CHAPTER 2 – SUMMER SURPRISES
" I can't believe our parents didn't tell you! I want to stay in America for this summer, so I've arranged for you to come and stay during the vacation. There are so many places I want to show you!"
Miki's face lit up instantly, Yuu had been thinking of her!
"When I asked our parents they said it was fine, and that they'd already talked to you about it!" Yuu explained.
Miki laughed. "I'm sure they thought ONE of them did! But they're so preoccupied with the babies now that I'm sure I'm the last thing on their mind!"
Yuu's voice was cheerful, "Have the babies come yet?"
"Not yet! But soon. They already know the genders though! Mama's baby will be a boy, and Chiyako-mama's baby will be a girl."
"What are their names?"
"Mama and Youji-papa have decided their baby's name will be Yuu-hi. It's sort of like your name isn't it? I like it!" Said Miki with a smile.
"And how about my mothers baby?"
"Chiyako-mama and papa are still debating between the name Aya, and the name Ceres, which do you like more?"
"Hmm- I think I like Aya more than Ceres."
"I agree with you!"
"So, you want to come and stay with me in New York this summer?"
"I DO!" Miki said enthusiastically. "Yuu, I can't explain it but I just KNEW something special would happen today! This is better than anything I could have imagined! I want to spend my whole summer with you! I don't care where I am as long as you're there with me."
"Miki, you didn't honestly think I wouldn't want to see you for vacation did you?" Yuu asked her teasingly.
Miki's bit her lip. "Err- NO! Not at all! I'd NEVER think that!"
"You're such a bad liar!" Yuu laughed "I'll see you next Saturday. I'll be at the airport to pick you up. Bring your swimsuit when you come! We're going to be at the beach house for a lot of the time!"
"I will! Now I'll let you go to sleep... you must be very tired!" Miki smiled and looked down at the framed picture she had of them together. "I love you, Yuu."
"I love you too, Miki. I'll see you soon."
A Week later
Miki, have a lot of fun this summer! Like you, I'm going to visit Namura-sensei for a week in Hiroshima. My parents don't know about it yet. But I don't care what they say or do when they find out. You're so lucky that you're parents are supportive of your relationship with Yuu. I want you to write me lots of letters when you're there and let me know everything that happens!
Miki closed the exchange diary and stood up, dancing around the room holding Kappa-chan in her arms. She laughed as she looked down at the clothes spread out on her bed, ready to be packed in a suitcase.
"Tomorrow!" she whispered. " Tomorrow I'm going to SEE Yuu, and I'll be next to him for two months!"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Her mother and Chiyako peeked their heads in.
"Miki! Have you gotten all packed yet?"
"Oh! No I haven't finished yet!" She gestured to all the clothes she'd laid out on the bed. She had spent over an hour yesterday picking out the perfect summer swimsuit with Meiko.
"Let us help you!" They walked in the room laughing excitedly. Talking all at once.
"Yes!" giggled Chiyako. "Miki this shirt is so cute! I'm glad you're taking it! But dont' you think you might want to bring more warm clothes? New York is not as hot as Japan during the summer!"
"I agree." Said Miki's mother, Rumi. "You should at least bring some warmer clothes. I don't want you catching a cold!" She pulled out a sweater from Miki's closet and folded it in the suitcase.
Miki looked at them both helplessly. "Uhhh- you really don't need to help me. I'm just fine packing on my own!"
"Oh- but don't tell me you're not bringing this dress!" cried Chiako as she pulled out a flower printed pink summer dress. "I just love this one! You must bring it to have something nice to wear, in case you go out to dinner or to a party!" She folded it neatly into her suitcase.
" Ch-Chiako-mama! I can pack my own clothes! If you keep on putting all those clothes in I won't have room for the clothes I want to pack!" Miki laughed nervously, she never should have let them come into her room in the first place.
Her thoughts were interrupted again by a knock at the door. Her father and Youji walked in.
