At last, the final day has arrived. It sure took long enough.

I can't say I'm not thrilled to see it come… but at the same time, I feel like chapter-whatever of my life is slowly turning the page. Like this something here is something that I may look back on.

Hah. Maybe. In all honesty, though, I highly doubt it.

Ah, here comes Maki Okubo. That polar opposite enemy of mine. I hate his guts, really I do.

Somehow, when I see him, I get upset for no reason. Ah, no, let me rephrase "for no reason"; EVERYTHING about him upsets me, you know. I won't go into detail, but let's just say we really don't mesh together, you know?

Regardless of feelings (for lack of better word, of course), here I am, early for our dish-washing ritual - as it's been for the past week now (have I mentioned that this is finally the last day?) – and he's always late some way or another. I suppose he despises my presence. It's like he's trying to avoid me until the last minute...

Whatever. Did I mention he's completely childish?

For some reason, Maki is very quiet tonight. I don't know why, but it's none of my business, so I ignore it – ignore HIM.

For some reason, Maki is washing the dishes at a consistent pace. Again, this confuses me, but I say nothing and continue doing my job.

For some reason, Maki isn't his normal, idiotic self. Is he taking his job seriously, or what? Maybe he's trying to speed things up, so he can go home? Maybe he's tired of acting childish? Maybe he's-

I look over at him for the first time that night to see a solemn face. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen THAT look on his face.

And you know what? For some reason, I felt interested. Whoa, now before you misunderstand, let me - again - rephrase; I felt interested enough to care.

Clearly, my head is in a daze. Why else would I start wondering about Maki? Before this odd situation got anywhere else, I did what was practical; shut him out, as I often do. I turn my head away and try to just ignore him. But all the while, a stupid voice in my head (most likely, the odd author of this fanfiction) kept fearing for his well-being.

My reasoning for it being the fanfic author? Because there wasn't anyway that I – Taro Kurihara – would ever be interested in the affairs of a moron like Maki Okubo. Obviously.

After finishing about a good half of the dishes, I noticed that circulation of dishes needed to be dried was dwindling. Ah, as in, the dishes were coming in a lot slower. Meaning that Maki was washing them a lot more slowly.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" I heard myself ask him.

"Wha-? Doing what on purpose?" Snap! His facial expression came back, as soon as his voice did.

Hah, as if you couldn't tell, Maki… "You're being slow. Pick up the pace."

A smirk SLOWLY crept along his face, melting all solemnity that previously resided. Oh no, what have I done? He spoke slowly and used careful enunciation. "You know what, man? I'm thinking we should not finish this pile of dishes tonight."

Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Then again, with Maki, everything's a surprise. "Why would-"

"Think about it!" He tossed a mostly-clean plate back inside the dirty water (which can be a good or bad thing). My train of thought went one of two places, What a waste, now you get to wash that again, dork. Then switched to Oh well, it wasn't 100% clean, anyway.

Yes, I really do think of him as a dork. …But don't tell him I said that! Maybe I shouldn't 've told you… I think – maybe – there's something weird about tonight. Why else would I be speaking such feelings so freely… I have to go home. I've gotta get out of here.

He continued his perfectly-sane logic. "If we don't finish it-" Don't say it. "then we could probably-" Please don't say it. "be dish-washing buddies-" Make it stop. "for another week!"

Slam! A quick impulse of mine forced my arm to open the cabinet nearest Maki's head, which connected perfectly with his forehead, and set him backwards at least four feet. Such a nice feeling…

Afterwards, he merely rubbed his sore forehead, mumbled a few choice words, then commenced the dish-washing. No further insults were shot, oddly. But I like it better that way. Plus, it definitely helps speed up our work.

Our night came and went, as did the extra time we ended up sharing together. The time that - through Maki's stupidity and my stubbornness - was unexpectedly thrown towards us for a fateful, short while. Walking home, alone, I was left tending to my annoying, poking and prodding thoughts.

It seems as though I may end up missing it.

...But then again... maybe not.