Right... This is getting suspicious.

  That’s three girls now.

  Nao. Reina. And Arisa.

  All of them, at different times, have called me a “rascal.”

  What is this? Some secret code? A cult?

  Are they all secretly into teasing broke dudes with anxiety?

  I stood there for a second trying to figure out if there genuinely was some code behind the term rascal, but beside the whole kinky thing, I had no idea…

  But either way, no matter what cult they were in, my Job was clear:

  Clean the damn apartment.

  Which, by the way, was a total disaster zone. Makeup all over the dining table, magazine towers, bras dangling from the ceiling fan, and lingerie that belonged in adult films just lounging on the couch like it paid bills here.

  “Goddammit, Nao… ‘bathroom upstairs, somewhere’ so helpful,” I muttered whilst holding a mysterious red bra like I was defusing a bomb.

  As I stood in the middle of the chaos, unsure if I was cleaning or being cursed, before an actual cursed voice called out from above.

  “Heeey, Souta~” Arisa's voice floated down like silk. It wasn’t loud… But damn was it dangerous.

  I looked up. There she was, leaning over the balcony with her God-given watermelons looking right at me, in a loose nightgown that said “Don’t look… While clearly meaning “Do look.”

  “What’cha lookin’ for?" She stared before her eyes narrowed. "Ooooh~” Her smirk widened as she saw what I was barely holding onto in the tips of my fingers. “Didn’t expect you to be so bold, holding my bra like that.”

  I blinked. Looked down.

  Yep. Still holding it. And sheee's just confirmed it's hers.

  “I-I-I swear I thought it was laundry! I didn’t know it was yours!” I panicked, tossing it like it burned me.

  She laughed softly and descended the stairs, grace in every step. Those “grown-up” pyjamas weren’t helping my focus either. I tried my best to cast my eyes off her, but nothing was helping.

  "DAMN YOU OVERPOWERED PJ'S!"

  “Relax,” she said, picking it back up and placing it neatly into my hand. “It’s sweaty. I forgot to wash it. Do your Job… Mr Maid.”

  Oh my god… Was that... Was that harassment?

  And why did I kinda like it?

  I'm already starting to lose it.

  “Y-Yes ma’am,” I said, praying Yuki wasn’t lurking with a death scythe behind a door. Eventually, after completely going away from the directions Nao gave me, I found the laundry room hidden next to the kitchen. Who hides a washer like it’s a treasure chest?

  "Must be rich people stuff", I thought, getting started on the cleaning.

  *

  Twenty minutes later, I was done.

  With the first task. Bra washed. First Job done. First victory secured.

  I turned around with a slight smirk growing on my face.

  "Arisa should be praising me for this little victory."

  Instead of praise, though…

  “AAAHHHHHH!”

  Her scream exploded through the apartment like a horror movie. I shot my eyes straight to where the sound was coming from, fully expecting it to be Yuki getting ready to accuse me of something that is borderline criminal. But thankfully, it was just Arisa slamming a textbook against the glass table again and again, like the thing was made out of steel.

  “STUPID! DUMB! STUPID MATH!” She shouted in frustration.

  I crept closer, making sure to be careful when poking a bear. “Uhh… you okay?”

  Tears welled in her eyes as she shoved a worksheet toward me.

  “Eight squared… divided by two. Th-this super hard problem! It’s ruining my life! How can i ever go living a normal life when this exists.”

  "…"

  I stared at it, taking in the question, making sure that I wasn't just being stupid.

  “…It’s 32.”

  She blinked. “Wait. What?! How?”

  “Well,” I said, taking a seat next to her, trying not to look at the way her shoulder pressed against mine, “8 squared is 64. Divide by 2 equals 32.”

  Her eyes lit up like I just told her she won the lottery.

  “You’re amazing, Souta!” She shouted, her face inching closer to mine, smiling like I just solved world peace.

  “Um. Big Chest. Close. Brain melting,” I thought, freezing in place.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Just how do they manage to survive in class…

  But then, as if god himself came down to defy everything.

  “WRONG!”

  A voice from above. Sharp. Stern.

  And of course it was Yuki.

  Her tone blared out, almost shattering the windows.

  “8 squared is 72! Don’t give him credit! He's stupid, and he's trying to get you more dumber than you are!”

  Arisa raised an eyebrow as it slightly twitched. “You sure calling him and me stupid? Google disagrees.”

  We both looked at each other, then up at her. Yuki hesitated for a moment before quickly turning around and pulling out her phone. After a second, we heard her mumble "Shit" before turning back around.

