I just got finished my rehearsals at the club. Luckily, it's finished early. Chocho was waiting for me at the campus gates.
"Chocho!" I call out to her. She waves back when she notices me.
"You're early today," she says and I nod.
"Boruto told me that he has an important thing to do so he can't walk you home. So, I am going home with you today," she explains.
Well, they don't need to wait or walk me home though.
"You don't have to worry about me," I tell her while we are walking our way home.
"Hey, do you already have something to wear for Yodo's birthday?" she asks. Oh, yeah. That's the day after tomorrow.
"It actually slipped my mind. I don't think I have a gown or anything at home," I say.
"Good grief!" she exclaims.
"What do you mean?" I say in a confused tone.
"I have plenty of gowns at home. Granny used to be a dressmaker back in the day," she tells.
"Amazing," I utter.
"Let's look for our outfit tomorrow after class," she says and I nod.
I don't think gowns suit me well...
"You have to make sure that you will come tomorrow. I told my parent that you all will come and for your information, I have a very special guest. I'm pretty sure you would not miss it," Yodo tells the class.
"We are very excited to attend your birthday party, Yodo," Namida says in excitement.
"To be honest, I still don't have something to wear yet," Wasabi tells her.
"Don't worry about it, Wasabi. I have plenty of gowns at home. You can borrow one anyway," Namida offers. Wasabi looks so happy about Namida's offer.
"Thank you, Namida," she tells her and Namida gives her a nod.
"And boys, make sure to come, okay? Especially you Kawaki," she points at Kawaki. But the jerk did not respond but kept his stares outside the window.
"A very special guest?" I mutter.
"Are you curious too?" Chocho asks.
"Yeah," I reply.
After class, we head straight to Chocho's house. We immediately proceed to her grandmother's room.
She rushes toward the closet and suddenly opens it. I am amazed by the gowns hanging in different colors. There is blue, red, pink, yellow, white, black and more.
"These are amazing, Chocho," I tell her while looking at them.
"What dress do you think will suit me, Sarada?" she asks. I start to think and check the gowns in front of me.
"What about this white gown?" I suggest. She tries to fit it then looks herself at the mirror.
"It looks amazing on you," I say.
"You think so?" she asks and I nod.
"I can't choose from these gowns," I say and Chocho removes them from the closet and puts them on the bed.
"Try this one," she tells me and gives me the pink gown. I try fitting it in and show it to her. She shakes her head and gives me the yellow gown. I change and try that one.
I wear the yellow gown and show it to her and she shakes her head again. This is tiring.
"They don't look good on you," she mutters and gives me the red gown. Please make it the last. It's frustrating changing gowns repeatedly.
I change with the red gown this time. It has red beads that shine when the light reflects on it. I like this.
"How about this?" I say and she is stunned for a second.
"Hmm..." she murmurs and then smiles.
"What do you think?" I ask and she gets up from lying on the bed.
"I like it. I like it for you," she tells.
"I like it too," I tell her.
"So, we're settled," she says and starts to clean her bed up. I help her return the gowns to the closet.
"Let's head here after class. Her party will start at 6:00 p.m., right? And don't forget to tell your mom about this so she won't worry about you," she reminds me.
"I told her already," I say and she is shocked.
"Seriously?" she squeals and I just laugh awkwardly.
I wave goodbye at her when we are finished with our business.
I wonder what I would look like wearing the gown and putting makeup on my face. I'm not fond of using those.
"Sarada! Faster! We only have an hour to prepare, you know?" Chocho drags me to her home.
"Please, slow down," I tell her.
"We can't right now," she says still grabbing my arm.
"Finally, we are here!" she says. I fall to my knees and gasp for air. Chocho's excited, isn't she?
"Hello honey, Sarada," her mom greets us.
"Hey, Auntie," I respond still breathing heavily.
"You two look exhausted," she notices. Who would not though if someone like Chocho is dragging you to nowhere?
"Alright, let's start!" she says. And my forehead wrinkles.
"What does she mean?" I ask Chocho.
"I asked mom's help for tonight," she laughs awkwardly.
"Okay," I stutter. I feel nervous all of a sudden.
She will be doing the makeup and hairdo for sure.
"Okay, you two sit down here!" she says and let us settle on the chairs facing the mirror.
"Is this really okay?" I ask not so sure about it.
"Of course, you don't have to worry about it, Sarada. I will start with your hair," she says then starts to touch my hair.
"What I meant was maybe we are bothering you or something," I say and she shakes her head.
