When the topic of drinks were brought up in school, whether it was used as an excuse to escape a certain situation, or a punishment used in a penalty game, the most obvious place that would come to mind would most likely be the school’s vending machines.

The nearest one was around the five to fifteen-minute mark, depending on the pace you choose to go by. And if I were to go by my usual walking speed, the estimated time for a round trip would be around ten minutes. But since it might take a while for the two to finish their discussion, it’d be safer to take things slow and take my time.

As I made my way down from the top most floor, the sounds of youth began playing louder with each step. Sudden bursts of laughter, boisterous chatter, and loud exclamations from some sort of debate; it was really irritating to my ears. Regardless, I continued to thread the path ahead.

Once I got to the ground floor, the vending machine came into view.  

I slowly made my way to the vending machine and took a quick scan through the limited selection. And during the time I spent looking around, a staggering stare suddenly stabbed me from behind.

Turning my head to the source of that stare, I jumped in surprise with a half-step back.

It was Yasuhara-sensei, standing at the first building from across the field, carrying some documents as her menacing eyes stared my way.

‘What are you doing out here when you should be in club?’ Those ferocious eyes of her asked me from the distance.

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‘I just went out for a bit to by some drinks’ I answered back with random hand gestures. What the hell am I doing..?

‘You better make sure you’re telling the truth, or else’ She conveyed her message through those hands of hers that were burning red, about to release her erupting god finger.

‘I know I know, I’m telling the truth’ I swayed my hand around in response.

Satisfied with my answer, she gave me a thumbs up as she continued walking ahead. But not a second passed, she decided to give me a look that said ‘if you’re lying to me then prepare to have your cockpit burned’. Oi, that’s against the gundam fight international regulations.

With that short exchange finally out of the way, I went back to business with a resigned sigh, continuing my search for something to drink.

There wasn’t really much of a variety in this school’s vending machines. For the most part, they covered at least one portion of a convenience store’s selection. But if I had to choose on whether which place to buy from, the vending machine would win hands down.

Even though most vending machines only had a limited selection, the mere fact that you didn’t have to deal with other people was enough to win me over.

The employees at convenience stores were seriously unpredictable. They gave off this energetic vibe from time to time and would treat the costumer like royalty. Their blinding brightness made you want to crawl back into your hole. And sometimes, they didn’t give a damn about the things you had bought that the soda you just got would erupt the moment you open it. I was left with only a third of the bottle's content by the time the bubbles had settled down. In what way was that convenient.

So going by that logic, vending machines are really the best. But that only applies with drinks, vending machines wouldn’t stand a chance otherwise. If only they carried packed lunches and bread as well.

By the time my train of thought was cut off, I decided to go with the usual green tea.

Picking a hundred-yen coin from my wallet, I dropped it in the coin slot and pressed the green tea button. And without any further delay, it dropped my drink with a rattle or two.

At this point, my task was already done, and I should already be on my way back. But instead of doing so, I inserted a couple of coins again and pressed the café au lait button twice, the sounds of the bottles dropping continued to play the background.

I’d obviously feel bad if I was the only one who had a drink, so spending a bit more didn’t seem to be a bad idea.

I picked the bottles up and peeked inside my wallet.

I’m seriously broke.