Miki tried to hide her annoyance. All four parents in her room at once! This was getting way to chaotic!
"Miki," her father walked over next to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes seriously. "You're going to be with Yuu all summer vacation..." He looked slyly at Youji, "We were young once, so don't think we don't know what you plan to do..."
Miki turned a bright red as everyone froze in place, looking at her. "W-WHAT do you mean? You KNOW what we're going to do? It's NOT what you-"
"It's ok Miki! No need to be embarassed!" Her father and Youji patted her on the back, and handed her a plastic bag filled with assorted condoms. "But we must insist that you two use protection! Have fun!"
Miki's face could have only been compared with a ripe tomato. She stared at the bag in her hand. "Y- you guys- are unbelievable..."
All the parents laughed and hugged her.
"When you see Yuu, be sure to tell him hello for us!" Said her mother.
"Tell him he'd BETTER write to us more often!" said Chiyako. "I never hear from him!"
"Yeah! It's amazing how he's grown up and become so independent!" added Miki's father. "Don't you agree Youji?"
"You bet! He's not coming to see his family for vacation! Ah well, at least Miki can see him. I'm jealous!" Youji nudged Miki, who hadn't moved since he'd handed her the bag of condoms. She stared down at it, her face feeling so hot that it might catch on fire.
"That's right!" Said Chiyako, none of the parents were even paying attention to their distraught daughter any longer. "It's so fun to see your children fall in love! Ahhh- I remember when I was young and in love!" she reminisced.
Miki didn't hear a word of what her parents were babbling about. She mechanically dropped the bag of condoms into her suitcase.
" Geez- only my parents would do something like this! I can't believe them! Yuu and I aren't going to go THAT far-" she cut off that thought, and blushed, staring down at the multi-colored bag settled in the corner of her suitcase. "But- to go beyond a kiss..." she continued packing, thinking quietly to herself, "To go beyond a kiss with him, it would be wonderful!" She smiled to herself, as she packed Kappa-chan. "It would progress our relationship... I don't feel any uneasiness about the idea. And in America, it would be easy to be alone with him!" Her eyes turned determined as she closed the suitcase. "Yes- I want to do it! I want to go beyond a kiss!"
John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport
Yuu looked nervously at his watch. "11:50," he muttered, "Why hasn't anyone come through customs yet? Miki should have gotten off the plane 45 minutes ago..."
Brian slapped him on the back, "Getting impatient hmm? I don't blame you! If my girlfriend were on the other side of the world most of the time I'd be a lot less composed than you are!"
"Does she know all of the things you have planned for her?" Asked Doris. "You spent days looking through brochures for different places to take her."
"It'll be fun to see her for longer than just two days!" added Jinny excited. "She's such a nice girl! I want to get to know her better."
"I have the same feelings as you." Bill nodded, and put his arm around Jinny's shoulders and they all stood waiting. One by one, people began to walk through the large doorway into the crowd of spectators.
Suddenly, Michael came dashing through the doorway at top speed.
"BRIAN!" yelled Michael excitedly. "Where are you!" He stopped and dropped his large carry-on bag, looking around with his eyes bright and alert.
Brian's eyes lit up, he waved from where they were standing by the baggage carousel. "Michael! Welcome back!"
"Michael came too?" Commented Dorris.
"Yeah! He wanted to come home for vacation." Said Bill as the group went over to greet Michael.
"It's nice to see you again Michael! I hope you've been taking care of Miki for me!" Yuu said as he shook Michael's hand.
Michael nodded his head. "You bet! She's been a handful to look after!" he joked.
"We're going to take him to my parents home before we go to our apartment." Brian explained to Yuu. "Michael will spend the summer at home, but he'll come for the trip to the beach house."
"You should be looking for Miki!" Said Michael grinning. "She's so excited to see you, I couldn't keep her in her seat during the plane ride. She'd glance at her watch about every hour, and pace up and down the isle... she was like a little kid!"
"Yuu!"
