Extra Chapter:
Andromeda
28th of June Middle School Junior Year
Midori woke up very excited. The reason was that she was finally turning 14-years-old. Making her through the school gates, she calmly walked towards the main building of the school. A figure was following closely her, before jumping and glomping from the unsuspecting Yamabuki student from behind.
"…!"
"Happy birthday Hisaku!" yelled the figure, reaveling to be her friend Nakano.
Following right behind the blue eyed girl was her two other friends - Sato and Hirano. Hirano chuckled while Sato just shook her head at Nakano's silliness. Letting go of Midori, Nakano grinned. A wide goofy grin causing even Midori to chuckled.
"Happy birthday Hisaku-chan," finally said Hirano.
Sato nodded, soon after saying "Happy birthday."
Midori smiled brightly in response, before thanking her Tokyo friends. Now they had to decide what to do, after all, they could hang out after school and celebrate a friend's birthday.
"So… What do you guys want to do after school?" asked Midori.
"We could go to the arcade," beamed Hirano.
Nakano looked very excited at Hirano before giving the girl a high-five.
"After that we could go to a café that opened up recently," added the blue eyed girl.
"Café?" asked Sato.
"Yeah! I heard some girls talking about it," informed Nakano "apparently it's very popular."
Midori grinned; maybe they had her favorite dessert, cherry kakigouri. After all, summer was soon approaching and the heat of the season was arriving. The sun was shining brightly, kissing the skins of the students and faculty the other summer days, it was going to be hot.
"We should go there after school then!" exclaimed Hirano excitedly.
"Um… Guys," started Sato, interrupting the conversation "The bell just rang."
Nakano looked surprised, so did Hirano and Midori. The three had been so excited about hanging out together after school, going to arcade, eating at a delicious café – having fun in general, that they forgot completely about class.
"Then let's go! Takano-sensei is mean with the buckets of water!" shouted Nakano, leading the way.
The four friends rushed up the stairs, hoping they wouldn't arrive late and receive the punishment for being tardy.
Class soon ended and the group of friends walked over the shoe locker room. The four chatted animatedly about the up coming summer vacation and what they could – and should – do during the vacation. To have as much fun as they could muster before it eventually ended.
"Oh yeah, Hisaku-chan, before I forget, here's your birthday present," said Hirano, opening her school bag and taking out a small packet.
Sato mimicked the action, taking out of her school bag another small packet. "Oh right, almost forgot about mine too."
The two girls looked at Nakano expectedly. What kind of gift would Nakano give to Midori? Midori blinked once and twice, waiting as Nakano seemed nervous about the fact of the gift. After was it seemed like an eternity, came the small reply.
"I… forgot you gift at home," replied Nakano, giving a large, cheesy smile.
And the three friends sweatdropped. Why would Nakano forget to bring Midori's birthday present when she clearly knew that it was her birthday. Oh well, it just confirmed to Midori that Nakano was forgetful (just two days earlier she forgot to hand in some homework).
"I'll go home and get it ri—"
Sato grabbed Nakano by the shoulder, keeping her from going right away to her house to pick up the gift.
"We need to decide where we are going first, the arcade or the café," informed Sato.
That's right; they needed to decide if they were going to the café or the arcade. After all, if Nakano did leave to get the gift where would she meet them? At the café or the arcade? There was also the small problem that Nakano was the only one that knew where was the said café.
"Café first!" exclaimed Nakano cheerfully.
Sato facepalmed while Midori simply chuckled, Hirano, however did not seem amused.
"Arcade first!" she shouted.
"No! Café!" came the reply.
Sato sighed and interrupted the miniature verbal fight between the two.
"Well, Nakano, let's do a voting," suggested Sato.
Midori blinked. "Um… Guys, if Nakano is going to her house to get my gift, shouldn't we go to the arcade then? I mean, she's the only one that knows where the café is in the first place."
"Oh! Right," said Sato "Then it's pre-decided that we're going to the arcade."
Nakano looked upset that her idea of café first was rejected, simply because she was the only one that knew where the café was. Sighing, she accepted her defeat.
"Alright then, since it's decided I'm going home to get the gift," said Nakano, leaving to go to her house.
With Nakano leaving, the three girls started on their way to the arcade. It was close by anyway, about twenty minutes walking from there. Hirano chatted along with the two, telling them that the Yamabuki volleyball team was certainly classified for the nationals. After all they did beat feared Rokkaku's volleyball team by a large margin.
