CHAPTER NINE – PLANNING AHEAD (MoniKenta)
Kenta frowned and grimaced as he counted his money for the fourth time in the past five minutes. When he was finally sure that there was enough to get him by for his downtown trip—he didn't want to say "date"—with Monika the following day, he set them down on the table and took another look at his cellphone. There were no text messages from Monika or anyone else yet, so he sighed, picked up his money, and began counting again.
More than enough, he concluded for the fifth time. While Daisuke and Naoki would undoubtedly laugh at the sight of him counting over and over like a grumpy old miser, he had his reasons for doing so. Monika had been kind enough to tell Kenta through text that if they were going to eat out on their next downtown trip, she would be more than willing to treat him. As such, Kenta made a personal vow to start saving up portions of his weekly allowance and doing extra chores at home for extra dough to make sure that Monika wouldn't spend any of her money for him.
The prospect had been easy enough, and it even made his mother pleasantly surprised with the way he began doing his own laundry, cleaning rooms in the house and moving what furniture or objects needed moving. However, this surprise turned into suspicion for a time as his older sister Kanae, ever the amused skeptic, had rightfully guessed that he was doing chores to squeeze a bit more money into his allowance. Kenta refused to budge about what he would be spending the extra money on.
"You owe someone money, don't you?" his mother had asked him earlier at dinner, squinting doubtfully as she chewed her food. "Are you . . . involved in gambling or something?"
"Ma, for the nth time, I don't owe anyone money, and I'm not involved in anything illegal!" he had told her with peaking exasperation while Kanae snickered next to him. "I'm not spending the money on cigarettes or alcohol, and I sure ain't spending it on drugs! I just wanna have some extra cash at hand in case I . . . wanna buy something or hang out with my friends somewhere."
"Your friends or a girl?" his sister simpered.
"Will you please stop?" Kenta grumbled at her. "That's that, alright? I don't wanna answer any more questions if you're gonna keep doubting what I'm telling you guys!"
"Well, as long as you help with the housework and do your homework on time, I won't mind," his mother stated with a smile. "I mean, first there was the fact that your grades started looking up, and now this! It's a fresh change to see you becoming so . . . responsible all of a sudden."
"Yeah, unlike some people around here," Kenta muttered touchily.
"Hey, I have work to take care of, y'know?" Kanae shot back. "And yeah, little bro, it's always good to see you shoulder some responsibility around here. Dad would be proud!"
"Yeah, you guys better make sure you tell him that the next time he calls!" Kenta said smugly. "And I don't want you telling him that I'm doing this just to buy something or go out with a girl or do illegal stuff, alright?! Tell him that I'm being a more responsible human being now!"
Obviously, the part about going out with a girl was a lie, but Kenta chose to be completely mum about it, lest his ever-vigilant sister sniff it out completely. This was one of the few regrets he had with trying to court one girl after another all throughout middle school—with every rejection that came his way, he would come home all dejected and grumpy and reclusive, and it would reflect on his chores and grades for a couple of weeks at most. Since then, his mother and sister had been extra careful in monitoring him and any girl he might be interested in, fearing another one of his heartache incidents affecting his academics and overall character.
A quick beep made him glance towards his cellphone; Monika had finally texted. Eagerly, Kenta picked up his phone.
"hello! sorry for the late reply, just finished eating dinner :) where do you wanna go tomorrow?"
Even in simple text messages, Monika chose to write out complete words instead of typed shortcuts. It made Kenta a bit conscious about the way he wrote his own text messages, but he found that he couldn't keep up the same thing even if he tried.
"that's ok :) wherever u want, it's fine w/ me!"
"but don't you wanna go someplace you like for a change? :("
That made Kenta feel conscious. Then again, he didn't have the slightest idea of where to go with Monika around. Usually, the arcade and the mall would be his primary choices—these were the venues where their group of three often hanged out at. The mall was the safest choice, as he had gone there with Monika before when he helped her find a suitable birthday present for her mother.
"how about the mall? dunno where else 2 go tho :( u can shop while i'm around"
"the mall is always good, but I don't wanna bore you while i shop :( any other place that u suggest is fine with me, honest :)"
Alright, time for a Code 10. Kenta sent a quick group text to Naoki and Daisuke. "hey u dolts, can u suggest a new hangout place in town 2 go 2"
Daisuke was the first to reply, though as expected, it was in the form of a joke. "the creek XD"
To his relief, Naoki's reply was a bit more serious, even if it was a question. "for wat, kenta?"
