Mariko didn't enjoy the finals, but she did enjoy their study sessions after school, and Akko's grades went up. We see a brief flashback of them studying in a Mister Donut--Akko wants to buy another donut, and Mariko tells her she can go get one if she solves the problem she's working on.
The problem isn't that Akko can't study--she just has a short attention span.
Mariko wonders if she won't get to see her new friends for a while because of winter break.
Mariko has tons of purikura now. Looking at the picture, she thinks about how pretty Akko's legs are; Mariko knows she herself could never pull off a skirt that short, since her legs are too fat. Mariko realizes that, compared to Akko, her whole body is...

Akko's gained some weight... but only 2 kilograms. lol Sugi and Tamamin point out that it must be because Akko's been having too much fast food. Apparently Akko has been going to a fast food place either day, either Mister Donut or McDonald's. She's also been eating sweets while studying. "I'm a growing girl!!" Akko protests, which of course inspires a comeback about "growing sideways." lol
Mariko suddenly has a terrible revelation--she's been eating the same junk as Akko, which means...

Sugi asks why Akko hasn't been weighing herself every day--was her scale broken?
Akko isn't on any sports teams (or in any other clubs), so she doesn't get enough exercise. Tamamin suggests she get a part-time job over winter break (because it'll require physical strength) and offers to put in a good word for Akko at the cafe she works at. Akko says no--the cafe where Tamamin works has lots of male customers who come to look at the waitresses in their cute uniforms, since it's a maid cafe or something. Tamamin angrily corrects her--it's an Anna Miller's (these uniforms). Tamamin thinks their uniforms are cute. Akko's going to go on a diet during winter break.
Mariko says she might go on a diet too. Akko protests that Mariko hasn't put on any weight. The other girls chime in, adding that Mariko is perfect the way she is now and losing too much weight isn't healthy. Mariko isn't convinced by these arguments, considering who they're coming from...
Mariko says that it's not her weight she's worried about--she wants to wear cute clothes, and there are some problem areas she's worried about. Akko asks where--her legs, for example--then tells Mariko the two of them will have to work hard together. Sugi asks Tamamin if she's going to get in on it too, and Tamamin asks her what she's implying.
It's now the first day of winter break, and of the girls' diet. Akko calls Mariko to see if she's still doing all right.
Akko has a sign up on her calendar stating her goal for winter break--to lose 3 kilograms.

Akko asks if Mariko's looked at the calorie counting book she bought yesterday yet. Akko looked at the Mister Donut section when she got home yesterday, and it was not pretty. Mariko says she did look at it, and she's sure glad they didn't stop by Mister Donut yesterday (Akko wanted to, but Mariko stopped her)! Akko can't believe a chocolate fashion is 318 calories. She thanks Mariko for stopping her yesterday... though maybe she should have had one while she still could, especially the seasonal Mister Donut Noel. Akko goes on to say that the French crullers are only 194 calories, and the pon de rings are only 222. Actually, looking at the pictures is making her drool...
Mariko wonders if Akko will really make it through this, if she's like this on the very first day.
Sounding rather put out about it, Akko says, "And I wanted to go out and have fun with you over winter break, Mari-chan." She seems to cheer up when she talks about checking out the New Year's sales with Mariko, though--she's never had any luck with dieting in the past, but since Mariko's doing it with her this time, she thinks she'll really be able to try their best. She thinks they should lose tons of weight over break and shock Tamamin and Sugi when they see them in school! Laughing, Mariko says she doesn't think they should lose tons of weight.
It's odd. Mariko thought she'd be bored over winter break, but... And are diets supposed to be this exciting?
Mariko tells Akko that she's looked into aerobic exercise, and walking and stepping sound pretty easy. Akko thinks they sound lame, and Mariko agrees.

Mariko has written down some kinds of exercise.
Mariko's first day of dieting is pretty rough... she has to skimp on lunch, gets yelled at by her mom (who, quite rightly, tells her she doesn't need to diet, and orders her to eat), and the day really drags on with no classes to fill it up.
Mariko gets a message from Akko. It's an awfully cute message, too. The gist of it: Akko did an hour of walking, and she's working really hard and is sure she's losing weight--at this rate, she'll have dropped 20 kilos by the time school starts back up! (The cutest part: "Praise me, praise me!")
The diet is hard, but she and Akko are giving each other updates on their progress every day and encouraging each other.