Yuu froze at the sweet sound of Miki's voice floating from behind him. He quickly turned around, his heart pounding in his chest as he saw her walking towards him, her brown eyes wide and alert. Her hair had grown longer since he'd last seen her. And was in two braided pigtails.
"Miki!" he smiled and ran over to her, embracing her tightly. Miki dropped her carry-on bag and returned his embrace. She nestled her head in his shirt, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.
"Yuuuu! Yuu I missed you!" She said through quiet sobs.
Yuu held her away by the shoulders gently, looking into her eyes. "Why are you crying?"
Miki bit her lip and wiped away the tears with her sleeve. "I'm just happy..." She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders as he drew her closer to him, hugging him tightly.
"Wooo hooo!" Yelled Jinny. She ran over to the couple and threw her arms around Miki. "Welcome back to New York, Miki!"
"Welcome." Bill walked over to them, followed by Brian and Doris, "Did you have a good flight?"
"Mmm- an ok flight." Miki blushed and twiddled her fingers. " I was too impatient for such a long flight though! I didn't get any sleep at all!" She peered over at Michael slyly. "Unlike this blockhead- he must have kept the entire cabin awake with his snoring!"
Everyone burst out laughing as Michael turned bright red.
"You should have waken me up if I was snoring..." muttered Michael.
"No! It was too funny watching you drooling in your sleep." Laughed Miki. She took Yuu's arm and snuggled him, looking up in his eyes. "Anyways, I'm very tired! Shall we go?"
" Yeah… are you hungry Miki? I brought some food in the car." Yuu, he took her carry-on bag and her suitcase. "Geez!" he grimaced at the weight. " What did you put in here? Several bowling balls?"
" No! Mama and Chiyako-mama helped me pack! So I have a bit more than I need." Miki confessed.
" I figured." Laughed Yuu as they all started walking from the airport.
" I can't wait to see you're new apartment!" said Miki excitedly. "Where is it anyways? In Manhattan?"
"Yeah- it's a large three bedroom apartment, two people to a room. You know Jinny, Bill, Brian and Doris all live in it with me. We all decided to go to the same college. So sharing an apartment rather than the dorm seemed much more pleasant"
Miki's heart leapt at the thought of spending a whole summer with Yuu and his friends. She silently prayed that she'd get to share a room with him. If the apartment was three bedrooms, two per room, there had to be an extra bed for her.
"What are you so intently thinking about?" Yuu tapped her on the forehead playfully, Miki blinked back startled out of her daydream.
"N-nothing!" She said quickly, turning away and hoping the Yuu didn't notice her blush.
Yuu laughed and picked her up around her waist with his free hand. "You keep on daydreaming like that, and you'll run into something."
"Y-YUU! People will stare!" Miki looked around nervously but no one in the airport seemed to care that much. A few smiled or chuckled at the two of them.
"No one cares in America." Said Yuu, continuing to carry her down the hallway towards the escalators. "It's not like in Japan."
Miki giggled. "I could get to like America a lot!"
A Few Hours Later
"Wow- it's so beautiful!" Miki marveled at the beautiful central living room. A large window with sliding glass doors comprised one side of the wall. The kitchen was small and separated from the living room by a partial wall. Miki ran to the large window and looked out at the view of the water and the city beyond, with the lights of the buildings glinting like stars. Everyone piled into the living room after her.
"Welcome home!" Said Jinny as she spread her arms out wide to show Miki their apartment.
"There is Jinny and Bill's bedroom, over there." Pointed Yuu. "And the room just to the left of it is Brian and Dorris'. The bathroom is right over here. And this is your room for the summer." Yuu smiled and opened a door across from the other two.
Miki stepped in and looked around. It wasn't large, but not too small. There were two desks, and a queen bed, and one large dresser against the far wall.
"Isn't this your room though?" She asked, recognizing a poster that he'd had when he lived in the dorm. Her heart was pounding.