Kenta scratched his head anxiously. After a quick retaliatory reply to Daisuke—"sounds gr8, maybe i'll throw u in there one of these days"—he began wondering whether to tell them about what had transpired earlier that week with him and Monika. Though he often liked sharing with them a few details of what usually happened during his few trips and school happenstances with her, he kept entirely quiet about their last trip downtown and at the Cocoa Connection. So far, it had been the most profound of his encounters with her, and Kenta had decided not to tell his friends about it yet in an effort to preserve how special it was in his mind.
Still, Kenta felt that he might be digging himself a grave if he didn't come clean right away. Besides, he also sensed that his buddies might be more inclined to help him out once they knew how serious of a matter this was. Then again, if Daisuke's "creek" reply was any indication, they could also end up ribbing him about it for a week or so before they decide to help him out. Kenta decided to tell Naoki first, at least.
"going out w/ monika 2morrow, need place 2 go, DON'T TELL DAISUKE YET"
Naoki's surprise was almost palpable in his next reply. ":O HOLY MOLY WAT OK W8"
After about a minute, another text message from Daisuke came in, causing Kenta's embarrassment to deepen. ":O :O :O JEEZ MAN WHY DIDN'T U TELL US IT WAS A CODE 10"
"WTH NAOKI U DAMN TRAITOR I TOLD U DON'T TELL HIM YET"
"calm down kenta, u need all the help u can get! now, tell us wat u have in mind"
Kenta sighed. Looks like I don't need to dig myself a grave with these dolts around.
At last, the meeting ended. Monika enthusiastically said goodbye to her fellow debate club members, exited the clubroom and quickly made her way towards her locker to drop off a few of her things. The excitement she was feeling was starting to build up again, and while she did her best to maintain her composure and to not smile while she spoke to her club members, she couldn't help but smile now. Part of her excitement stemmed from the fact that Kenta wanted their downtown trip's venue to be a surprise, and for most of the day, she wondered what that surprise would be. Regardless of the venue, she was sure that it'd be a really fun experience compared to going home immediately, as always.
Once she had deposited what she didn't need to bring home in her locker, Monika made her way towards the school gates where Kenta was waiting. As club meetings were often held after school hours, there were very few students left wandering around the school, most of them having gone home or downtown already for a fun Friday. Not wanting to keep Kenta waiting, Monika quickened her pace once she exited the school's front doors.
Kenta smiled nervously when he saw her approach. Monika waved at him. "I'm really sorry if the club meeting took a bit longer than you would've liked," she told him. "Did you wait long?"
"Not that long, don't worry!" said Kenta. "I totally understand."
"Thank you," said Monika appreciatively. "Um, shall we go?"
"S-Sure!"
With that, the two of them exited the school gates and began walking downtown. To have something to talk about on the way there, Monika decided to share what happened to her for the day and ask Kenta about how his day had been. Though he still seemed nervous, Kenta shared and replied openly about even the mundane parts of his day: a weird answer he gave during a Social Studies oral recitation session, a good score he had gotten for a Mathematics seatwork, and an upcoming activity for English. While these little details seemed trivial to some, Monika appreciated the way Kenta shared them with her, and she was glad that their texting sessions for the past week have made him more comfortable with talking to her, and vice versa.
"It's good to hear that you did well on that Math seatwork," Monika told him as they finally entered downtown. "Math tends to be the weakness of a lot of students, and I'm no exception."
Kenta nodded. "Really sucks sometimes, with the lines and numbers and symbols. That seatwork was probably just a lucky hit."
"Nonsense!" said Monika. "I don't want you to think that you're getting better grades now out of luck because you put in a lot of work to get those. Besides, you're doing a lot better than some other students I know!"
Kenta sighed. "Well, t-thanks. And sorry about that. I'm just not used to getting good grades in my subjects, not when I've flunked a ton of them in the past, so sometimes I think that I'm just lucky when I cook up a good score for a quiz or a seatwork."
"It's alright," Monika remarked supportively. "Just don't let yourself or other people bring down what you've accomplished, okay? We all deserve a bit of credit every now and then for our hard work."
"I'll try t-to remember that, thanks," said Kenta with a nervous grin.
She beamed back at him. "So, what do you have planned for today?" she asked him cheerfully.
"W-Well . . . Um, I was thinking . . . do you wanna go to the, uh. . ."
