The classroom is bustling with excited students as we wait for Yunasa to come in and start the homeroom. Exams are over and we are getting our results back today. I am pretty confident I did pretty well considering how much I had studied, but looking over Jay who's sweating bullets makes me a little concerned about how he thinks he did.
The study session really helped me and I think everyone else who was there. Yume and Ai told me they were prepared and felt good going into the exams. As expected, everything that was on the worksheet was on the test, so memorization could take you pretty far in it. I went over the equations Ai gave me to the night of the study session and that the math portion feel like a breeze.
"Jay!" Yunasa calls out. He gingerly walks to her desk and takes the paper. "You did a lot better than you've ever done. It looks like you actually took the time to study this time because it definitely showed. Good job," she happily congratulates him. "Was this due to Kousei?"
Jay flips the paper and breathes a sigh of relief after seeing his grade. "I would say he was the reason it got started, but he definitely wasn't the real reason why I did so well..." I peer over at Noeri who is cheerfully smiling at him from her desk.
I can only imagine the kind of hell he went through for this exam. He told me he didn't get to enjoy any free time before the exam because of Noeri. She had him study for the entire weekend, leaving him with no choice but to actually pay attention and study. I don't think he could've done bad on the exam if he tried.
"Sp, what grade did you get?" I ask as he sits down at his desk next to me. "You look pretty relieved so I assume you got at least above average."
He slowly looks over at me. His eyes look like those of a dead fish, he's got heavy bags and dark circles underneath them too. "You really think Noeri would be satisfied with the above average?" He shows me his grades and I am in complete and utter disbelief. "If this is what I can do when I study hard in two days, who knows what I would be capable of if I studied like a normal person."
My jaw drops and my eyes shoot open. "You got a 99?! That means you only missed one or two questions on the whole exam! You probably did the best in the entire class!" I shout in a whisper as to not disrupt the class.
"I highly doubt it..." he mutters just as Noeri is called up. "I bet she's the only one to get a perfect score on this exam."
Noeri looks at her paper and the happy atmosphere that surrounded her up to that point had just ran out the door and bolted down the street and was replaced with a disappointed, sad one. She walks back to her desk looking down and distraught.
"Are you sure about that? It might just be me, but you may have outscored her on your first try," I whisper, nudging him with my elbow.
"There's no way she did that badly. I'll have to ask her when we get out of class," he reaffirms to me.
Eventually Ai's name was called and she looked very satisfied with the score she had received. As the last one without a paper in their hands, I was called up.
"Kousei, you did extremely well this time around. I can tell that the study group session really helped seeing as you did a lot better on the math portions than normal," Yunasa politely says. "Great job."
I flip the paper over and check out the grade. "Yeah, that's the best grade I've had since I moved here!" I happily make my way back to my desk and show it to Jay. "A 95 ain't bad and is definitely a step up from my last exam grade."
"Yeah, you got a 95 without being hounded and forced to study though, I probably could've gotten the same without going through everything I went through..." Jay yawns as he rests his head on his desk.
"Alright everyone, with the exams being over, it is finally time for you guys to start enjoying the next couple of months because Summer will officially start once the bell rings!" Yunasa cheerfully announces to the class. The classroom erupts in a storm of cheering and yelling as everyone in the room can't contain their excitement. Unlike most teachers who would tell the students to settle down, Yunasa was also shouting along with them. I guess even teachers get excited for the break they get over Summer.
After the room settles down, Yunasa continues what she was saying. "Be sure to be responsible over the break. Don't do anything dangerous... but if you do, be sure to do it with friends so it will stay as a memory for all of you guys." The class again cheers but settles down a lot quicker. "Other than that, be sure to enjoy yourselves and don't have any regrets. You only get a certain amount of time before you become a full fledged adult and lose all the free time and lack of responsibilities you have now. So go have fun, and make plenty of memories that you can carry with you forever!"
The school bell rings and everyone makes their way out of the classroom. I don't like dealing with crowds of people so I just patiently wait at my desk until the room clears. Ai seems to have the same idea because she also waits behind. Jay is sleeping at his desk and Noeri is still blankly staring at her paper with her grades on it.
Yunasa gets her things together and walks over to me. "So what plans do you have over this Summer Break?" She sits at the desk in front of me and spins her chair around to face me.
