The remainder of the weekend was calm. On Sunday, Mayu stopped by to help him study one final time for his math test. Miku jumped in to help whenever she passed his bedroom, which was far too often for his liking. His mother brought up sandwiches for lunch, as well as pink lemonade. Mikuo had found out the day before that it was Mayu's favorite drink and his mother clearly remembered.
But despite hours of studying, Mikuo was growing nervous as school on Monday drew to a close. His teacher had set aside time for him and one other person to retake the test after school. Mikuo wasn't sure he'd be able to pass. Imagine failing and wasting all that time Mayu had spent tutoring him? Not that she minded, he knew, but it would still be embarrassing. Plus, his parents would probably be angry. The sort of angry that got him banned from video games for a week. Or longer. That would be horrible.
Thus, it was with a heavy heart of worry and slow pace that Mikuo entered his math teacher's classroom after school. The blond woman was seated at her desk, rifling through a stack of papers.
"Miss Lily?" Mikuo began.
She glanced up, blue eyes meeting green. "Yo, Hatsune," she replied. "Just sit where you want. Utatane should be here shortly."
Mikuo almost released a groan. Of course he'd have to take an annoying test with Piko and Lily the demon teacher in the room. Hopefully he'd be able to focus.
"Alright," he agreed placing his bag on the floor next to his seat. His usually seat, the one he normally sat in during class, was near the center of the room, and Mikuo felt very exposed there. But it was familiar, so he sat where he had for most of that school year.
He could see Mayu through the classroom door's window, her eyes peeking up over the edge. When their eyes met, she raised her hand to wave. Although he couldn't see her mouth, Mikuo was sure she had an encouraging smile placed on those delicate lips.
"You can start whenever. No need to wait for Utatane," Miss Lily instructed sliding the test papers in front of him.
And so Mikuo did.
/
About an hour and a half later, Mikuo passed his test paper up to his teacher's desk and left the classroom in a bit of a daze. He had numbers spinning around clumisily in his head, disconnected problems barely recognizable as he swung his bag over his shoulder.
"Hello, Mikuo," Mayu smiled. "Are you ready to leave?"
He was really glad she didn't ask any questions about the test. Quite frankly, he wanted to forget all about it. Mayu's warmth beside him as the pair walked out of the building certainly helped him do just that.
Mayu and Mikuo had taken to doing homework together. By doing so, Mikuo had already managed to raise his grades a bit. While he had been failing English, he was now passing with a very high C, almost a B. Most of his other classes were now Bs and Cs, aside from Gym. Gym was the only class he ever really held a steady A in.
Mikuo hoped Mayu didn't think he was stupid. He just wasn't any good at academics. Mikuo had to admit he was a bit jealous of Mayu. She was just so good at everything. She was smart and athletic and downright gorgeous. Actually, Mikuo had discovered she used to play soccer but quit when she got into high school to focus on school work.
But Mikuo was glad he had such an amazing girlfriend. Being jealous of her was just kind of weird, really.
"My house or your house?" Mayu asked. "Tei's not here today. I think she's at a friend's."
"Your house, I guess. I haven't been there very often," Mikuo decided. Taking his hand, Mayu pulled him out of the school building and across the grounds, their feet crunching through the dried leaves below. Many of the trees were now dyed vibrant reds and oranges, some edging to browns and yellows. The scent of autumn was very clear in the air; it was fresh, it was alive, and it carried the faintest cold chill, a hint that winter was not too far off.
"My parents keep asking about you. I think they're a bit obsessed, honestly," she laughed. Funny that she'd use a word like "obsessed" to describe it.
"Now I'm scared," Mikuo replied with a small smile. He had yet to meet the Yoshida parents, despite Mayu's aquaintence with his own. Actually, he found the idea terrifying but took it lightly when Mayu brought it up. Wasn't meeting someone's parents a bit more serious than everything else? Were they rushing things? Even if they were, Mikuo would never be able to tell. The only romances he encountered were in movies and books and occasionally video games. He could ask Miku, he supposed, but she would no doubt say something weird to make him uncomfortable. And he sure as hell wouldn't be asking Len. Kaito was probably the only choice, but that would be weird, too. So he'd just follow Mayu's lead and hope he didn't do anything dumb like he usually did.
