I Gave You Twelve Roses
I Gave You Twelve Roses.
Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 5: Love Is Like Playing The Piano
The movie date with Yoshiki last night was the best date Ayumi has ever been on. Well, it's the only date she's ever been on but still. She couldn't believe Arnold was there. If she was aware that Arnold was there, she would have hid somewhere else until she wasn't in his sight. Why did she leave the tracking device at home?
It's not like Arnold knew she was there. He thought she was at home studying. Still, he called her his blue passion flower. Cute, but she would prefer Yoshiki calling her that than him. Yoshiki will call her cute pet names that made her feel loved. Arnold just says it in a way that makes her really sick.
Another thing was the secret admirer note she found in the mail box. It was the third one she's received. But who sent it? Did Arnold drop it off after the movies or before she got home? Was it from an excellent poet at Kisaragi Academy that she never knew about? The answer was the same as the answer for if anyone liked her. She doesn't know.
She would have to put aside those questions for later. It was Saturday night. The girls invited the boys over for the night. They were having a sleepover at her house and a contest to see who can stay up the longest.
The party was due to start in ten minutes. Ayumi headed over to her closet and flung open her brown closet doors. She rummaged through all her clothes for her nightclothes. She didn't have as many clothes as her fashionista best friend Mayu, but she had a lot.
After slipping off her usual clothes – blue, spaghetti-strap midriff, black jeans, and white flats, she put on her cute nightclothes – a floor-length, dark blue nightgown with a blue fluffy collar. She slipped her feet into her pink fluffy bunny slippers and pulled her hair ties out of her hair. Her long navy blue hair flowed down to her back. She placed her red hair ties on her dresser and headed out of her bedroom door.
Careful not to trip over her nightgown, Ayumi descended the stairs into the living room. There were a bunch of soft white pillows on the couch and armchair and some were scattered on the floor. On the coffee table were a bowl of popcorn and a plate of chocolate chip cookies.
Ayumi reached for one of the chocolate chip cookies and took a bite. It was delicious. She had to admit. Mayu was a way better cook than she was. Naomi never liked to cook her own food unless she was forced to, but she was a better cook than Ayumi, who was so bad at cooking, her brunette best friends forbidden her from touching the stove and oven after an incident last year.
Last year, Kisaragi Academy held an art club bake sale. Ayumi volunteered to make some cookies to sell at the bake sale. In the school kitchen, after placing the cookies in the oven, she was reading a geography textbook. She was so busy reading, she didn't notice the cookies were burning. If Mayu didn't come into the kitchen to check on her, the school would have burned down.
That night, she, her best friends, and the boys were all going to be all alone in the house. Ayumi's dad ordered them pizza for dinner before he left for a genius convention at Kisaragi's Convention Centre and wouldn't be back until the next day at around noon.
So, basically they were stuck with the regular rules. No wild parties, no destroying the house by accident or on purpose, unless someone just happened to break in and the boys had to kick his butt and mess up the house in process, and no dates with the boys that night because their parents weren't there to approve everything.
But he didn't say that they couldn't come over. Besides, all their parents all liked the boys despite the fact that one of them was a delinquent, well, ex-delinquent. But Ayumi, Mayu, and Naomi assured their parents that they would never do anything to hurt their perfect little girls.
"Mayu!" Ayumi called into the kitchen. "How are the rest of the snacks coming along!?"
"They look scrumptious!" Mayu exclaimed. "I'm just waiting for the apple pie to finish baking. Wow, this is a lot of work!"
"Need a hand!?" Ayumi asked.
I guess Mayu remembered the little incident from last year. "Uh . . . no. . .no! I'll manage! Pause. "Go wait for the boys!"
Ayumi sighed and headed over to the front window. She pulled aside the curtains slightly and looked through the window. A green Escalade pulled up by the curb, in front of their house. Inside was the trio of three, hot guys.
So Mayu and Naomi could hear her, she announced, "They're here!"
After hearing a squeal from Mayu in the kitchen and a cheer from Naomi upstairs, Ayumi plopped herself on the pillow-covered couch. Since the front door was unlocked, the door opened. Yoshiki walked in, with Morishige and Satoshi right behind him. As soon as they were all in, Satoshi closed and locked the door.
