TRAIN STATION
“Rose, Akiho-san is here!”
She’s late, I thought. I left my desk and entered the corridor.
“Haah, you’re in your pajamas already!” Akiho fussed. She was still in her uniform, though she had a small shoulder bag instead of her backpack.
“It’s more comfortable,” I dismissed.
My mother chuckled. “You two have a play-date today?”
Akiho reached out with both arms and yanked me forward.
“Eh?!” I had to regain balance. Before I could scold her, she grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me towards my mother, as if presenting me to her. Akiho bowed deeply, her hands still on my shoulders.
“Mrs. Sasaki, please let me borrow Rose for the night!”
Surprised by this, Mother did not immediately reply. Akiho quickly resumed. “I promise I’ll protect her!”
Mother burst out in laughter. “What is this about, dear?”
I avoided her eyes. “… Wasn’t my idea.” Akiho stayed bowed down.
“Where are you two going?”
Akiho jerked up. I took a step back to avoid falling over. “To the city! School ended today, so I wanted to take Rose out while we can.”
Mother looked at me again. I blushed. “You don’t have to—”
“Go ahead.”
Surprised, I looked up. Mother smiled. “I’ll explain to your father when he comes home. He will understand. It’s good for you to go out once in a while.”
Akiho perked. “So it’s a yes?”
Mother nodded. “As long as you two stay together and stick to the streets.”
She replied with a sailor’s salute. “You can count on me, Mrs. Sasaki! Kendo master Akiho Hayashi never leaves a comrade behind!” She grabbed me by the shoulders again. “Come, let’s head out!”
“Slow down! I’m still in my pajamas!” I fussed.
I quickly dressed into my uniform and grabbed my shoulder bag. “Whoops. My Suica.” I caught myself before I left my bedroom, and grabbed the card from my backpack.
We headed out onto the dusk-lit streets. Akiho pointed the way forward with one hand, yelling, “Engines ready! Full speed ahead!” while linking her other hand with mine, almost dragging me behind her as we dashed away.
“Come home before midnight!” my mother called after us.
At the train station, it was understandably vacant. Not many people worked here, after all. The two of us sat down and waited for a train.
“It’s nice and empty where you live,” Akiho mused.
“Ah, well, it’s after hours anyway. I reckon it still gets pretty busy here during the day.”
“The city is crowded all the time,” she complained. “No room to run around.”
“Don’t you have a park?”
“Yeah, but that’s it. I’d love to be able to run in the streets too.”
“The streets aren’t meant for playing on,” I laughed.
“Why not?” she automatically retorted, although not expecting an answer. I didn’t give her one.
A train passed by the station. It didn’t stop, as it was a Rapid rail line. We listened as it sped away, its marching growing distant.
“Are your parents well?” Akiho asked.
“Yes. Father still comes home late. He was recently promoted.”
“Congratulations! And your mother?”
“She still doesn’t work.”
“I see. That’s nice.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah! Your mom can focus on taking care of the household.”
“I feel bad for her,” I admitted.
“Don’t be! Be proud of her dedication!”
“I am! But at the same time, she deserves better than that.”
“I’d be pretty happy. I wouldn’t have to work at an office job and I could spend more time with my future kids.”
“It puts more work on your spouse,” I pointed out.
“Yeah,” she slumped. “I’ll have to get lucky to find a wealthy boyfriend if I’m going to do that.”
Akiho gazed off with a dreamy but melancholic expression, elbows on her knees and her chin rested on both palms. I spoke up after a while.
“I hope wealth isn’t all you’re looking for in a significant.”
“No, you’re right. I wouldn’t get to see my husband very often if he’s wealthy. I know well enough from my own parents.” Her parents were both very fortunate. Her father is the owner of a weather station, while her mother worked at a business firm. “Both of my parents don’t come home until late at night. Then they don’t have the energy to play with me. It’s pretty boring at home.”
“I see. Is that why you wanted to go out today?”
“Bingo!” She sprung up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “You’re pretty perceptive! Plus, I hardly get to hang out with you after school.”
“You’ve had plenty of opportunities to,” I laughed to hide my surprise from her sudden gesture. “You know where to find me.”
“Yeah, but you’re always studying.” She leaned in closer. “You should go out with me more often.”
I glanced away. “It can’t be helped. I need to if I want to stay at the top of the class.”
Her arm dropped off my shoulders and she sat back, crossing her arms behind her head.
“I envy you, you know. I just don’t have the patience to sit down and study all day.”
I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure how to respond. It’s not that I enjoyed my honors status. It made it hard for me to fit in with the other students. I didn’t hate the subjects I studied, though. And my top grades were a necessary step to achieve my goals.
That’s why I’m lucky to have Akiho as a friend. What is it about me that attracted her to stay with this bookworm?
“I envy your parents too,” she continued. “They are quite young. Mine are already too old to keep up with me.”
“Hey, don’t put it that way…”
“Sorry, too elderly,” she corrected herself.
“It still sounds bad when you phrase it that way.”
“Well I don’t know how else to word it! My point is, it would’ve been ideal for an energetic kid like me to have young parents to play with. It’d make more sense if we swapped parents.”
“You’re always so pragmatic, even if it does get you into trouble.”
She sat up, hands still behind her head. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”
“Of course not.” I smiled.
Another train arrived at the station, this time slowing to a halt.
“There’s our train!” Akiho jumped up. “Let’s go!”
“Try not to shout when we’re on the train,” I reminded.