How Did the Picky Girl Vita Shama Fall for Emily?
How on earth did Vita Shama, the girl with the world's pickiest tastes, end up falling for Emily?
Well, for starters, Emily was beautiful. Lake-blue eyes, soft straight silver hair, an elegant and mature demeanor. And was that all? Far from it. Emily Swan was kind, and every word and action of hers was the picture of perfection.
In a word, she was like a swan among the students. But what really made Vita fall for her was one particular incident.
After school, when everyone else had gone home, Vita lingered alone in the classroom, stewing in frustration.
"Damn it... again..."
She'd lost again. It was the day Carlyle Schultz had snatched first place from her yet again.
That's when Emily Swan suddenly entered the classroom. She'd apparently come back for her bag after club activities.
As she slung it over her shoulder and turned to leave, something must have caught her eye. Emily approached.
A fresh acacia scent wafted straight into Vita's nose.
"Is something wrong...?"
Of course, Vita panicked. She was the shy type deep down, and honestly, she and Emily weren't close at all.
So Vita awkwardly tried to hide her report card under her hand.
Emily tilted her head slightly at the sight, then asked, "Because you got second place?"
Vita's eyes widened, and Emily smiled at her.
"It's written all over your face. What can I say? You've always had such a fierce competitive streak, Vita."
"H-how...?"
How did she know?
"We're in the same class, after all. It's not hard to figure out."
Emily smiled.
"I know you always stay behind to study, and you're the one running hardest during PE. I think that drive of yours is pretty admirable."
Vita bit her lip.
"But I still lost in the end. It means nothing."
"Well, you could see it that way..."
Emily paused, thinking for a moment, then continued.
"But the world doesn't always judge everything by the final result. If you're growing through your efforts, isn't that enough?"
"Growing...?"
"Better than yesterday, better than today tomorrow. Just keep improving, right?"
After saying that, Emily let out a light laugh, as if surprised at her own meddling.
"I guess I stuck my nose in. You just looked kinda cute all mopey like that."
"C-cute...?"
Vita hated that word more than anything usually.
"Anyway, see you! Don't beat yourself up too much. Catch you tomorrow."
"Y-yeah!"
Her bright farewell left Vita a little dazed as she walked away.
For some reason, the anger from moments ago had melted away.
‘Better than yesterday, better than today tomorrow. Just keep improving, right?’
Emily's words, straight out of some anime heroine's playbook, sank right into her heart.
And just like that, Vita realized something.
‘Yeah.’
She reignited her resolve. She couldn't keep wallowing in defeat forever.
‘Next time, for sure...!’
She'd beat that Carlyle guy.
Sunset streamed into the classroom. Vita's cheeks flushed a little.
‘But Emily...’
Was she always that pretty?
Just now, she was totally like the heroine comforting the protagonist in an anime, right?
That vibe hit hard.
‘I hate being called cute, but...’
If it was Emily saying it, somehow it felt okay.
—You looked kinda cute all mopey like that.
Could it be? Did Emily Swan have a thing for cute looks?
And then Vita let her imagination run wild.
[I like you, Vita.]
In that fantasy, Vita held hands with Emily, shared a soft embrace, exchanged thrilling kisses, got married, and built a happy family with a handsome son who looked like her and a pretty daughter who took after Emily.
Thump-thump—
Thump-thump—
‘Uh... huh?’
That was the simple story of how Vita fell for Emily.
[I-I like you—!]
Maybe that's what sparked the sudden confession later on.
Confessions are supposed to come at the end, to confirm feelings, right?
But Vita launched a full-on attack on Emily, her sunshine heroine who had comforted her in her darkest moment.
—V-Vita...?
No prior interactions, no dates. Vita had nurtured her feelings solo and blurted out a one-sided confession.
Emily must have been flustered and slipped up in her response.
—Um... sorry.
—My type is a bit more... manly.
Duduk—
Back then, those words from Emily had hit like a truck.