Yoshiki walked over to the couch and sat next to Ayumi. "Hey, Ayumi! Cute PJ's!"
Ayumi blushed. "Thanks."
"Where's Mayu?" Morishige asked.
Ayumi gestured towards the kitchen. "In the kitchen."
Morishige nodded and headed into the kitchen. Just then, Naomi was descending the stairs, dressed in a light green, T-Shirt pyjama top, dark green pyjama pants, and light green slippers. In her arms was a stack of more white soft pillows. The stack was so tall, it covered her face and she couldn't see where she was going.
Naomi said, "Here are more pillows, Ayumi . . . AHHHHHH!" She tripped and fell.
Taking note of it, Satoshi zipped underneath her and caught her in his arms. The stack of pillows fell from her hands and landed on the floor of already scattered pillows.
Mayu and Morishige walked out of the kitchen, apparently watching the whole thing. Mayu was carrying a freshly baked apple pie, while Morishige carried a tray of sodas. Once they placed everything on the coffee table, they applauded for Satoshi, along with Ayumi and Yoshiki.
Satoshi put Naomi back on the ground. She grinned. "Nice timing, boyfriend."
Satoshi smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Then they plopped themselves down onto the pillows on the floor. Ayumi, Yoshiki, Mayu, and Morishige joined them for some snacks from the coffee table.
"These cookies are delicious, Mayu," Morishige commented, embracing his girlfriend.
Mayu giggled. "Thanks, you're so sweet, Shige!"
As they were chatting and laughing with each other, the doorbell rang. Everyone stopped talking and turned to face the doorway.
"I'll get it," Ayumi said, getting off the couch and heading for the front door. "It's probably the pizza. My dad order us some dinner before he left." She opened the door. "I can already smell that delicious . . ." Her eyes widened. ". . . nerd!"
Everyone was laughing at Ayumi's statement. Yoshiki, Morishige, Naomi, and Satoshi were rolling on the floor, clutching their stomachs in pain as they laughed.
Mayu tried to control her giggling. "Uh, Ayumi? What the heck is a 'delicious nerd'?"
Ayumi scowled at the figure standing in the doorway. She backed up away from the figure in disgust. It was Arnold. He walked in, dressed in blue pyjamas with brown teddy bears on it and matching fuzzy brown teddy bears slippers. In his arms were a stack of pizza boxes, a digital camera, and a bouquet of red roses.
"Salutations, everyone!" He exclaimed, happily.
The boys and Ayumi and the girls glared at him. Ayumi snatched the pizza boxes from his grasp as if he was going to contaminate them if he held onto them any longer.
"Arnold, get you and your teddy bear slippers out of my house!" she yelled.
Arnold smiled his braces-covered smile at Ayumi. "Hey, my blue PJ passions flower. Did I miss the party?" He handed her the bouquet of roses. "Since I work at the pizza shop where your dad ordered the pizzas from, I thought I'd deliver them to your house and come to party while I'm at it!"
Before Ayumi could answer, there were bright flashes of light and several clicking noises. Once they stopped, everyone was rubbing their eyes. Ayumi looked at Arnold, who was grinning and playing with his digital camera.
"Oh, wait until the guys in school see you girls in those cute pyjamas!" he exclaimed.
Yoshiki, Morishige, and Satoshi looked at Ayumi, Mayu, and Naomi with worried eyes. If the guys in school saw the girls in their pyjamas, they would chase after them more than they did now. The girls, though the boys didn't know it, were prepared.
With their hands on their hips, they smirked at Arnold and moved forward, so he had no choice but to back of the house.
Outside of Ayumi's house in the dark night, the front door of their house was flung open. Arnold was thrown outside and landed on the front lawn. A pair of fuzzy teddy bear slippers and a bouquet of roses were tossed outside too. Before Arnold could protest, the door was slammed shut.
"Wow, we kicked a nerd out of the house and got free pizza!" Satoshi exclaimed, eating a pepperoni pizza slice. "This is sweet!"
"I know," Ayumi said, slicing the apple pie into sixths. "Except for the part when Arnold keeps stalking me. He's such a pain!"