Kenta turned red as he began stammering, clearly unsure of what he wanted to say. It was a bit of a difference compared to the way he texted, where he sounded sure and confident—then again, Monika mused, people have time to think about what to say before they send a text message.
"It's alright, silly!" she told him encouragingly. "I told you yesterday that no matter what you have planned, I'll be totally happy with it!"
That, however, served to make Kenta even more nervous. "Well, the thing is, um . . . I wanted us to go to the m-mall again, but I kinda imagined that it's better if we went somewhere different f-for a change. I mean, I dunno if y-you usually go to this place or s-something, but. . ."
She leaned towards him, listening expectantly. Kenta took one look straight into her eyes and let out a long, defeated sigh. "Well, if you w-want, we can grab a quick bite at the night market first, and then we can go to the arb . . . arbor . . ."
He grimaced and snapped his fingers, as if trying to wrap his tongue around the syllables of whatever word he was trying to look for. Monika frowned, wondering whether Kenta wanted to say "harbor." Then again, the city didn't have a harbor, so she began speculating what particular place this was.
Kenta gave up after a few more seconds of trying with a cough. "That park with that beautiful . . . roofed thingy sitting on the big pond," he concluded lamely.
Realization dawned on Monika's face. "Oh, the arboretum!" she told him.
"Yeah, that's it!" Kenta exclaimed with relief. "Sorry about that, I didn't know how to pronounce it properly," he added with a laugh.
Monika laughed with him; something about the way he admitted so was positively adorable. "The 'roofed thingy' is called a gazebo, by the way," she added facetiously. "Anyhow, what made you want to go there?"
Kenta shrugged. "Well, um, I usually go for a jog around town during Sunday mornings. It's probably the only weekly exercise I can maintain. After an hour or two of that, I end it by going to the arb—um, that park—where I'll rest for fifteen minutes before going home. I dunno if you go there a lot, but the place is just really beautiful, and . . . it kinda helps me think on a few things, you know? Like, the atmosphere's really peaceful and stuff, with the trees and flowers and that . . . ga-zee-bo?"
She giggled again, this time at his pronunciation. "Very good!" said Monika.
Kenta smiled at her approval. "To be honest, I asked my buddies last night about other places that would be good for a visit. They told me that I should try going to the museum or just the night market, but the arb—the park—just came into my mind all of a sudden, and it was just a fresh change from the places I usually go to. I wondered whether you'd like to go there as well—b-but I didn't suggest it just because I think you're the only one who's gonna like it! I wanna go t-there too!" he added quickly.
Monika had to laugh once again at the way he spoke so defensively. "Don't worry, Kenta, I believe you," she assured him once more as he patted him on the shoulder.
Their conversation went on until the two of them arrived at the night market. The sun had not fully set yet, so the colorful glow of the lanterns around them merged with the sun's orange glow. The number of people there began to swell by the minute, adding to the lively atmosphere as Monika walked with Kenta through the night market's cobbled road. Soon, the smells of freshly cooked street food began to entice Monika's taste buds, so the two of them made their way towards one of the many food stands in the area to grab a quick bite. Monika ordered some veggie korokke while Kenta chose takoyaki.
"Do you always go here, Kenta?" asked Monika as she took a small bite of korokke.
"Yeah, my sister Kanae goes here during Saturdays, and I help her carry some of the stuff she buys," replied Kenta through a mouthful of takoyaki. "We also hang out here when we're not at the mall or the arcade. My buddies, I mean."
"That's nice to hear," said Monika. "My friends usually go somewhere more sophisticated or posh when they hang out with me. Maybe they don't know that I really appreciate eating street food out here like this just as much as I like eating in a chic café or brasserie."
Kenta looked rather blankly at her as he swallowed. "Bra-siree?"
"Oh. Restaurant," replied Monika with a smile.
Kenta raised his eyebrows. "Now that's a real fancy word for 'restaurant,'" he admitted. "Really makes you wonder who even thought up of those types of words and stuff. Kinda like 'ga-zee-bo' or . . . 'arbor-reet-em,' eh?" He chuckled, and Monika giggled alongside him.
"Close enough," she said in between her laughs.
"Ah, 'close enough' is fine by me," said Kenta. "At least you know how to pronounce them and other words like them. Me? Nada."
"Hey, you told me you were doing better in English!" Monika told him with a soft poke on his arm.
"Well, yeah, in a way," Kenta acknowledged as he ate more takoyaki. "But it hasn't affected my vocabulary yet. Whenever I try saying big words, people just think I stole them from a dictionary or something."