But looking back now, it was Vita's own fault.
Vita sighed.
"Haa—"
Now that she'd gained some enlightenment—and was a girl herself—it left a lingering regret.
Still, one fact stood crystal clear.
‘I really do...’
Like Emily Swan.
Rationally speaking. As a man and woman.
Those feelings from back then were still vivid in her mind.
The trembling excitement when she confessed to Emily.
She'd never felt that way facing off against Carlyle Schultz, not even once.
Probably. Definitely.
She was sure of it.
‘Yeah, that's right!’
It had to be. She was originally a guy, after all.
And now Emily Swan was back at the academy.
Unfortunately for Vita, Emily was in a different class. But right next door.
Vita wanted to get close to her, so she mustered her courage!
It was a step to steady her recently shaky self.
"Hey, Emily."
"Oh, pretty!"
Before first period, Vita slowly approached Emily, who was surrounded by friends.
Fidgeting awkwardly.
‘Emily really is super popular.’
Like the academy's idol. The stares from around made her a bit self-conscious.
"Um, Emily!"
She managed to speak up. Emily looked startled.
"Y-yeah, Bianca?! What brings you here?"
"Wanna have lunch together?!"
It was sudden, pushy even. Yeah, her face said out of nowhere?
"Uh... well..."
Vita hadn't thought of an excuse. Fidgeting more, she confessed honestly.
"I wanna be friends with you..."
Emily looked surprised, then nodded.
Thinking about it, she owed a debt to this girl—Bianca Shama's twin, technically. And she'd been rude just yesterday herself, so she agreed readily.
"Sure, why not? Let's do it."
And that's how it happened.
‘Lunch with Emily...’
Vita's face was beaming.
"Heh— Your Majesty. What's got you so happy?"
She'd pretty much given up on that nickname by now.
Her desk mate Shasha asked, so after a moment's hesitation, Vita answered honestly.
"Yeah, well..."
Shasha's eyes went wide at the story.
"Huh? For real? With that Emily Swan?"
Vita got flustered instead.
"What? Why...?"
Was there a problem?
"Well, what about Carlyle?"
Oh, right. She'd forgotten.
Um, what to do? Promises had to be kept.
Should they eat together too?
Suddenly, a fact popped into Vita's head. She already knew who Emily liked.
‘Probably that Carlyle jerk, right?’
What could she say? It stung a bit.
But backing out of the hard-won promise was tough, and she had to eat lunch with Carlyle too.
‘A promise is a promise.’
Lately, he'd even compromised on letting her sit on his lap.
In the end, Vita couldn't ignore either.
Not her promise with Carlyle, nor this rare chance to bond with Emily Swan.
So she made her choice.
‘We'll all eat together—!’
A bit weird, sure.
But hey, she could show Emily she was better than Carlyle Schultz.
She'd heard the rumors herself, so Carlyle must know too.
That Emily Swan liked him.
‘But even so, why hasn't he dated her...?’
Had to be that, right? No interest.
Nothing else explained it.
The academy's top beauty. Prim, proper, kind, smart, considerate.
Emily Swan liked him, and he hadn't dated her?
"...What a guy."
Vita grumbled about Carlyle.
But it wasn't bad for her. Carlyle would probably brush Emily off, and she'd swoop in to score points.
Soon, lunchtime arrived. Vita went to Emily first and got permission.
"Hey, Emily. There's one issue..."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I usually eat lunch with someone..."
In other words, was it okay if Carlyle joined?
Emily's expression shifted through several emotions.
What did that mean?
From Emily's side, it was a bit disappointing.
‘So they do eat together...’
She'd heard vaguely, but were they that close?
But she'd already talked to the other person.
At least, she thought well of Bianca Shama.
Her first impression had been great.
‘So no jumping to conclusions.’
Emily trusted her words.
"But, Bianca... are you really okay with that?"
That was the weird part.
"Huh? With what?"
