Spring Break

Chapter 7 - The Amusement Park

Nishikata waved Takagi over as she arrived at the bus stop. Takagawa-san had just arrived there as well since she too lived nearby.

"Hey Takagi-san," he greeted.

"Hey Nishikata, Sumire. Good morning."

"Love that top," Sumire commented. "It's the lavender one we were looking at the other day, right?"

"Yeah," Takagi confirmed. "I wanted to feel comfortable today." She looked down at her blue denim cut-offs and black leggings. "The top adds a bit of class," she explained.

It was a long sleeved blouse with small frills at the edge. "I also brought a jacket for when it gets colder," she moved her gaze to Nishikata's pointedly. "It's too bad you won't need to lend me yours again," she teased. "Maybe I should have left it at home."

She chuckled as Nishikata blushed.

"No, it's fine. I'm glad you brought yours." He could see that she'd brought a backpack this time, just like he had. There would be coin lockers on site where they could leave their stuff, so he was glad to see she'd come prepared.

"This is going to be so much fun," Sumire said excitedly as the bus arrived.

"Yeah," Takagi agreed as she boarded.

The two girls took a seat next to each other and Nishikata sat a couple rows behind them to give them space to talk. He couldn't help but feel a little left out. It should have been just the two of them today. He shook his head and looked out the window. He was being childish again. Takagi had already explained everything last night.

Sumire glanced over at Nishikata and then back at her friend. "Hey, Takagi-chan. Wasn't today meant to be your date with Nishikata-kun?" she whispered. "You were really looking forward to it, right? Are you sure it's okay for all of us to tag along?"

"It's fine," Takagi replied in a hushed tone. "There's a lot of couples going today. I'm sure we'll all be able to sneak away by ourselves when we need to."

Sumire giggled. "Yeah, you're right. I'll make sure to drag Sakurai-kun with me for some one-on-one time."

"Speaking of which, how'd your date go yesterday?"

"It was great. We went for a romantic walk, and he even held my hand. The picnic was perfect, too."

"So things are going well?"

"Absolutely," Sumire responded. "But how about you and Nishikata-kun? I watched the video last night. Are you certain you're not actually a couple? You both looked like you were about to kiss before the music stopped."

Takagi found herself blushing. Sumire wasn't too far off the mark there. She had been imagining what it would be like and hadn't been able to take her gaze off Nishikata's lips.

"To be honest," she leaned in and whispered into her friend's ear so that Nishikata couldn't overhear. "I was real close to kissing him. If the music hadn't stopped, I might have even gone through with it."

Sumire left out a small squeal and instantly covered her mouth with her hands. Nishikata looked over at them curiously, only to find that both girls were now huddled together conspiratorially and giggling. He shrugged and turned his attention back out the window.

"I think Nishikata-kun is looking a little bit lonely," Sumire observed in a hushed tone.

"Mmm," Takagi agreed. "You could be right."

"Are you going to join him?"

"It's fine," Takagi shook her head. "We're almost there. Besides, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."