"I heard that you were late for the Chess Club today." Mom said.
I tried not to sigh. I wasn't mad at her anymore, just tired. So fucking tired of fighting against her. Eventually, I'd lose the will to, and I'd just submit. Hmm... Hopefully that'll be ages and ages hence!
"Where did you hear that?" I replied in a calm voice.
"I am friends with Minoru-kun's father, and we speak often. I also heard that you made an excellent show of your first day, winning against the best first-year. Good job."
"Thank you."
She chattered on a bit more. Somehow her attitude towards me had changed. Before, she was always so cheerful and just talked about all sorts of random things. But now she was a bit colder. What? Was she waiting for me to strike back? Guess she'll have to wait several months for that.
So tired. I lied down on my bed, staring up at my ceiling. So. Tired. But wait! Today is Friday, right? Which means... tomorrow is Saturday! I bolted out of my room, bursting into Kimiko's room.
"Kimiko! Kimiko-nee!" I yelled into the empty room. Her bathroom door opened, and she poked her head out.
"What?" She asked curiously. I hadn't been this excited in a looong time.
"Tomorrow!" I said. She tilted her head, staring at me with a worried look. "Tomorrow is Saturday, right?"
"Are you feeling alright, Rika?" She asked.
"It's Saturday right?! Yes!" I jumped, pumping my fists in the air. Then I twirled and skipped back to my room. "Saturday! Finally!"
In my room I jumped onto my bed, landing with a satisfied oof.
"So what's going on?" Kimiko asked, coming into my room. She closed the door. Lately she was much calmer these days. Ah, what a boyfriend can do.
"So, uh, Kimiko, how far have you gotten with your boyfriend?" I asked, as she sat down on my bed.
I grinned when I saw her blush. "What are you saying, Rika? Wh- How far do you think I've gotten?"
I sat up. "What? You guys have already kissed?"
"That hasn't happened yet!" She yelled, blushing madly.
"Hm."
What should I wear tomorrow? It's here! It's finally here!
Ring! Ring! I grabbed my phone. Mickey? So far he was the only one to call or email me, and I could understand why. For some reason, I didn't really want to communicate with the others until I'd actually met them in person again.
"Hey, Rika, you haven't told me anything yet." Kimiko said.
"Oh. Tomorrow... I'm going out!" I shouted, hopping around excitedly.
"Going out where?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"To the amusement park!" I grinned, twirling around a bit more. Mickey would have to wait.
"Are you going to answer your phone or not?"
"Oh. Okay. Hello?"
"Took you long enough. Is now a good time to talk?"
I watched as Kimiko left my room with a smile. She closed the door. Did she know something was going on? I sat down on my bed again.
"Yeah. Go ahead. What is it?"
"Summer's coming up."
"And"
"We want to meet up."
The next day, at ten in the morning... "OH NO!"
My door opened, and Azumi stepped in. "This is bad, Azumi!" I yelled.
She sighed. "What is it, Rika-sama?"
"I don't have any pants!"
"Huh?"
"Do I have to repeat myself?! I don't have any pants! Azumi! I'm going out today! Today! At eleven, actually! A-And it's an amusement park too! That means roller coasters, Azumi! Roller coasters! And no one with a right mind would want to wear a dress or a skirt! Do you want the entire park to see my underwear?"
Azumi froze with a look of devastating shock. "Th-That is a serious matter after all, Rika-sama. I was wondering why you were up so early today."
"Help me!" I hollered. I was standing in front of my large closet filled with numerous skirts and dresses. There was pantyhose and pajama bottoms but not a single pair of pants. "Shall we depart to get these pants of yours then?" Azumi asked.
"Yes! Immediately! We must be quick!"
"Yes!"
Ten-thirty.
I collapsed onto the kitchen bar, exhausted. The day had barely even begun and I was tired. I was wearing a simple white blouse and gray skinny jeans. My outfit for the day. "Wait!" Azumi said with wide caramel brown eyes. "Don't tell me, Rika-sama, that you're going on a date?!"
I lifted my head wearily. "Yes."
She eyed my clothes. "Then this will not do at all, Rika-sama! Please wear a dress!"
"But an amusement park-"
"I understand. Allow me, then, to pick your outfit! Come, to your room, at once!" Azumi grabbed my arm and hauled me up the stairs. "Here, try this on!"
"Eh? But-"
"Hurry now!"
"Okay. Okay."
