The girl opens her eyes slowly as she wakes up. Her eyes try to focus on the ceiling but fail miserably. She rubs them and sits up. She swings her legs out of bed. She walks over to the mirror and sits in front of it. Her hazel eyes stare groggily back at her as she ruffles her brown hair which now comes down to her ribs. She blinks a couple of times trying to properly focus her eyes when someone shout's her from down the hall. "Ushio? Are you up?" Calls the voice. "One second Mom!" She calls back. She stands up and put's on her slippers. She proceeds to open her bedroom door and trudge sleepily down the hall. She get's to the living room where her father is reading a news paper. "Morning sweet heart? You sleep well?" She shrugs and sits down beside him. He ruffles her hair making it more messy than ever. "You gonna brush your hair today or what?" He says laughing. Ushio bats his hand away but laughing too. "Tomoya! Don't tease her it's her!"
"Hey it's her first day of the new school year! She needs to look presentable!" Ushio looks up suddenly and then at the clock. Eight o clock. "Oh no!" She shouts. She rushes up and runs to her room. "Tomoya! What did I just say! You know full well that school doesn't start for another month!" Ushio's mother says waving a cooking utensil in her husbands face.
"Oh come on Nagisa! It's a joke! And anyway, I thought she'd be smart enough to figure that out!" He says laughing. Nagisa sighs and puts her hand to her face. "I swear, the older you get, the more you sound like dad!"
"That's low Nagisa!" He shoots back but stands up to give her a kiss anyway. Just then Ushio comes running back in her school uniform.
"I-I'm ready now!" She pants. She then looks at her Mum and Dad. Confused as to why they're not getting ready for the day. "Why aren't you..."
"Ushio! Your father's just teasing you! You have another month till school starts up again." Says Nagisa putting and hand on her daughters shoulder.
"You're kidding right?" She pants, looking at her dad. Tomoya starts laughing and sits down at the table.
"Sorry Ushio! I couldn't help myself!" Ushio goes back to her room, moaning. Nagisa shakes her head and continues to prepare breakfast. When Ushio returns she's wearing a black dress with a white turtle-neck jumper underneath. She sits across from Tomoya and folds her arms. "Come on Shio it was just a joke!" He says ruffling her hair. She bats his hand away and starts laughing. Nagisa comes over with breakfast and sits down. "Ok, Ushio. Your Grandma and and Grandpa are coming over tonight. I need to know if you're going out today and when you'll be back?" Ushio closes her eyes for a second,thinking. She had made plans with her best friend, Hitoshi Tsukino, but she was still waiting for the confimation text. "I was planning to go to the park with Hitoshi but..." She trails off as she hears her phone go off. She picks it up and sees it's from Hitoshi. It reads:
'Sorry for not texting you earlier. Mom gave me a lecture about staying safe. AGAIN! If it's alright can we meet at your Grandparents bakery since I live not far from there?' She smiles and then remembers that her parents are in the room. "Er, yeah I have to go and meet him now. At Grandma and Grandpa's bakery!" She stands up grabbing a piece of toast, stuffing her phone in her bag and pulling on a jacket. "Ushio? Don't get any ideas got it" Calls Tomoya from the living room.
"What does that even mean? Dad?" She calls back.
"Tomoya! If you want you can invite Hitoshi for dinner tonight?" Nagisa calls. Ushio spins around and runs back to the living room.
"Wait! Aren't Grandma and Grandpa coming over today? Are you sure that's a good idea?" She thinks back to all the other times her Grandparents came over. Her Grandmother, Sanae, was always fussing over her. But she appreciated it because it was better than her Grandfather, Akio, always teasing her. "Well it's just a suggestion but if you have a crush on him it would be nice for us to meet him?" Ushio blushes. It's true she's had a crush on Hitoshi for a while now and she's never invited him over.
"Ok! I'll ask him." She walks back to the door and leaves. Tomoya turns to Nagisa. "What are we going to do for her birthday? It's only next week!" He says running his hand through his hair. Nagisa sighs and looks through the window. "Maybe my parents will have an idea?"