As Eden is an island owned by both the United States and Japan, there is a bit of culture from both sides blended into the stuff that goes on. There are a lot of smaller festivals that are held by the island owners and shop districts, but the biggest one is on the last July 28th, which is the founding date of the island. The festival on that day is spread over the entirety of Eden, shop owners and other small businesses make small stalls and venues to do whatever they want. For example the restaurant owners may do a food stall and some of the small businesses can do a little friendly shooting gallery or ring toss.
Along with the shop owners and other small businesses, the university also likes to get involved and do something for the festival as well. Last year, they let the band club do a live performance near the climax of the festival and that had an amazing turnout. The year before that, they had a cooking competition that anyone on the island was allowed to participate in. The judges were 15 random university students and the winner got some prize money and the recognition of having the food on Eden. They haven't decided what they are going to do this year yet, but the students do offer some ideas to the school via an online form. After a week of letting the ideas come in, the school staff members will vote and decide on three of the ideas sent in. After that, all of the students are instructed to come to the school to vote on one of the three options and the one with the most votes wins.
"As of right now, I don't have any plans. I think I'll go to a few of the smaller festivals around the island and go check out the normal stuff like the aquarium and planetarium," I answer. As a more introverted person, I'll more than likely be spending a lot of my Summer in my room chilling.
Yunasa gently pokes my forehead. "Be sure to let me know if you go to any festivals. I'll be sure to make sure I'm free." She then leans in next to my ear. "Or would you rather I set everything up and I just give you the time and location?" she whispers. My ear twitches because of the stimulation overload.
"I can't have you planning everything. I'll invite you out the first time and you can invite me out after that?" I propose.
She leans back in the chair. "Alright, but don't keep me waiting for too long. If I were to be the one to invite you out, I'd be asking you right now." She gets up and flips her hair and she turns around. "Just shoot me a message, I'll happily be waiting." She struts out of the room, leaving just four of us behind.
"So, when you gonna hit that?" I hear Jay mutter. "If you don't get some over the Summer, we are fighting on the first day back." I look over and see his eyes glued at the door from which Yunasa had just left out of. "I definitely wouldn't be able to hold back after what happened at your apartment for your guys' first meet up."
"I know you wouldn't, but unlike you, I have self control," I retort. "And stop listening in to our conversations, it's weird."
"I don't really know how I'm supposed to ignore it when you guys are like two feet away from me. I can't just rip off my ears whenever I want," he jokes. "And also, another way of saying you have self control is saying you're a virgin."
"What does being a virgin have to do with having self control?" I question.
Jay smirks. "Most people who have lost their virginity don't have that kind of self control and let loose. If you keep having that self control, you'll never pull the trigger whenever the time arises."
I don't want to agree, but I don't think he's wrong. I tend to overthink situations and panic which leads to the mood changing and the opportunity passing. Granted I'm sure Yunasa wouldn't be afraid to be the aggressor in that situation.
"Maybe, but I think being responsible and wanting the first time to be special is a perfectly normal thing," I argue, not backing down. "Also, why are you talking as if you aren't one yourself?"
Jay shrugs. "You have a point, but just because I am one doesn't mean I don't know when a chance presents itself. Let's be honest, if we asked a complete stranger to pick one of us that isn't a virgin, I'd definitely be the one that gets picked."
I can't disagree as I nod in acknowledgement. "That's true."
Jay takes a peek over at Noeri who is finally packing up her things to leave. Seems like she finally got over the shock of her grade. "I'm gonna go check on her. I'll message you later about some hangout plans over the Summer." He grabs his belongings and taps on my desk lightly as he walks over to Noeri.
I decide that's my signal to also take my leave. I started packing up my stuff and looked around the room one last time. I'll only be attending the university for the next two years, but those two years will be over in a flash. Looking back at my childhood and pre-university school life, it seemed like it lasted forever at the time, but those years flew by without me even noticing. This is why I like to take things slower now and really take it in.
As I'm leaving the room, I feel a tug on the back of my shirt. I turn around to see Ai gently holding onto it. "Oh, um..." her voice trails off. She seems in somewhat of a panic or at least at a loss for words. As shy as she is, she's pretty cute when she tries to take the initiative.
"You want me to walk you home?" I suggest. I can tell she's trying her hardest to say something, so I figured I could help her out.
She quickly panics and shakes her head. "That's not it..." Her grip on my shirt tightens. "Do you want to go on a date?" she blurts out.
