Chapter 5
After we went to the hotel and Teijurou and Shigeki had fixed their things in their hotel room, we all went to the nearest mall. When we reached the mall, Sendoh asked us what we would like to do first.
"How about if we eat?" I grinned. "I'm starving. It's almost lunch time anyway."
Shigeki smiled. "Good idea. I'm getting quite hungry too."
We walked around the mall, finding a good place to eat. "What kind of food do you want to eat? Japanese? Chinese? American?"
"I'll eat what you guys want to eat." I said.
"Me too. I'll eat what you want to eat." Shigeki commented.
"Then let's make Teijirou decide." Sendoh spoke.
"Yeah, what do you like to eat Teijirou?" Shigeki asked, looking at his brother. The problem is that his brother is nowhere to be found.
"Where's Teijirou?!" Shigeki exclaimed. "If my parents found out that I lost him, I'll be dead for sure."
"He's just behind us a while ago. He can't be far." Sendoh said.
"Don't worry. We'll help you find Teijirou, right Akira?" I said, smiling at Sendoh.
"Uh… right." Sendoh responded.
We started finding Teijirou at the mall entrance. He's not there. He's not in the nearby stores either. We agreed that we should split up and meet back at the mall's main entrance at 11:45. Sendoh tried to page Teijirou if possible while Shigeki and I looked for Teijirou still at the same area we lost him.
"So Nanami, are you Sendoh's classmate?" Shigeki asked me while we were walking in the mall.
"Yes…" I answered.
"I see. So you're also a sophomore just like me."
"Umm… okay. Where do you live?"
"I live in Tokyo."
"That's a really lively place, isn't it?"
"Yes. But I like to live here. I like the people here more than those in Tokyo. So I decided to stay here for a couple of days."
"Me too. I also like to live here. All my friends are out here so I never want to leave."
"Yes. I have many friends in Tokyo but I want to live here. Do you have lots of friends here in Kanagawa?"
"Yes I have. There are many friendly people here but of course, some people are very unkind and annoying (like Mitsuki)."
"So can I be your friend?"
"Umm… sure." I replied. That was fast. I just met him and now he's my friend.
"Great." Shigeki smiled. "What do you do for fun?"
"Hmm… I play basketball, baseball, volleyball, table tennis, I run, I read books, I draw, I skate, I bake, I roller blade, I play the computer, I play the piano, I play the guitar, I play the flute… I can't tell all of my hobbies. They're just too many of them." I laughed.
Shigeki smiled again. "You seem to be very talented."
"I don't think so…" I said humbly.
"I think you are. Anyway, do you play soccer?"
I shook my head.
"Do you want me to teach you sometime?"
"Sure. I know the rules and the skills needed for soccer but I don't get the chance to play." I sadly said.
"Good thing I brought my soccer ball. I always bring it whenever I travel so I can play soccer when I'm bored."
"That's nice… Oh no! We forgot about Teijirou."
"Don't worry. He's with me." Said a familiar voice.
I turned around to see who said that. "Akira! Where the heck did you find him?" I asked Sendoh.
"He was playing in the arcade." Sendoh smiled at me.
"Alright you found me. So when are we going to eat?" Teijirou said impatiently.
"You're not going to eat." Shigeki joked. "Why did you run away anyway?"
"I was bored! You guys are boring!" Teijirou answered.
"Don't do that again. If mom and dad finds this out they'll be angry at me, not you."
"It's your fault anyway. You didn't have time to look after me. You don't care about me. You're always…" Teijirou stopped because his brother put his hand on his shoulder.
"Then I'm sorry." Shigeki apologized regretfully. "I'm sorry if I didn't have time to look after you…"
Sendoh and I looked at each other. He gave me a this-is-so-corny look. I gave him a yes-I-agree-with-you look. He smiled at me and I smiled at him back.
"Ok fine. Just always watch me. I got hungry from all that talking. When are we going to eat?" Teijirou said in his bratty voice.
"What do you want to eat?" Sendoh asked Teijirou.
"I want to eat pizza." Teijirou said demandingly.
"Great. We'll go to Pizza Hut." Shigeki said.
We ate in the nearest Pizza Hut branch we can find. Shigeki ordered two fettuccini's for Sendoh and me and a family size pepperoni pizza for him and his brother. While waiting for our food, I heard a part of a conversation between a boy and a girl near our table. They seem to be fighting about what will they order. Wait a minute, those voices sound familiar! I looked at the two people fighting and recognized them right away. They're Yukino and Koshino.