"Yeah." Yuu walked over to the window and opened it up as a fresh wave of air flooded into the room. "Is that ok? If you want to have it to yourself, I can sleep on the couch in the living room. I don't mind-"
"-No of course I don't mind!" Miki couldn't help but stare at the bed as she walked in and set her purse down on a chair. "If this is your room, I should be the one to sleep on the couch."
Bill's voice piped up behind them as he was about to close the door "Well- we'll leave you two to catch up." He winked at Yuu and shut the door.
Miki smiled to herself and walked to the window to stand besides Yuu. She paused, savoring the view. "Wow- it's SO wonderful here! You're so lucky to have this kind of view every day!"
Yuu wrapped his arms around her and followed her gaze.
"Yeah- it's very beautiful. But there is one view far more beautiful... that I don't get to see every day." He kissed her neck softly.
Miki turned around and embraced him tightly. "Stop embarrassing me…" She laughed, then nuzzled her cheek against his chest "I've missed you so much. This is going to be a wonderful summer."
Yuu smiled and with one hand, lifted her chin up so that her eyes met his. Miki met his gaze, slightly blushing as they shared a long, passionate kiss. Finally, as Yuu withdrew, still holding her in his arms tightly, he said, "I've wanted to really show you this city for a long time. It's one of the reasons I refused to come home, and instead had you come here." He smiled down at her, holding her gently by the shoulders. "We can finally take our trip! Just the two of us."
"I've been waiting for that for over a year now!" giggled Miki. "But now, I'm SO tired! I can't think about anything else but sleep."
Yuu nodded. "Of course, you need to get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow. We're going to Brian's Beach House."
"The beach house? That's wonderful! I've heard so much about it." laughed Miki.
"Yep!" Yuu picked her up in his arms and threw her on the bed. Miki burrowed under the covers. The crisp linen bedsheets against her skin felt cool and comfortable. Yuu straightened up and started to turn around. Like lightning, Miki snaked out her hand and grabbed onto the back of his shirt.
"Yuu, stay with me until I fall asleep. I don't want you to go yet."
Yuu's smile melted her. He turned back to her grinned. "You're thinking dirty things, aren't you."
"Yuu! Don't tease me!" She blushed.
"Haha, But of course, I will stay as long as my lady commands." He slid into bed beside her, and she snuggled up against him with her head in the crook of his shoulder.
"Goodnight, Yuu." She said with a yawn. Safe and comfortable in his arms, she drifted off into peaceful sleep.
Yuu kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, Miki."
A Few Days Later
Meiko,
Two days ago I arrived in New York. We've spent the last few days at Brian's beach house that I've heard so much about. It's so lovely here! I love the beach. Yuu says he's going to teach me how to windsurf... but I'm a little nervous about that. Yuu says the last part of the summer he's going to take me on a trip, just the two of us together, without his friends hanging around. I wonder where he has planned?
I'll write again soon! Take care!
Miki
Miki folded the letter and sealed it in the envelope, put a stamp on the upper right hand corner and addressed it to Meiko. No sooner had she finished that then Yuu knocked at her door.
"Miki! Let's go, everyone's waiting for you!"
Miki jumped up and threw on her bathing suit cover up, "I'm coming!" She opened the door and hurried down the stairs behind Yuu. "Sorry to keep everyone waiting, I was just finishing this letter." She held up the letter.
"I'll mail it later for you." Said Brian as he put it on the counter. " Right now, lets go! The surf is calling me."
"If you keep up that surfer talk much longer then I'll be thoroughly convinced you've gone completely nuts." Laughed Dorris.
They all ran out onto the beach, each of the guys with a surfboard tucked under their arm. Jinny and Dorris and Miki were heavily laid with beach blankets, umbrella's, picnic baskets and coolers.
"There's a nice spot." Jinny pointed to a sandy bank in the midst of the many people that had already claimed their spot on the beach. Everyone walked out and dumped their stuff.