The volume caught me and herself off guard as she immediately looked at the ground, groaning in embarrassment. She was loud enough to get Jay and Noeri's attention. They both stopped what they were doing and look over in our direction.
"Uh... yeah! You mind if I go drop my things off at my apartment first? You can drop your stuff off at my apartment if you want, or we can meet up after you drop your things off at home?" I answer excitedly. Going on a date with Ai definitely wasn't something on my bingo card for today, but there isn't anything wrong with surprise dates. If anything, they have a certain charm about them because you really don't know what's going to happen during it.
"If you don't mind me dropping my stuff off at your apartment..." she whispers, probably still thinking about how she blurted out what she said earlier.
"Sure, let's get going." I smile and begin to walk back to my apartment. Ai continued to hold onto my shirt until we got off the university premises. After she let go, she walked at my side the entire walk to my place.
The Summer heat was starting to settle in, but the Sprites still kept Eden at a comfortable temperature. There wasn't as much wind today, so Sprites were really the only reason it was blistering hot outside. Ai's long, dark purple hair swayed lightly as she walked. Her ribbon neatly tied at the back of her hair.
When we arrive at my apartment, I set my bags down in the living room. "You can set your bags anywhere, and you can make yourself at home."
Ai gently sets her bags on the couch. "Thanks," she says as she sits down. "You really do keep your living space pretty clean. I was thinking the study night was only clean because you knew people were coming in advance, but it seems I was wrong."
I let out a sigh. "Sadly, you aren't the first person to say that. Do I really give off a 'dirty room' kind of vibe?" I ask as I grab some water from my fridge.
"Oh, no that's not what I meant to say!" she stammered. "I have a younger brother and he doesn't keep his room cleaned at all, so I just assumed most boys were like that..."
"I was just messing with you," I tease and laugh. "I do feel like most guys my age do keep their living spaces relatively clean, but not as clean as me. If there is one thing I can confidently brag about, it is my cleaning skills." A skill I picked up from my mom that will never be dropped for as long as I live.
"I was going to say something when I came over for the first time for the study day, but I never got the chance to say anything."
The way I would describe Ai to someone who's never met her, is that she's a shy, proper lady. She follows all the proper etiquette standards for someone who, I'd assume, grew up in a wealthy family. She speaks in a more formal tone and the way she sits is in proper, or sophisticated form. Considering how shy she is and how she acts around people in a public setting, she definitely seems more on the closeted side, like in the sense that she was taken care, probably too much.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask her as I pat myself down, making sure I have everything I need on me.
Ai nods and gets up from the couch. "Yes, but I do have one concern. Being the one who invited you, I should be the one who should have a date plan ready, but I don't..." she utters. "So, is there any place that you would like to go?" she asks as she walks to my side.
I rest my finger on my chin. "I can't think of anything on the spot. Are there any places you haven't been yet?"
Since Eden is relatively average sized for an island, there is a limit to how many things we can do here. Not to say there isn't anything to do, but for a spontaneous date, it's tough to find something.
Ai ponders my question as we make our way to the elevator. "Oh, how about the arcade?" she exclaims. "I've walked by it a few times, but I've never had the courage to go in by myself."
That doesn't surprise me seeing how sheltered she is. Although, going to the arcade didn't even cross my mind. Maybe it was because she doesn't strike me as the type of person to enjoy a place like that, but I may have been too assuming in that sense.
"Sure! I've been there a few times with Jay and they have plenty of games to play. They've got old arcade machines and claw machines, even some other ones like ski-ball and pinball. There's also a section in the back corner with some rhythm games," I explain happily.
It had been a while since Jay and I last went there, but I do remember always having a blast when we went. Since most of the newer generation of kids grew up on game consoles and phone games, arcades are pretty rare in this day in age. When I first moved to Eden, I was very surprised to hear they had an arcade set up, so I guess there are some people out there who still like the older arcade style of games. There's usually a few people in there at a time because of the lack of interested people, but since its owned by one of the higher up officials for Eden, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Her eyes lit up as I explained what was in the arcade. "Oh! I've heard of ski-ball and pinball! I've seen videos of people playing them at other arcades and it looked like a lot of fun!" Her purple eyes were sparkling at the thought of playing them. "How many times are we allowed to play it?"
"We can play it as many times as we want, but we also don't want to hog the game so other people can't play it," I asserted. "But as long as no one is wanting to play, we could technically play any game for as long as we want."
