Me-: Good morning, Ryuu!
Ryuu-: Good morning, Ichika
Me-: Wanna go to the beach today?
Ryuu-: Aren't you busy? You have work to do, right?
Me-: Come on! I just want to have a nice weekend!!
Ryuu-: Fine. When are you going?
Me-: Today, 10 am
Ryuu-: Isn't that too early?
Me-: Nope, it's the perfect time!
Ryuu-: okay, I'll be there 10 minute early
[Ryuu logged off]
A small laugh came out of her mouth as she turned off her phone.
Morning has come to Fujisawa. Today was a Saturday, school was no more. The sun was shining near the edge of the horizon, slowly ascending into the morning sky, warming up the surface of the earth.
Having received Shouta's email, A young girl in her first year of highschool wanted to make a close relationship with the boy who was picked to be in the same group as hers.
Takanashi Ichika likes to take showers in the morning, it was quick and didn't waste a lot of her time. The morning for her is the heaven of earth. The morning was quiet and the sun wasn't shining brightly on her skin. After taking a shower, she usually eats her breakfast first or does her homework.
Her room was a medium size japanese and western style room. She has a shelf filled to the brim with books. A table for studying and a pc for watching videos that are sent by Ryuu. Most of the videos are for studying purposes but some are dramas Takanashi loves to watch.
"Ichika, breakfast is ready!"
"Alright mum! I'll be there!"
.
This morning, Mia wasn't shaking my body. She wasn't waking me up this morning. Today was her interview day. She's going to be interviewed by a well known television studio. Her interview will start at 3 pm.
"..."
I got out of bed and walked straight to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I took a short bath and brushed my teeth. Then I walked down to the dining room and ate katsu cooked by Miss Yamamoto.
The weekend has started and I forgot about my partner's contact. I don't have any friends, except Sara, so I can't ask anyone for her contact. There are many reasons why I don't want to ask the other students for her contact. I'd rather go to school and ask my homeroom teacher.
Speaking of homeroom teachers, today, I have nothing to do, like any other day of the week. I could take some time to visit the school and ask for Takanashi's contact.
Alright then…
"I'll be heading off!"
"Have a safe trip, young master"
That was Miss Yamamoto Kaede, sending me off.
It was still 5 am, the streets were empty and it was cold. Probably too early for me to go to school, my homeroom teacher wouldn't be there when I arrived because it was still too early. Stopping by at the same supermarket, west of school.
The sliding doors to the train opened and I arrived at Shichirigahama station 5 minutes later.
The mini market still has the same feel when I first entered through the front, sliding doors. I bought the same thing as before, a cup of ramen and a burger with canned coffee, of course.
I couldn't care less about waiting, and waiting inside the mini market would be boring. No one to talk to, only sit and eat.
"Thank you for your visit!"
The sliding doors of the mini market slid open and I left the building. Crossing the road to the beach isn't hard. Though I could just run straight to the beach, because there were no cars around, not following the rules would cause serious trouble to me and my family.
It was like looking at a painting, the horizon over the waters looked like paint. It Reminds me of a work Sara once painted; the beautiful scenery of Enoshima island from the very same beach I'm standing on.
I took a deep breath, the cold air entered my nose. It's great but somewhat stings my nose. I then sat down on the staircase, leading to the beach, and I ate my second breakfast there.
I started singing to pass time.
"...Your wishes~ All of your desires~"
It's a song Sara wrote and sung back in primary school, at the end of our graduation.
"Even fate… Even destiny…"
When she sang her song, even without the music, her voice made everyone astounded.
"'Till the time comes… to say goodbye… let's enjoy the journey"
Comparing her voice back then and mine now, hers back then was still better. I couldn't make the high notes but the low notes, I can sing it but not as beautiful as Sara.
"..."
It was quiet. Every sound around me is so clear to my ears, even if someone tries to sneak up behind me, I could hear their footsteps. And that's what happened.
I turned my head around, burger in my left hand and my cup of noodle was on the stair.
"Good morning, Shouta"
Sara stood behind me, wearing her usual winter outfit. Though it wasn't winter, it sure is cold.
"Good morning, Sara"
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for mister Aikawa… I want to ask about Takanashi's email address"
"Why not just ask me?"