"What are you thinking, Sarada? It's okay," Chocho scolds me. I just feel very uncomfortable about disturbing her mom.
"I want you both to be the most beautiful girls of the night," she laughs. Now, I imagine Yodo's upset face knowing that she isn't the most beautiful girl at her birthday party.
"That's right, mom," Chocho tells her mom. Like mother like daughter indeed.
When she's done with me, she proceeds to make Chocho's hair. She puts something on my hair and just leaves it until it dries. She made me a small bun in the middle and puts a cute red flower on top of it.
She makes a brush-up for Chocho and makes a white ribbon on top. She looks stunning without make-up yet.
"You look great with simple makeup on your face, Sarada. That pink lipstick looks cute on you," she compliments me. I think my cheeks blush.
"You look amazing too, Chocho," I tell her and we smile at each other.
"I don't recommend you to wear glasses with that outfit, Sarada," Auntie tells me.
"What do you mean? I can't go without them," I say in disagreement.
"I have contact lenses here," she says and then shows me a box of contact lenses.
"Wow," I say and she smiles.
"Let me put them on your eyes," she offers. I am hesitant at first. It's my first time wearing contact lenses.
"Umm," Chocho murmurs.
"Trust me, this won't hurt," she reassures me and I trust her.
This feels strange. I blink my eyes slowly and I think my eyes are still adjusting to the lenses. After a few blinks and I manage to see things completely using them.
"How is it?" Chocho checks on me.
"It's quite manageable now," I tell her and she nods at me.
"And finally..." Auntie chuckles. She takes out our gowns. Chocho and I look at each other. I am worried about the outcome.
"Are we going to wear them already?" Chocho stammers.
"Why? Are they supposed to be worn?" she laughs.
"Hmm," I murmur.
"Go ahead and put them on. Your time is almost up," she says and we move to change for the most-awaited gown.
"Oh my..." Auntie mutters when she sees us.
"How do I look, mom?" my bestie asks her mom.
"You look gorgeous, honey. You too Sarada," she compliments us.
"Thank you," I say and flush again.
"You two must go now or you will miss the fun," she pushes us out of the house.
"Dear, can you take them to the party?" she asks uncle to drive us to Yodo's house.
"Sure, if it's for our lovely daughter," he giggles.
"Papa," Chocho scolds him.
"Let's go or we will be late," she drags his dad out of the house. This family sure is weird.
We wave goodbye at Chocho's mom before leaving. She holds my hand and we look at each other and then laugh.
"Uncle, thank you for giving us a ride," I tell him.
"No need to thank me, Sarada. You two enjoy the party," he waves at us.
"Take care on your way home, Papa," she waves at her dad. He leaves right away and when we turn to see Yodo's house, we are like (OoO).
So, she lives in a huge house like this?
"Yodo is damn rich!" Chocho mutters.
"Yeah," I am bewildered.
"Let's get inside," Chocho tells me and we walk toward the entrance.
"This is the most fascinating party I have attended," I say.
"Me too," she replies.
I look around and lights are all over the place. The decorations are stunning. Mind you, we're still at the entrance but we are already amazed by what we are seeing.
"Excuse ma'am, the party is at the poolside," a man in a suit approaches us. Chocho glares at him. She looks perplexed.
"This guy is cute," she whispers in my ear.
"Chocho," I scold her by pressing her side.
"This way please," he leads us to the area. Many guests are there when we arrived. I can see our classmates having fun already while wearing their best outfits.
"Chocho!" Wasabi calls out to her and then Chocho waves. We approach them and what makes me confused is they look at me with investigative eyes. What's wrong?
"Sarada?!" Wasabi utters in shock.
"Yeah," I stutter. I feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. The attention is switched to us.
"Yes, it's Sarada," Denki says and everyone approaches me.
"I haven't recognized you. You look gorgeous without those glasses," Namida says.
"Thank you. You guys look amazing too," I think I'm going to melt. My knees start to tremble. I think everyone looks at me now.
"Sarada?!" a voice from behind surprises me. When I turn, it's Boruto. He wears a tuxedo. He looks so wonderful with that outfit.
"Boruto..." I fluster.
"You look amazing and oh, you don't wear your glasses," he remarks. I can feel my face turn red. I am overwhelmed by their opinions on how I look tonight.
"Thank you. You look great too," I say. I have said the shortest words ever.
"Hey, if it's not the genius, Sarada!" it's Akira. She is with the jerk now. She wears a red gown too just like mine but the design differs.
"Hi," I greet her. She looks at me while smiling.
"We both love red, don't we?" she chuckles.