"And you can't just leave your hair like that, Rika-sama! Once you're done changing, come here, and I'll do your hair for you."
"Eh?! But my hair is-"
"Don't you know you have to dress up well for these occasions?"
"Yes b-"
"Don't argue with me, Rika-sama!"
"Uh... Fine."
Eleven.
The doorbell rang.
Gah! He's here! He's here! Ohhh nooo! I hope he isn't dressed up too formally. But not too casually either!
I tugged on the hem of my light blue dress. It was a pretty old one actually and was now a bit too short for me to wear by itself. It'd be scandalous! It had dark blue stripes on the sleeves and the lower half. I was still wearing the gray jeans though, so it was alright. Azumi had braided my hair into one plait, and I had my red bow in my messenger bag. It was likely it'd fall out if I went on a roller coaster, so it was safer to just carry it with me.
"Remember proper posture, Rika-sama!" Azumi said, smacking my back lightly.
"O-Okay!" I squeaked, grabbing my bag. "I'll be off then."
"Yes. Have fun." Azumi smiled softly.
I opened the door and quickly slipped out. I wasn't sure who Azumi thought I was going on a date with. Probably Minoru. I mean, who else? But, ugh, I'd rather relive the Hitachiin-spider incident than go on a date with him. Heck, I'd rather stand in a room with a bunch of spiders and nothing else for an entire hour than go on a date with that thing.
Honey was waiting on the steps with a smile. God, he is so handsome. And so cute. And just so amazing. He was wearing a black polo with a white collar and light blue jeans.
It's like a genie visited me and granted one of my wishes! A squeal escaped me before I could help it.
"Hey!" I said with a grin.
He hugged me. Don't think about. Don't think about- Oh my fricking Buddhas and Gods! Honey is hugging me! Not that this is new but... ahhh... I think steam is coming out of my head...
"Hey! Now let's go!"
"Okay!"
We climbed into his limo. Gahhhh! I'm still freaking out! I can't believe it! A date with Honey! I feel so lucky!
I was probably beaming like an idiot and acting as if I was in paradise. Honey glanced at me and grinned. "You look happy, Rika!"
"Cause I am!" I grinned back. "So where are we going?"
"To Tokyo's Disneyland!"
I blinked. Oh. "Really? Wow. Cool!"
He nodded. "Uh-huh! It'll be really fun! By the way, how long are we going to stay there?" Huh, I hadn't thought of that yet. We didn't agree on an end time, right?
I shrugged. "Whenever. I don't care. When we're done with everything. How about later in the evening? Maybe we can even eat dinner there."
"Okay!" Honey said.
We were quiet for the rest of the ride there. It didn't take long. The driver opened up the door, and I hopped out of the limo.
"WOW!" Immediately there was a Mickey Mouse in front of us, walking around and waving to people. He was high-fiving little kids and taking pictures with visitors.
"Have you ever been here, Rika?" Honey asked, coming to stand next to me.
"Nope! It's huge!" Up ahead, I could see numerous rollercoaster rides everywhere. "Let's go in!" "Okay!"
We went to the ticket booth to buy our tickets. "Two tickets." Honey said, pulling out his wallet.
"Wait! I'll pay," I say reaching for my own.
"It's fine." Honey grinned as he handed his credit card over. "It's a date after all." Gosh, the way he says it!
I blushed. "B-But I asked you out."
"And I suggested this place." He replied easily, taking the tickets. "Come on. Let's go in." He took my hand as if it was the most normal thing to do, and we entered the amusement park.
We were instantly bombarded by stores selling candy, food, and souvenirs. "OOH!" I said, trying to take in everything. "What do you want to do first?" Honey asked, handing me a map. I opened it, and we looked at the list of the rides.
"Hey, there's a haunted house here." I said with a short laugh. I'd never been to one before. And besides, in manga, when the characters go to an amusement park, they always go to the haunted house and the ferris wheel, right?
"Want to go?"
"First thing?" I said. "Let's get lunch first. And let me treat you."
"Eh? But-"
"No buts." I said, folding the map up. We walked further into the park. There were a lot of restaurants here. "So what do you want to eat?"
"Anything's fine!"
Sheesh, the two of us were never going to get anywhere like this. Honey was so compliant. "Woah! Check out the castle! It's HUGE!"
Honey laughed. "You've seriously never been here before."
"Of course not. Wow. Can we go in it?" I stared up at the large castle. Was it Cinderella's? Probably.
"No. Well, I guess if you pay money you can. Enough money," Honey said. "Want to?"
