It had been a few days since Souta arrived in Kyushu. He found Suzume on the same path where they had met a few months ago, on a sunny morning as she was going to school. The days now were colder. Spring had already arrived, but the sky remained cloudy and the wind icy, making people have to keep wearing some cold weather clothes. Suzume's classes were almost over, one more week and she would already be on vacation. She was anxious, but not because of the end of the school term, but because of her birthday, which was getting closer with each passing day.
Do I decorate the house with balloons? Should I buy a new outfit? I wonder what flavor of cake Souta-san likes the most..., those were the thoughts that were taking her attention away from math class. The teacher noticed that she seemed to have her head in the clouds and called her attention to bring her back to reality.
"Miss Iwato, I know you did well on your exams, but just because we're in the last week of school doesn't mean you can get distracted," said the bald professor with square glasses. Suzume immediately turned her attention back to what he was explaining.
*****
"Damn, you were lucky today huh, teacher Fuyuki normally isn't that nice with students", Aya, Suzume's best friend, was sitting with her at break time. They liked to have lunch at the top of the school even on cold days.
"I know, I know, but I can't help it. How can I stay focused if my birthday is in tow months away? I'm turning eighteen, not just any age. I want to do something cool."
"Try to at least relax a little, your aunt said she'd take care of these things," Aya said as she snatched a sausage octopus from Suzume's bento. "Besides, the reason you're so anxious like that has a name, a last name, and a mole under the eye!"
"Huh?!" Suzume couldn't contain her shame, and her cheeks turned red in a few seconds. "What are you talking about? Why are you putting Souta-san in the middle of the conversation?"
"Don't pretend you don't know Suzume. You can't wait for your birthday to arrive so you can confess your feelings for him! You want to be eighteen soon so you can finally give yourself to him!", Aya said excitedly.
Suzume was already as red as a bell pepper, and she didn't know what to do but look at Aya with an expression of astonishment and embarrassment. After a few moments, she turned her face, took a calm breath, and said:
"Souta-san is a few years older, and despite the adventure we had together a few months ago, I think he's more likely to fall in love with a more mature and experienced girl. Even so, I want a chance to make him happy, and of course I want him to return my feelings. How can I not feel anxious most of the time with that in my heart?" Suzume says placing her hand on her chest. Aya moved closer to her.
"Don't worry Suzume, I'm sure he also has feelings for you. Just keep being yourself, let things happen naturally and everything will be fine," she said with a gentle smile.
"Aya, thank you for your support" Suzume thanked her friend with a hug.
After the conversation, the two ate their bentos talking only about everyday things at school. When the bell rang, they went back to the classroom, and stayed there until classes were over. When it was time to leave, they followed together to where the tracks cut the road, where they had to wait to cross. After saying goodbye, Suzume felt her cell phone vibrate in her coat pocket, and when she checked it she saw that Souta had just sent her a message.
"I'll be by your house in a little while. Don't bother making us something to eat, I'm bringing snacks."
Without realizing it, Suzume's heartbeat accelerated, and a smile formed on her face. She wasn't in a hurry to go back home, she was even thinking of going back on foot instead of getting on her bicycle and pedaling, but now that Souta was going to her house, she hurried to get there as soon as possible, to to at least be able to take off that uniform and put on a prettier outfit to welcome him.
Once there, she locked her bike and stored it in the garage. Afterwards, she ran upstairs to her room, closed the door, and took off the uniform she was wearing. She opened her wardrobe and started going through everything until she found something nice to wear, and as she usually did when she was anxious, she started talking to herself.
"Ah, my new blouses are so beautiful, a pity it's not hot so I can wear them", she said as she threw several blouses on top of the bed. "Great, these jeans are comfortable and go with everything, now I just need to find a cold sweater... Humm, I'm sure I had the perfect one..." Suzume was holding a very basic black jeans with her left hand, and with her right she started to snap her fingers in an attempt to remember which outfit she was looking for, but that didn't help, and she started pacing the room in circles.
After running around the four corners of the room, she dropped her jeans and hurriedly started looking inside the dresser drawers, and when she got to the last drawer she found her tie dye sweatshirt, mostly pink, but with some blue and yellow stains.
Still in a hurry, dressing quickly, she kept talking to herself.