Yuu playfully cuffed Miki on the side of the head as she knelt down to spread out her beach blanket beside his. "Race you to the water!"
"Ahh!" Miki grumbled and jumped to her feet, rubbing her head. " No fare you got a head start! YUUU!" She sprinted after him.
Jinny, Bill, Brian and Dorris all looked at each other and laughed. They finished setting up their towels and umbrellas, and then Bill and Jinny went to play volleyball, while Dorris sunned herself and Brian tackled the surf.
"Those two are so amusing to watch." Smiled Dorris as she watched Yuu and Miki out in the waves.
"GOTCHA!" laughed Yuu as he tackled Miki in the middle of a wave break. Miki gasped as they broke surface again and teasingly threatened him with her fist. "Yuu, don't you dare do that again!"
"Aww, you're no fun!" grinned Yuu as he picked her up and held her closely to him. Miki giggled and threw her arms around him, kissing his cheek. "Yep, looks like I'll have to cannon ball you- that'll get you to lighten up." He snickered.
"C-Cannon ball?" Miki paled as Yuu picked her up by the waist, easily lifting her above his head.
"One!" He bounced her up in the surf.
" YUU!" cried Miki, arms and legs flailing.
"TWO!"
"STOP!"
"THREE!" He launched her screaming about six feet from him into the water with a loud splash.
"HA HA!" Yuu held his sides laughing, "That face you just made was to die for!" Yuu snickered. He waited for Miki to surface, five seconds past, ten...
"Miki?" Yuu waded over to the spot he'd thrown her concerned. "MIKI?" He dove under the water, looking around frantically. "Miki where are you?"
Suddenly he felt a violent tug at both his legs as they were pulled together. Powerless to swim without use of his feet, he sunk further with arms wildly flailing. He turned underwater to meet Miki's mischevious face. She had both his legs held securely. He grabbed her up and surfaced, showering drops of water.
"Got you!" laughed Miki, wringing out her wet hair. "That's what you get for cannon balling me!"
Yuu held her to him tightly. "I thought you were drowning for a second! Baka... don't scare me like that again!"
Miki bit her lip. " I didn't mean for you to get frightened... I'm sorry."
Yuu smiled down at her. "There's something I've been meaning to do. I'll be right back." And he walked back up to shore.
"Wait! Do what?" called Miki after him.
"IT'S A SURPRISE!" He yelled back with a grin, and ran off down the beach towards the store.
"He's being very secretive…" She pouted. "Oh well, I'm sure I'll find out what it is." She leaned back, lifting her feet off the ocean floor and floated on top of the water,
Dorris watched Yuu walk down towards the beach house.
"So, he is going to buy that... I'm glad, I think she'll really like it." She grinned and held up her magazine. Two girls walked by, chatting and she didn't help but overhear.
"See him! There he is over by the beach store in the blue bathing suit."
"He's SO HOT! He's alone too. Now's our chance!"
"Hey I saw him first!"
"It'll be fun competition. Come on!"
Dorris lifted her eyes above the magazine to see the two girls running down towards the store after Yuu. She smiled to herself.
"Sorry to break to it you girls, but neither is going to win." She thought to herself.
"Hey Dorris!" called Jinny as she ran up to her. "Let's go in the water now! I'm all sweaty from that game."
"But it was a great game!" laughed Bill as he walked up and put his arm around her. "We really kicked some ass! Let's go cool off."
"Sure I'll come along!" said Dorris as she closed her magazine and stood up. She pointed over towards the beach store with a smirk on her face. "Guess who's being targeted."
Jinny and Bill looked over to see the two girls talking with Yuu. Then he shook his head and pointed over to the water where Miki sat waiting impatiently. They both turned and hurried away, whispering to themselves.
"Isn't he always targeted at least once a day every time he shows up here?" laughed Dorris.
"Lucky guy.." muttered Bill.
"Aww—Are we jealous?" teased Jinny
"What?"
