Amaya felt nervous. This was nothing new, of course, but the nervousness she felt today had to do with the small box clutched tightly in front of her. It was Christmastime, and that meant that gifts were generally exchanged for the sake of her Catholic father. Giving a gift to someone outside her immediate family was a tad unusual, but Amaya thought of an idea while seeing Touko zoom around the classroom a few days ago. Since then, she spent her last few nights working in secret to complete the gift in time.

So here Amaya sat, resting in a comfortable cafe with the small package wrapped in bright red paper being passed from hand to hand. Natsumi, the bartender who happened to be one of Amaya’s closest friends, fixed her up with some sort of fancy latte (not her favorite, but Natsumi always made her latte art on the surface of the latte) that sat on the table in front of her. She sent a text to Kibin earlier, asking him to meet her in the cafe for a bit. She included a cat emoji for extra flair because she was feeling rather festive that morning.

Well, speak of the devil! Kibin had arrived, and Amaya enthusiastically waved him over to her table near the side window.

Good afternoon, Kibin-san. I’m glad you could make it today. And... I made you a small gift this holiday season. I hope you like it!