The elevator doors open and Ai grabs my hand, dragging me out of it. "Well come on! Let's get there before it gets too busy!" she cheers, leading the charge to the arcade.
"I don't think we need to worry about it that much," I jokingly responded.
When we arrive at the arcade, we are met with the place relatively to ourselves. There were a couple of people playing on some of the arcade machines, but everything else was free reign. We go ahead and buy a pass that allows us in. They put a wristband on us to signify that we paid. All of the machines are playable without inserting tokens so you can hop from one machine to the next without worrying about tokens.
"Where's the ski-ball at?" Ai excitedly looks around.
"It's in the back, straight ahead. They have some other machines like a small basketball hoop next to it too," I say as I lead her to the back.
We walk up to the ski-ball lanes and Ai starts gasping in excitement. "Oh how do we start playing?!" she enthusiastically asks, like a child going to a theme park for the first time.
I can't help but smile and laugh. "There's a button on the lane that you press, and that will trigger the game to start. Just don't have your hands in the hole where the balls are gonna come rolling down or you will get your hands smashed."
She presses the button and the balls roll down into the hole on the side. She grabs one of the balls and looks at me as if she doesn't know what to do. I nod my head as a signal for her to go ahead and play. Ai looks down the lane and lightly rolls the ball down the lane.
It barely makes it over the lip and dips into the lowest point slot. I thought she would be a little disappointed after scoring the lowest amount on her first roll, but I couldn't have been further from the truth. She started jumping like a little school girl and pointed at the lane. "Did you see that?! I got the ball down the lane and got points!"
You know what they say, enjoy the small things in life.
"You did!" I cheer to match her energy. "On the next one, throw it with more power and try to aim for the ones in the top corners! Those will get you the most points!"
She grabs her next ball and stares down the target in the top right corner. She swings her arm back and sends the ball down the lane with a lot more force than the first time. The ball hits the ceiling and immediately falls into the ring above the lowest. Instead of jumping for joy, Ai quickly grabs another ball and rolls it with the perfect amount of power to get it to where it needs to go. The ball goes into the top pocket.
"Kousei, I did it!" she cheers as she runs to me and hugs me. "Did you see how perfectly I rolled the ball?!"
I look down at her and can't help but get swept in by the excited emotions she's feeling. "Yeah! You got that top pocket shot down a lot faster than I did when I played for the first time!" I yell as I hug her back. Her eyes shine so brightly with happiness and satisfaction. They shone so bright, it was as if I could see an actual star in them.
She finishes her game and is having the time of her life. I've honestly never seen someone enjoy playing ski-ball this much, but there's a first for everything and to be fair, I enjoyed watching her play just as much as she enjoyed playing.
"Alright, now that I have a game under my belt, I think I'm ready to challenge you," she remarks, pointing a finger at me. "You think you can beat me after watching me?"
I smirk, adamant I can beat her. "The real question you should be asking is if you can even come close to beating me?" I walk to the lane next to hers. "Let the best ski-ball player win!"
We press the button on our lanes and start our competition.
"..." I look at my scoreboard, then over at Ai's. "How did you get over triple my score?! I even scored better than your first game!" I argue.
Ai puffs her chest out proudly. "It seems like you were highly underestimating me based on a singular performance." She shoots me a confident smirk. "We can make it a best of five if you want?"
"You're on!" I press the button and we start the next game.
"..." There were no words that could describe the amount of disappointment I was feeling at the moment. Not only had I lost every game, but I kept losing by more and more each time. I fall to my knees and stare at the ground in defeat. "This can't be happening..."
Ai walks over and squats down next to me. "It's okay Kousei, not everyone can be good at everything."
Those words lit a fire inside of me that hadn't been ignited for some time. My competitive spirit had awoken and now it was time for revenge.
"Alright, but let me pick the next game. I will enact my revenge and prove to you that I am the best arcade player here," I adamantly express. "You will feel true defeat at this next game."
"We'll see about that," Ai says with the biggest, prideful smile on her face.
I take us over to a fighting game arcade machine. Fighting games are what Jay and I mostly played when we came by. He always challenges me, claiming that he had been training and had gotten better, but alas he has never known victory against me. I plan on keeping my undefeated streak alive against Ai. I will accept giving her a warm up game against bots first, but after that, it's on.
