VIOLET SKY, takigawa chris yuu

━ chapter twelve

She smiles despite herself. "Yeah, that's — that's good news. I didn't — I kinda panicked on him. Just because I wasn't expecting it. But we're gonna talk tomorrow after the Sports Festival."

"Is he . . . intimidating or something?" Eiko sounds confused.

"No, he's just —" her smile fades and she purses her lips. "I couldn't have ever imagined he would like me. So, I was — I don't know. Caught off guard."

"You're pretty, smart, talented, how could anyone not like you?"

"Well —"

"That was a rhetorical question." She clears her throat and continues briskly. "In any case . . . he'd be lucky to have you. You sound excited. It's nice to hear."

Her lips quirk. "I was kind of expecting you to ward me off from dating."

"Oh, I thought about it, but I tried to warn you last year and you didn't listen, so I figured I wouldn't waste my breath."

She snorts, recalling the conversation. It was a half-hearted warning, one of obligation rather than real feeling, which made it all the easier to ignore.

"What's his name?"

"Chris."

"Hm, foreign?"

"Mixed," she corrects.

"That's nice. Does he know English?"

They talk about him for a little while longer and she likes it. Just talking about him. What he's like. Not talking about her own feelings or inner doubts or anything of the sort. Nothing to worry about here as Eiko eagerly takes in every little piece of information Amara tells her about Chris. She's curious, of course, and it'll only be a little while longer until she makes a request to meet him.

She's just finished telling her about his cat and how she's painting him when Eiko says, "Sounds like you really like him."

Warmth spreads in her chest.

"I do." She ducks her head, even though there's no one else to witness her embarrassment.

"Is he cute?"

She composes herself, clearing her throat. "Yeah . . ."

"Cuter than Hase?"

"By a long shot."

Eiko's laugh tinkers pleasantly in her ears. "That's good to hear. Well. You know. Be careful. And safe."

Amara figures Eiko is about to edge into sex talk territory so she clears her throat noisily and says, "Yeah, of course. Are you gonna be able to come to the game tomorrow?"

The distraction works. "Oh, no, I have a few surgeries scheduled tomorrow . . ." she sounds disappointed. "I'm sorry, I wish I could."

"It's okay, Mom, I understand. Aiko does, too." She starts winding down on the painting, putting in her final touches for this evening when she hears voices down the hallway, likely the teachers just released from their meeting. "I have to go now but have a good evening."

"You, too."

The call ends with a click and her music resumes playing. She hums along to it for a few minutes before she hears Mr. Fukai enter.

"Didn't expect the meeting to go on that long, Amara, my apologies — it looks good so far, though." He stands beside her, crossing his arms, looking over it with a critical eye. "See? Nothing to worry about. Outlining isn't totally necessary."

She pauses her music, pulling an earbud out. "I guess. I think it'd look better if I'd outlined it . . ."

"Of course it would."