"Nothing." She giggled. Jinny grabbed Bill's arm and pulled him towards the water. "Let's go!"
The Next Day
Meiko, yesterday was so much fun! We spent the whole day at the beach. I played in the water most of the time, and we had a big barbecue for dinner, and then a game of volleyball. Jinny and Bill ended up winning, since they're both really good at it. I'm no good at volleyball, I'm too scared that the ball is going to hit me in the head! Of course, that didn't help my team with Yuu at all. Yuu's really cute, he keeps on teasing me about a surprise. I'll find out today what it is!
Miki
Miki set the pen down and looked out the window at the calm sea.
"Yes! Today we're going to have a day on the beach again!" She stood up excited and walked downstairs and into the living room where everyone was sitting waiting for breakfast to be made.
"Yuu, you're taking forever with breakfast! What are you making?" asked Jinny curiously. She sat on the couch, leaning on Bill while they watched the morning news.
Yuu looked up from his cooking and saw Miki standing in the doorway. "Good morning sleepyhead Miki!"
Miki laughed. " Well, I went to bed so late last night!"
"I'm glad you decided to get up at all!" added Brian. He was helping Dorris set the table. "Or we'd be way behind in schedule."
"Behind in schedule?" asked Miki confused.
"Brian..." Yuu said in an annoyed tone. "That is MY surprise!"
"Err- Sorry!" Brian realized he'd said to much, he retreated back to the couch to watch TV. "I'll just sit here and not talk anymore.
"Sorry about Brian." Dorris said to Miki, "He always talks before he thinks."
"No, it's ok!" Miki walked over to Yuu in the kitchen, hugged and kissed him good morning. "So- what is the schedule?" She asked him teasingly.
Yuu smiled. "Close your eyes and open your mouth.."
"Hmm? Great way of avoiding the question..." Miki shrugged and did as he asked. Yuu put a square piece of hash brown on her tongue.
"Mmm!" she ate it and opened her eyes. "What is it?"
"I bet you've never had these before!" He said as he went back to flipping pancakes.
"It's delicious!" laughed Miki. " Do you have this for breakfast in America all the time?"
Yuu laughed. " Not really, only for special breakfasts do we have any fancy food. Most of the time I just grab a muffin, or some cold cereal and run to school."
Miki blushed. "So- you made a special breakfast just for me..."
"Of course it's not for you. I made it all for me!" Yuu ate a hash brown and turned his back to her.
"Oooo- YUUU!" Miki playfully hit him repeatedly with her fists, Yuu just ignored her. "You ALWAYS tease me like that! You're so mean!"
Yuu laughed and put up his hands. "Ok ok! I'm sorry- it was a joke! Really!"
Jinny, Bill, Brian and Doris watched the happy couple from the living room with amusement.
Jinny laughed and turned to Bill. "Miki is so cute! Yuu was right when he said she was the most fun to tease."
Bill nodded to her and smiled. "And I haven't seen Yuu so happy since he found out they weren't siblings."
"Yeah, It's hard to believe anyone could break up a couple like that. So in love..." added Doris.
Jinny nodded, then called back at Yuu, " Yuuuuu, Is breakfast ready yet? I'm SO hungry!"
"Ok ok! Almost ready, you all can seat yourselves." Said Yuu.
Everyone walked to the dinning table and sat down as Yuu brought the huge plate of pancakes. Miki brought in the bowl of hashbrowns after him, being careful not to drop any on the ground.
"Wow!" Miki laughed as she sat down. "Everything looks SO good!"
"It's because you didn't cook it!" teased Yuu as he helped himself to some pancakes. Everyone followed his example.
"Not fair! I've been practicing with Chiako-mama! You'd be surprised at how much I've improved!" Miki raised her fork menacingly.
Yuu laughed and interscepted her fork with his. "Touché!"
"Hey hey you two!" said Brian as he took a long drink of orange juice. "It's too early in the morning for so much energy."
"Miki can't help it, she's always filled with energy!" Said Yuu as he poured syrup on his pancakes and started to eat.
