Kanta leaned back against the counter, his hands deep in a sink full of beakers and test tubes, shaking his head dramatically. "I can't believe I'm stuck here cleaning all this crap. I could be out there doing something actually meaningful, making a difference."

Lada, standing next to him at the sink, helping wash the beakers, smirked. "Yeah, well, maybe it has something to do with you saying yes to Kojima-sensei's request."

Kanta shrugged, flicking some water at her playfully. "I didn't think he'd dump this much on me. Seriously, this is ridiculous." He paused, then glanced over, a softer note creeping into his voice. "But hey, thanks for helping out. It means a lot."

Lada shrugged. "I had nothing better to do."

"No club yet? Thinking of joining one?" Kanta asked.

Lada shook her head. "Nah, I don’t think so. Between AcP classes and everything else, I’ll barely have time. Plus, I don't even know what I'd want to join."

"So, still in the classic 'go-home club,' huh? Just like junior high?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Unless they make it mandatory, I'm not wasting my time," Lada said, with a shrug.

"Mandatory clubs are the dumbest idea," Kanta said, shaking his head. "They're just taking away our freedom. Like, why force us into stuff we don't even like? We should get to choose how we spend our time."

"Exactly. And like, as if making people join a club they hate is gonna magically make them passionate about it," Lada added. She picked up a beaker and placed it carefully on the drying rack.

Kanta let out a frustrated groan. "And when I tried to start a club about something I actually like—a gaming club—they shot me down. I even followed all their stupid rules and everything."

Lada's eyes widened. "Wait, you really did that? I thought people were just joking."

"Nah, I really tried," Kanta said, a faraway look in his eyes. "Got members together, wrote a whole proposal about how it'd benefit the school and everything."

Lada laughed. "Who was supposed to be the advisor?"

"Morisen," Kanta said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Lada burst out laughing. "No way! Mori-sensei? You actually convinced him?"

Kanta chuckled, putting down the last beaker on the drying rack. "Yeah, probably just wanted to see me jump through hoops. Bet he knew it'd never get approved."

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Lada shook her head, her laughter softening into a smirk. "Sounds like something he'd do. And they still said no?"

Kanta sighed. "Yeah. And what really gets me is that there's a dance club. I mean, how is flailing around supposed to contribute to society? It's just ridiculous."

Lada snickered. "They'd probably say, at least the dance club kids are getting some exercise."

Kanta rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, my brain gets plenty of exercise when I play games, thank you very much."

Lada smiled. "Honestly, you're right. You know, this is what I like about you, Kanta. We can just talk about this kind of stuff. No filters, no drama."

Kanta blinked, a bit surprised. He gave her a soft smile. "Yeah, I feel the same way. It's nice to just be real."

Lada nodded, her voice growing quieter. "Most girls just wanna talk about gossip and makeup. I don't really care about that stuff, so I always feel like I don't fit in."

Kanta grinned. "Well, you’ve got Tanya at least."

Lada shrugged, her gaze distant. "Tanya doesn’t talk much. Plus, she was always busy with club stuff, and when she wasn’t, she’d just head home. We never really hung out."

Kanta nodded. "Yeah, Kim was the same. He always rushed off to cram school. Honestly, we only started really talking recently."

Lada raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Speaking of Kim, what's your master plan for getting his wallet back?"

Kanta rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Uh, yeah, about that... I don’t actually have a plan."

Lada gasped dramatically. "What?! The godfather has no plan? That’s so lame."

Kanta laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I just told Kim I’d handle it so he wouldn’t report Ichida. The dude would definitely get expelled."

Lada frowned. "And why’s that a bad thing?"

Kanta paused, his face thoughtful. "I dunno. Maybe it would be better if he got expelled. But, like... I guess everyone deserves a second chance. Or, I don't know, maybe even a third. I just don’t think he's all bad deep down."

Lada shook her head, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Still as soft as ever, huh?"

Kanta smirked. "And didn’t you say you liked that about me?"

Lada's eyes widened, her face flushing. "I… yeah, I said that. Didn’t think you’d remember."

Kanta's smile softened. "I remember everything about you."

Lada let out a nervous laugh, looking away. "Oh yeah? Remember the school trip in third grade?"

Kanta grinned. "Of course. What about it?"

Lada's eyes glinted with mischief. "On the way back, we sat together on the bus. I was so tired I fell asleep on your shoulder."

Kanta chuckled. "You did. Sleeping beauty."

Lada leaned in, her voice teasing. "And you kissed me on the forehead."

Kanta blinked, his cheeks flushing. "Uh... I don't remember that. You're totally making that up."

Lada smirked, leaning closer. "You did. I didn’t know what to do, so I just pretended to stay asleep."

"So you were pretending?" Kanta narrowed his eyes at her.

"Didn’t you say you don’t remember?" Lada shot back, triumphant.

Kanta shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Nah, you're imagining things."

Lada leaned in even closer, her lips almost brushing his ear as she whispered, "Creep," her smile widening as she pulled back, clearly enjoying his reaction.

Kanta felt a shiver run down his spine as she whispered, and he let out a nervous laugh. "C'mon, that was ages ago. And you were kinda cute back then," he said, his voice lighter, trying to brush it off.

Lada's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Aww, are you saying I'm not cute anymore?" she teased, leaning a little closer, clearly loving how flustered he was.

Kanta scratched his head, his face flushing even more. "I mean... maybe you're still kinda cute," he mumbled, glancing away with a sheepish grin. "But don't expect me to say it again, alright?"