I approached them and said, "You guys never grow up. You're fighting over what you'll order?"
Sendoh also saw them and excused himself from his cousins for a while. "Hey you guys. Don't' tell me, you're fighting again?" Sendoh said.
"Obviously." Yukino shrugged.
"Tell us, which is better, Hawaiian or Super Supreme?" Koshino asked.
"Hawaiian." I said while Sendoh said "Super Supreme."
"I insist that we should order Super Supreme! If you want to eat Hawaiian pizza, then go to Hawaii!" Yukino argued.
Yukino and Koshino kept on arguing until Sendoh purposely changed the topic.
"I forgot to introduce my cousins, Shigeki and Teijirou." Sendoh said, pointing at his cousins, who were also fighting.
Sendoh stopped them from fighting and introduced them to Yukino and Koshino.
"Nice to meet you." Shigeki said, standing up and shaking hands with Koshino.
"Very nice to meet you." Teijirou said to Yukino. "Am I in heaven?"
"Uh…no." Yukino answered.
"Then why is there an angel in front of me?" Teijirou grinned.
"Ha! That's a good one! Yukino? An angel?" Koshino laughed.
Yukino ignored Koshino. "How old are you little boy?"
"I'm twelve, and don't call me a little boy. Teijirou answered.
"I've had it with your stupid pick-up lines." Shigeki snapped.
Teijirou payed no attention to his brother and turned to me. "Hey Nanami, you know what?"
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Shigeki has a secret that I know!" Teijirou intoned.
"Huh? I think you shouldn't say your brother's secrets to people you hardly know…" I softly said.
"Fine. But you should really know what his secret is!" Teijirou said happily.
Shigeki sighed, "I wonder why I have a brother like him."
"Now that you're properly introduced, I think we should all sit together." Sendoh suggested.
"Yes, we should." Shigeki agreed.
We transferred to a larger table for six people. Teijirou told Yukino and Koshino that they should just order a Hawaiian and Super Supreme pizza, to end up their argument. Koshino and Yukino opposed but later agreed.
"But who would pay for the other pizza?" Yukino asked.
"I will, if you like." Shigeki said.
Koshino and Yukino immediately agreed. They don't want to waste their money for another pizza. We were all talking when Yukino whispered to my ear faintly, "You know, Shigeki's kind of cute."
"I know." I whispered back to her. "Do you like him?"
"Nope. He's not my type but I definitely know that he's your type."
"That's true…"
"Then go after him."
"I don't think that's a good idea, of me going after him."
"I think he likes you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"He likes you, you know…"
"As a friend."
Yukino shook her head, "I don't think so."
"Hey, you girls are having one of those private conversations again." Teijirou said. "I read in a magazine that all that you girls do is talk about shopping, shoes, make-up, accessories and most of all, men." He paused and said, "Who are you talking about anyway? Me?"
"No, you pipsqueak! And what you said about girls is not true. We are far more superior than that, unlike you stupid men!" Yukino shouted.
Only Koshino and Teijirou were affected by what Yukino had said. Sendoh and Shigeki were just sighing and shaking their heads. "What did you say?!" Koshino said angrily.
"Shut up you woman!" Teijirou said.
Then Teijirou, Koshino, and Yukino stood up, fighting, hollering, and arguing with each other's opinion. I sat beside Sendoh and Shigeki, joining them in their sighing and shaking of heads. Many people glared at Teijirou, Koshino and Yukino, for they were the noisiest people in the room (and they weren't even aware of that). I was blushing because of embarrassment. Shigeki noticed that I was blushing and said, holding my shoulder, "You're not the only one who is embarrassed."
I giggled, and then said, "Should we stop them?"
"They'll stop when the food's already served." Sendoh grinned.
Shigeki and I also grinned. "What were you talking about with Yukino anyway?" Shigeki asked me.
I didn't say, "We were talking about you, and how cute you are! But don't think that I have a crush on you. I don't! I don't like boys." I just said, "The usual stuff…school, homework, you know…"
"I see." Shigeki said.
"The food's here." Sendoh said loudly. Koshino, Yukino and Teijirou stopped talking and sat down with us. The waiter served the food to us and we started eating, like we haven't eaten for a day. After an appetizing meal, we left Pizza Hut and went shopping.