I was very well aware of how rich the two of us were and all that, but I doubted that it was worth it. I shook my head. "Nah. Are you hungry though?"
"No."
"Let's go eat at this cafe then."
"Okay!"
It was a petite, fancy cafe, selling small sandwiches, afternoon tea, and pastries. We ordered some of the sandwiches and apple pie.
"So, um," I said, fidgeting across from Honey as we waited for our food. What should we talk about? Before, we'd always had things to talk about. What did we talk about anyway? "Ah, um, how is your studying going? Our exams are coming up, after all."
Honey smiled. "I haven't started studying yet actually. Not good huh?"
"Don't you always do well though?" I asked. Yup, just keep up the small talk. It'll be okay. This is... you know, a date. It's perfectly normal to be talking about school when on a date, right? Crap. Why didn't I Google what to talk about when on a date?
"I guess. Pretty well," He nodded. "But, Rika, aren't you very smart?"
"No, well, I read a lot of things. And math has always come easy for me. It-It's nothing." I smiled nervously. This was a kind of boring topic, wasn't it? What else could we talk about? The nice weather? But ah, that was a boring topic too.
"You don't think it's going to rain, do you?" Honey asked, staring at the light blue sky. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as me, hehe.
"No. There aren't any clouds." I replied. But in mangas, it often rains abruptly. That way, the hero and heroine can share an umbrella. I didn't bring an umbrella today though.
The food came, which, to me, was a blessing. We were quiet as we ate. It was kind of awkward to me, but Honey just grinned good-naturedly at me.
We'd only gotten one slice of apple pie to share. But that should be okay right? I took a bite. The crust was just the right balance of crispy and chewy, and the inside was sweet while maintaining its apple taste.
"Oh! This is good!" I said without much thought. I flushed a light pink, smiling bashfully. "It's good, Mitsukuni. Try some." I nudged the plate towards him. He picked up his fork and sliced a part for himself.
"Have you ever baked apple pie before, Rika?" Honey asked, chewing the apple pie thoughtfully. He nodded. "It is good."
"But not as good as cake, huh?" I smiled knowingly. "I've made apple pie before, a few times. I've never made my own crust before though, always just pre-made ones."
"I'm sure Rika's cakes are much better." Honey grinned. I bit my lip, turning away. I am not blushing. I am not!
Argh, Honey, are you just trying to make me blush?!
I heard him chuckle and glanced at him with a small frown. "Your face is all red, Rika!" His beaming face was adorable, and that certainly did not help to lessen the burning feeling on my face.
"You're so mean, Mitsukuni!" I said loudly. I pouted, making as cute of an expression as possible. Honey seemed to freeze, and I saw a light red color wash over his face. I smirked. "Mitsu-chan's blushing face is cute!"
He cleared his throat, staring anywhere but at me. "Should we go to the haunted house then?" I laughed. "Okay!"
"Are you sure this is going to be okay?" I asked, as we waited in line to go into the house. It was a huge haunted mansion, with red-brown bricks, tall towers, and a tan roof. "I've never been to a haunted house."
"Even more reason to go into one!" Honey replied cheerfully. "Hm." I was feeling a bit hesitant.
We entered the house and was told to wait in the small foyer. We could hear the screams coming from inside. I shuddered. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I wasn't very fond of horror movies, so I doubt this would be any better.
The room was lit dimly, and everything looked blue. The lady standing in front of the black curtain looked at us and smiled brightly. "Go ahead in! Just kept following the path, and you'll make your way out." She said. "Good luck!"
"Good luck? Why do we need good luck, Mitsukuni?" I asked, as a sense of anxiety began creeping in. I could hear my heartbeat pounding away, faster than usual. Honey pushed the curtain aside, and we walked in.
"It's okay. Just enjoy it!" "Enjoy what?"
We tread down the dark hallway. It was a rather narrow hallway that creaked occasionally. Here, again, everything was washed in a blue light. To our side were dusty boxes and fake cobwebs everywhere. Please let there not be any creepy spiders that hop out on us! That's what I hate the most!
We continued further. Honey was walking just a bit ahead of me. He was being very calm about all of this.
I just have to remember that all of this is fake, and nothing can hurt me.
"Mwahahaha!" A skeleton sprang out of a black coffin on my right, launching itself at me.
"KYAA!" I screamed. Instinct and adrenaline kicked in, and my right foot slammed into the skeleton head. It fell off and crashed into the opposite wall. "GAH! IT FELL OFF! IT FELL OFF!"
