Here is a new chapter! Woop!
The young athlete reluctantly entered the small white car parked in the driveway of her house. By the way the car smelled, it had been recently purchased. As she closed the door, she was encompassed by the warmth of artificial air. Looking over at the well-groomed, over-dressed man with slicked back hair next to her, she slouched and put her seatbelt on.
"Ready to go," he asked.
She rolled her eyes, making sure that the motion was obvious. "I guess."
His eyebrows furrowed with concern. He said nothing, put the car in gear and drove off.
As much as Kagura wanted to have a relationship with her father, it was hard for her. When they had arrangements to see each other, he usually cancelled. But when he was around, it reminded her of how sad she was. He was rich, remarried with a newborn baby, and even had a dog. The girl had begged her father for a dog up until her parents divorced. He never got her one, saying dogs were too vicious. He has a new family now, I don't want his pity visits. But in truth, she really did want to see him. She treasured every visit with him, even if she didn't act like it.
The pair were going out to one of Kagura's favorite restaurants, The Sake Inn. Even though she obviously wasn't allowed to drink the sake the restaurant was famous for, she loved the gyoza with the sweet tare sauce. She couldn't wait to get her hands on one of those fried goodies. The anticipation of eating delicious food made the drive seem longer than it actually was. She stared out the window and shrugged off any of her father's attempts to make conversation. Maybe she was being a brat, but she felt she deserved it.
The restaurant was like a spotlight in the sky. It was lit from every angle and packed with people. As they walked up to the hostess, people were complaining about the hour long wait. Luckily, Kagura's father had the foresight to make a reservation. "Good evening. I have a reservation. Kagura. Reiji." Her father had a way of always sounding professional no matter the situation. The hostess checked her list, crossed off the name, and led the pair to their table.
Upon sitting down, Kagura's father immediately picked up his menu. "I am really hungry… Let's see. Do I want something new, or something I've gotten before," he asked himself.
Kagura left her menu where it was in front of her. "I know what I'm getting."
The man peered over his menu. "Of course. I should've told the hostess to not give you a menu." He chuckled as the waiter arrived.
Notepad and pen in hand the waiter quickly spat out, "Order?"
"Yes, two waters, chicken teriyaki for me, and gyoza for her." That was one of the major things that irritated her about her father. He felt the need to take control of every situation, even something as simple as ordering food. She let out a huff that was drowned out by the crowd.
The waiter jotted down the order as quickly as it was given, muttered an "ok" and left.
Left alone, the pair fell into an awkward silence. Kagura never knew what to talk about with her father, so she left him to start the conversation. If he failed to do so, there was no talking between them, simple as that. He cleared his throat. "So, when does the swimming season start again?"
"We're done for the year," she said matter-of-factly. She found the question annoying. Her father knew when the swimming season ran. It ran from the beginning of the new school year in April until the end of September. It was currently November. His lack of effort to start conversation bugged her.
"Oh, right." He took a drink of water. "Well, let me know when your first meet is next year, and I'll go."
The girl perked up a bit at that. He hadn't offered to go to one of her meets in the two-plus years that her parents had been divorced. Of course, she immediately reasoned that he would most likely cancel, or forget, or run late. "Ok," was all she said.
"I know you're thinking I'll cancel or something." Kagura looked away from him, which made him smile. "I don't blame you. I'm bad at keeping plans. But I'll come. I promise." The girl looked back towards her father and saw a genuine smile on his face. One she hadn't seen in a while. The last time she saw a smile like that on her father was when her parents were still married. But the smile brought out his winkles, and for the first time she noticed how her father was getting older. He had bits of white hair she had never seen before and had a tired look in his eyes. He was significantly different from the memories she had of him.
The food arrived and broke off her train of thought. She didn't know how the restaurant was able to make the meal so good. But she engulfed it like she had never eaten before. Actually, she hadn't eaten that day. She went to Kaiya's for tutoring, which was, at first, too emotional for her. Then she went swimming right after that and met that lady. She was too excited after that to eat. Plus by the time she got home, it was time to go out with her dad anyway. There was no more conversation after that. The two ate their food and left.
On the ride back, Kagura stared out the window thinking of all that happened within the last few weeks. Things had gotten complicated, that's for sure. Three best friends fought each other over who would date her. She had no idea about any of it, though. She dated one of them, trying to understand how she felt about love and relationships. Now she realized why she never put much thought into relationships before, she thought they were too much of a hassle. But was a relationship really worth all the trouble those girls were going through?
After the events that took place during the sports festival, Emi and Rin calmed down about the whole dating thing. Emi reasoned that she couldn't be in a relationship while in Japan because when she left it would be long-distance, or would just end entirely (the more likely scenario). Rin was beginning to realize that her crush was more that she admired Kagura. She wanted to be more like her when it came to sports, which led to Kagura inviting Rin to practice with her after school. Kagura was beginning to think that the whole "fan club" situation was mainly Kaiya's influence.
Before she knew it, she was back home. As she got out of the car, her father turned it off and got out too. She didn't know what he was doing, so she just stood next to the passenger door. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. The girl was so surprised that she froze and didn't hug him back. Before she had the chance to move her arms, he let go. "Your mom told me that you met with the swim coach from that school. Wait here." Kagura did as told while he went over to his trunk and took something out. He returned with a box in hand. "Good thing I got you this then."
Kagura opened the box, and in it was an entirely new swimsuit complete with a cap and goggles. She took out the cap and examined it. The blue cap had her named engraved in it, along with the Speedo logo. The goggles had the same too. "Wow."
"You've had that same swimsuit since you tried out for the swim team at your school. That was more than a year and a half ago. I'm surprised you still fit, you've grown a lot since then." This was true, her swimsuit that she used for the team was old. The only time she wore that swimsuit was during swim meets, though, so it was still in relatively good condition. Still, it was starting to feel small on her developing body. He handed her card. "I'm sure you're not done growing. I got you the best deal I could, so for the next five years if you go to any shop that sells Speedo, you can get a new one for free. Once a year." Kagura put the cap back in the box. "It's top notch. Newest technology. Guaranteed to help you swim faster."
The young athlete put the box on the car and hugged her father. She started crying as you said "thank you." Her father hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Go inside now, it's getting late and you have school tomorrow."
She let go, and took her box with her. She waved goodbye before walking in, and he drove off. As she closed the door behind her, she looked down at the present. Feeling even more determined than before she said to herself, "I will get my grades up."
I recently saw my dad for the first time in a long time and was inspired to write this part of the story. I'm trying to upload as much as possible because after this week I'm going to have minimal access to internet. Boo!