Arriving at the arcade, Sato bought the coins while Midori and Hirano explored the arcade. There was a wide variety of games, from the taiko to fighting games, from the mechanical claws to Dance Dance Revolution. The three enjoyed playing some games for a short while. That was when Nakano arrived with a gift bag.
"Guys!" shouted Nakano, entering the arcade, quickly catching the other people's attention.
Making her way over to Midori, Sato and Hirano, Nakano ignored the stares that she received. Midori on the other hand wished that she could be like her, being able to ignore stares, because right now she could feel everyone else in the arcade looking at her small group. The stares lasted a short while because then the others decided on doing their own thing.
"Happy birthday again Hisaku," said Nakano, handing Midori her gift then hugging her.
"Thanks Nakano," replied Midori, hugging her friend back.
The three played games for some time. Hirano was especially keen in trying to get a prize from the metal claw. It took some time (and half of their coins) before Sato managed to drag Hirano away from the mechanical claw. Midori and Nakano battled each other on the Dance Dance Revolution and Midori lost. Who knew that Nakano was great at keeping the rhythm?
"Are you guys hungry?" asked Hirano.
The three other girls turned to face their friend. Before any of them could reply, Sato's stomach gave an audible growl, causing her to blush in embarrassment. Nakano, Midori and Hirano laughed.
"I'll take that as a yes," chuckled Hirano.
"Keeping you and Nakano behaved leaves me hungry you know," replied Sato, chuckling.
Midori spoke up. "So Nakano, where's the café?"
"Oh, it's close by."
Nakano was the one that now was leading the group to the café. It took about ten minutes walking from the arcade. When reaching the café, Hirano and Sato blanched.
"Welcome back mistresses~!"
It was a maid café! And apparently, it was very full. Most customers were men; there were a few women in the café. Most women that were in the café were in groups unlike most men who were alone.
The maid waitress led them to a table of four and handed them the menu.
"Nakano, why didn't you tell us that this was a maid café?" asked Sato.
"I didn't know it was a maid café," replied Nakano, defensively "I only knew where it was, not what it was."
"Um… Sato-chan, let's just eat here," said Midori "It looks like they have good food here."
"But… oh alright, you're the birthday girl after all," sighed Sato.
Looking at the menu, Midori smiled as she thought of what she would choose to eat. Maybe a cherry kakigouri, those deserts were always so delicious – she just couldn't resist one. Yui hummed to herself while she flipped through the menu also looking for something delicious.
"So, should I take your orders?" asked a maid with a small notepad in her hands.
"Ah, yes I would like a piece chocolate cake and green tea please," stated Sato.
"Oh, I'd like this chocolate coronet," replied Nakano "and lemon ice tea please."
"Mhm~," hummed the maid, scribbling down their orders.
"I would like a cherry kakigouri and what do you want Hirano-chan?"
"Not sure… I kind of want a melon pan, but… not sure if I would want a crepe instead."
"Just order a melon pan, how long was it since you ordered a melon pan?" butted in Nakano.
"Long time ago…"
"Well?"
"Alright, miss I would like a chocolate crepe with strawberries, please," ordered Hirano.
Nakano looked shocked, as if she had gotten punched or insulted by Hirano, she had just suggested for Hirano to order something and she ordered something else instead. The whole circumstance and Nakano's reaction made Midori chuckle a bit.
"Oh come on Yui-chan, next time I'll order a melon pan," promised Hirano.
"You really promise?"
"Yup!"
The maid, who had taken notes on their orders spoke up. "Excuse me, but would you like anything to accompany on your chocolate crepe with strawberries, mistress?"
"Oh, right, I want a strawberry juice."
"Alright, I'll be getting your orders."
With that, the maid left to get their orders. The small group chatted a few minutes before they got excited about the gifts. Midori gingerly opened her book bag and took out the two small packets. Gingerly opening the first packet, she took the object from inside it. The gift from the athlete was a blue heart-shaped cellphone strap, while the gift from Sato was two flower hairpins.
"I was originally going to get you some books, but I wasn't sure what type of book you'd like so I got you some hairpins," explained Sato.
"Thanks Sato-chan, they're so pretty, especially the camellia one," replied Midori, pinning on her orange hair the pink hairpin.
"Oh, and what do you think of the cellphone strap?" asked Hirano, barely able to keep in her anxiety.
"I loved it," smiled Midori.
Nakano, meanwhile, grabbed the bag from beside Midori's chair and handed it over. Whatever she brought was certainly bigger than what the other two girls gave. Taking the item out of the bag, Midori placed a bright red crab plushie.