"You don't have to be able to pronounce complex words all the time just to appear good in English," said Monika comfortingly. "A lot of people think that saying those kinds of words all the time puts them above the rest of us, but what they don't know is that there are some people who say more with a lot less. Though I have to admit, the way you pronounce big words is . . . rather cute," she added in a mirthful tone.
Kenta's ears turned red. "T-Thanks for that," he said shyly.
By the time the two of them finished eating, it was already dark. More people were now out and about, and the night market's population of customers began to increase gradually. The city's voices—passing vehicles blowing their horns and the excited chatter of entire groups—began to swell in volume as well. Kenta decided that it was time for them to visit the arboretum now, so Monika let him lead the way out of the night market and on the way there. As they walked through the increasing press of people around them, Monika caught glimpses of many couples walking with their arms wrapped around each other, their faces tinged with joy and excitement, as if they did not have a single worry in the world. Monika could not help but feel a pang of longing at how free they all looked, though she pushed the thought down and exhaled determinedly when she remembered that she could also feel just as happy even with a simple casual friend like Kenta.
The arboretum was only starting to become more dazzling when they arrived there around five minutes later. Larger than most of the parks around town, it housed a large number of tall, pristine trees surrounded by beautiful shrubbery and vibrant flowers within its fences of carved stone and wrought iron. The stone road that cut through the area was flanked by tall iron lampposts which were now being turned on, providing a soothing glow of light even as the evening grew darker. Here and there were a few stone benches for passersby to sit on at their leisure. At the very middle of it all was a large pond, dotted with water lilies and teeming with koi, with a patch of land at its heart where a large gazebo sat, connected to the rest of the arboretum with wooden bridges. The gazebo itself had an immaculate design, made with varnished timber and the same whittled stone that fenced in the arboretum, its roof built with black slate, and its façade decorated with pretty lanterns and decorative carvings made into the timber.
Monika took the time to take in the sights around her, as she always did whenever she went here. Kenta had been right; even though there were some people walking about, the arboretum was so tranquil that it could easily put one's heart and mind to rest, and she sensed that it would be a perfect place to go to for poem-writing during a cold afternoon. She'd never tried doing so in the past, though she felt that after tonight, there could be more opportunities for that.
The two of them walked silently towards the gazebo, where most of the arboretum's visitors were. Many of the things that she saw—from a beautifully trimmed flowered shrub to a finely carved statue to a towering fir tree—soon had inspiration coursing through her veins. It made her want to run around the arboretum and laugh and simply be free, and Monika knew that she could do just that if she wanted, though she decided to do so in the figurative sense by writing a new poem in her composition notebook later instead.
Groups of people taking selfies and families watching the koi swim in the pond made up the bulk of the gazebo's guests. Indeed, the atmosphere there was so lively that Monika could feel her spirits lift even further. Kenta invited her to lean over one of the gazebo's balustrades to watch the koi swim among the water lilies with him. As they did so, dim lights began turning on underneath the water, lighting up the pond and giving them and other onlookers a glimpse of the fishes and whatever else was underwater like it was daytime. A couple of young girls exclaimed in delight as they stood on their tiptoes to glance over the gazebo's banister and into the water. Their parents, laughing, picked them up in their arms and sat them atop the railing so that they would get a better look. Monika smiled, enjoying this sight as much as she enjoyed watching the koi with Kenta from where they were standing. As they watched, Kenta also began making fish-related puns to further lighten up the mood, and Monika soon found herself laughing out loud at most of them in spite of how bad they sounded.
After a while, her cellphone began ringing and vibrating from within her bag. She frowned a bit as she reached in to take it out; she had told Fujita to pick her up slightly later for that evening, so she wondered who could be calling her at this time.
To her great surprise, it was her mother. Monika quickly answered the call. "H-Hello? Mom!" she said rather excitedly.
She turned to Kenta and signaled with her free hand to give her a moment. Kenta responded with a smile and a thumbs-up before he walked over to one side of the gazebo to give them some privacy.
Her mother sounded formal and serious as she replied, "How are you?"
"I'm fine! How about you and Dad?"
"We're doing just fine, dear," said her mother curtly. "We're at a business meeting right now. I just stepped outside the conference room to call, so we can't talk long. I want you to go tell Mrs. Fujita that we'll be sending the pay for the entire household later this week, along with your allowance. Mr. Fujita can just go withdraw them as usual when they're cleared."
