30 minutes later
I finished the cup of ramen I had leftover from last night.
— "Thank you for the food."
[In Japan, it's a ritual to thank the gods for the food before starting and after finishing a meal.]
Now that breakfast was done, I started thinking about taking a bath. It felt kinda weird to bathe after eating, but since it was my first day at college, I figured I should go in clean.
I quickly stepped out of my room and made my way to the bathroom next to the kitchen—the only bathroom on the entire floor. I grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open…
And then, I saw something I shouldn't have.
Akari. In the bathtub.
...Shit. Not again.
For a split second, my mind went blank. But then, panic kicked in.
She still hadn't noticed me, so if I just slowly closed the door without making a sound, I might be able to survive this.
Why the hell didn't she lock the door?!
I carefully reached for the doorknob, ready to close it inch by inch. Almost there. Just a little more..The moment I thoguht I can survive this, a bug flew right in front of my face.
I flinched, my arm jerked, and the door made a creak!
Akari turned her head. Our eyes met.
I was like Shit
— "AGHHHHHHHH! PERVERT!!" She Screamed
I instantly slammed the door shut, pressing my back against it.
— "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she shouted from inside. "PEEKING AT ME WHILE I'M BATHING?!"
— "I WASN'T PEEKING!" I yelled back. "AND WHO THE HELL PEAKS WITH THE DOOR WIDE OPEN?!"
— "SO YOU DO KNOW HOW TO PEEK?! YOU IDIOT!!" She shouts
— "WHY DIDN'T YOU LOCK THE DAMN DOOR?!" I yelled frustrated
— "Well, excuse me! In my house, it's just me, my mom, and my little sister, so I don't bother locking it!" She said clearing out
— "You should have bothered!"
— "Whatever!! I know it's my fault, but you should've knocked!"
— "WHO KNOCKS A DOOR WHICH IS CLEARLY OPEN?!"
— "You should've! You have the most talented lady living with you—your senses should've told you to knock!"
— "My senses don't work like that!"
— "Well, your senses are dumb then!"
After a while
When she finally finished bathing, Akari stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel.
The first thing she saw was me, standing there with my arms crossed.
— "What the hell are you staring at, idiot?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
— "How can you just leave the bathroom door open while you're inside?!"
She shrugged before saying
— "I already told you. I don't have any boys hanging around my house—it's just me, my mom, and my little sister. My dad lives out of town. I never needed to lock doors, so it became a habit."
— "Well that's a stupid habit" I said not realizing I said that out loud.
Akari's eyes darkened as she glared at me. "What did you just say?"
I need to fix this damn Habit first!
— "Uh—I mean, you need to fix that habit! It was just me this time, but one day, it could be someone way worse."
— "The only thing worse right now is that I have to live with you for next six months." She said
I sighed before saying
— "Are you even taking this seriously?"
I crossed my arms before saying again
— "Whatever. New rule: LOCK. THE. DOOR. Every time. Whether it's the bathroom, your room, or whatever."
— "And you have to knock before entering," she smirked, clearly enjoying my frustration.
She glanced at the clock.
— "Oh crap, it's already 10 AM."
Then she looked back at me.
— "I wasted so much of my precious time on you..I'll be late for college,Somthing take me away from the reality where I have to live with a boy" She said
— "Oh yeah… I forgot you go to college too." I said
— "Of course I do! And it's way better than whatever trash college you're going to." She said arrogant smirk on her face
— "I don't recall telling you my college name." I said
— "Doesn't matter. It'll be better than yours."
She smirked arrogantly.
— "What college do you go to anyways?" I asked.
She scoffed before saying
— "You don't ask about things that are out of your league, Kazuma. Learn it."
I clenched my fist. This girl…
But I held back my frustration and let it go.
Meanwhile Akari went to her room,After grabbing her bag, Akari got ready for her first day of college. She stepped out of her room, looking around.
But Kazuma was nowhere to be seen.
— Where did that idiot go? I had something to tell him…
She noticed the bathroom door was closed.
— Oh. He's probably taking a bath.
She hesitated for a second.
— I should leave a note… but what if he thinks I care about him? What if he thinks it's a love letter and teases me without even reading it? …No, I'm overthinking. I just need him to do something, that's all. Yeah. That's it.
She grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled a note, and left it on the dining table before heading out the door.
10 minutes later
I stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for my first day.
As I walked into the dining area, I spotted a folded note on the table.
It had "From Akari" written on the front.
I stared at it.
— "Is this… some kind of love letter? Or a disgusting prank?"
I shook my head. "No, wait… Akari wouldn't write a love letter. And she wouldn't pull a prank for no reason either…"
I unfolded the note and read it.
"You idiot!! Always getting lost when it's something important. Anyway, I already left the apartment for college. When you leave, lock the front door and give the keys to Uncle Mashira. I wrote this because I figured you'd forget and take the key with you. We still haven't exchanged numbers, so don't get the wrong idea. That's the only reason I wrote this note." — Akari
I blinked.
— "Don't get the wrong idea? Literally everything written in this note is wrong."
I sighed
— "I wouldn't have forgotten something this important…"
I thought about it for a second.
— "Okay, maybe I would've, but I would've remembered eventually!"
I shook my head
— "Whatever, I need to hurry. It's already 10:30 AM. I have to reach before 11."
I rushed to my room, packed my bag, and headed outside. After locking the apartment door, I took a deep breath and looked straight ahead.
— "New beginning feels so good."
I took my first step forward.
And then I realize..First day at College and New begining is good and all but I just realized that I don't know which college I even go to
Fu—