I didn't find anything nice to buy for me. I don't like shopping much anyway. Yukino's the shopping girl. She likes shopping more than I do. We first shopped for clothes. I saw a shirt that is really nice, but it's too large and it's for a guy.
"Hey Sendoh, this looks good on you." I smiled, showing the shirt to Sendoh.
Sendoh looked at the shirt that I was holding. "I think so too. But… I'm broke."
"That's too bad." I sighed.
Shigeki also saw the shirt that I was holding and was interested to buy it. "That's a cool shirt." He said.
"I agree. I showed it to Sendoh but he said he was broke. So if you want to buy it, it's yours." I said.
"I'll buy it." Shigeki said, looking interested.
"Okay." I said, handing the t-shirt to Shigeki.
"Hey, I thought you said that shirt wasn't your type!" Teijirou said rowdily.
"I changed my mind." Shigeki said.
"Whatever. You're so confusing." Teijirou shrugged and went away. Shigeki sighed and went to the counter.
Yukino and I exchanged glances. What's with him? Why does he have to buy that shirt if he doesn't even want it?
"What's with your cousin?" I asked Sendoh.
"I don't know. He's acting strange lately. He wasn't like that when we were younger."
I asked Teijirou the same question when Shigeki was away paying for the stuff he bought with Sendoh.
"I think he bought that shirt because he wants to be like Sendoh, you know what I mean." Teijirou replied.
"Uh…no?"
"I mean, he's jealous of the relationship between you and Sendoh. Maybe that's because he was dumped by his ex-girlfriend who looks like you." Teijirou said, pointing at me.
"Um…ok." I said.
"I think my brother has a crush on you."
"Me?!" I said, turning red.
"Yeah! That's his secret. He likes you."
"Huh? We've just met."
"But Sendoh tells lots of stories about you when he visits us in Tokyo. You're just his type."
Why would Sendoh tell stories about me? Does he like me that much? "What kind of stories?" I asked curiously.
"That you're good in basketball and you were once in the basketball club when you were in Junior High, and your other hobbies…blah blah blah blah."
Shigeki has a crush on me? ME? And Sendoh does too, I think. But I'm not in love with either of them. I like both of them… I don't really know whom I will choose between them.
After we went to the hotel and Teijurou and Shigeki had fixed their things in their hotel room, we all went to the nearest mall. When we reached the mall, Sendoh asked us what we would like to do first.
"How about if we eat?" I grinned. "I'm starving. It's almost lunch time anyway."
Shigeki smiled. "Good idea. I'm getting quite hungry too."
We walked around the mall, finding a good place to eat. "What kind of food do you want to eat? Japanese? Chinese? American?"
"I'll eat what you guys want to eat." I said.
"Me too. I'll eat what you want to eat." Shigeki commented.
"Then let's make Teijirou decide." Sendoh spoke.
"Yeah, what do you like to eat Teijirou?" Shigeki asked, looking at his brother. The problem is that his brother is nowhere to be found.
"Where's Teijirou?!" Shigeki exclaimed. "If my parents found out that I lost him, I'll be dead for sure."
"He's just behind us a while ago. He can't be far." Sendoh said.
"Don't worry. We'll help you find Teijirou, right Akira?" I said, smiling at Sendoh.
"Uh… right." Sendoh responded.
We started finding Teijirou at the mall entrance. He's not there. He's not in the nearby stores either. We agreed that we should split up and meet back at the mall's main entrance at 11:45. Sendoh tried to page Teijirou if possible while Shigeki and I looked for Teijirou still at the same area we lost him.
"So Nanami, are you Sendoh's classmate?" Shigeki asked me while we were walking in the mall.
"Yes…" I answered.
"I see. So you're also a sophomore just like me."
"Umm… okay. Where do you live?"
"I live in Tokyo."
"That's a really lively place, isn't it?"
"Yes. But I like to live here. I like the people here more than those in Tokyo. So I decided to stay here for a couple of days."
"Me too. I also like to live here. All my friends are out here so I never want to leave."
"Yes. I have many friends in Tokyo but I want to live here. Do you have lots of friends here in Kanagawa?"
"Yes I have. There are many friendly people here but of course, some people are very unkind and annoying (like Mitsuki)."
"So can I be your friend?"
"Umm… sure." I replied. That was fast. I just met him and now he's my friend.
"Great." Shigeki smiled. "What do you do for fun?"
