Tomoya washed his hands and then made his way downstairs.
I floated after him, not bothering with the stairs.
I didn't bother with the walls either and just passed through them into the kitchen, where I watched him lather butter on a few slices of burnt toast.
"I made some chocolate pudding last night." I said, making my offer clear. "Why don't you stay and have some for breakfast?"
"Thanks, but I'm in a hurry. I'll have some when I get back."
"C'mon... what's the rush? You need plenty of sugar to fuel those brain cells. On second thought you might not actually need to eat that much."
"Being late for class on my first day would leave a bad impression."
"You haven't even got to school yet and you've already succumbed to peer pressure!?"
"Very... funny..." He spoke intermittently while stuffing his mouth.
After washing his plate, he went into the living room, where his mother was sitting on a couch, with her laptop on her knees. She was chewing a pencil and would stop every few seconds to jot something down on a notepad.
I looked at her and sighed shamefully. "Should I tell her there's an app for that?"
"Mom, I'm going now."
"N-now? What?" She asked, startled. "But you haven't had your breakfast yet. Oh, I forgot to make you some sweety." She pushed aside her laptop and got up. "Let me get to it now."
"It's cool mom. I grabbed some toast." He kissed her on the cheek. "The first day is mostly just assembly and homeroom introductions. I'll be back around lunch time."
"O-okay."
Just as Tomoya was about to rush out the front door, his mom yelled, calling him back. "Hold on sweety! Mommy needs to talk to you about something."
I rolled my eyes. "Here it comes. She's already referring to herself in the third person, so it must be serious."
Tomoya ignored what I said. In fact, he pretended I didn't exist and walked right through me to address his mother. "What is it mom? I need to get going."
"Mmh. Well, there's something I want to talk to you about. It won't take long. Let's sit in the living room."
I followed him and his mom to the living room. She moved her laptop and placed it on a table. They both sat on the couch and casually faced each other.
The air immediately tensed up.
"Listen. Tomo. I want to address a certain issue... please don't get defensive. I just feel that it's important you be aware of how to properly conduct yourself in a public setting. High school can be tough, and even though you might feel like you've already grown up, you're still only fifteen and I worry about you... so..." Her voice trailed off.
"What is it mom?" He spoke gently, "I'm listening."
"W-well... its about your friend. The one you had since you were five."
"Oh, you mean Hamu? What about her?"
She bit her quivering lip and took a deep breath.
Whatever it was she wanted to say, it looked like she had put a lot of thought into it.
"Please don't get offended sweety. I just think that... you shouldn't tell anyone about that issue."