"Oh, I see," said Monika, feeling a bit crestfallen at her mother's brusqueness. "I'll tell her when I get home, don't worry."
"Thank you, dear. I hope you're doing fine there." Though the words were a kind phrase any mother far from home would tell her daughter, Monika could feel how cold her mother said them—no warmth, all business, just like how her father spoke. "Anyway, I have to go—I can't excuse myself from the meeting for too long. We'll just call you again when we have some free time."
"Y-Yes, Mom. You and Dad take care. Bye!"
As she hung up and put her cellphone back in her bag, Monika couldn't help but feel dejected. She hadn't expected her mother or father to call this early, as they usually did so late into the month, hence her fleeting excitement earlier. But the shortness of the conversation and the way her mother spoke had put an end to that enthusiasm, and it broke her heart a little. Then again, she knew that she should have grown used to it by now—even the longer conversations she had with them weren't that warm and sincere as far as families go, as they were more like narrations of how the family business was doing and what her parents had planned for the next few weeks. Here she was, thinking naïvely that this conversation would at least be different from the rest, but she was wrong.
Monika bit her lip as quick tears trickled from her eyes. She hastily wiped them with the back of her hand, not wanting anyone to see how she looked at the moment. She did so a bit too late, however, as she heard Kenta's hushed voice.
"H-Hey, are you okay?"
Monika gave him a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine," she lied.
Kenta looked at her for a moment, his opal-colored eyes tinged with worry. Monika knew that he sensed otherwise, but that he was too shy to intrude into something so personal. "Well, I hope so," he said concernedly. "I mean, I know I'm n-not in any position to ask, but . . ."
His voice trailed off, as if he feared to say too much. Monika felt rather guilty about lying to him even as she knew that what happened was, indeed, a very personal matter that he didn't have any business in. To show Kenta that there was nothing wrong about what he was trying to say or do, she decided to fess up. "Well, as you heard earlier, Mom was the one who was calling. I thought we were gonna talk long, because she and Dad don't call very often, but . . . they're always busy, so we don't manage to talk much."
Kenta's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, t-they're not at home?" he asked.
Monika smiled sadly. "The thing is . . . they're never at home," she replied. "They're general contractors, so their work takes them to other prefectures most of the time. It's always been like that since I was in middle school. They only call me once or twice a month, sometimes only to ask how things are going at home. Just another reason why everything's so empty and tiring there sometimes."
Silence followed her words. She stared somberly out into the arboretum, the place's beauty giving her a bit of comfort. She placed a hand on the gazebo's balustrade and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "This is just . . . just one of the things I've never told anyone about yet. I hope it didn't give you bad vibes, especially after the . . . the fun we've been having."
"Ah, it's alright!" Kenta remarked quickly. "I'm . . . I mean, I didn't . . . I just didn't . . . expect it to be s-something like that. I'm really sorry to hear about it. And I'm sorry as well for s-stepping into something so private and all."
"It's okay," said Monika kindly.
The two of them stared once again into the pond, watching the koi swim and bunch up together underwater. To distract from the sadness she was still feeling, Monika made a mental note to bring something to feed the koi the next time she would go back here. For now, she was wondering how to return to the same level of fun that she had been having with Kenta before her mother called.
Kenta broke the silence after a while. "You know, my dad's also not at home. He . . . He works at Okinawa as a business employee, lives there with a few of his friends from work as well. We can only talk to him through calls and video chats every few weeks."
It took Monika a moment before she replied, as Kenta's words had come out of nowhere. "But I'm sure he talks to you and your family longer than my parents do to me," she said ruefully.
Kenta shifted nervously next to her. "Well, I don't want to compare things l-like that." He let out a sigh. "Still . . . I dunno if I should say this, but I'm sure your folks love you even if they don't show it all the time. I know my words might not help a lot, but . . . w-well, I can just sense it. I mean, my dad might not tell me all the time that he cares about me, and sometimes he doesn't call us back, b-but . . . somehow I know that he cares, even if we tend to fight sometimes about my academics and when I mess around at home or in school. I mean, if he d-didn't care, then why would he bother telling me off about those things, right? And I t-think the same goes for y-your parents."
Such a private and optimistic admission made Monika shift her glance from the pond to Kenta. She saw that he was forcing himself to look downwards, avoiding her eyes. Though she knew that Kenta's sharing would not instantly solve the dilemma she had with her parents, she was touched by the fact that he shared something as private as his own family's situation to her in an effort to make her at least feel better about hers.
