The Boss Queen (Izana Kurokawa) COMPLETED 👑

TWENTY-TWO

The young couple looked at Akari as she took her phone out from her skirt and saw Mikey's name pop up on the screen. "Oh, sorry. I have to answer this call. I'll leave you guys alone," she told the two and snickered at the blonde teen. "Don't do anything funny, Take-chan."

Before Takemichi could refute, she already left his bedroom while laughing her ass off then headed to her own room adjacent to his.

"Hello, Mikey-kun!" Akari greeted in enthusiasm as soon as she accepted his call and pressed the phone to her ear. She then jumped towards her bed and lay down comfortably with her back against the soft mattress.

[Hi, hi, Aka-chin!] Mikey greeted her back with the same gusto. [Are you busy right now?]

"Nope. Not really. What's up?" Ever since she became friends with him and gave him her phone number, Mikey would contact her either thru calls or messages almost every single day. Then, they will just have enjoyable chitchat about anything under the sun which usually lasted for over an hour or so.

[Nothing much. I only wanted to ask if you're available on August 20.]

Her eyebrow arched in query. The 20th? "Oh, what's on that day?"

[It's my birthday! My friends and I will go to the beach to celebrate there,] he answered in a cheerful tone. [Wanna come with us? I'll also introduce you to them. I told them about you and they actually wanted to meet you in person. Don't worry. My sister will be joining us too so it wouldn't be awkward with you.]

She frowned. Of course, she wanted to go! She loved beaches! On the contrary, she couldn't. She had a very tight schedule this upcoming week. "I'm sorry, Mikey-kun. As much as I would love to, I can't come with you this time. I'll be back in Yokohama this weekend. I have to attend the softball training camp by the third week of August. I'm so sorry. Really, I am."

[Oh, I see...] Disappointment dripped from his voice. [You don't have to apologize, Aka-chin. I understand.]

Akari suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for turning down his invitation. He sounded so excited until a few minutes ago that she could sense a gloomy aura creeping out of her phone. She massaged her temple. Ugh. This boy knew how to make a person guilt-ridden! If it weren't for that stupid training camp, there will be no problem! She propped herself up and sat cross-legged on the bed. "B-but we could still celebrate your birthday in advance if you want," she proposed to lighten up his mood. "How about this Friday, August 13?"

[That sounds like a good plan!] Mikey immediately agreed, his sullen spirit lifted into a blithely one. [Then, let's meet up by the shopping mall just like last time!]

She sweatdropped at his quick recovery. Wow, this boy was so easy to convince. His mood drastically changed pretty fast, huh? "S-sure! Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

[Nope. There's none. I just called so I could invite you on my birthday. Moving on, how's your day?]

"All good. My cousin's girlfriend came over to help him out with his homework. What about you?"

[Same. Only, my little sister here won't stop pestering me about helping her with the household chores.]

She chuckled lightly. "What's wrong with that? I think your sister is right. Shouldn't you be giving her a helping hand, you lazy bum?"

[But it's too bothersome!] Mikey whined like a spoiled brat. [You should also be siding with me, Aka-chin. You're my best friend!]

Akari rolled her eyeballs and snorted at his indolence. Geez, what a slacker. "I might your best friend but, I can't pamper you, Mikey-kun. You're already too old for that. So why don't you act like a good big brother to your sister just this once and do whatever she says? Doing household chores is not a difficult task, you know."