After playing a game against bots, I sit down in the machine across from her. The way its set up is the person sitting in the opposite machine across from you is your opponent so we can't see each other.
"I hope you're ready to see what it feels like to lose!" I shout. Again, this is a game I have never known defeat in. If there's anything in here that I can confidently beat anyone in, it's this.
"What are you going to do after I beat you three times in a row?" I hear her shout back in response. I peak my head around the side of the machine and see Ai poking her head out as well with a very devious look. "I'm ready when you are."
I pick my favorite character and lean forward in the seat. Everything else going on around me slowly fades away as I completely lock myself in mentally. I pick my favorite character and the match starts.
"..." I smugly walked over to Ai's seat. "So, what was that about winning three matches in a row?"
Her eyes were watery and her cheeks were puffed out. "I thought you would've taken it easy on me..."
I squat down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "If I did that, I would've been lying to who I truly am. It doesn't matter who is on the other side, my goal to utterly defeat the opposing person is all that matters." I tauntingly wink at her as I take my hand off her shoulder.
"Ugh, fine! I'll pick the next game then!" she declares passionately.
Out of every side I could've expected to come from Ai, a highly competitive side wasn't something that even crossed my mind. It's a stark contrast to the person she is at school, and I'm really enjoying it. I can see Yume acting a bit competitive, but nowhere near as Ai is. I can tell how badly she wants to win and hates losing just from the two games we've played so far and I'm having a great time battling her.
After playing the fighting game, we continue our battles on every arcade machine that is available. She challenged me to a racing game next and as racing games are my forte, I absolutely dusted her in the five races we ran. However, I find out she has an amazing sense of rhythm and hand-eye coordination as she crushes me at all three of the rhythm games they have. I bring the record back to an even score after beating her at the basketball game and pinball.
A good amount of time had passed and it was clearly dark looking outside of the glass doors. "Alright, I say we settle it here," I suggest, slapping a crane machine. "The first one to win a prize wins."
Ai walks over and looks at what's inside. "Deal, but I get to go first," she nods, acknowledging my suggestion.
The machine is full of big stuffed animals. It doesn't seem too difficult to grab, but I automatically assume that because the stuffed animals are so large, that the actual crane we use to grab them is very weak. I take a step back and give the first attempt to Ai.
She has her eyes set on a stuffed penguin that's sitting on top of a pile near the back corner. At first glance, it does seem like an easy target to get, but crane games are never that easy. She positions the crane over the penguin and presses the button to send the claw down. It grabs the penguin with what looks like a winning grip, but just as it starting lifting, it easily slid out of the claws grasp, coming away empty handed.
"What?! That was a perfect grip on it!" Ai complains.
"That's what you're made to believe," I grin. "No crane machine is ever that easy. There's always some kind of trick to getting something whether it's by slowly moving what you want closer to hole after multiple attempts, or just getting a grip that you wouldn't think should work, but will."
I walk to the front of the machine and set my sights on a seal near the hole. It's kind of stuck beneath another stuffed animal, but not enough to not warrant avoiding. I sent the claw down a little off to the side of the seal, but I was able to snag a piece of it and it was brought up a bit, but that was it.
We exchange turns a few times, with a little bit of progress for both of us. She got her penguin positioned in the middle of the pool of stuffed animals while I got my seal to a good spot where it'll take one grab to get it into the hole.
Ai is able to set up a beautiful grab. The claw was able to keep it in its grip as it went up, but because of the weight and the little bit of swaying, the claw lost grip and it fell on top of my seal.
I move the claw above the penguin. "Ai, why did you choose the penguin?" I ask.
I expect a simple answer, but she tilts her head and looks at it, like she's trying to figure out why. She smiles and puts her hand on the screen. "I think I decided on the penguin because I really like them. But there's more to it besides them being cute." She moves closer to me, and leans a bit on me. "I've heard that some penguins are very loyal to their partner. They wait and eventually find one they like. After that, they are pretty much together forever. They never leave each other's side or go off to find another penguin, and I find that very charming for such adorable creatures."
A much deeper answer that I was expecting and because I was so busy listening to her, my timer ran out signaling my turn had ended. As I'm still thinking about what she said, it all turned into dust as she moved me over in a swift motion. I saw her position the claw in the exact spot I had and press the button. As expected, the claw grabbed and hung onto the penguin, sending it down the hole when it opened its grip.
Ai opened the flap and pulled out the penguin. "So it seems I am the winner of this competition!"