Mariko's mother tells her not to take her cell phone into the bath with her, but Mariko insists on taking it--she might get a message from a friend. This leads her mother to speculate if she might have a boyfriend, while her father clings desperately to the fact that Mariko said "friend." lol
Mariko gets a message from Akko, who's also taking a bath.

Akko also sends Mariko a picture... of herself in the bath. O_o Mariko then sends a return message with a rather more modest picture of herself in the bath. Akko thinks it's cute--Mariko looks like a little kid in it.
Akko then sends Mariko some steamier pictures, and Mariko wonders if they're supposed to be sexy or funny.
Mariko's mom interrupts their little impromptu phone sex session (okay, that's an exaggeration, but I had to say it), knocking on the door to ask Mariko if she's going to watch a particular TV show with the family. She wonders to herself what Mariko's doing and why she's hearing the click of a camera going off...
Mariko's dizzy (presumably from the bath, but I suppose you can read more into it if you want...). Akko messages her to wish her a Happy New Year. Akko's looking forward to the day after tomorrow (which I'm guessing is when they're going shopping together).
This will be the first time they've seen each other in two weeks.

It's only January 3rd, and Akko's already spent half the money she was given at New Year's. Mariko has too--it was her first time shopping during the sales, and she bought too much. Mariko points out that they should think of the clothes as early rewards to themselves for all their hard work dieting. Akko doesn't respond, so Mariko asks her what's wrong. Akko says she's tired. She's kind of hit a plateau--she isn't eating sweets, and yet she isn't losing any more weight.

Akko doesn't think she's going to lose any more weight before school starts again. She's considering stopping by Mister Donut for some tea today, though of course she won't insist that Mariko (who she's now calling "Marichin," by the way... guess she and her friends are into that sort of cutesy nickname) go with her. Mariko says she'll go with her, and suggests that they each have a cup of cafe au lait and half a French cruller. Her reasoning is that trying to resist the temptation too much is probably bad for you, and they've been working their butts off for the past two weeks.
Mariko wants to treat herself a little today and then go back to working hard with Akko again tomorrow. Akko then decides not to go to Mister Donut after all (she's short on cash anyway, so...). Mariko asks if she'll be all right, and Akko says that from that day forth, she'll just pretend that Mister Donut doesn't exist. lol
Akko thanks Mariko, and changes the way she addresses her yet again: now she's calling her just plain "Mari," which is more familiar/intimate than "Mari-chan" or "Mari-chin."

Akko says she's glad that she and Mariko are friends. Mariko thinks to herself that that's her line, though she can't say it out loud.
Then Akko is all, "I'm so embarrassed!" and flails around, knocking poor Mariko's drink right out of her hand.

The new term is starting.
Mariko comments that she's glad both of them lost weight after that day they went shopping. Akko agrees, adding that if she'd gone to Mister Donut that day, she'd have started binging on food the day after.
Akko says that she's looking forward to surprising Tamamin and Sugi--Akko told them that she and Mariko didn't lose any weight at all. Mariko thinks to herself that they probably don't look any different, since they only lost a couple kilograms, but keeps those thoughts to herself.
Mariko yawns, and Akko asks if she didn't get enough sleep the night before. Mariko confesses that she was so focused on her diet during break that she completely forgot about her homework, and had to stay up late last night to do it.

It seems Mariko wasn't the only one who didn't do her homework before--Akko didn't even know they had any, in fact! Akko chides Mariko for not mentioning the homework to her, and Mariko apologizes and offers to let Akko copy hers. She says they should hurry, but Akko thinks Mariko shouldn't run too quickly because her skirt is so short. Akko says that it's a really cute skirt, but she could totally see Mariko's underwear when they were going up the stairs in the train station. In the bottom left of the page there's a little explanation about how the girls roll their skirts up at the waist to make them into miniskirts.

Mariko, embarrassed, scolds Akko for not telling her before. Akko just replies, "Hey, we've seen each other naked, so..." Mariko points out that other people must've seen her underwear too, to which Akko replies, "Service, service!" Mariko is going to fix her skirt, but Akko tells her to just put her bag behind her when she's going up stairs.
A lot of little things have changed as the new term arrives.
The punchline of the chapter is that Tamamin gained weight over the break. She asks Akko and Mariko to teach her how to diet.

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