The gut-wrenching and heart-pounding sports festival may have ended in Alya’s loss, but it opened her eyes to something important: She has feelings for Masachika! And with her birthday party coming up, she’ll have to figure out how to act natural around him. Meanwhile, Masachika finds himself struggling big-time to figure out what to get Alya as a present. He can’t seem to catch a break, and to top it off, his sister keeps gleefully and mischievously pushing him to say what he really wants to say to Alya. With all the secrets piling up between them, something’s bound to come crashing down!

Volume 8 of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian manga series by Matthew Rutsohn.