"You told me before. You said you had someone you liked..."
Bianca probably didn't realize how relieved Emily had felt inside.
Vita felt awkward at Emily's words.
She couldn't exactly say it's you.
She brushed it off vaguely.
"I lost a bet, so he made that demand as payback."
"O-oh...?"
Still, eating together every day... even as friends...
‘It's a little odd.’
Emily smiled awkwardly and agreed.
Of course, Vita had already told Carlyle too.
"The one I'm bringing..."
Carlyle frowned, looking like he had something to say.
"It's been a while, Carlyle."
"Yeah... has it?"
They knew each other?!
"We're childhood friends."
A gentle voice came from beside Vita at her question.
Wait, really?!
Vita's mind went blank at Emily's unexpected revelation.
Emily Swan had joined the rooftop lunches that had always just been Vita and Carlyle.
‘Ugh, this is awkward.’
Vita regretted it inwardly. The vibe was way more tense than expected.
"S-so! How do you two know each other?"
Emily smiled and answered Vita's question.
"I met him while tagging along on my dad's business trips. Pure chance."
Carlyle was more direct.
"Her dad sponsored the orphanage where I grew up."
"Ah—"
Vita quickly pieced it together.
She'd heard recently that Carlyle grew up in an orphanage.
‘So that's where their connection started.’
Childhood friends, of all things.
Her Emily was childhood friends with that Carlyle? It rubbed her the wrong way.
Jealousy bubbled up.
Meanwhile, Vita was impressed.
‘As expected of Emily.’
In that short time, she'd delicately spared Carlyle's feelings, avoiding mentioning the orphanage outright.
Emily did look a bit surprised now.
"She knows anyway."
Carlyle shrugged casually, and Emily smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, right? You'd already told her..."
It had to be awkward.
The two had already sensed each other's feelings.
Emily knew Carlyle's heart; Carlyle knew Emily's.
Only one innocent soul tilted her head in the middle—
‘Childhood friends, but something feels off.’
More than that, Vita's eyes were drawn to the bento.
"Whoa, amazing!"
She meant it.
Girly-girl bento. Straight out of an anime.
"Emily, you cook too?"
"N-no! Don't say that, it's embarrassing."
Right in front of Carlyle.
Emily flustered a bit at the unexpected praise.
Being complimented so openly was kinda shy-making.
"Um, Bianca... you don't bring a bento?"
Emily changed the subject.
She'd noticed from the start. Just bread.
Vita mumbled through a mouthful as she answered.
"Mornings are rushed, and it's more hassle than I thought."
Emily's expression turned stern.
"You can't do that, Bianca. Girls need to eat properly."
She placed her bento in the center.
Honestly, she'd played it up a bit. Both Bianca and her childhood friend Carlyle just ate bread, which made her feel bad eating alone.
"It's fine. Let's share mine today."
"R-really?"
Vita gaped at the unexpected windfall.
"Carlyle, you too...?"
"I'll eat what's left."
Emily sighed inwardly in relief.
‘Phew, good.’
No rejection.
A crisp autumn breeze blew.
It started awkward, but sharing the simple lunch eased the mood.
"So, you two... how'd you get so close? Because of that time...?"
Vita reacted first to Emily's question.
"Me and him? Not close at all."
Chomp chomp—
What a hearty eater.
Emily panicked a little at how fast she was going.
‘Oh no... I need to save some for Carlyle...’
But her round personality kept her from saying it outright.
She smiled outwardly while fretting inside.
"Eating lunch together every day sounds pretty close."
"Huh? No."
Second denial.
Emily relaxed a bit. Bianca really didn't seem into Carlyle, just like she'd said.
Then Carlyle dropped a bomb.
"I see it differently."
That was okay so far.
"I even wanna date her, but she's got such picky tastes, it's not easy."
Vita and Emily both went speechless.
Vita's face turned tomato-red.
"Koff! Koff—!"
She choked and spat out her food.