenario where a popular girl like you falls in love with some random loser, right?” Harsh!

“Yes, he is worth it. And no, Senpai is not a loser. If I’m going to coin it with internet term, Senpai is a chad-based-redpilled-alpha male.”

“How do you even come up with those? Anyway, is this senpai in our school?”

“Yes… Though he might be infamous because he looks like a thug…”

“HE LOOKS LIKE A THUG!?” Her eyes widened as she gasped.

“DON’T CALL HIM A THUG!” I nearly slammed the table in return.

“You’re the one who did it first!”

“Ouch! Meany…!” I was suddenly hit by Sayaka. “Why did you do that…!?”

“My gosh… Ericka-chan, where’s your composure? It’s only a boy! You can find many of them! Who cares if you got rejected by a mugger…?”

“Who the hell are you calling a mugger!? And… I’m not rejected… More like, he doesn’t see me as a woman.”

“He doesn’t see you as a woman? What do you mean?”

“I mean—like, I’m sweet to him, I care about him all the time and yet he still treats me as a friend! How come whenever I show common decency to a random man, they fall for me, but when it comes to Senpai, even if I dote on him lots and lots, he won’t look at my way!”

Sayaka rested her chin on her palm, looking at the ceiling. “Hmm… There’s no way he’s that dense right? Maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t see you as a woman.”

“Right!?” I completely agree! “That jerk, just because I like him doesn’t mean he can treat me this way. I’ll show him…”

“Easy, easy.” Sayaka tapped my hand, offering a troubled smile. “Just let go of him, okay? You’re the super popular Ericka-chan! You can get boys much better and hotter than him!”

We were currently inside a café. Sayaka and I found this when we were exploring the city in our middle school years. We liked this place because it had a homely atmosphere to it and that its walls were made of glass so we could see some cute boys while drinking.

“Sayaka… I also thought about that.” I replied. “I thought about that a couple of months ago. I can leave Senpai and find comfort in another man, I thought. But… But… you see, I really love him. My mind is telling me to move on but my heart says no… Sayaka… what should I do?”

I was aware of how pathetic-looking I currently was. However, I couldn’t help it. These tears were too much to keep in.

“Ericka-chan…” Sayaka made a sorrowful face, I thought that she was more hurt than me, strange as it may seem.

She kept her silence for a moment, then she beamed at me. “I’ll help you, okay?”

“W-what?”

“I say I’ll help you. I’ll make your love come true.”

“E-eh!? Why all of the sudden!?” I exclaimed.

“Because after seeing my best friend like that, I can’t just sit and do nothing.” She held my hand ever so slightly. “Best friends forever?”

For a second, I was blank. Seeing her acting nice like this, I felt reassured.

“Best friends forever,” I replied, then I held her hand back. “Thank you Sayaka, I love you!”

“Hahaha, geez, stop crying already, you look uncool.”

“You’re crying too!”

“I am not!”

Perhaps it was the miracle of God that I met Sayaka, perhaps she was an angel sent by the heavens. I couldn’t be more thankful for my friend. She might be my sister in my past life.