  “W-Well… I was just… Testing you!" She shouted, pointing at us. "Obviously, I know basic math. I’m not dumb. It was a test, yeah,” She nodded, reassuring herself.

  We replied in unison: “Riiight.”

  Yuki flushed red, clearly embarrassed. "JERK!, She shouted before turning and storming downstairs.

  SLAM.

  Bathroom door. Damn it, Nao, it was there all this time!!

  “…Well, that was interesting,” Arisa said, finally exhaling.

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “you could say that.”

  *

  After about another thirty minutes of Arisa brutally losing to math like it owed her money, my brain needed a breather.

  That’s when another voice called out.

  “Souta!!! Can you cook!?”

  The door slammed open like a storm warning as Nao bounced down the stairs, eyes shining like I was a Michelin-star chef.

  I looked up from the couch, dead inside.

  “Can’t you just make cup ramen like a normal person?” I wanted to ask.

  But her face? Way too cute. It was as if she knew I was a man who couldn't say no to a girl with a cute face.

  I stood, puffing my chest like I was transforming into Gordon Ramsay with anime hair.

  “YESS! DON’T YOU WORRY! I SHALL MAKE… OMELETTE RICE!!”

  “OHHH YESSS!!” Nao jumped, fists in the air. “Souta’s the beeeeest!”

  Arisa chuckled from the couch, stretching slowly. My eyes moved entirely by accident toward her midriff. Gravity was working overtime on that yawn.

  “Guess it’s break time,” she said casually, catching my wandering eyes with a knowing smirk.

  I fake coughed and darted to the kitchen.

  “WELL THEN. TO THE FRIDGE!”

  Nao followed me like a loyal puppy before her face frowned. “Um… You might wanna-”

  I opened it.

  Empty.

  One slice of bread.

  A half-full bottle of orange juice.

  A suspiciously expired matcha drink.

  A lonely can of energy drink.

  And... a sock?

  “What the actual-”

  “Ehehehe… sorry Souta~,” Nao scratched her cheek.

  “Why did I expect anything else… How in earth did a sock manage to squeeze into a fridge?

  I shut the fridge with the dramatic flair of a man who knew defeat well.

  “Well, guess we’re going shopping.”

  Nao was bouncing like a toddler on caffeine. Well, well.

  "Let’s gooooooo get ingredients! Grocery time!"

  Just as I grabbed my hoodie, a new voice chimed in from the couch.

  "I’ll come too."

  I turned.

  Arisa was already sliding on her coat, her smirk in full play mode.

  "Can’t trust you not to come back with nothing but instant ramen and canned coffee."

  I raised a brow.

  "You doubting the culinary instincts of a man with a sister who can’t cook herself?”

  "Yes."

  No hesitation.

  I sighed. "Fine, but you're carrying the heavier bags."

  "Yeah, yeah, sure, Maid Chan," She replied.

  As we put on our shoes, I took one more glance back at the apartment door, and there was a good reason for it. I felt this weird feeling.

  Like I was being watched.

  I turned back to Arisa, who had already walked ahead.

  "Hey, Arisa," I called out.

  "Hmm?" She replied.

  "Can you feel that?"

  "Feel what?" She replied, tilting her head.

  "Like we're being watched," I replied.

  "Nope. You're just being paranoid, maid-chan, just think about it if you went by yourself," She giggled before continuing to walk.

  I paused slightly, "I hope you're right."

  Nao's Secret Mission!

  Meanwhile…

  Big sis and Souta had just taken off to go to the store, but for some reason, I had a weird feeling. So after convincing Reina, we had "Operation Grocery Spy!" Commencing. I slide on my sunglasses as both Reina and I poke our heads out the door. Unlike me, Reina looked a bit more concerned.

  "Why does this feel illegal… And why are we doing this, Nao?" She asked with a confused tone.

  I smirked.

  "It's not illegal… Not if we're cute about it," I let out a small chuckle. We watched as both Big sis and Souta turned the corner and headed downstairs. But my eyes weren't concentrating on that; they were fixated on how close the two were walking next to each other.

  "They're walking pretty close to each other", I whispered.

  Reina didn't reply, but I noticed her fingers curled slightly into her sleeves.

  *

  Our walk was supposed to be short.

  But when the girl walking beside you is wearing too-grown-for-her-own-good pyjamas under an open coat… It suddenly feels like a damn odyssey. We strolled under the soft orange glow of the streetlights. The store was ahead, its signage glowing like a mirage of salvation.

