Mayl opened up her closet door and started to remove the boxes of things strewn about on it's floor. She removed the clothes that were hanging neatly on the rack and placed them, equally as pristine, on her bed. She took a broom and began to sweep the dust bunnies residing in the corners, forming neat piles outside the closet door. She took a wet rag and began to wipe the rack of any dust or filth that may have accumulated; then, she used a dry towel to wipe any excess water away.
After placing both pieces of cloth on her dresser, she focused her attention to the boxes that were placed next to her bed. She walked up to the first box and opened it. It contained all of her old middle school mementos. Report cards, school projects, work books. Everything was neatly organized and arranged. She smiled to herself, remembering all the memories she made with Lan, Yai, and Dex. Now, they were older, and hopefully more memories will be made.
But, before she closed the box, something caught her eye. Poking out of one of her old textbooks was a picture, although most of it was hidden by the cover. She reached into the box and grabbed the image from the book and was surprised when she saw that it was a picture of her and Lan. They were squished next to each other in a photo booth. Lan was making a silly face as Mayl was caught mid-laugh with her hand behind Lan's head, giving him bunny ears.
Mayl smiled and chuckled at the image. Though, she couldn't remember when they took this picture. They looked young, probably around 10 or 11 years old. Even back then, Lan was still his goofy self.
"Never change, Lan..." Mayl smiled to herself as she reached for her P.E.T. She was going to send this to him. How could she not? It was simply too cute! Plus, maybe Lan remembered when this was taken.
Hey, Lan! Remember this? I found it while I was going through some of my old things! Mayl photographed the picture with her P.E.T and attached it to the text. She placed her P.E.T back on her dresser and started to put back the boxes and clothes as she waited for a response. She didn't have to wait long. After a minute or so her P.E.T rang.
What? When did we take this? We look 10 in that picture! Haha! Mayl smiled as she imagined Lan's facial expression in her head.
I was hoping you would have an idea. I don't even know myself. The picture isn't dated or anything...
Could it have been when we went to Castillo? That's the only place that I can think of that would have photo booths. Plus, we went there together when we were kids, remember? How could Mayl forget? It was her first date with Lan! Well, to her it was a date. She was sure that Lan only thought of it as simply hanging out. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more Lan may have been right. Castillo was the prime suspect in this bizarre case of the unknown picture. It was an amusement park, which explains the photo booth, and their age can be explained by their so-called "date".
I think you may be right, Lan! But... I don't remember using any photo booth back when we went...
Same. I don't remember taking any picture. But, to be fair, I'm not surprised you would have saved something like that! Hehe! Mayl rolled her eyes and smiled at Lan's text. But... he was right. It didn't really surprise her that she saved something like this— in one of her textbooks, no doubt!
Yet, Mayl looked back at the picture, she was glad that she did. Simply looking at the image put a smile on her face. It was a souvenir from her childhood that she could cherish. A gem she never knew she had.
Hey! Mayl! When are you free? How about we head back to Castillo? I'll pay if you want! Mayl had to double take the last message. Was... was Lan asking her on a date? Impossible! The boy doesn't even know what the word means! But, what would make him ask such a thing? Was it just spur of the moment? All this talk of Castillo made him want to visit? Mayl was unsure, but she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to hang out with Lan.
Sure! I'm free Saturday, if you want to go then. And you don't have to pay for it, I have money of my own, you know...
Saturday would work perfectly! How about I pick you up around... say... 9:00? The park opens at 9:30, so by the time we get there it should be open. Also, I insist that I pay! You shouldn't have to spend a dime! Mayl chuckled. She could hear his cheery, enthusiastic voice in her head.
Fine... I guess you can pay... And 9:00 works for me. PLEASE DON'T BE LATE!
Yes! Ha! Guess I'm the one paying this time! I WON'T BE LATE! I PROMISE! I'll even pick you up at your home! Mayl laughed once more. Lan was a thing... and she loved that about him. Only he would be excited about paying for a date— wait! They were just "hanging out", but Mayl hoped that it was some type of date in disguise. Seriously, how couldn't this be? He's picking her up, paying for the day, taking her to a place both of them enjoyed in their past. Lan is either planning something or is more dense than a 20 inch-thick lead wall.
