Chapter 22: Urana Supiri, Maeda Jukujosky Hoshio

Urana sat next to her own special table outside the classroom. This wasn't bullying, this was entrepreneurial spirit: the school council allowed her to make a small 'fortunetelling booth' and tell fortunes during breaks. After befriending a certain school Goddess, her business was booming.

A scruffy, short-haired male student with small pupils looked intensely at her face. "My name is Maeda Jukujosky Hoshio." He then showed his right palm to Urana.

Urana pulled a magnifying glass from her bag. "Maeda, what do you want to know?"

"Will I grow up to be a Cloon?"

She looked up at his face. He looked serious. "A what?"

"Or a B plus 80's," Maeda said.

"I'm sorry, I still don't get it."

"Will I grow up to be a GDILF?

Another student, this time a gray-haired girl, appeared next to Maeda. Maeda explained his request, and the girl nodded. She turned to Urana. "Sorry. Recently my friend's got too caught up in an internet forum and started using obscure terms. What he meant to ask is 'Will I become a handsome older man?' Silver fox is another term for it, I think?"

"Ah, yes! I understand."

"Good for you, Maeda," the girl said. She then handed Urana a 500 yen coin. "This is for his fortunetelling." She then walked away.

"That's very sweet of her," Urana said. Maeda nodded and showed her his palm again. Urana looked at it, massaged it, run her finger through the lines. "I see a very healthy future in front of you. There's no need to worry."

Maeda nodded. The bell chimed, so both of them returned to their own class room.

The next day, Maeda returned to Urana. "I feel unsure. Will my wrinkles grow to mark my face like divine markings or will it crack my face? Will my hair grow white in grace or in shameful spurts?"

Urana blinked. "You'll age healthily, that's all I could find from your palm lines. Would you like to do more reading?" Urana pulled out a deck of Tarot cards. Maeda nodded.

"Okay, there are signs of financial challenges in your future, though it's only on the short term. I'm thinking you should invest in an index fund soon to ensure a stable retirement, which would of course help you age into a silver fox."

Maeda nodded.

"Oi. Fortune-teller," a voice said. Urana looked to her left and right and saw nobody talking to her.

"Behind me," Maeda said, stepping aside to reveal a female student with short orange hair.

"I'll pay for you, don't worry about it," the girl said.

"I'll go ahead, then." Maeda left.

"Can I help you?"

"Yesterday you took all 500 yen of my friend's money. Your fortunetellings aren't worth 500 yen."

"A customised personal fortunetelling is a premium service," Urana said. Oh, she's born ready for this.

The next day, Maeda came again. Urana had to return some of the 500 yen yesterday (and the tarot reading was discounted), so she was annoyed. "Are you going to ask if you're gonna be a silver fox again?" Maeda nodded. "Look, Maeda, what's up? You're not a narcissist, why do you care so much about ageing into a handsome old man?"

Maeda put both of his hands on Urana's table and stared at her face. "I'm into older women."

"How many years apart?"

"Three decades, at least."

Urana's annoyance turned to distaste. So many perverts in this school. "Right."

"But it's very rare for older women to like younger boys."

"True," Urana said.

"So it's likely I'll only get old women if I'm an old man myself."

Urana saw that he bit his lower lip in frustration.

"But can I be an old man who's worthy of their love? Will I grow up to be a decrepit geezer? A bag of bones?"

Urana nodded and pulled out an orb from under the table, putting it between him and her. She stared intensely into the ball. "Instead of me telling you what I see, why don't you look at it yourself?"

Maeda looked at the orb. "I can only see my reflection."

"Because that is what matters," Urana said. Maeda looked again at Urana. "I can tell you how you'll age. I can even tell you what women you should seek. But in the end, the one who can answer if you're worthy of her love is you, and the woman you choose to love. If the woman you loved loved you back, does it matter if you're a bag of bones? No."

"I...see," Maeda said, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Urana."

"Alright, you know what, I like you. I'll give you a special discount. This crystal ball session will only cost 500 yen!"

[break]

"I didn't know Maeda had that kind of worries. He always looked so relaxed with Satou and Ushiroda," Komi said.

Tadano remembered what Urana said after she told her the story. She said, "Never ever let Komi look up those terms. She trusts you, so you lie to her, alright?"

"Tadano?" Komi asked. "Do you know what a Cloon means?"

"It's short for 'Clooney', an American actor famous for ageing gracefully."

"B plus 80s?"

"Being good-looking even in your 80s," Tadano said.

"GDILF?"

Tadano exhaled. His tone must be as normal as possible. Komi's smart and insightful. "It's short for 'Grand dad is looking fine'."

"Ah, another synonym for a silver fox," Komi said. Tadano cheered inside his heart. Komi believed that lie. "Speaking of Ushiroda, I have a story about her with Mu-tan, one of Rumiko's gyaru friends..."