I stand there, full of shock from what had just transpired. Not only had I pretty much skipped my turn, but it was my game to win and I threw it away just like that. Completely heart broken, I once again fall to my knees before the victor.
"Was... was that whole thing about why you picked the penguin a lie and just a way for you to take my attention away from the game?" I sobbed as I looked up at her.
She flipped her hair and gave a little sophisticated scoff. "Of course I was trying to divert your attention away from the game." I hang my head as I stare blankly at the floor. "But, what I said was the truth. I really do love penguins for those reasons." She holds the penguin in between me and the floor. "I really hate losing, so I will win by any means possible given the situation," she says in a fake, deeper voice she gave the penguin.
I can't help but laugh at her attempt at a deeper voice. "Sorry, that just wasn't the voice I was expecting to hear whenever you held the penguin in front of me." I slowly stood up to see Ai covering her face with the penguin. "Aw, is someone a little too embarrassed now after that?" I tease.
She peaks over the penguin revealing her burning red cheeks and shimmering purple eyes.
"Maybe..."
Ba-dum... Ba-dum...
I feel my chest tighten and start to feel warm. My heart increases causing me to look away abruptly. That was way too cute!
We exited the arcade and the sun that was once out when we arrived had gone into a slumber, being replaced by the moon. There are a few clouds in the sky, but not enough to hide all the stars. The bugs were humming as we headed back to my apartment.
When we got there, both of us plopped on the couch, letting the body relax for a minute. I turn on the TV and throw my legs on the table. Ai politely fixes her posture and rests her hands on her lap.
"You can relax here you know. I'm not going to judge you or anything. If anything, the fact that you are still acting prim and proper after how I saw you at the arcade is throwing me off," I assert. "It's not that I don't like seeing the prim and proper you, but I feel like the you at the arcade was more of who you really are and I want to see more of that..."
"Oh, it's not like I'm hiding anything or trying to act differently. I'm just a competitive person and it sometimes bleeds out when I get really into something." She leans back into the couch. "Also, I'm not very good at relaxing. I was raised to have a proper posture and etiquette by my mom."
"I've been wondering for a bit, but is your family more on the wealthy side?" I ask while we were on the topic. It had come across my mind a few times seeing how she acts and I was just genuinely curious.
Ai sighs, "You're not the first person to ask that. Noeri actually asked me that the first day she ever met me. I do realize that the way I act and stuff seems as if I was brought up in that kind of environment, but my family is undeniably in the middle class." She pulls out her phone and starts showing me pictures of her and her family. "My mom has always been strict on me and my younger brother since we were kids. She taught us how to act like prim and proper people for all of our lives so everything we do is muscle memory at this point."
In all of the photos, they look like a completely normal family, but in all of the pictures, not a single one was of her or her brother doing something. All of them were pictures of the family doing group photos or photos by themselves, but like they were instructed to stand still and properly take a photo.
"Did she not let you guys do kid stuff? Despite coming from a middle class family, you do seem extremely sheltered from a lot of stuff. Of course if you don't want to talk about this, we don't have to," I add, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.
She shakes her head and scoots closer to me. "No, I don't mind. It's just not a topic I talk to people about very often." She rests her hand on top of mine. "But since you are my partner, it's probably better to talk about this now rather than later. It's really not as deep as you may think it is, but it is something that determines how I act depending on where I'm at."
I go grab us some drinks from the fridge and sit back down next to her. She snuggles up close to me. There is a cozy and romantic atmosphere in the room, but I push those thoughts to the side. "You can go ahead and start wherever you want."
She rests her head on my shoulder and takes a deep breath.
"So, growing up, it was always my mom's dream to become rich and become a kind of celebrity. She wanted to become noticed by the world for who she is and what she did. She enjoyed doing plays and other drama stuff so she went to classes to work on becoming an actress. She auditioned for any play she could for experience. After graduating high school, she went to a college that specializes in acting and she was very well known around it. She got leading roles for almost every play she auditioned for, and eventually she met my dad as he was her supporting lead role. It was a romantic play and as they got more into the parts, they got more into each other and eventually started dating. They both followed their dreams and continued to audition for plays and other theatrical parts. Eventually my mom got a break and was offered a leading role for an indie movie. She was so excited, but perhaps a little too excited..." Her voice trails off. Her grip on my hand tightens. "As fate would have it, leading up to the film, my mom was surprised with some news. Her and my dad were going to be parents... with me..."
