"Wow, so cool!" Natusko shouts as she rushes forward into the crowd. "So many people and things to do!"
"Well, students are trying to enjoy their breaks before school starts in a week," Megumi replies, walking with Ryoto, Yuki, and I. Yuki once again is holding onto my jacket, and I react by messing with her hair a little.
"There'll be less people once we go into one of the shops or eat," I assure her.
"Yes, let's go there first, what do you think?" Ryoto asks, pointing at the shop at the corner.
"Ooh, alright then."
The next few hours went on like this, visiting different shops, buying some items that Yuki or Natsuko found cool, and some other touristy-type things. Around 7, we definitely started getting hungry. Fortunately, our resident foodie Ryoto has a plan.
"I know a good yakiniku place closeby, if you're all up for it." Yuki's and Natsuko's eyes widen at the second he says yakiniku. Well, there's the answer.
The outside of the yakiniku restaurant has some nice architectural design to it, matching with its theme on gourmet quality grilled meats. I can tell our stomachs are the ones in control of our legs now.
We enter the restaurant, and immediately the smell of the food awakens something in my stomach. This isn't the normal sensation one feels because one is hungry; this is the feeling of heightened anticipation for a sensational food experience.
While Ryoto is asking for a room for the five of us, Yuki seems to be struggling to contain her excitement. "It smells so good! How'd you find this restaurant?"
Megumi smiles, pointing at Ryoto. "He found the place when we were visiting the lights over in Roppongi last winter break. The dishes can get pricey, especially with his bottomless stomach, but they're incredibly good." I swear Yuki's eyes started sparkling immediately after Megumi's statement.
Before long, we have a room of our own, set with the grill in the middle of the table. It has been a while since the girls and I went to a yakiniku restaurant. We all are now comfortably seated and have our menus, which Yuki does not waste a second opening. "It all looks yummy!"
"It does," I comment. The meats sound especially good, reminding me of past experiences with yakiniku. The only thing is that they're expensive. It could easily go up to ¥5000 per person with the rarer cuts with multiple dishes and sides….which means ¥15000 for the three of us. A more reasonable estimate would be ¥8000 for three, considering Yuki's appetite would equate to Ryoto's appetizer. Still expensive, but seeing Yuki and Natsuko have fun like this, there's no price tag for that. Might mean we don't eat out for quite some time afterward, but that means more cooking practice I suppose. "You and Natsuko go ahead and pick whichever meats you want."
"Yay!" goes Yuki, flipping through the menu.
I feel a light tug on my sleeve, as Natsuko shows a bit of concern on her face. "Are you sure we can order anything? Megumi was right that the food is pricey," she says quietly.
"Don't worry about the prices -- order what makes you happy, there's enough money." I'm not lying, I have the entire budgeting down for the near future -- let's see if I can recall correctly.
I currently have a part-time job that pays ¥1200 an hour, which is good pay considering it's usually only ¥1000. Working 25 hours a week should get to about ¥120,000 a month or ¥1.44 million a year gross. Taxes and insurance bring that down to ¥1.3 million a year, or ¥108,000 a month.
So, what do monthly costs look like? Utilities for the house cost ¥15,000, internet and phone plans are ¥10,000. Food costs ¥70,000, toiletries ¥13,000, clothes ¥27,000. That's already at ¥135,000. Miscellaneous costs bring it to ¥180,000 a month, so a net loss of ¥45,000 a month or ¥540,000 a year. But we're not in debt, since there's about ¥5 million left from my parents in the bank account. It was meant to partially pay for college tuition, but I have a plan for tha--
"Toshiro, you're zoning out, bro." Ryoto waves, as I return from my internal calculator to reality.
"Ah, sorry," I reply, going back to the menu in front of me. Maybe I shouldn't be worrying about money either right now and enjoy dinner.
We each choose some meat and sides, and then Ryoto goes. And he continues.
"Not again," Megumi sighs.
"Hey of course I'm sharing, you all didn't order enough!"
Laughing, I pause to take a sip of water. "This is why the school cafeteria fears him." All three girls start bursting out in laughter as Ryoto acts surprised.
"Hey, I need food before soccer practice! What do you exercise after school, Mr. Student Council President? Bonus points for naming something I don't exercise--"
"Well in that case, my brain."
Ryoto appears to have fainted. Critical shot!
"Hey, be nice to him, Toshiro," Natsuko nudges again. "He might not be as academically intelligent as you, but he makes conversations interesting."
"Are you saying that I don't?"
"That's right--" My own sister again!
"Nice assist, Nat-chan!" Ryoto grins, while Megumi can't stop laughing. "Anyway, I shouldn't be joking about your student council duties, given all those jerks you have to deal with."
"I wouldn't call them jerks, just competitive like a lot of people in school," I admit, resting a bit further in my seat. But even Megumi is showing doubt, making a face before opening her mouth.
"You're always nice talking about others, but honestly a lot of the council are kinda jerks, even after you won. I mean, you ran as an independent and beat them fair and square, which hasn't happened for eleven years!" Perhaps competitive was a slight understatement, especially after the election.
