After Story: Compassion

Chapter Twenty: Getting Acquainted

Fortunately, teardown went more smoothly than the setup, though the twins did show up about halfway through.

"Tomoya!"

I winced before smiling at her usual loud greeting. "Hey Kyou, hey Fujibayashi."

"H-Hello Okazaki-kun," Ryou greeted, and I noticed that she was carrying a small cooler. "Is your friend here?"

"Pastor Ashton?"

"Yeah," Kyou replied. "Is he here?"

"Yes, he is!" the man in question replied as he popped up from under the ring-toss platform. "Oh! Hello, ladies; beautiful day, isn't it?"

"It certainly is," Ryou replied. "Onee-chan thought you would be working, so she-"

"Ry-Ryou!" Kyou exclaimed, waving her hands. "W-We knew that you two would be working hard, so we brought cold d-drinks for you."

"Well, that's very kind of you! Thank you very much..." he grunted as he pulled himself from under the platform; I was surprised at how composed he was, considering how Tuesday had gone. "I was just thinking that I could use a cold drink about now."

Kyou pulled a tea from the cooler and, as she took it over to the pastor, Ryou approached me as she reached into the cooler herself. "H-Here you go, Okazaki-kun..." Her hand shook as she held out the can. "I-I b-brought one for you."

"Thank you," I said as I took the can. "Thank you for thinking of me."

"Y-You're welcome," she said, her face reddening from more than just the sun, I was sure. "I-It would be b-bad if you g-got sick from the heat."

"Yeah," I said as I simply gazed at her with a smile. My smile broadened as she ducked her head meekly, turned, and headed over toward her sister.

As my eyes followed her I noticed that the pastor was having a hard time drinking his tea due to Kyou being so close to him. "Kyou, give him a little space, would you?"

"Mind your own business!" she snapped as she took a step away from him.

"So," he asked after he finished his first sip of tea, "what are everyone's plans for the summer?"

"I'm planning on studying as much as I can," I replied. "Got some catching up to do."

"Very nice," he said.

"Good for you, Okazaki-kun," Ryou added.

"What about you, Miss Ryou?" he asked. "Working at the hospital?"

"As much as I can," she replied. "I want to get as much experience as I can before school starts."

"Sounds very responsible of you," the pastor remarked. "Miss Kyou?"

"I-I'll be working on my applications for school next year," she replied.

He blinked, "Really? What do you want to go to school for? I mean, what do you want to study toward?"

"I-I want to be a kindergarten teacher."

He nodded approvingly. "Investing in the future of your country; very nice."

"How about you, Pastor?" I asked. "I know you're not taking a break from school or anything, but..."

His grin was contagious. "Well, I'll mainly be doing the usual home visits during the week, but in August..." He paused for some reason; dramatic effect, I supposed. "...we'll be having a vacation bible school for two weeks at the church."

"What's that?" Ryou asked.

He chuckled self-consciously. "And after all that build-up...oh, well... It's basically a special 'school' where parents can bring their kids to learn about God. We sing songs, have snacks, play games and, most importantly..."