Yoshiki popped the last piece of his chocolate chip cookie into his mouth. While Mayu and Morishige were chatting with each other and Naomi and Satoshi were debating which one of them would win the 'Who Could Stay Awake The Longest Contest,' Yoshiki turned to Ayumi, wearing a shy expression.
"Ayumi, can we talk in private?" he asked.
Ayumi nodded. "Sure." She turned to everyone else and interrupted their conversation and debate. "Guys, Yoshiki and I got to go and talk in private. See you later."
Following Ayumi from behind, Yoshiki climbed up the stairs to Ayumi's bedroom. She opened the door and they walked in. Once she closed the door, Yoshiki took a seat on Ayumi's bed. She then sat down next to him.
Ayumi placed her hands in her lap. "So, what do you want to talk about, Yoshiki?"
Yoshiki rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, unsure of how to explain it to Ayumi. "Well, there's this girl I like and . . ."
"And?" Ayumi asked, before he finished. She was determined to know who was the lucky girl at Kisaragi Academy that caught Yoshiki's eyes and prevented him from noticing her. "What about her?"
"Well, I been trying a few little tricks to try and see if she likes me, but she hasn't responded in any way. What do I do? Do you think she hates me?"
Even though Ayumi was jealous that Yoshiki fell over heels in love with another girl, she couldn't lie to him no matter how much she wanted to.
"Well, I suggest you continue what you're doing. But maybe you should, you know, take it the next level. That way, she'll realize what you're doing and give you a chance."
Yoshiki nodded, grinning. "Thanks for the advice, Ayumi." He embraced Ayumi in his arms. She blushed and returned the hug.
"You're welcome," she answered. He let go of her and she laid down on her bed, her head on her pillow. She left some space next to her for Yoshiki. Instead, he got up from her bed and sat on a chair in front of her desk. "Aren't you going to rest for a bit?"
Yoshiki shook his head. "Nah, I can't. Do you mind if I borrowed a sheet of paper and a pen? I would like to get started on my history essay due on Monday."
"Sure, Yoshiki," Ayumi replied. "The paper is in the top-right drawer and the pens are in my pencil holder on the desk."
"Thanks," said Yoshiki, and began to work. Ayumi smiled and closed her eyes to relax. Soon, she was fast asleep. I guess she lost the 'Who Can Stay Awake The Longest Contest.'
Ayumi felt like she only fell asleep for a few hours, when she woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room. Yoshiki was not at her desk anymore. And her soft orange blanket was covering her body. She didn't remember covering herself with it last night. But she did remember shivering as she tried to sleep.
Yoshiki must have noticed her last night and lifted up so he could cover her up with the blanket. That was so sweet of him. He would sure be able to care for his girl he's trying to snag.
Yawning, she climbed out of her bed and headed for her door. Before she could open it, she heard voices from downstairs. She leaned against the door and listened to the conversation that was going on downstairs.
"Thanks for the sleepover, Naomi," Satoshi said. "We'll be going now. We'll call you later."
The boys were leaving. Well, she decided she'd better go get the morning mail in the mailbox. Once she heard the front door close, Ayumi left her room and went downstairs. Once she reached the bottom, Mayu and Naomi were lying down on the couch, apparently just waking up.
"Good morning, Ayumi," Mayu said, rubbing her eyes. "Guess what? Naomi and Satoshi both won the 'Who Can Stay Awake The Longest' contest last night. Oh, and heard the mailbox open. The mail must be here."
"Awesome," replied Ayumi heading for the front door. "Mayu, go make breakfast. Naomi, get your lazy butt off the couch and help her. I'll get the mail."
Mayu squealed and skipped to the kitchen, with Naomi behind her, yawning. Ayumi opened the front door and stood outside on the front porch. She turned to the mailbox, opened it, and reached inside. She pulled out some letters and read them.
"Two for one taco at The Tacos stand, bill, bill . . ." she continued pulling apart the letters. "Oh, what's this?"
She pulled out another folded up piece of paper. She unfolded it and read it with excitement.
It said:
Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn how to play by the rules, and then you must forget the rules and play from your heart.
Come on, babe, stop following the rules like you always do. Play from the heart and you'll find out who I am soon.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer.