Day 39

[from Ichinichi]

Usually, like most teenagers, Akiko Anzai struggled to get out of bed in the mornings. Today, however, she sat bolt upright almost the instant her alarm went off. "Today's the big day!" she exclaimed excitedly, throwing off the covers.

Today was indeed a big day for her. It was Tanabata, and as usual, she had arranged to go to the festival with her male best friend, Takeru. But this year would going to be different. Over the last couple of years, gradually and almost inexplicably, Akiko had found herself falling in love with Takeru, and tonight, during the firework display, she was going to tell him her feelings. She had no idea how he was going to react to it, whether he would accept her feelings or not. But keeping her love bottled up inside her for so long, without knowing how Takeru felt in return, was slowly eating away at her. No matter what the outcome, she had to tell him.

The worst that could happen, as far as she could see, was that he would reject her, and at least then she would know that her love was unrequited, rather than spending her whole life wondering. That the confession might jeopardize their friendship never even crossed her mind: she refused to believe that there was even a possibility of Takeru saying they could no longer be friends, unless he followed it up by saying they had to be lovers instead. She had lost count of the number of times she had dizzily played out that very scenario in her head, sometimes even while Takeru was with her, oblivious to her feelings and her inner turmoil. But Akiko had resolved to make sure that by the end of today, he would be oblivious no longer.

Akiko had a quick shower, then got dressed into her school uniform, making sure she looked her absolute best. She decided to put on her lucky pair of pink underwear - she wasn't planning on showing them to Takeru, but they would make her feel that much more confident. She brushed her long brown hair, making sure not a single strand was out of place, and applied a subtle coat of lipstick before rushing downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning, Akiko," said her mother. Noticing the effort she had put into dressing herself, she teasingly added, "My~ Whose eye are you trying to catch?"

Akiko blushed a little. "No-one in particular," she said. Her closest friends knew about her crush, but her parents did not. Her mother, however, quickly connected the dots.

"It couldn't possibly be Takeru, could it?" asked her mother, looking a little surprised.

Akiko blushed harder, trying to hide it, but knew she had been rumbled. Deciding it would be best to come clean, she nodded. "Yeah," she said, looking away and smiling shyly. "It's Takeru."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that, dear," said her mother. Much to Akiko's surprise, she then continued, "You know, to be honest, I always thought the two of you would make a nice couple. You get along so well. So, how long have you liked him as more than just a friend?"

"I don't know," admitted Akiko. "Maybe a year or two. I just found myself realising that I was slowly falling in love with him."

"Does he feel the same way?"

"I don't know," said Akiko again. "That's what I'm going to find out tonight."

"So he doesn't know how you feel about him?" asked her mother.

"No," admitted Akiko. "But I'm going to confess to him tonight, at the festival. I can't hide it any more. I can’t take not knowing how he feels any longer. Even if he rejects me, at least we'll both know how the other feels."

"I see. Well, I hope it doesn’t come to that," said Akiko's mother. "Like I said, the two of you would make a great couple. Now, how about getting some breakfast in you? You'll need your energy, if it's going to be such an important day for you."

Akiko nodded, sitting down at the table as her mother put some slices of bread in the toaster. "You'd better hurry up and eat, too," said her mother suddenly, glancing at her watch, "you don't want to be late for school."

Akiko nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I took too long getting ready, huh…"

"Oh, I was the same at your age," said Akiko's mother. "One time I even had to run to school while eating breakfast, like in those old romance anime."

"Really?" said Akiko, chuckling a little. "I can't imagine you doing that!"

"It's not like how it is in the anime," said her mother, looking a little embarrassed. "If you try running with a piece of toast in your mouth, it'll fall out before you're even past the gate. I was so hungry that day…" The smile froze on her face, creeping Akiko out somewhat.

The awkward moment was interrupted by the sound of the toaster popping up. Akiko's mother took the toasted slices out of the machine, buttered them and put them on a plate for Akiko. "Here you go~" she said. "Eat up, but try not to get any crumbs on you. You'll want to look your best for Takeru, right?"

Akiko nodded, and hungrily tucked into her buttered toast, very much looking forward to the day ahead.