Honey burst out laughing. Then the skeleton head bounced off the other wall and began bouncing back and forth. What was it made of? It was acting like a bouncy ball!
"Mitsukuni! It's everywhere!" I screamed. He grabbed my hand, and we ran through the hall. I was freaking out the entire time, while Honey just laughed as if he were enjoying a comedy. The skeleton head hit my shoulder once, before returning to its bouncing mayhem.
We reached a small room and stopped to take a breath.
"That was... so creepy." I said.
Honey was still giggling, crouched over with his eyes shut. "But you were the one - that made it - bounce like that!" He gasped amidst chuckles. "You kicked its head off!"
"Yeah..." I said, now feeling a bit regretful. Hopefully the staff here could fix that...
In front of us was a three-paneled mirror, and it suddenly lit up. I jumped, as a ghostly girl appeared in the mirror. A girl's voice began talking ominously, and strange, mad cackles echoed around the room.
"This place is scary." I said, grabbing Honey's sleeve.
"Let's keep going then." We turned down the hallway, continuing onwards. More things sprang up and creepy laughter followed us everywhere. I managed to keep my cool though, sticking close to Honey's side. I was permanently latched to his sleeve. I wouldn't have minded holding his hand, except my palms were a bit sweaty. And that would be embarrassing right?
We reached a small corner where there was a window to our left, glowing a soft green color. It was like the color of a crazy witch's classic potion. Then, a spider dropped down out of the black ceiling in front of the window.
"Gyah!" I squeaked. It was a really short and strange sound, but that's what spiders did to me.
Shuddering, I buried myself into Honey's shoulder, keeping my eyes tightly shut. I hate spiders. I hate spiders! "Why do they always have to have spiders?!" I mumbled.
"It's gone now." Honey said.
This is just like a manga. Well in a lot of mangas, things don't turn out the way it's expected. Like the main girl character isn't afraid of things. But in the end, I'm clinging to Honey! Just like in mangas!
Hmph. How lame. How cowardly. How annoying.
I peeked up and saw that the spider had left. Which basically meant that it was dangling up above in the ceiling, waiting for the next group to come by.
Honey was smiling softly at me. It was a sweet and rare smile, compared to his usual flowery grin. I could feel a light burn in my cheeks and looked away. Good thing it was dark. What was he smiling like that for anyway?
"Let's go." I said, grabbing his arm and walking away swiftly.
He just grinned. "Don't you think this is fun?"
I stared at him and then shook my head firmly. "Never again."
"Hello. What a cute couple you two are," A creepy, wispy voice said from my right. I froze, whipping around.
It was wearing all black. Black billowy robes to be exact and a black hood too. But, no, it was its face that was super creepy. There weren't any eyes. Just black holes. But it wasn't a skeleton. And its lips were...
I didn't scream. Instead, my left fist came flying towards the abomination in front of me. It was instinct. Pure instinct. Somewhere in my head, I was aware that I was punching something that would never hurt me, but that thought couldn't get through. All I could hear was my heartbeat that had escalated drastically, hammering away as if screaming at me that I was in danger.
A warm hand wrapped around mine, stopping it before it could collide with the terrifying face in front of me.
"Eek!" The creepy thing said, recoiling away. "Y-You were about to punch me, weren't you?" It scrambled away quickly.
I swear I could have sweat-dropped, if this had been a manga. "Uh. Oops. S-Sorry!" I called after the figure that had disappeared somewhere. How embarrassing. I had just been about to punch someone!
"Rika..." Honey said kindly. "That was an actual person there."
I smiled sheepishly. "Heh, well, thanks for stopping me." Geez, I was so stupid! Honey must think I'm some crazy and annoying person now... Ugh. "And at least not your left hand." He grinned. "I think we're almost through." Still holding onto my hand, we continued down the path.
I sighed. Ah. Never again!
"Phew." I said, as we sat down to rest after the haunted house.
Honey laughed. "It wasn't that scary."
"How come you didn't think it was scary? There were all sorts of weird things popping out at you!"
He shrugged. "But it's all fake. And it's not going to hurt us."
"That's true." I said. I unfolded the map. "Okay! Now it's time for the real fun! Roller coasters! Roller coasters! Which one do you want to ride?" "Any of them!"
"Okay! Then let's ride all of them! Here, we'll just work our way around in a circle. So let's start with this one." "Okay!"