"Look at the mess I made here, now I have to put all these clothes back. Wait, am I going to bring Souta-san to my room? No, no, no, no, no, of course not. We're going to stay in the living room, I'm just going to put the clothes away because they can't be thrown like that", she started to pick up the clothes anyway and put them back in the wardrobe in a very unorganized way. "Now, let me see what I have to do... Oh, of course, I need to brush my teeth, I don't want to have bad breath when I'm talking to him. Not that I'm going to be glued to him or anything..."
"Suzume-san!", someone called her. Souta had arrived earlier than she expected. He was standing in front of her front door and he waved at her when he saw her through the window.
"I'm on my way," she said, waving back. "Oh, I won't have time to brush my teeth," she said as she ran down the stairs.
Upon opening the door, they greeted each other and then headed to the living room. Suzume took two bags that Souta had brought with him and placed them on the table. Inside were a few packets of various chips, some candies and two chocolate bars. Since he hadn't brought any drinks, she made an iced fruit tea and poured it into two glasses for them to drink. The two sat on the sofa and started talking while eating the snacks.
"So this is your last week of school. Excited to go on vacation and be able to have fun for some days?" Souta asked.
"I'm sure happy to be almost on vacation, but besides having a little fun I'm going to think of a few things for my birthday. And when school comes back, I'll be a senior in high school, and I'll work harder and study even harder so I can get into college and become a nurse like my mother." Suzume pressed her hand against her chest when she mentioned her mother. When they first met, Suzume treated a wound on Souta's arm, and at the time she had already told him that she would like to be a nurse.
Even though it had been over ten years since she lost her mother, the memories she had with her always made her chest tighten. But it couldn't be helped, the feeling of losing an important person doesn't disappear no matter how much time passes, it just lessens the pain it is capable of causing.
"I'm sure you'll make it, I'm rooting for you", Souta puts his hand on Suzume's shoulder and smiles at her gently, she smiles back.
"Thank you for your support. So, how's your stay here going?"
"It's going well, I was very lucky to be able to stay at Serizawa's parents' house while they travel, so I don't have to spend money renting somewhere to stay. They just asked me to take care of the house and the dog."
"Eh, it's a huge coincidence that his parents live here, isn't it? I was really surprised when you told me."
"Speaking of which, in a few days he'll be here too."
"Serious? Well, at least you'll have company. Don't you feel lonely while you stays there?"
"Not at all, Mochi follows me around the whole house, he's full of energy and every now and then I have to stop to play with him."
"Oh, I want to meet him! When Serizawa-san arrives we can go for a walk with them", Suzume said excitedly.
"It's a great idea, but we don't have to wait until Serizawa arrives. His parents subscribe to a couple of streaming services and said I could use it as much as I wanted, so I thought I'd invite you over to watch something this weekend. What do you think? ?" Souta asked trying to hide his excitement from her, but he really wanted her to accept it.
"I would love to, but is it ok for me to go there? I don't want you to have problems with his parents."
"No problem, I already asked Serizawa and he said you can go there if you want. Also, we're just going to watch a movie, and not do anything wrong, like wrap their stuff in plastic and melt it with a hair dryer."
The two started laughing together and Suzume nearly choked on her tea. She loved it when Souta said things that made her laugh.
"If you say that's fine then I'll go," she replied smiling, and Souta was immensely happy inside.
"Great, I'll wait for your visit on Saturday then!" Souta got up from the sofa and took the glasses to the kitchen sink. As he washed them, he continued talking with Suzume. "Oh, and before I forget, I'll take the opportunity to surprise you for your birthday", he said, turning to Suzume, who immediately stopped eating her chocolate and looked at him full of curiosity.
"Wait, what?! A surprise?! What kind of surprise?! And why do I have to wait until Saturday?! Tell me now since you're here, or else I'll die of curiosity! Come on Souta-san, please, please, please", she got up from the couch and started jumping asking him to say what it was, but that only made him laugh.
"Hahahaha, calm down Suzume-san, you can hold out until then."
"I can't! I'll be thinking about it all day non-stop and getting more and more anxious with each passing minute! How mean of you to leave me like that!", she crossed her arms and turned her face sullenly, making Souta find her reaction particularly cute.
"Don't be upset Suzume-san. I promise that Saturday all this anxiety will pass and you will feel compensated", he said as he put his hands on her shoulders, causing her to get completely shivering and her cheeks flushed.