See you then, Lan! Can't wait! Mayl responded before finishing cleaning her bedroom closet.
Mayl was awake nice and early in order to get ready for the day. This was the day Lan was going to take her to the Castillo amusement park, and she was pretty excited about this event. He claims that he's going to pick her up at 9, but only time will tell if he lives up to this expectation.
When the time of 9:00 struck the clock, a knock was heard on her front door.
"Hey, Mayl!" Lan greeted with a smile on his face, "Ready to go?"
"Wow... I can hardly believe it..." Mayl pretended to look amazed as she leaned on the frame of the door, "You're on time..."
"I'm a man of my word." Lan replied with a smug face, "I promised I'd be here by nine."
"Ooh..." Mayl laughed as she closed the door behind her, "I've never seen you this competent before..."
"I am a man full of surprises!" Lan laughed in return as they walked to the metroline.
"Lan, you've been surprising me ever since the eighth grade." Mayl commented, smiling towards Lan.
"What? Why the eighth grade?" Lan asked.
"I don't know." Mayl replied, "You just started to surprise me."
"Please..." Lan pretended to roll his eyes at Mayl, "It was you that started to surprise me!"
"Oh really?" Mayl chuckled.
"Absolutely!" Lan said triumphantly, "You did... ugh..." Lan scratched his head in confusion.
"You have no idea what you are talking about." Mayl said, playfully.
"Why you must you speak the truth to me?" Lan began to pout, "I... I just want to be smart like you..." Lan pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
"Oh, Lan!" Mayl played along, "You're smart! I mean, give or take a couple I.Q points here and there..."
"Really?" Lan returned to his happy, cheery mood, "Thanks, Mayl!"
"You're certainly welcome, Lan." she playfully bumped into him as the two laughed at their conversation.
"Lan?" Mayl asked.
"Yea?" He replied.
"Never change..."
"But if I didn't change my clothes, I would start to smell..." Lan smiled, "Plus, who wants to sleep in jeans and a t-shirt? Pajama pants is where it's at!"
All Mayl could do was smile and laugh. With every joking response he gave, her heart becomes that much more intertwined with his. How delectable he was to Mayl! Who knew such a day could transpire all because of a single picture she found in her closet.
"Come on, Mayl! The meteroline is here!" Lan called.
Mayl was brought from her ponderance as she entered with Lan into the metroline.
"Welcome to Castillo park!" a speaker over the intercom announced as Lan and Mayl exited the metroline.
"Hey! Hey, Mayl!" Lan turned to her, "Hey!"
"Yes, Lan?" Mayl smiled, amused by Lan's childish behavior.
"Do you know what 'castillo' means?" He asked.
"No, in fact, I don't." Mayl pretended to ponder on the question Lan asked.
"'Castillo' is Netopian! It means 'castle'." Lan gave Mayl a smug look as he explained the translation.
"Wow, Lan!" Mayl replied, "That must be those extra I.Q points at work."
"Touché, Mayl!" they both laughed at her reply. She gave Lan a little nudge to further indicate that she was just joking with him.
They exited the metroline and spotted the line to the ticket box. It wasn't short, but it was as short as it was going to get for the day. The two entered the line and waited patiently to buy their tickets.
"Any other pieces of trivia you would like to share with the class?" Mayl asked.
"No..." Lan pondered a moment, "I don't think so..."
"What a shame..." Mayl pretended to look disappointed.
The two friends went silent for a few moments. It would appear that their dialogue had faded. During this brief intermission, however, Mayl tool the time to appreciate Lan. Even though he was looking at the ground, slightly away from Mayl, she could still see a small smile on his face. Clearly, the gears of his inner-mind were turning and humour was being produced. His childish antics were taking the better of him, and, soon, Mayl would be laughing at something he will do.