"Hmm… I play basketball, baseball, volleyball, table tennis, I run, I read books, I draw, I skate, I bake, I roller blade, I play the computer, I play the piano, I play the guitar, I play the flute… I can't tell all of my hobbies. They're just too many of them." I laughed.
Shigeki smiled again. "You seem to be very talented."
"I don't think so…" I said humbly.
"I think you are. Anyway, do you play soccer?"
I shook my head.
"Do you want me to teach you sometime?"
"Sure. I know the rules and the skills needed for soccer but I don't get the chance to play." I sadly said.
"Good thing I brought my soccer ball. I always bring it whenever I travel so I can play soccer when I'm bored."
"That's nice… Oh no! We forgot about Teijirou."
"Don't worry. He's with me." Said a familiar voice.
I turned around to see who said that. "Akira! Where the heck did you find him?" I asked Sendoh.
"He was playing in the arcade." Sendoh smiled at me.
"Alright you found me. So when are we going to eat?" Teijirou said impatiently.
"You're not going to eat." Shigeki joked. "Why did you run away anyway?"
"I was bored! You guys are boring!" Teijirou answered.
"Don't do that again. If mom and dad finds this out they'll be angry at me, not you."
"It's your fault anyway. You didn't have time to look after me. You don't care about me. You're always…" Teijirou stopped because his brother put his hand on his shoulder.
"Then I'm sorry." Shigeki apologized regretfully. "I'm sorry if I didn't have time to look after you…"
Sendoh and I looked at each other. He gave me a this-is-so-corny look. I gave him a yes-I-agree-with-you look. He smiled at me and I smiled at him back.
"Ok fine. Just always watch me. I got hungry from all that talking. When are we going to eat?" Teijirou said in his bratty voice.
"What do you want to eat?" Sendoh asked Teijirou.
"I want to eat pizza." Teijirou said demandingly.
"Great. We'll go to Pizza Hut." Shigeki said.
We ate in the nearest Pizza Hut branch we can find. Shigeki ordered two fettuccini's for Sendoh and me and a family size pepperoni pizza for him and his brother. While waiting for our food, I heard a part of a conversation between a boy and a girl near our table. They seem to be fighting about what will they order. Wait a minute, those voices sound familiar! I looked at the two people fighting and recognized them right away. They're Yukino and Koshino.
I approached them and said, "You guys never grow up. You're fighting over what you'll order?"
Sendoh also saw them and excused himself from his cousins for a while. "Hey you guys. Don't' tell me, you're fighting again?" Sendoh said.
"Obviously." Yukino shrugged.
"Tell us, which is better, Hawaiian or Super Supreme?" Koshino asked.
"Hawaiian." I said while Sendoh said "Super Supreme."
"I insist that we should order Super Supreme! If you want to eat Hawaiian pizza, then go to Hawaii!" Yukino argued.
Yukino and Koshino kept on arguing until Sendoh purposely changed the topic.
"I forgot to introduce my cousins, Shigeki and Teijirou." Sendoh said, pointing at his cousins, who were also fighting.
Sendoh stopped them from fighting and introduced them to Yukino and Koshino.
"Nice to meet you." Shigeki said, standing up and shaking hands with Koshino.
"Very nice to meet you." Teijirou said to Yukino. "Am I in heaven?"
"Uh…no." Yukino answered.
"Then why is there an angel in front of me?" Teijirou grinned.
"Ha! That's a good one! Yukino? An angel?" Koshino laughed.
Yukino ignored Koshino. "How old are you little boy?"
"I'm twelve, and don't call me a little boy. Teijirou answered.
"I've had it with your stupid pick-up lines." Shigeki snapped.
Teijirou payed no attention to his brother and turned to me. "Hey Nanami, you know what?"
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Shigeki has a secret that I know!" Teijirou intoned.
"Huh? I think you shouldn't say your brother's secrets to people you hardly know…" I softly said.
"Fine. But you should really know what his secret is!" Teijirou said happily.
Shigeki sighed, "I wonder why I have a brother like him."
"Now that you're properly introduced, I think we should all sit together." Sendoh suggested.
"Yes, we should." Shigeki agreed.
We transferred to a larger table for six people. Teijirou told Yukino and Koshino that they should just order a Hawaiian and Super Supreme pizza, to end up their argument. Koshino and Yukino opposed but later agreed.
"But who would pay for the other pizza?" Yukino asked.