"Chocho chose this for me," I say.
"I see," she replies.
I notice the jerk glimpse at me then he looks away. I hate to admit but he looks cool on his outfit tonight. The way he puts his hands in his pockets shows his personality so well. The kind of arrogant yet cool guy. I notice that girls stare at him and can't help themselves but feel giddy by his presence.
I'm glad he came. He is not the type coming to something like this.
He walks away when Akira tags along with others. She does hang with others easily.
"I'm so glad you all came!" Yodo appears right before our eyes.
Gosh! She looks majestic with her white gown. It's glittering everywhere. We are mesmerized by her beauty.
"Yodo!" and all shout. The guys are captivated by his beauty.
"She's a goddess," a guy behind me says.
"Are you enjoying so far?" she asks. And everyone responds with a big yes.
"Our special guest is coming out shortly. Are you excited?" she says and to crowd rejoices.
We move closer to the pool to watch the swimming guys that seem to be having fun. I doubt it's part of the program.
She walks around to say hi to her guests. When I look to my left, Akira is already clinging to Kawaki's arm and drags him closer to our side. Yodo notices and aims to approach them. I turn to my right to look for Chocho. I am with Boruto at the moment.
Suddenly, Sumire approaches and greets us. She talks to me smiling and she talks to Boruto from time to time too.
I can see how Yodo's face gets mad when she saw Akira being so clingy to Kawaki. She approaches them and talks to Kawaki. I'm just watching them since Boruto and Sumire are talking to each other.
Akira is about to move closer to me when suddenly she trips on something I don't notice. She pulls the lower part of my gown to prevent herself from falling into the pool and in the end, it is me who gets out of balance and I accidentally grab Sumire's arm.
"Sarada! Sumire!" I hear Boruto shouts in shock.
Sumire and I fall into the pool. Damn it! I don't know how to swim.
I gasp for air but it seems that something is pulling me down. I am asking for help yet nobody comes to my aid.
I can't breathe anymore... My gown is too heavy and it's pulling me down. I have swallowed too much water and my arms are already tired too.
Suddenly, everything turns black. I am completely drowning.
Dad, save me!
Kawaki's POV
I just got home from school and I find dad checking on his suit.
"What's up?" I ask him and he looks surprised when he saw me.
"Oh, Kawaki. I am just checking which suit I will wear to the party," he says.
Party?
"Which party?" I ask in confusion.
"My friend invited me to his daughter's birthday party tonight. I can't say no so I am going," he tells me.
It can't be the peevish blonde's party?
Well, who cares about her birthday party. It's boring anyway. I am about to go to my room when someone hits the doorbell thrice.
"Do you have guests today?" I ask.
"Nope. I don't remember having one though," he replies.
"I see," I mutter.
"Can you check out for me?" he asks and I go out to check who the hell was it.
When I open the gate, the psychopath appears in front of my eyes. She is wearing a red gown. Well, she is all dressed up.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" I ask in embarrassment. People passing by are staring at her.
"Tonight is your classmate's birthday, right? I thought you are coming so we will go together," she says. Just what the hell is she saying?
"You go by yourself. I am not coming to her party," I yell at her. She pouts like a small kid. What the hell is wrong with her?
"Kawaki? What's wrong?" my dad approaches us.
"Nothing. Don't mind me," I try not to make him come any closer but he still did.
"Oh," he utters in awe.
"Hi," she greets him. Damn this psychopath.
"She is leaving already," I say gesturing at her to go away.
"I am not leaving without you," she retaliates. My dad looks perplexed.
"By the way, I am Akira. You might be Kawaki's dad," she talks to dad.
"Yeah. Are you friends with my son?" he asks.
"No! Yes!" we say at once. I look so disgusted at her and she just smiles. Damn her!
"Are you going to a party or something?" dad asks her.
"Yeah, tonight is Kawaki's classmate's 18th birthday," she tells him.
"I see. Maybe we are going to the same party," he chuckles.
"Really?" she says in astonishment.
"The name of the celebrant as far as I can remember is Yodo. My friend invited me," he tells her.
"That's right. It's Yodo's birthday," she replies to him.
"So, she's your classmate. Why don't you come, Kawaki?" he tells me me.
"I don't want to," I tell him while pouting.
"Come on. Dress up and we will go together. Your friend's effort will be in vain if you won't come," is he trying to convince me?
"That's right. He will be my date tonight," she exclaims.
"Shut up. Stop spitting nonsense," I yell at her.
"Kawaki! You should not treat girls like that. Be a gentleman," he scolds me.