Despite his apparent immaturity, Lan did not always act this way. His childish demeanor was simply a social behavior used in order to have fun with his friends. Lan was quite aware of other people's limits and will tone down his immaturity if he sees that the other person is becoming annoyed. Rarely, however, would Mayl become annoyed from his antics, making her the best person for Lan to be around. What makes it even better is that Mayl will roleplay along with him, adding an extra layer of humour to the ridiculous scenario he may propose. He appreciated Mayl for that tremendously, and this was one of the reasons why their relationship has been reinforced throughout the years. They understand each other and are able to play off each other's strengths and weaknesses.
"You know, Mayl, I'm really glad that you found that picture of us." Lan smiled at her.
Well, this wasn't the humerus dialogue she was expecting, but she appreciated it all the same. "I am too, Lan." Mayl replied, "I think it's a really cute picture of us."
"You mean a cute picture of you!" Lan replied, "I look like a moron, making that weird face."
"What?" Mayl sounded almost shocked. Lan didn't look weird. In fact, his facial expression made the picture that much more endearing to her. If anything, she thought that Lan's favorite part of the picture would've been his facial expression. It was so his character!
"If I didn't make that face, then that could've been a very nice postcard picture." Lan commented.
"Since when do you care about postcard pictures?" Mayl chuckled.
"I don't know..." Lan looked away for a second, "Maybe I could send that picture in a postcard to your family for the holidays or something."
"Lan... I think you don't know what you're talking about again." Mayl laughed, "Plus, assuming since I found the picture in one of my textbooks, the picture made a fantastic bookmark."
"Don't you think that would be funny?" Lan's characteristic smile returned, "I send your family a picture that you first discovered?"
"I guess just to me..." Mayl thought, "I didn't show my parents the picture yet; but, I bet Haruka would love to see this picture. Maybe I should be the one to send the postcard..."
"Gosh..." Lan playfully sighed, "She would have that thing hung above the T.V in the living room. I would never hear the end of it."
"And you shouldn't!" excitement came to Mayl's voice, "It's a really cute picture of you! Of us..." Her voice trailed off as she looked away from Lan, trying to hide the blush on her face.
Lan noticed her behavior and smiled. Maybe he wasn't as dense as she thought he was...
"Next!" the ticket holder shouted from the booth. Lan and Mayl both stepped forward, and, as promised, Lan paid for both tickets. They made their way to the entrance of the amusement park and showed the guard their newly bought tickets which granted them entry to the giant facility
As they walked through the entrance, however, a certain photographic instrument caught the attention of Lan.
"Mayl! Look!" Lan pointed to one of the many photo booths placed along the brick road into the amusement park, "Come on!" He grabbed her hand and rushed into one of the empty booths.
"Move over, Lan!" Mayl laughed, trying to squeeze into the small booth. Clearly, these things were made to instigate more intimate contact between its patrons.
"I can't!" He replied, scooching against the wall, "Why are these things so small?"
After managing to squeeze Mayl a little bit closer into the booth, Lan paid the its fee and soon a screen appeared counting down until the picture would be taken.
"Let's make this a good picture, okay Lan?" Mayl smiled as the timer counted down from ten.
"Of course!" Lan laughed.
When the timer reached zero, Mayl felt a pair of lips kiss her cheek as the camera in the booth flashed.
"Lan!" Mayl chuckled, a bit of shock in her voice, "Did— did you just kiss me?"
"You said to make this a good picture, right?" Lan asked, the same smug smile on his face.
"You... you always seem to surprise me, Lan" Mayl chuckled as she blushed.
"I'm a man of many surprises." He replied, leaning closer to Mayl.
"That you are, Lan..." Mayl smiled, "That you are..."
Lan closed the distance between them as he gave Mayl a proper kiss. As the two lovers lost each other in their own embrace, a picture slowly printed from the console in front of them.
It showed a bunny-eared Lan, with his arm wrapped around a laughing Mayl, giving her a kiss on the cheek.