  Then she broke the silence.

  “So, Souta,” Arisa said, her gaze tilting toward the sky, then back to me. “Why did you take this job?”

  My eyes widened for a moment; I was caught off guard by the sudden question. But I scratched the back of my head, and for a moment I thought about lying and saying, "Ohhh, I want to work with you girls and really learn how to be a proper maid… But let's be honest, who's gonna fall for that?

  “Honestly? The money.”

  She narrowed her eyes and smirked.

  “Let me guess. To buy magazines?”

  My eyes widened. “W-What?! No! I mean-

  She burst into laughter. “You’re such a perv, seriously. I meant gaming or manga ones, but now I’m suspicious.”

  My soul left my body.

  "You can't be doing that, Arisa", I muttered, slightly hiding my face from the embarrassment.

  Behind Souta and Reina…

  "Reina!" I whispered as we crouched low behind a red mailbox, "Do you think this actually counts as a mini date?"

  “Reina,” Nao whispered as she crouched low behind a mailbox, “do you think this counts as a mini date?”

  Reina crouched beside her, eyes narrowed like a sniper on a mission.

  “Arisa doesn't go on dates easily, especially with a guy like him. She's watching him, testing him.”

  “Ohhh, so she’s calculating him~” I whispered with a grin.

  Reina didn’t respond, but her eyes didn’t leave the two walking ahead.

  Back in the land of groceries…

  We turned the final corner I could finally see the grocery store. The walk so far had been a bit awkward, but also kind of nice, that was until Arisa decided to step on a loose stone in the sidewalk, causing her slippers to lose balance.

  “W-Whoa-!”

  She slipped forward, and I reacted on pure reflex.

  She landed on me.

  Correction: on my arm.

  Double correction: on my?hand.

  On her chest.

  Soft. Warm. Two sensations that shouldn’t be under my palm at this moment.

  I froze like a statue caught mid-sin.

  “U-uhhh-”

  Arisa looked up, face an inch from mine, strands of her hair brushing my cheek.

  Then she blinked. Then smirked.

  “Well, well, Souta,” she said sweetly, “if you wanted to hold them, you could’ve just asked.”

  I leapt backwards like she was on fire.

  “SORRY! I SWEAR! I DIDN'T MEAN-YOU SLIPPED-AND I-”

  I was totally ready for her to hit me with an uppercut straight out of Street Fighter, but instead, a slight chuckle came out of her; her laughter could’ve melted glaciers.

  “You’re kinda cute when you panic.”

  "Thank you, Lord, for saving me from public shame!" I shouted to myself

  We finally reached the store, which, after the whole holding double D’s incident, felt longer than it should have. I could only imagine if Yuki were nearby, I most likely wouldn't be here right now.

  The moment we stepped inside the cool store, Arisa made a beeline to the milk section. “I’ll grab milk!”

  I frowned. “You?have milk.”

  “Ohhh… Right. Oops. Hehehe.” She giggled.

  I muttered, “I can’t imagine you being responsible… And it was you meant to be the one telling me to be careful about what to buy…”

  "Sorry!~" She winked.

  We grabbed eggs, oil, and seasoning. Everything was going smoothly, but of course, there was the until…

  “Oh no,” Arisa muttered, checking her pockets as we stood getting ready to join the queue.

  My stomach dropped. There was only one reason why Arisa would randomly start checking her pockets now.

  “I forgot my wallet.”

  “YOU WHAT?!”

  I reached for my wallet instinctively, only to remember I had left it on the table with my precious taxi yen.

  “Damn it, now we have to go back and grab the money, then come back here!" I cried out, getting ready to turn around and go back.

  But then… I saw it.

  A glint of blonde hair. A flash of a familiar hairpin peeking from the aisle end.

  “Nao…” I muttered, storming toward the corner. I turned it and found the Nao squatting behind a display of matcha drinks, Reina standing calmly beside her like a mannequin caught mid-theft.

  “Uh…”

  “We were doing… A grocery report!” Nao blurted, holding up a packet of seaweed like it was evidence in court.

  Reina gave a slight bow. “We thought you might… Need backup.”

  Arisa peeked around the aisle, arms crossed.

  “Well, well, stalkers. I thought I smelled curiosity.”

  Reina muttered to herself, “She knew.”

  Nao panicked. “Wait, you mean you forgot your wallet?on purpose?!”

  Arisa just winked…