How We Met Again

Chapter 6: The Place Where The Magic Happens

I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning, feeling oddly excited for the coming day. While I viewed most weekend recreational activities with disdain, studying with a friend was hardly something that could be classified in that malignant category.

A friend... or an acquaintance? I'm not totally sure what the right term is for what Yotsuba and I have. Things are even more fraught when I consider my relationship with her sisters. Humans are complicated...

My school things packed in my bag, I left after a very small breakfast. The route to Yotsuba's place was straightforward, but a bit of an arduous journey by foot. I caught a bus, and noted with mild interest that the direct route took me right by the park to which I'd wandered earlier in the week. The bus was fairly crowded even at this time in the morning, so I huddled up with my bag in my lap, and reviewed English vocabulary from my flashcards.

"Ordinal... ordinal... that sounds like cardinal. I wonder if there's any relationship between the words?"

Before I knew it, I was at the appropriate bus stop, and I hastily pushed the button to signal that I wanted to get off. I stepped down from the bus via the back door, and looked around me for the address Yotsuba had given me.

"Where is it... where is it... ah! Ah... it's... the tall one."

I stared up at the giant building in front of me, with a sign saying "Pentagon" on it.

"I forgot... they're rich rich."

I sighed, and then made my way to the front door. Looking down at the instructions Yotsuba had e-mailed me, I tentatively walked over to the device to the right of the door -- I thought it was maybe an intercom system? -- and input the apartment number I had been sent.

There was a moment of anxiety that riddled me as the intercom made a dialing sound, and then a familiar voice picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Uh, hi. This is Uesugi..."

"Ah, Uesugi-san! Wow, you're super prompt! I'll ring you in. Just take the elevator up to the thirtieth floor, and come on in."

The line went dead, and with a bzzzt, the large glass door slowly swung open. I hurriedly made my way inside, and was flabbergasted by the grandeur of the lobby. The floor was marble, there were nice light fixtures on the walls, and the ceiling had a distinct lack of water damage. I rushed into the elevator -- I was overwhelmed.

The elevator didn't help.

The lobby had been fancy enough, but even the floor of the elevator was marble. As I pressed the button for the thirtieth floor and began to rise, my discomfort was palpable. It also didn't help that the elevator was slow. For a solid minute, I stood in place as the metal box rose. An intrusive thought about the cable supporting me snapping pushed itself into my head, and it was only with great difficulty that I forced it out.

Ding.

The door opened, and I stepped out to find myself in a carpeted hallway. Wandering the halls, I eventually reached a door which had "Nakano" emblazoned on it in what I could only presume was solid gold -- not that my untrained pauper eyes could tell the difference.

I slowly opened the door, and was greeted to the sight of a cavernous apartment. The far left wall was entirely made of glass, with a terrace overlooking the city. The right-hand wall was made up of a large kitchen, and the central area had a lounge-like arrangement of couches and a coffee table. Behind those were a table, presumably for meals, and a bookshelf. At the far end of the room appeared to be stairs leading up to a second floor, though I couldn't see what was at the top from my vantage point.