"She is annoying," I turn my back at them and walk off.
"Kawaki," he calls but I did not listen to him.
"I won't leave until you come with me," she says.
"Who cares?" I tell her.
"I am serious," she says.
"Whatever," I say. I completely leave them and get to my room.
Dad invites her inside but she refuses instead she waits for me outside. What a stubborn kid.
"Kawaki, your friend is still waiting for you. Don't you mind telling her to get inside? It's getting dark too," dad says from outside my room.
"It's her choice. So, let her do what she likes," I tell him.
"Kawaki, act like a real man. Go and accompany her to the party," he keeps bragging. They both sound annoying to me.
"Kawaki..." he keeps calling my name.
"Okay, I'm going," I say. I know he won't leave me alone until I say yes.
I open my closet and look for something to wear. I remove the suit and tie from the wire and put them on the bed.
I change and after that, I immediately open the door and find him waiting outside. He is all dressed up and ready to go.
"Good choice," he says and pats my shoulder. We both go downstairs. He locks the door and proceeds to the garage to start the car.
When I open the gate, the psychopath is there sitting on the footwalk. Seriously? She looks in my direction and she suddenly stands up and she fixated her eyes on me.
"You look cool," she stammers.
"Finally, you changed your mind," she starts to become loud again.
"Because you are both annoying," I tell her.
"Hop in," dad tells us and we both get inside the car. She sits at the back and I joined dad.
I was silent while the psychopath talked to dad the whole time. He seems to like her anyway.
After half an hour we reached our destination. We get off the car and someone approaches and leads us to the poolside.
"It's a pool party? Amazing!" she utters but I ignore her. She starts to cling to my arm and I try to shake her off and take her arms off me. But damn! She is persistent and pestering me again.
We proceed to the poolside and notice that some of the guests have arrived already. I can see my classmates chatting with each other.
I see the dork's fatso friend but she is missing. She is with the girl in a red gown.
"Hey, if it's not the genius, Sarada!"
Huh? It's the dork? The girl in a red gown? I didn't recognize her. Oh, she doesn't wear glasses. I see...
The brat approaches her and chats with her a little. I walk away from them trying to get a breath of fresh air.
And to my surprise, someone speaks on the microphone. It's the peevish blonde girl wearing a white glittering gown. Everyone is amazed by her. She is still the peevish blonde girl I know.
Suddenly, the psychopath drags me again. When did she plan to stop dragging me anywhere she likes?
"Hey, stop dragging me, will you?" I yell at her but she doesn't listen to me. What a brat!
"Hey, Kawaki. I'm glad that you came," the peevish girl approaches us. The psychopath clings to my arm even tighter and it's truly annoying.
She tries to drag me away from the blonde girl but I see how the blonde steps on her gown and make her tumble but she accidentally gets a hold of the dork's gown that makes the latter and the transferred girl fall into the pool.
Everyone is shocked, even I am too.
"Sarada! Sumire!" the blonde idiot shouts.
They are struggling. They don't know how to swim.
"Hey, who would I save first?" the blonde idiot panics. Nobody moves to save them. They are still in shock.
"Idiot! Save the purple girl!" I shout at him and I dive to the pool to save the dork. I think she lost her breath already.
My body moved on its own. Suddenly, the thought of saving her appeared in my mind. Without hesitations, I jumped into the pool.
I finally grab her and try to get her out of the water. Someone helps me to lift her away from the pool. The blonde idiot does the same to the other girl.
"Hey," I try to wake her up. She is unconscious.
I put my ear on her chest but I can't hear the beat of her heart. I put my ear on her mouth and she doesn't breathe as well.
I try to pump her chest and give her breaths after.
"Sarada," her fatso friend worries about her.
"Hey, dork, wake up!" I tell her while pumping her chest. She doesn't respond. Damn it! Don't die, idiot!
I keep pumping her chest and give her two more breaths then, water comes out of her mouth. She coughs constantly. Her body shivers but she still doesn't open her eyes.
"Kawaki..." I hear the psychopath calls to me but I ignore her.
I carry her in my arms and take her away from them. The psychopath tries to follow us but the dork's fatso friend stops her.
"I need a coat or towel," I tell the waitress. She immediately gets me a towel and covers it around the dork's body.
"Kawaki, what happened?" dad worries as he approaches us.
"Hey, that's..." he utters.
"Can you give us a ride?" I ask him. He looks at me for a while.
"Sure," he says and we leave the house.
"Please, save me... It's so cold," she utters unconsciously. She is trembling.
"Yeah... You're safe now..."
To be continued...