Price of admission

Price of admission Part 20

The following morning, Nishikata was headed downstairs feeling sad and tired. "Morning." He said to his mom as he walked into the kitchen.

"Huh? Oh, good morning." His mom replied from next to the coffee maker. "You look tired, did you get enough sleep?"

Nishikata grabbed a small bowl and scooped some rice into it from the rice cooker. "Have you ever been so happy that it felt like nothing could ruin your mood, only to then have the world prove you wrong?"

"Ohhhh." She said as she looked at her son with concern in her eyes. "My little boy's fallen in love, hasn't he?"

'Of course.' He thought to himself. He walked over to the table and took a seat, but strangely, he didn't feel embarrassed. 'Maybe I have grown a little ... or maybe I'm just so sad that it's not affecting me.' "Yeah, is it that obvious?"

"Oh my, you must really be sad if you're not even going to get embarrassed or deny it."

"Yeah, well, it's either that or it's because I've just come to accept it." He picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating. "And it's more of ... I've realized that I like her, rather than I've fallen for her."

"Wow, when did this happen?"

"Last night, after I made up with her; we've been ... huh?" He tried to think of the exact problem, but for some reason, came up blank. "I ... I actually can't remember."

"That just means that it wasn't a big enough deal that you would let it come between you."

"No, that's not it." He began thinking as hard as he could, trying to remember exactly what happened. "It was ... this week! Yeah, it all started this week. One of her friends came up to me for advice, some people took it way out of context and though that me and her friend were going out." A sad sensation came over him. "After that, she wasn't talking to me so ... I assumed the worst. A few days later, some people take something I said out of context, again, and suddenly, the whole school thinks I hate her." He hung his head in shame. "I could never hate her." He shook his head and went back to his breakfast. "Anyway, we made up last night and I realized that I like her more than just a friend."

His mom smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's so sweet of you, and I'm sure that you'll make her very happy when she finds out."

"I wouldn't be so sure, there's no way she feels the same way about me."

"And why's that?"

Nishikata's head fell onto the table. "Because she's amazing, even her flaws make me happy to some degree, even if they annoy me."

She began to rub his shoulder as her smile turned mischievous. "So does that mean you're going to admit defeat and just accept that Takagi will never like you?"

A surge of energy pulsed through Nishikata as he sat up and accidentally snapped his chopsticks in his hand. "NO! Not that easy!" He stood up as he slammed his hands onto the table. "First I'm going to get back at her for teasing me so much, that'll be the first step to impressing Takagi!" He froze as he realized the words that just came out of his mouth. 'What a second.' He turned to his mom who still had the mischievous smile on her face. "How did you-"

"Please, I'm your mother, I've known that you had feelings for Takagi for quite some time" She walked back to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup.

"Just like everyone else I've talked to." He mumbled.

"But if your plan involves getting back at her first, then I'm probably never going to be a grandmother."