I look over at her and her eyes seem to have lost their shine. "And I'm guessing that affected her part in the film?" I cautiously ask.
She nods slowly. "Because of her pregnancy, she had to forfeit her part in the movie. My dad and her didn't want to split the attention so they gave up on being actors and focused on becoming full-time parents. They both had to get normal jobs with a stable income, but they were never upset about it. I was given their full attention, but as time passed, it was clear their passion for acting was still in them and my mom still wanted the rich lavish lifestyle. She didn't want to force her dreams on me and my brother, but she made a compromise in her mind. If we can't work our way to a rich life, maybe we can marry our way into it. So she made us practice proper etiquette and the likes from childhood. She tried using her old connections from her acting days to try and hook my brother and I up with other kids from wealthy families, but none of them worked out. She claimed it was because we were proper enough, so up until my time on Eden, I was only practicing my etiquette. We weren't allowed to do the things normal kids could so that's where my 'sheltered' outlook came from. Not once did I ever feel unloved by my mom, but at the same time, not ever did I ever feel truly loved by her either."
We sit in silence for a moment as I take in everything she just said. It wasn't what I was expecting by any means, but it does explain why she acts the way she does.
"There's one thing I don't quite understand. Did your dad just let all of this happen without doing anything?" Throughout her entire story, her dad was only mentioned a couple of times.
"He was more hands off when it came to parenting, so pretty much anything my mom wanted to do for us, he supported blindly," she confessed. "Some people may call him a dead beat dad."
Maybe when I meet her parents, I will get more of an understanding of them. "Well I don't really know what to say to all of that." I do feel bad but I'm not the best at consoling people besides being there for them. Most of the time that is enough, but not being able to say much still makes me feel bad, like I want to do more for them, but I can't.
"You don't have to say anything," she calmly says. "Just you being here is good enough with me." I put my arm around her and she snuggles in close. "Thanks for listening."
I rub her arm to relax her. "I will listen to any problems you have at any time."
We sat on the couch together for a few minutes. I look over at the clock I have in the kitchen and notice how late it has gotten.
"Hey, it's getting pretty late, you can stay here if you want or I can walk you home," I offer. It is very late and I don't know exactly how tired she is. We did go to school in the morning then spent a few hours at an arcade. I'd say that's pretty taxing on the normal introvert.
Ai smiles and gets up from the couch, stretching out her arms and back. "My apartment is only one bus stop away so you can wait with me at the bus stop until it comes." She grabs her bags and puts on her shoes.
"Sure thing." I stand up and put my shoes on.
The bus stop is right across the street from my apartment so the walk to it didn't take very long.
"So, I've heard you've already kissed both Yunasa and Yume..." she remarks. "How was it?"
A bead of sweat runs down my forehead. There's only one person who knows I kissed Yunasa... I am going to have a word with Jay tomorrow it seems.
"Yes... but I didn't exactly seek it out. It was just something that kinda happened in the heat of the moment..." my voice trails off.
"Well, I can't have them getting too far ahead of me..." Ai shyly walks in front of me. "I love you, Kousei..." Her words are silenced as she presses her lips on mine.
She peels away for a second but quickly follows it up with another kiss. Her lips tasted sweet and I found myself lost in her lips. It didn't last as long as I'd hoped as I heard the bus pulling in. She gave me a big hug, then waved goodbye as she got on the bus.
"Be sure to get some practice in at the arcade so I don't beat your butt as bad as I did today!" she shouted at me as the doors closed.
I can't help but smirk as I watch the bus drive down the road. As I walk back to my apartment, I think about all that happened today. "It's not even the first actual day of Summer yet I feel like I just had a full Summer Event happen already." I whisper to myself.
I crawl into bed with a big smile on my face. I can't help but think about what's going to happen this Summer. Unlike the past couple of them, I actually have more people to hang out with, no offense to Jay. It's gonna be full of fun memories that I can't wait to make. A part of me does feel a little sad since this will be the only Summer I get to spend with either Yunasa, Ai, or Yume. I don't want to neglect any of them and I want to make them all happy at the end of the day, despite me having to eliminate one of them next year.
I brush the sad thoughts away because that's a problem for the future. Right now, all I want to do is have fun. The first official day of Summer Break starts tomorrow and I can't wait to see how it goes!