A silver-haired woman recoiled as a wave of heat blasted her face as she opened the oven door.
A short, spiky-haired brunette boy sat at a table near by. He rapidly swung his legs back and forth, causing the table cloth to quiver.
The woman pulled out a loaf of bread and, quickly placed in on a hot pad before shutting the oven door. "I've got to remember to let that first wave out before I stick my face in," she said, feeling her cheeks with her oven mitts still on. The young boy giggled at her ridiculous actions.
"So, Sora," she said, "What were you planning on doing with Riku today?"
His eyes immediately lit up, and he started chattering away. "We're going to go fishing, like my dad does! We even made fishing rods! We're gonna catch a big fish, and cook it, and eat it all! And after that-"
The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the entire house, and Riku's mother stood up to get the door. "Well," she said, smiling towards Sora, "It looks like Riku's come to join us finally."
Sora quickly ran ahead of her and flung the door open before she could. The door banged against the wall, and Sora let out a strangled squeak before bolting away. Riku's mother furrowed her brow once he dashed by him.
In front of the door was a young, red-headed girl wearing a white dress. Beside her was an older woman with little similarity to the young girl. Riku's mother greeted them politely, still wondering what was wrong with Sora.
Meanwhile, Sora had dashed into Riku's room, red-faced. He went to the corner of the room and curled himself together tightly, hoping that if the girl did come into the room, she wouldn't be able to see him. The door opened, and he tensed, waiting for his demise.
Riku's mother peeked inside the room, before walking over and kneeling by Sora.
"Thank goodness it's you," Sora whispered, "I though you were her for a second."
She frowned, then said, "Who? Kairi?" He nodded vigorously, and she frowned even more. "What's wrong with Kairi? She's a very sweet girl."
Sora lowered his head slightly and mumbled, "Yeah, I know."
That was when she noticed a faint pink color starting to lightly dust his cheeks. She gasped quietly, causing Sora to look up. Her frown turned to a grin, and she said, "You have a crush on her, don't you?"
He jumped up, his face bright red, and he said, "N-no I don't!"
She chuckled. "It's alright Sora," she said, and then reached over to place her hand on his head. She put her fingers to lips and said, "I won't tell a soul."
He looked around, as if for any listeners, then said, "You promise?"
"I promise," she said. "But, you can't camp out in Riku's room, you'll have to at least sit somewhere I can see you." Sora deflated a little, but then changed his defeated expression into a determined one, and walked out of Riku's room without a single falter.
The silver-haired woman sat on her couch, sipping a hot cup of tea. By the time Kairi's mother had come to pick her up, she had to pull her tearful daughter away from her newest friend. Sora had left not to long after, figuring that Riku wouldn't come at this point, and it would be too late to do anything even if he did.
She decided to check up with one of her oldest friends on how her day with Riku had gone. She got up and picked up the telephone.
"Hi Catherine, it's me. How was Riku? That sounds like fun, though I am wondering how that kept you occupied for so many hours… How was Sora? Well- actually, I can't tell you. He wanted me to keep it a secret. It's a matter of his pride. He still asked me to keep it a secret. Fine, what happened was- actually, never mind. There's no need to yell."