COMING OF AGE | Nishimura Riki

013 | attractive force

nishimura riki
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Once we had refilled Mai's stock, it was time to change location. We went outside and walked to a nearby convenience store. Instead of heading toward the entrance of the convenience store, Mai guided me to the backside where trucks and staff park their car.

Mai opened one of the dumpsters and started to look through it.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I grabbed her hand to make her stop.

"I assume you have never heard of dumpster diving" Mai stated.

"Dumpster diving? Are you going to dive into this?" I responded out of confusion.

"Dumpster diving does not mean you literally dive into the dumpster. Many stores like convenience stores throw away their products even if they haven't reached the expiration date or are broken" Mai said.

After hearing Mai's explanation, I picked up one of the products I found in the dumpster; a sandwich that is still wrapped around in their package and is reaching the expiration date in a week.

I gave the sandwich to Mai as I started to question the products in the dumpster. Throwing away food before it reaches its expiration date is a waste of food, but does that mean we can just take it?

"Is this legal?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It is legal to give someone a sandwich, yes" Mai answered with a smile.

I let out a chuckle and then continued the dumpster diving. Mai however, decided to do the true definition of dumpster diving by jumping into the dumpster. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me down, causing me to fall into the dumpster with her.

I landed with Mai underneath me, my body lying upon hers, and our faces inches apart.

"What on earth is going on here?" A male voice suddenly spoke out. It was the guy Mai slapped earlier.

"What do you think is going on here?" Mai asked proudly.

The guy looked at us suspiciously and then left us alone. Both me and Mai burst out in laughter afterward. As our laughter slowly faded out and our faces are still inches apart, it's impossible to not look at her.

In my mind, I started to fantasize about me tucking a piece of her hair behind the ear before I leaned in and-

I pushed myself up before I let my fantasy go too far. Mai smiled at me before she pushed me, causing me to fall backward. She attacked me and initially started a soft wrestling match between us. I hope I will be able to take a shower before my next encounter with His and Her Majesty since I won't have a reliable lie as to why I smell like garbage.

⛅

Before the sunrise this morning, I had little to no expectations of how this day would be. I woke up this morning, not knowing today was going to be my happiest day in a very long time.

I might smell like garbage after doing dumpster diving and wrestling inside a dumpster. I also helped Mai with storing drugs. So to summarize today, it's been a day full of illegal activities. I do feel guilty for my actions, mischief has never been a word in my vocabulary until today.

"Your hotdog is burned" Mai suddenly said.

I immediately removed my hotdog from the fire and signed. Mai laughed at me and then gave me hers. We found a package of hotdogs on our dumpster diving hunt and decided to end the day with a camping vibe.

While Mai prepared to grill a new hotdog, I grabbed a blanket and threw it over our shoulders. She looked up at me with my favorite feature on display, her smile. Whistling from Mai's friends echoed through the abandoned factory.

"You never told me you have a lot of friends" I said.

"They are not my friends, they are just people I know who know me" Mai replied.

"People might know my name and ask for my help sometimes, but that doesn't make them a friend of mine. The only reason why someone calls my name is because they need something, not because they want to ask how my day has been" She added.

"So Mai, how has your day been?" I asked which made Mai chuckle.

"You are absolutely amazing Ni-ki" Mai said with a smile.

"You help me out, spend time with me, join my philosophical thoughts, and you eat hotdogs we got from a dumpster" She added.

"That is what a friend does for their friend" I replied with a smile.

Something special is floating in the air tonight. Mai has always been a magnet for me, I have always felt an attraction. At first, that attraction was an attractive force, but then it naturally formed into physical attraction.

I wish everyone could see Mai from my eyes, especially Mai herself. I wish she could see herself from my eyes, see how fantastic she is.

"Would you like to do this again?" I asked.

"Are you going to take me to your world next time?" Mai asked back.

"I can show you a piece of my world if you would like to" I answered with a smile.

The blanket on our shoulders fell off and I picked it up to put it back on our shoulders. This time, I moved a bit closer to Mai to make sure the blanket won't fall off a second time. Our eyes met and my heart skipped a beat.

When I said something special is floating in the air tonight, something special really is floating in the air tonight. My emotions are stronger and my heart is forced to deal with it. There is a new and unfamiliar emotion inside me.