Will he make me feel compensated? Souta-san, what kind of things do you intend to do to me? As such thoughts flashed through her head, her cheeks blushed even more.
"Even so, my birthday is still a few days away. Why would you want to surprise me like this so early?"
"You'll have to wait until Saturday to find that out too." Souta's answer made her even more curious... and sullen. However, her smile made all this teasing something ... delicious.
"O-okay, I'll contain my anxiety until then. But don't even think about doing that again, otherwise I'll get really mad!"
"Hahaha, don't say that Suzume-san. I'm sure it's not good for a person of your size to be so angry", Souta said putting his hand on her head.
"Huh?!?! Souta-san did you decide to take the day to test my patience?! In the same way that I know how to make a good bandage, I can make you get out of here broken" Suzume started moving her arms trying to slap Souta, while he couldn't stop laughing.
When she got tired, Suzume sat back down on the sofa with a sulky face, but she wasn't really mad. She opened the other chocolate bar and began to eat, while the handsome young man drank a glass of water to catch his breath. When he had the opportunity, he loved teasing Suzume about her height, as he thought the way she reacted was cute.
"Hey, this chocolate is mine," he said.
"It's not anymore, you should have thought about it before bothering me."
"Let me just take a little piece." Souta approached Suzume from behind to try to get the chocolate, and started tickling her, who immediately started laughing.
"Hahahaha, that's not worth it Souta-san, hahahahaha, stop it, that way I'll run out of air hahahaha", she laughed and struggled on the sofa. Souta only stopped when she managed to get the chocolate.
"So, are you still mad at me?" he asked, handing the chocolate back to Suzume after taking a piece. It took her a few seconds to respond as she was still catching her breath.
"Hmm, first you make me anxious by saying you have a surprise for me, then you make me mad by making fun of my height, and then you almost make me fall off the couch. Yeah, I guess I should be mad, but you kind of amused me today, so I'll let it go."
"You also made me laugh today, thank you for that. I'm going now, it's almost time to feed Mochi", Souta said heading towards the door, Suzume was right behind.
"See you Saturday," he said with a farewell smile.
"I can't wait." Suzume waved and smiled back. When Souta started to walk away she closed the door.
Ah, anything you say or do makes my heart race. I hope... I can make you feel that way too.
*****
"Suzume, help me here."
It was already eight o'clock at night. Tamaki and Suzume had finished dinner, and were now washing the dishes. Shortly after Souta left, Suzume's aunt had arrived from work. Before making dinner, she took a shower, and talked with her niece about her day. Suzume told about Souta's visit, the invitation to watch a movie he had made and the surprise he said he had prepared for her. While her aunt prepared dinner, Suzume took a bath. The warm water felt so good that she could stay in the shower for hours.
Afterwards, when she went down to the kitchen, she could smell the delicious smell of Tamaki's cooking, which, as Aya said, was "made with lots of love". The night was going very well, but Suzume couldn't escape her aunt's little jokes and advice.
"Does that mean the lovebirds are going to see each other again on Saturday? Film in a cold climate, sharing a blanket, isn't it cute?"
"Don't say such things Tamaki-san! We're going to watch a movie and that's it."
"Of course, of course. But in the world of young people, watching movies is synonymous with something else. You are certainly a good girl Suzume, but if you are thinking about dating, try to be sensible. I won't stop you if that's what you want, after all you're turning eighteen, but prioritize your future. And only have children after you get married!"
Wedding?! Sons?! Tamaki-san, how can you think those things about me?!
"I would like you to stop with these provocations, Souta-san and I are just good friends. And even if we were more than that, I wouldn't be thinking as far ahead as you are Tamaki-san!" Suzume threw a dishcloth at Tamaki, who retaliated with another dishcloth.
"Okay, okay, I'm done. But seriously, be careful with those emotions. You like this guy a lot, I hope he feels the same way about you, because I don't want you to get hurt."
"Tamaki-san... Thank you for your concern," Suzume said, hugging Tamaki.
After tidying up all the dishes, each one went to her room. Suzume lay down on her futon and spent at least an hour remembering the moments she had with Souta that day, and even though she said she would control her anxiety, she couldn't stop thinking about what that Saturday surprise could be. With her head and heart completely dominated by the beautiful boy, that night, she had a dream.