Having eaten her breakfast, Akiko put on her shoes and
got ready to leave for school. "See you later!" she called out as she
opened the front door.
"Good luck!" her mother called out after her.
Akiko shut the front door behind her, and with a
determined smile on her face she set off for school. Takeru would usually meet
up with her about halfway there, and today, she planned to use their time
together to discuss their plans for Tanabata. She wanted everything to be just
perfect when she confessed to him that night.
Sure enough, when she reached the intersection where he
was usually waiting for her, Takeru was there as usual. He was slightly taller
than average, with a handsome face and short, rather messy brown hair. Akiko
didn't know when she had started falling for him, or even why, but she knew
that she wanted him to be hers. Tonight, she would try and make him hers.
Takeru, oblivious as ever to his friend's inner turmoil,
waved cheerily to her as she approached. "Hey, Aki-chan," he said.
"You ready for Tanabata tonight?"
Akiko nodded. "Yeah," she said. Come what may,
she was ready. "It's gonna be a good night, I'm sure of it."
"I hope so," said Takeru. "It'll certainly
be better than Tanabata three years ago. You remember that, right?"
"Oh, would you stop bringing that up?"
complained Akiko. "You bring that up every year, and it's
embarrassing!"
"Which is exactly why I keep bringing it up,"
said Takeru, smirking. He liked to tease her like this. There was nothing
malicious in it; it was just what friends did. Her retaliation was to pretend
that he had hurt her feelings to make him feel bad, when in reality she had
actually grown to like the teasing a little. That being said, the Tanabata of
three years ago was not a fun memory for Akiko. "I'll never forget that
guy's face when you fell in the goldfish tank~"
"I'll never forget how cold it was…" Akiko
shuddered. "Everyone was laughing at me… it was horrible…"
"I'm sorry," said Takeru, the inevitable
apology coming sooner than Akiko had expected. "But like I said, this year
will be better than that. Right?"
"I don't really see how it could be worse,"
said Akiko.
"Then it's guaranteed to be better, right?" said
Takeru.
"I guess so," said Akiko.
"So, what are the plans for this evening?"
asked Takeru. "What are we actually gonna do at the festival? I assume
goldfish scooping is out of the question?"
"You're the worst!" said Akiko, pouting
falsely.
Takeru chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Aki-chan,"
he said. "I'll stop bringing it up, I promise."
"You'd better," said Akiko, "or I might
just push you in the goldfish tank
and see how you like being laughed
at!" She wasn't going to, of course, but if he could tease her, then she
could return the favour.
Takeru continued to chuckle. "Sorry, sorry," he
said quickly. "A promise is a promise, alright?"
Akiko nodded, the false look of hurt disappearing from
her face. "Alright. I'll hold you to it."
"So, in all seriousness," asked Takeru,
"what is the plan for
tonight?"
"I didn't have much in mind, really," said
Akiko. "I just wanted us to have a look around the stalls, maybe try a few
of the games, and then find somewhere nice and quiet to watch the fireworks
together." She tried to hide her blush at the thought of being alone with
Takeru for the fireworks display. Every year until now they had watched it as
part of the crowd, but this year she wanted to be alone with him so she could
confess during the display. She hadn't been sure what Takeru would say, but to
her pleasant surprise, he seemed to like the idea.
"That sounds good," he said. "Sometimes it
can be a bit hard to see with all the people around, so finding a nice, quiet
spot to watch it would be nice."
"Really?" she said, her excitement surfacing
for a moment. "Alright, then it's settled. We'll be watching the fireworks
together, and alone…" The thought
made her a little giddy. Just me, Taki-chan, and the fireworks…
"You alright,
Aki-chan?" asked Takeru. "You seem kinda spaced out."
Akiko forced herself to return to reality. "Oh… no,
I'm fine," she said quickly. "It's nothing, don't worry."
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