*Ding Dong
The doorbell rang. No one responded.
*Ding Dong
The bell rang for the second time. Some quick steps were heard. Seemingly the person at the other side was rushing towards the door.
The door was creaking open. Hikari appeared before Toshiko in an unexpected appearance. Toshiko saw an unusual sight of her schoolmate in disoriented condition, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her messy hair and unbutton pajamas indicated that she just woke up from a night of sleep.
"Uhm... Who..?" Hikari had yet to come to her consciousness. With a groggy gaze, she blinked at the properly dressed girl in front of her for quite some times, trying to comprehend the unfamiliar sight before her.
Slowly, the eyes sent an impulse to the brain.
"Ah! Yamakawa-san!?"
*BAM!
The door was snapped shut, releasing a slamming sound through the air. Hikari was shocked by the arrival of her schoolmate.
'Crap! How could I forget the appointment I made with her today!?' She screamed internally while organizing the room cluttered with gaming console and tiny pieces of chips she had last night.
"Sorry, Yamakawa-san! Can you wait for a bit outside?" The loudness of her voice penetrated the supposedly soundproof door, reaching the hearing area of Toshiko who was outside of the room, even if it was partially clear.
"Oh-umm okay." Toshiko replied.
Hikari turned on ultra instinct. She grabbed the cleaning tools and instantly wiped out any dust and dirtiness in the room. Her gaming equipments were neatly arranged inside the drawer. Every gap and corner was not overlooked by her detailed cleaning mechanism. In just a few minutes, she managed to clear up her room to default. After that she took a quick shower and cleaned herself up.
Meanwhile Toshiko waited outside patiently. It was 9 a.m. in the morning therefore she had no concern on having to loiter around just for a bit. In the meantime she fixed her hair and clothes nicely. Today she was in a casual clothing, fitting to the purpose she had for this appointment. Long sleeve collar t-shirt paired with long skirt brought out the beauty of the princess-like girl to the fullest.
"Come in." Hikari welcomed her acquaintance with open arms.
"Pardon my intrusion." Toshiko politely asked for permission.
It was the first time Hikari had a female acquaintance come over, she had no idea what to do. Nonetheless she still had common sense.
"Feel free to make yourself at home, I'll make some tea."
"Thank you." Toshiko said as she rest her butt on a sofa.
...
...
...
It was awkwardly quiet. Both did not have any topic to talk about. Hikari was busy focusing on brewing tea while on the other hand, Toshiko was trying to find some ideas to create a conversation by glancing at every corner of the house, hoping that she could find something worth praising for. At long last, Hikari began the conversation first.
"Sorry, Yamakawa-san. I forgot you're coming today and I overslept." Hikari genuinely felt guilty for letting her schoolmate waited. She rarely feels bad for someone before, solely because she didn't even bother to care. However it was different now, she had resolved herself to be a better person.
"It's okay, it's okay. But you have to be more attentive to your promise next time."
"Yea, I'll put that in mind." Hikari openheartedly accepted her advice.
***
Two cups of tea were placed on the tiny table in front of the sofa where Toshiko was sitting. The graceful lady took a sip of the tea. Her eyes widened as the herbal liquid spread across her tongue. She looked into the cup for a couple of seconds before taking another sip.
"Delicious." Said Toshiko. Honest.
"Riight~ I'm glad you like it." Hikari too took a sip of her self-made tea.
"The richness in the flavor.. is it gyokuro?!" Toshiko inquired, her curiosity increased.
"Woah how do you know?"
Gyokuro is one of the rarest tea in Japan. Due to the difficulty to shade the plants and the long process in its cultivation, it is considered to be one of the most expensive tea in the world. This is the type of product that no mere commoner would ever laid their hands upon. However, some tea connoisseurs would buy this tea despite the high price because of its smooth and rich flavour.
These facts alone was enough proof for Toshiko to think that Hikari was from no ordinary family. After squeezing her brain through some times, she finally remembered the name of one of the most successful company.
"Nakano... are you from 'that' Nakano?"
"Aight now let's get cooking."
Without answering the question, Hikari slammed the table lightly and got up of her seat. She wasn't interested in further the conversation about her family. For her, it was not something to be proud of. She proceeded to the kitchen and rummaging through the drawer looking for some ingredients that could be used in cooking.
"Let me help."
Toshiko left her comfort zone and decided to offer some help. She understood that Hikari didn't want to talk about her family therefore she just ignored her curiosity.
"What do you wanna make?" Hikari inquired.
This whole plan was for Toshiko in the first place so it was fair to ask for her concern before beginning the session.
Chicken, eggs, rice, and every crucial ingredients in food-making were available in this household, taking in the addition ingredients which was brought by Toshiko from home.
"Let's see..."
Toshiko tried to remind of the dishes her mother ever made. All sorts of foods came to her mind but the height of difficulty were up, so she needed more time to squish the idea before making decision. She would not want to make a complicated thing like ramen for her first lesson. It would be easier to start off with a simple and classic japanese dish.
After a long thought process, she had finally came to a decision.
"Oyakodon."
"Ah, that's a good idea."
*Ding dong
the doorbell rang.
"Pardon, Yamakawa-san. Looks like someone is outside."
"Uhn, it's okay."
Hikari walked towards the front door. She was processing of who would've came over during this time. She didn't remember ordering stuffs online either.
The doorknob was turned, the door was pushed open with low force, slowly revealing the person on the other side.
"Hikari-chan~ I'm here!"
'Ah.. I forgot I did invite her too...'