"I will, if you like." Shigeki said.
Koshino and Yukino immediately agreed. They don't want to waste their money for another pizza. We were all talking when Yukino whispered to my ear faintly, "You know, Shigeki's kind of cute."
"I know." I whispered back to her. "Do you like him?"
"Nope. He's not my type but I definitely know that he's your type."
"That's true…"
"Then go after him."
"I don't think that's a good idea, of me going after him."
"I think he likes you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"He likes you, you know…"
"As a friend."
Yukino shook her head, "I don't think so."
"Hey, you girls are having one of those private conversations again." Teijirou said. "I read in a magazine that all that you girls do is talk about shopping, shoes, make-up, accessories and most of all, men." He paused and said, "Who are you talking about anyway? Me?"
"No, you pipsqueak! And what you said about girls is not true. We are far more superior than that, unlike you stupid men!" Yukino shouted.
Only Koshino and Teijirou were affected by what Yukino had said. Sendoh and Shigeki were just sighing and shaking their heads. "What did you say?!" Koshino said angrily.
"Shut up you woman!" Teijirou said.
Then Teijirou, Koshino, and Yukino stood up, fighting, hollering, and arguing with each other's opinion. I sat beside Sendoh and Shigeki, joining them in their sighing and shaking of heads. Many people glared at Teijirou, Koshino and Yukino, for they were the noisiest people in the room (and they weren't even aware of that). I was blushing because of embarrassment. Shigeki noticed that I was blushing and said, holding my shoulder, "You're not the only one who is embarrassed."
I giggled, and then said, "Should we stop them?"
"They'll stop when the food's already served." Sendoh grinned.
Shigeki and I also grinned. "What were you talking about with Yukino anyway?" Shigeki asked me.
I didn't say, "We were talking about you, and how cute you are! But don't think that I have a crush on you. I don't! I don't like boys." I just said, "The usual stuff…school, homework, you know…"
"I see." Shigeki said.
"The food's here." Sendoh said loudly. Koshino, Yukino and Teijirou stopped talking and sat down with us. The waiter served the food to us and we started eating, like we haven't eaten for a day. After an appetizing meal, we left Pizza Hut and went shopping.
I didn't find anything nice to buy for me. I don't like shopping much anyway. Yukino's the shopping girl. She likes shopping more than I do. We first shopped for clothes. I saw a shirt that is really nice, but it's too large and it's for a guy.
"Hey Sendoh, this looks good on you." I smiled, showing the shirt to Sendoh.
Sendoh looked at the shirt that I was holding. "I think so too. But… I'm broke."
"That's too bad." I sighed.
Shigeki also saw the shirt that I was holding and was interested to buy it. "That's a cool shirt." He said.
"I agree. I showed it to Sendoh but he said he was broke. So if you want to buy it, it's yours." I said.
"I'll buy it." Shigeki said, looking interested.
"Okay." I said, handing the t-shirt to Shigeki.
"Hey, I thought you said that shirt wasn't your type!" Teijirou said rowdily.
"I changed my mind." Shigeki said.
"Whatever. You're so confusing." Teijirou shrugged and went away. Shigeki sighed and went to the counter.
Yukino and I exchanged glances. What's with him? Why does he have to buy that shirt if he doesn't even want it?
"What's with your cousin?" I asked Sendoh.
"I don't know. He's acting strange lately. He wasn't like that when we were younger."
I asked Teijirou the same question when Shigeki was away paying for the stuff he bought with Sendoh.
"I think he bought that shirt because he wants to be like Sendoh, you know what I mean." Teijirou replied.
"Uh…no?"
"I mean, he's jealous of the relationship between you and Sendoh. Maybe that's because he was dumped by his ex-girlfriend who looks like you." Teijirou said, pointing at me.
"Um…ok." I said.
"I think my brother has a crush on you."
"Me?!" I said, turning red.
"Yeah! That's his secret. He likes you."
"Huh? We've just met."
"But Sendoh tells lots of stories about you when he visits us in Tokyo. You're just his type."
Why would Sendoh tell stories about me? Does he like me that much? "What kind of stories?" I asked curiously.
"That you're good in basketball and you were once in the basketball club when you were in Junior High, and your other hobbies…blah blah blah blah."
Shigeki has a crush on me? ME? And Sendoh does too, I think. But I'm not in love with either of them. I like both of them… I don't really know whom I will choose between them.