"He was talking about you too." Miki pointed out, "It's not JUST me!"
"Hey! Could someone get the jam?" asked Jinny as she took a piece of toast.
"I'll get it!" said Miki, she jumped up from her seat and walked into the kitchen.
"It's in the cupboard above the sink."
Miki opened the cupboard and looked around. "Ah! Here it is! Oooo- but it's empty! Oh, here's something." she picked up a jar and brought it to the table. "It's apricot I think. I can't read the English label."
Jinny looked at the label and blinked. " No, it's Marmalade."
Miki stopped in mid-bite and grabbed the jar from her. "Marmalade!" She laughed. "Do you remember Yuu?"
Yuu suddenly froze, he looked over at her slyly. "Don't you dare-"
Miki ignored him and turned to the rest of the table, all intently watching her, "I remember the day after we moved in together, I asked for a jar of jelly for my toast, but instead Yuu handed me Marmalade! And suddenly, it hit me- Yuu is just like Marmalade!"
"Like marmalade?" asked Doris confused.
"Why me?" Yuu looked up at the ceiling.
"It's true!" exclaimed Miki. "See, it looks good on the outside, like it's going to be absolutely delicious, but when you taste it, it's actually very bittersweet, and fools you!"
"That's a PERFECT comparison for Yuu!" laughed Jinny. "It fits him so well!"
"Jinny..." Yuu looked at her helplessly.
"I'm going to call you Marmalade Boy from now on!" Teased Bill. "That can be your new nickname."
"Heh, if you do, you'll never live to regret it." Said Yuu as he finished off a glass of orange juice. Then turned to Miki, a smirk on his face. "- but don't forget what I called you in response." He got up and walked into the kitchen.
Miki gasped, "No Yuu- don't even-"
"-Here it is!" He cut her off as he pulled another jar out of the refridgerator
"Ok- I take it back about the Marmalade!" Miki bit her lip nervously, trying to sink into her chair, she could feel her face flushing with embarasement.
Yuu returned to the table, and held up a jar of hot mustard. He pointed to it for effect. "Miki here is just like the jar of mustard.."
" Yuuuu!" Miki looked at him dismayed.
"How is she like mustard?" asked Jinny.
"She's hot and spicy!" laughed Yuu just in time for Miki to clamp her hand over his mouth.
But the words had already escaped, everyone burst out laughing.
"A Mustard Girl! That's even better than a Marmalade Boy!" laughed Jinny
Miki and Yuu glanced at each other, than burst out laughing as well.
All the plates had been cleared and Jinny and Bill had just finished the dishes.
"Ok Marmalade Boy, do you think it's time?" Asked Brian.
"Time?" asked Miki confused.
"Yeah-" said Yuu. " Miki gets her surprise now." He stood up and walked over to Bill and Brian's room.
"Yay! I finally get to find out! " exclaimed Miki.
Yuu came back from the room with a large wrapped box and set it in front of Miki.
"I hope you'll enjoy them, it's part of our schedule today. " he winked at her as she lifted the box to her lap.
"Ooo- heavy!" She grinned big. He smiled at her and sat next to her while Miki slowly opened it.
"Wow!" Her eyes lit up as she opened the box to reveal a pair of new, shiny blue roller blades. "Roller skates?"
Yuu took them out of the box for her. "They're called Roller blades. Everyone in America uses them. They're tons of fun!"
"I want to try them!" laughed Miki, she took the roller blades and her hands. "They're cool!"
"We all have a pair. I learned how to use them over here."
"Thank you Yuu!" Miki hugged Yuu and kissed him. "Thank you so much!" She hugged the roller blades to her chest. "When can I learn how to use them?"
"Right now!" Said Jinny, she stood up with Bill. " We were planning on going out today, there's a pavement lining the beach that's a perfect place for you to learn!"
"The best experience there is!" added Doris, " Roller blading in New York by the ocean!"