"...."
"I have her email address"
"...."
"Shouta?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you didn't ask me for—"
"Send it to me, fast!"
Today's plan is now different. Now, it's time to study for the project. If I want to make her satisfied to have a partner like me, I need to get to the same level as her. It will be hard, but It's going to be worth it.
"Oh, Shouta"
"What?"
"The president of our club said that she would like you to write a story for the manga series everyone agreed to"
"huh?"
"Did you forget?"
"p-probably"
I forgot. I totally forgot. The day before yesterday, when we were doing club activities, the club president wanted to make a manga series for the upcoming "falling star" festival.
—The falling star festival happens once every year. I don't know the history of this festival and why someone would name it "falling star", but I heard from the upperclassman that the festival's name changes every year. Last year was the Cosmetology festival and everything had a theme around the cosmos. And the festival now has to be themed about stars. Not much of a difference if you ask me.
The story of the manga has to be the same as the festival. I don't exactly remember, but I guess I willingly raised my hands when she asked who wanted to be the story writer.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"You look like you're about to explode...."
"What kind of joke is that?"
"It's not a joke. You look like you're about to explode"
"Don't say it with that straight face of yours! It makes me embarrassed"
"Why so?"
"Well... it's because..."
"...?"
"Aaaghh... In a manga, when a girl asks if something is wrong, the boy would say that everything's alright. Yet the girl doesn't want to accept that the boy is alright and insists on helping him..."
"Do you want me to do that?"
"Umm... Help would be great..."
"Alright then, I'll help you"
"Are you sure? cause I'm really not that creative with story Ideas"
"Yet you surprised the former president with your writing skills"
"Actually... I didn't write that myself, I had my father to help me with choosing the words and structure"
"All in one night?"
"Yeah... Father's amazing at making Ideas and languages..."
"When do you want me to help you"
"Are you free tomorrow?"
"Yeah"
.
Normally, people would buy groceries before breakfast. The family mart near her house had everything she needed to cook for breakfast. However, the reason she went to the family mart is to buy ingredients for lunch. She planned to make a barbecue while having fun on the beach.
She doesn't need to take the train or the bus. She only needed a 5-minute walk to the family mart. Once there, she bought beef and sauces for the barbeque, and also onions. It costs her a little less than one thousand yen.
It's going to be a great weekend for her and her friends.
Arriving back at her house, she went to her kitchen to prepare some of her ingredients. She has a backup plan: If the beach doesn't work for her barbeque, she'll do it at her house.
"Ichika, do you mind helping your mother with cleaning the house"
Takanashi Ichika's mother called out from the dining table. She was reading a book she borrowed from her friend.
"Okay mum!"
.
Does everyone think I'm in some relationship with Sara? There was the ongiri feeding thing, everyone was watching us. Moreover, there was that kiss, a random one.
I just had a feeling that someone was watching me when I was walking down the hallway with Sara yesterday.
"Shouta, I'm hungry"
"You haven't eaten breakfast yet?"
"No, I haven't"
"Hmm…"
If I take her back to my house, there's a chance that the food at home has already been eaten, leaving not a single bite for Sara.
"Wanna go to a nearby restaurant?"
Near the koshigoe station, there was a local family restaurant. When my mother is too weary to prepare, my family has visited her a few times for dinner.
The meal at the restaurant was excellent the last time I visited. The owner was nice enough to tell us about his business and his family, which my father and I were fascinated by.
We took the train back and walked to the restaurant. At this moment, it was already 8 am. The reason why we arrived almost 2 hours later is because I needed to use the bathroom, the cold wind brought something that I didn't want at that moment.
"..."
"Shouta, there's no restaurant…"
"No, there is a restaurant but apparently it's still closed…"
There was a sign in front of the restaurant saying they're closed due to the owner having a sickness.
I do understand, the owner was always the one who's behind the walls and cooked us the food. He also was the one who brought the food to our table.
"So… what else do you want t—"
—Suddenly, my phone turned on and made a soft beep.
I immediately grabbed my phone and checked my notifications. I received an email from Takanashi Ichika. When did I give her my email address?
"Shouta?"
"Sara… My stomach feels weird"
"Okay"
"..."
"..."
"—do you care?!"
"Yes, I do care"