Price of admission

Price of admission Part 2

The day had continued more or less the same as it usually did, and Nishikata was making his way to the schoolyard to eat lunch with some of his friends; something he was grateful for, as lunch was one of the few times during school he normally didn't spend with Takagi.

"Hey guys." He greeted as he took a seat with them. At the table were his friends Kimura, Takao, and Hamaguchi, the last of which hadn't been sitting with them for the past few days. "Welcome back Hamaguchi, what have you been up to?"

Hamaguchi sighed as he hung his head. "Trying to work up the courage to ask Houjou if she wanted to eat lunch with me."

"And failing I take it?" Takao asked as he fixed his glasses.

"I don't see you doing much better with your crush." Hamaguchi retorted.

Takao slammed his hands onto the table. "That's none of your business." He paused and turned to Nishikata. "Oh, speaking of which, Nishikata, I've been meaning to ask, why aren't you eating with your girlfriend?"

Nishikata froze as he was pulling out his lunch, and slowly his expression became more and more annoyed. "How many times do I have to say that TAKAGI AND I AREN'T GOING OUT?!"

"Then how did you know I was talking about her?" Takao asked with a smug smile.

"Because ever since school started back up, everyone has been referring to Takagi and I as a couple, or going out, or boyfriend and girlfriend, so who else would you be talking about?" He pulled out his lunch and set it on the table, still with an annoyed look on his face. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"You have something in mind?" Asked Kimura as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Nishikaka paused, remembering his conversation with Nakai earlier. "Hey, you guys heard about a concert this Friday?"

"Yeah." Hamaguchi began. "What of it?"

"Well I heard it was sold out, but was wondering if anyone knew where I could get my hands on some tickets."

"And why might that be?" Takao asked with another smug smile.

"Well-" Nishikata stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what he was about to say. 'I can't tell them I'm trying to get them so I can get back at Takagi, they'll think I'm trying to go out with her again.' "I was ... interested?" There was an awkward silence at the table as everyone looked at Nishikata, unconvinced of his obvious lie.

After a moment more, Hamaguchi sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I wish, I've been trying to get my hands on a pair so I could ask Houjou to go with me. Concerts are real mature, I'm sure she would be all for it."

"Actually." Kimura began, still eating his sandwich. "I heard that the convenience store near the school is actually selling some for students only." Everyone's attention quickly turned to Kimura. "It's supposed to be a special or something, but they don't open until a little after lunch though. I also hear that there's a limit to two per person."

"That's perfect!" Nishikata exclaimed. "That means there should be plenty left over when school lets out!"

"Maybe, unless others get there during their free period."

"Still, it's worth a shot." 'And I can start thinking on how I can pull one over on Takagi.'

"And do you plan on keeping this a secret from Takagi?" Kimura asked causing Nishikata's expression to go from confident to concerned. "According to what you've said, that girl can pretty much read your mind."

"Well no, there's no real reason to-" He froze mid sentence as he realized everyone was staring at him again. "I MEAN ... I ... can't really go and not invite her, she'd be furious when she found out." A shiver ran down Nishikata's spine. "And that's one side of her that I don't want to encounter."

"I guess that's a fair point." Takao said. "But do you have enough money?"

"Yeah, I should have just enough." 'I just have to remember to not challenge Takagi to anything today, if I lost then I would undoubtedly have to get her a juce. I don't think I have enough money for that and two tickets.' "Anyway, can we talk about something other than me and Takagi?"

"You're the one that brought it up." Hamaguchi said as he leaned back and rested his palms on the back of his head.

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, did you guys hear about that new game that's coming out Friday?" Kimura asked.

Elsewhere in the schoolyard, Takagi was also talking and eating lunch with her friend Sumire Takagawa.

"You know, I wonder what they're talking about over there." Takagawa asked as she looked over to where Nishikata and his friends were sitting.

"Oh, they're probably teasing Nishikata about how he spends so much time with me. Then Nishikata probably tried to change the subject while denying any feelings he has towards me."

Takagawa looked over to Takagi and sulked. "Man, you know him so well, don't you."

"Well, he is easy to read, but in this instance, it's been a recurring thing for a while, so it's kinda obvious."

Takagawa sighed and turned away. "I'm so jealous of you sometimes, you know your crush inside and out, and you can turn any challenge he throws at you on it's head."

Takagi laughed, then looked over to where Nishikata and his friends were sitting. They looked like they were talking about something they found interesting and Takagi couldn't help but smile.

"Hey." Takagawa began. "Do you ever get worried that you might ... uh ..." She paused as she struggled to find the words. "Push Nishikata away with all the teasing you do?"

"I try to keep it playful but ... that's just one of the things I like about him; he always comes back, so confident, ready to challenge me again. Actually, if he wasn't always so nervous, he'd probably win a lot more."

"Or at all."

"Oh, he's won a few, though most of them he probably doesn't accept as victories ... and a few I didn't expect, but he doesn't know about."

"Oh, he actually did something that you didn't expect? That sounds interesting."

"Let's just say he landed a critical hit and leave it at that."

Takagawa looked at her confused, as their friends Mina, Yukari, and Sanae approached. "Takagi! Takagawa!" Mina exclaimed as the three of them sat down with them. "Ah, it's so much more fun to eat with friends!"