CH 14

I woke up from the sunlight shining from the window. A gentle breeze flew in through the window screen, just enough to ruffle my hair and shake the curtains.

When I checked my smartphone, it was already 8:35.

I had a meetup today with Takagaki at 10. Although I was still a bit sleepy, I should get ready and leave early.

For the time being, I should probably go see my mother, who was probably cooking that wonderful-smelling breakfast.

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"Morning, Mom."

"Oh, morning. You always sleep late on days off, but you're early today."

"I have stuff to do."

When I entered the living room, my mother had already finished her breakfast and was relaxing on the sofa, watching a news program. On weekdays, my father and mother worked as corporate slaves, so on day offs where there was nothing to do, they were incredibly listless as a result of that. This was just the usual occurrence.

"You have too much of a bed hair, you know? If you're going out, better fix it properly."

"I would at least do that much. Or rather, Mom is also the same."

"I’ll clean up."

"Gotcha."

"There's fried eggs and wieners, by the way~. White rice is self-serve."

"Gotcha."

I cut the conversation off and served myself a bowl of rice. The only dishes left were two fried eggs and six wieners. Hmm, I should steal one more wiener from my father. I placed it on the table, and voila.

"Thanks for the meal."

As I was eating my breakfast, my mother suddenly turned around and stared at me for some reason.

"That reminds me, I used to style that messy hair of yours."

"Eh, when was that? I can't remember."

"I think it was in kindergarten. You used to beg me to for it."

"Stop it. That’s too embarrassing."

As I ate, Mom suddenly started talking about the past. I couldn't remember much of it myself, but she mentioned kindergarten, so it must have been a long time ago.

"What's with that all of a sudden?"

"No, I was just thinking that you're in high school now."

"You were the first to see my acceptance letter and my uniform."

"Still. It's been 15 years since I gave birth to you, huh."

"Thank you for everything, Mom."

Rather, why were we even having such a conversation first thing in the morning. I was feeling embarrassed again. Now that I finished my breakfast, it was about time I went and changed in my room.

"Thanks for the meal~."

"Ka~y. Please clean your plate as well."

I run the used plates through running water, placed it in the wash tub, and moved them to the washstand.

After brushing my teeth and styling my hair discreetly, I went back to my room and opened the closet. What kind of clothes should I wear?

"...Well, casual should be fine."

White, short-sleeved jersey shirt, and navy-blue chino pants. I shouldn't stand out in strange way if it was just this. And then, white sneakers to finish. While I was doing research for the two of them, I found a magazine that said, 'If you're having trouble with fashion, this is the combination that's good for you!'. It wasn't too unfashionable, so Takagaki shouldn't have any complaints.

Taking a look at my watch, I saw that it was past 9.

If I set off while checking the location gyude, I could get there with some time to spare. Alright, let's go.

"I'm going~."

"Take care~. Say hello to the two of them for me~."

I opened the front door and said my greetings. Apparently, Mom thought I was going to hang out with my two best friends. Well, it should okay to not correct her.

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Because it was a day off, there were many passersby on the street. Some were students like me, some were lively groups of people taking a walk, and some were still in working mode with their suits on, probably on their way to their offices.

I followed the directions on my phone, and after about a 30-minute walk from my house, I reached my destination. I glanced around to see what kind of store it was, and found out that it was a cafe, and that most of the seats were already occupied as I looked behind the glass. On the open terrace, there were couples, people typing away on their laptops, and waitresses busily carrying out the orders. I felt the gaze of a university student who wore stylish glasses and sat alone, and so I hurriedly looked away, but I might have been a bit too late since I made eye contact.

That reminded me, I remembered that I hadn't checked at all to see if some kind of a reservation was needed. I made a blunder.

I thought that maybe she already arrived, so I moved a bit further away because it might be an inconvenience if I waited in front of store as I tried to call her...or so I would have, but then I received an incoming call from Takagaki like some kind of saving grace.

"Ah, hello?"

"You just made eye contact with me. Stop sneaking around and come in."

"Huh?"

Takagaki told me that, and so I looked over the terrace again. And there, I saw someone waving their hand in my direction. Or rather, that person who looked like a university student whose eyes I made contact with earlier was Takagaki herself.

She wore black-rimmed glasses, a slightly baggy knit, a black skirt with a belt that reached just below her knees, and black heels. She sat cross-legged, so her skirt was slightly open, revealing her slender legs.

"She looked very mature."

Was I going to be accompanying such a stylish Takagaki?

I felt angry at myself for choosing the safe route.