A New Masterpiece (COTE x OC)

Chapter 62 - A Good Gift

*Ding* *Ding*

A sudden loud and annoying noise woke me up from my sleep. My phone buzzed to life on my nightstand next to my bed.

"What could someone want with me this early in the morning?" I mumbled to myself.

I picked my phone off the table, glancing at my reflection through the screen. My bedhead was out of control, but I didn't need to go out till later today, so I couldn't really care about the mess on my head.

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Hirata

[ Good morning, everyone! Happy Christmas Eve! I just wanted to give a quick reminder to everyone about the class Secret Santa. Today would be the final day to get gifts if you have forgotten, as later this evening, you'll be giving your gifts to your lucky classmate! P.S. - the limit is 5000 yen for the gift. ]

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"What the..."

I scratched my head, trying to think of this Secret Santa thing.

When the hell was there a Secret Santa?

Was I ever told about this?

I hurriedly opened my private messages with Hirata to try and figure this out.

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[ Yo, Hirata, my man, home slice, bromego. So, uh, I just got your message to the class gc, and was wondering what this Secret Santa is all about?]

[ Haha! You've got some funny jokes, Fukumoto-kun. ]

[ ????? ]

[ Wait, are you really not joking? ]

[ Dead serious, no clue. When was this announced? ]

[ Fukumoto-kun, you and I briefly discussed the whole idea of this Secret Santa. You even agreed to it, remember? ]

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I tried thinking back to any discussion I had with Hirata about gifts and a jolly fat man.

But nothing rang a bell.

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[ Yeah, sorry. No clue at all. ]

[ It was on the last day of school before the break. I know it was short notice, but I remember you agreeing to it. ]

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I tried to think back to that last day of classes.

It was a normal day, right until the end, when Kiyotaka, Kei, and I had a confrontation with Ryuuen and his gang.

Did Hirata and I ever have a chance to talk...

Wait...

It's starting to come back to me.

Just before I left the class to collect something before facing off with Ryuuen, I remember Hirata trying to talk to me about something.

I really didn't care much about what he had to say, since my mind was focused on something else. I must have accidentally agreed or supported the idea of this whole Secret Santa operation.