"Heh, Toshiro never told me about all this political stuff," Natusko inquires, looking at me intently. "I thought your student council stuff was about managing the culture festival and club funding stuff." Oh Natsuko, how innocent that statement sounds. I wish it was like that.
"Well, that is correct," I reply, "but the student council has been an arena of sorts for the two main political parties: Students United and Club Action. "
"The Students United Party, or SUP for short, is led by the sons and daughters of politicians, while the Club Action Party, or CAP, is run by the kids of business parents," Megumi continues. "They're the oldest and largest clubs in the school's history, with over 100 members each."
"So it was insane when your brother here kicked their asses in the election, and both parties were quite salty about it, attacking him left and right and throwing funds against his campaign until the very end. Here, cheers to showing those privileged nobodies who's the boss--" Ryoto shouts, raising his glass.
"Ah, you're hyping me up too much, but I appreciate the toast," I say while raising my glass as well. "Though I still have to win reelection in May to keep my position."
"Don't sweat it, your approval rating was literally over 80% at the end of the year. You probably don't even need to campaign and you'd win." I guess Ryoto has a point.
"Wow, you're really popular in school then," Natusko beams, as I could feel the incoming interrogation relating to the female gender. Let me guess what she'll say next.
"Your next line is: 'Any girls interested in you?' "
"Are any girls interested in yo---what?'
"No but thanks for asking," I reply, as the rest of the group laughs. "There have been a few shoe-locker letters I received, but that's for being student council president since I barely know them."
"Eh….where's all the fun in that….if you were more assertive maybe---"
"Oi, that's pushing it. I just prioritize studying then, and any more from you and I'm taking out of your shoujo manga allowance."
"Fine….let's eat then," she sighs. I notice the food now laid across the table, plates and plates of meats of different cuts, as well as plates of cut vegetables, rice, and other cooked dishes. Was this a buffet or something? I don't remember ordering that much--- until Ryoto started ordering. That's why.
The food is now cooked once we heated them on the table grill and, honestly, the taste couldn't have been any better. The meat melts in my mouth, and thanks to Ryoto, there's a lot of it!
Towards the end, I feel like I couldn't really eat anymore, fearing that standing up could become an issue once we had to leave.
"Ah, that hit the spot," Ryoto exclaims. "You can't get anything this good back home unfortunately."
"Or for a lower price," Megumi adds, taking a peek at the check. "¥22,000." 22,000 yen? That's more than a week's pay for me currently -- I've only worked 15 hours a week in the past.
"Well, none of you have to worry about this piece of paper here." Wait, did he-- "I'm paying."
"Hold on, Ryoto, paying for all of us? I can cover for our side---" I start, but Ryoto cuts me off.
"That's a no. C'mon, did you really think I was gonna make you pay for dinner? Megumi and I already talked over it, and this is for you and your family, and, y'know…. Ah I'm not good with these words, Megumi take over for me." Ryoto stops, the redness of his face reaching a critical point where he could no longer form coherent sentences. Megumi, an avid speaker, continues the train of thought.
"First, we feel really deeply for you three over the past two weeks, and can't imagine how difficult it's been, and we just wanted to show that we're here as support. But we also incredibly appreciate our friendship -- so think of this more as our showing of gratitude if anything." Ah, Megumi always has a way with words.
"Well said," Ryoto chimes. "I can't have my best friend worry too much about money sometimes, since you've got such a big heart. When I found out you extended your part time hours to make extra money, that touched something in my heart, bro." As my two sisters gush with awe, I awkwardly put on a smile and look at my two best friends sitting opposite the table, who are both showing their supportive nature.
"Ah, thanks so much, I'm not really sure how to react to all this praise--" This is an understatement, as my mind is currently spinning -- too much --- compliment --- "Anyway, we're really appreciative of your generosity and friendship, right?" Looking at Natsuko and Yuki, they both start nodding.
"Yes, thank you Ryo-chan!" Yuki excitedly says. Ryoto instantly faints once again -- another critical shot!
"Your little sister is an angel, Toshiro," Ryoto exhales.
"Oi, you're going to do this in front of Megumi?" I quip, and he quickly snaps back.
"Ok, let's head back to your place, hang out some more, then call it a night!" Ryoto exclaims, and we all join in his joyful atmosphere.
The rest of the night became a slight blur, especially with all that food in my stomach. But I was able to reflect on everything that they said. Having friends like them is such a godsend, not just for me but for Natusko and Yuki as well. Supporting each other, through thick and thin, is something I have to be very grateful for, given that not everything in the world is as concrete as I once thought.
I know that the struggles of being an adult are only just beginning -- once I start both school and my new part-time hours. I still got another week, but it'll go quickly.
But I also know that I have my sisters and my best friends who have my back. Call me crazy, but I may be looking forward to it more than I should, since it will be an unusual year.
People usually have their first year of adulthood come sequentially after their last year of youth. I get to experience them simultaneously.
Hope they wished me good luck.