"Oh, they're completely terrifying," Mayu teased lightly as she squeezed his hand in hers. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Mikuo. Just act like you normally do and they'll love you."
"Alright," he agreed, squeezing her hand in return.
They arrived at Mayu's house shortly. Mayu unlocked the door with the key in her skirt pocket and the two teens entered the house. Mikuo noted the hardwood floors, the carved doors of the coat closet, the clean shine of the whole place. The walls were painted a very light blue, and the paint looked recent. Before he could take in anything else, Mayu placed the shoes he had taken off in the closet and showed him upstairs to her room.
Her room was nice. It was large, with a window facing outside on the wall opposite the door. Her bed was also large, with multiple pillows and large, fluffy blankets neatly made on the mattress. The floor was still hardwood and shiny, clean as ever. A shelf of books was placed next to her bed on one side, while on the other a table sat with a small lamp. A pair of reading glasses were placed next to the lamp, catching the light of the overhead bulb Mayu switched on as the entered. In front of the window sat a large desk. A laptop sat quietly on top, the charger cord plugged into the wall. Nothing looked out of place and nothing really jumped out at him.
"Welcome to my humble little lair," Mayu presented dramatically, a sweet smile on her face. "Just settle somewhere. I don't mind."
Mikuo didn't exactly know where to sit, so he chose her bed. When he sat back, he sunk into the thick blankets and found it to be the most comfortable place in the world.
"What do you think we should work on first?" Mayu asked, finding a seat next to him. She began digging through her bag, producing a mountain of homework. Soon, there was a solid pile of textbooks beside them.
"How about the worksheet packet for history? And then the vocab for science?" Mikuo suggested. Mayu nodded in agreement.
Everything up until an essay for English went well. Mikuo had never been the best writer. Oddly enough, Mayu wasn't very good at it, either.
"My spelling is horrible," she admitted shyly as she pulled up a Word document on her computer. "As is my spelling. Actually, I can't write much better than a seventh grader."
"Oh," Mikuo replied. What else was there to say?
"My mother usually reviews my essays and paragraphs for me," Mayu continued. "I'm not sure I'll be much help with this assignment." She looked so apologetic and worried, as if it was her fault. The look on her face made Mikuo feel horrible.
"Th-that's alright!" he reassured. "You've already helped me so much I can't possibly complain."
Mayu offered him a grateful smile. "That's so kind of you to say. I'm glad I've of some help to you."
Mikuo returned the smile. "Well, we can at least get something done. It isn't due until Thursday, right?"
Mayu nodded her confirmation. "All the same, I'd like to do all of it now," she sighed. "Whenever I let homework sit, I never get around to it in the end."
"I never really do homework, anyway," Mikuo admitted sheepishly. Mayu laughed.
"That makes me feel a bit better," she told him. "How about we take a break? We've been working for about two hours, believe it or not."
"Okay," Mikuo really couldn't argue with that suggestion.
Mayu stood up. She had been stretched across the floor on her stomach while Mikuo leaned against her bed. "I'll go get a snack. Be right back," she blew him a kiss, which only made him blush slightly. He really was getting better about that.
With a sigh as she closed the door, he relaxed backwards into the bed. The frame bit into his back, but he wasn't too bothered. His hands fell out of his lap, brushing along the cloth that hung along the bottom on her mattress, covering the view of the space below her bed.
Wait, did his hand just hit something hard?
Lifting up the cloth, he felt into the dark space under her bed. His hand once again hit something hard and he tried to grasp it. The object was boxlike, but he couldn't really tell what it was. Pulling it out from under the bed, Mikuo discovered it was an orange show box. It had no label.
Okay, so he was interested. But it was rude to pry into things people kept hidden. Since she had placed the box under her bed, Mayu obviously didn't want anyone to see the box. But he really wasn't the best at containing childish curiosity. As a result, he quickly uncovered the box, holding the lib in both his hands.
His heart either froze or sped. He wasn't sure which. Because in that box were piles and piles of photographs. Photographs of him.
/
Gah. Sorry for another poor chapter. I think I'll be focusing on this story until it's finished. After that, I'll probably do the same with my other stories. It's just so difficult to keep up with three all at once.
I'm also going to apologize for using "soccer" instead of "football." I've never understood why Americans call it soccer, but since I am an American myself, I think it would be weird for me to say football as an alternative.
Review if you want. It's greatly appreciated.