"Happy birthday Hisaku!" exclaimed Nakano.
Sato and Hirano sweatdropped at what their energetic friend brought. A crab stuffed animal, if it was a dog stuffed animal they would understand, but a crab? It wasn't even cute!
"Yui-chan, what's gotten into you?" started Sato.
"What?"
"I mean, what's with the crab plushie?"
"I thought it was a cute gift to give Hisaku," informed Nakano, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I'd understand if it was cute, but it isn't cute at all," started Hirano.
"I—"
"But it is cute, and I bet that Midori liked it," retorted Nakano.
"Uh… guys—"
"Well, I bet that she didn't like it."
Midori blinked. To tell the truth, Hirano was right, the crab plushie wasn't cute, and it actually looked pretty ugly. The plushie had very skinny legs and a very round, almost like a perfect circle. Midori herself liked the gift because of what it meant to her, receiving a gift from a friend and spending time with them. It would be alright to lie there; if it was to stop the (senseless) fight, it was the perfect idea.
"So do you like it?" asked Nakano, staring at Midori.
"I do," replied Midori, picking up the plushie and hugging it.
"Hah! I told you so," started Nakano.
"Ok, ok, I get it," sighed Hirano.
The four friends had a rather fun time together after the small discussion whether the crab plushie was cute or not. Chatting had gone through the topic of school, to summer vacation and to the school festival that was surely going to be held after the summer vacation. Time passed quickly and soon they had to bid goodbye for the day.
Walking alone, Midori held tightly to her plushie. The stars above were shining brightly, and her smile was almost as bright as the stars. She had a wonderful birthday with her friends and she could not cogitate how the day could get even better. Actually, she could, mostly because she hadn't even talked to the person that had criticized her way of avoiding making friends. She still felt that she owed a lot to him, and maybe even just a small chat with him in this day would make it even better.
Midori was just walking in front of the tennis park, lights illuminating the park and the sidewalk.
"Hisaku-chan?"
Blinking, Midori stopped and looked over at the voice. There he was, Sengoku Kiyosumi, the resident skirt chaser at her school.
"I didn't expect to find you here," commented Sengoku, walking over at Midori.
"I was hanging out with a few friends," replied Midori.
Sengoku blinked and chuckled. "I see, cute hairpin."
Her cheeks lighted up in reply to his compliment. That only made him chuckle even more.
"So Hisaku-chan, where did you get the plushie?" asked Sengoku.
Midori blinked before she remembered that she was carrying the stuffed animal that Nakano gave to her for her birthday.
"Oh, I got it for my birthday," answered Midori.
"Wait, today's your birthday?" asked Sengoku, quite surprised.
She nodded.
"Oh wow, I didn't know. Hm… What can I give to you…?" started Sengoku, looking around.
"O-Oh, Sengoku-kun you don't need to give me anyth—"
"Nonsense! I can't leave a girl with nothing on her birthday. Got it, can I have your cellphone for a second?"
"R-Really Sengoku-kun, it isn't necessa—"
"Can I have your cellphone for a second? Pretty please?"
Midori blinked at the young boy before giving in. Fishing out her cellphone, she handed it over to Sengoku. With a few furiously pressing of buttons, he was done. He handed back the cellphone to Midori.
"What… did you do to my cellphone?" asked Midori.
"I added my number to yours as a birthday present. Now we can talk everyday?" grinned Sengoku.
Midori blinked. True, some days, actually, most days she didn't talk to him and she did wish that she could talk to him more often than now. Smiling, she bowed, expressing her gratitude.
"Thank you Sengoku-kun!" said Midori.
"No problem," replied Sengoku.
Looking over at her watch, Midori gasped. It was getting late, and her mother had said to her to be home as soon as she could after hanging out with her friends.
"I have to go now Sengoku-kun, see you tomorrow!" said Midori, before turning around and running to the direction of her house.
"See you tomorrow Hisaku-chan and happy birthday!"
"Thank you!" shouted Midori back.
Midori continued running all the way to her house. She couldn't wait to tell her mother about everything that happened to her today. The fun that she had with her friends, her gifts, everything. Maybe this was definitely one of the birthdays that she had so far.
Author's Notes: Wow, this chapter came in so late. I'm sorry guys, but with school taking up my time I had barely any time to write this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
Oh and before I forget, I am going to show you guys a surprise next chapter. ;D See you all next chapter!