"Ah, I know that sounds a bit lame. I'm really sorry, I dunno how to say things like this to comfort people," Kenta muttered worriedly. "And I don't w-wanna comfort you by using my jokes, because I know that they won't be—"
"That's fine," said Monika appreciatively. "You're already doing enough, Kenta."
"Er . . . I am?" This time, he looked at her even as his face flushed.
Monika nodded. "Thank you for taking me here today, and for listening. I'm really grateful for it, in all honesty. If you weren't here with me, I might be just sulking the night away waiting for Mr. Fujita to arrive. I'll make it up to you sometime, I promise."
"W-Wait, you don't have t-to do that!" The redness on Kenta's face now clashed with the color of his hair. "I'm glad t-that I was able to help you feel better, and t-thank you as well for coming here with me."
Monika smiled at him. "If these are the surprises that you have in store whenever we go downtown, then I'll look forward to where our next trip's going to take us."
"Well, w-we can start planning now!" Kenta cried out both excitedly and anxiously. "I mean, only if y-you want to, so that we'll, um, you know—"
The words died in his throat, however, as Monika touched his arm gently. It was a kind gesture, a spur of the moment brought by the gratitude that she felt for Kenta's presence, but even so, she felt nervous about it. A staredown ensued, and Monika found herself somehow getting lost again in Kenta's opal-colored gaze. She held her composure better than he did, however, as Kenta's face was now in danger of being the same color as his hair. Before he could say or do anything, Monika spoke determinedly.
"Sunday."
Kenta didn't dare to move or reply—Monika sensed that it was because her hand was still on his arm. When she let go of it gently, Kenta gradually regained his ability to speak. "S-Sunday? Already?" He swallowed anxiously. "I mean, that's just more than a day away. . ."
"I know." Monika winked. "But it's technically next week!"
Kenta frowned for a moment, casting his eyes upward at nothing in particular as he began to think. "Oh," he said as comprehension dawned on him. "Yeah, f-first day of the week and all. . ."
He looked sheepish now, as if he had just failed to understand one of the most obvious things in the universe. Monika began giggling at his reaction, prompting Kenta to start laughing nervously as well. "Where are we gonna go this Sunday, t-then?" he asked her.
"Well, you have more than a day to figure that out!" she replied.
"Oh, come on!" Kenta said despairingly. "I m-might mess things up!"
"Kenta." Monika put on a jokingly strict expression on her face. "What do I keep telling you about the places we go to?"
". . . T-That it doesn't matter where we go, because you're f-fine with it?" he stuttered.
"Exactly," she said with a nod. "And again, if it's anything like tonight, there's no way you can disappoint me!"
For a moment, Kenta looked as if he would retort or implore her to reschedule their next downtown trip, but he only managed to stare and mouth wordlessly at her as she pouted at him. It wasn't a fully serious or angry pout—Monika only did it to drive her point across about having him believe more in himself, even in jest, but the effect it had on Kenta was instantaneous. She wondered whether or not he was taking her expression as a true gesture of frustration with the way he began to look afraid. To ease things up, she began giggling again, as she found that she couldn't maintain the pout for too long.
"Okay, okay," she said brightly. "Since you were the one who thought up of where to go for this week, I'll be the one to choose where we're gonna go for Sunday."
The relief on Kenta's face was evident. "Alright, s-shoot!"
Monika looked towards the rest of the arboretum for a while, letting the sights and attractions help her gather her thoughts. Meanwhile, Kenta looked at her expectantly, a tinge of anxiety gleaming in his eyes as he waited in silence for her answer. Just then, an idea struck Monika as she realized that the venues for their trips didn't exactly matter—rather, it was what she would be doing with Kenta that would make up the bulk of how enjoyable their trips would be, and that this was what caused her to enjoy their arboretum visit greatly.
"Well, since you took the initiative of making our little trip here to the arboretum a surprise . . . our Sunday trip's gonna be a surprise too!" she said cheerfully.
Kenta stared at her for a few moments. As the seconds ticked by, Monika fought hard not to laugh.
". . . Now I'm in for it," he muttered at last. "Please, Monika, I don't d-do well with things like this. Can't you give me even just a teeny, tiny hint? Please?"
Monika laughed. "No," she said with a playful tone. "But if you convince me tonight or tomorrow, I just might tell you!"
She giggled again as Kenta turned away, his face and ears turning crimson under the light cast by the gazebo's many lanterns. Her cheerfulness kept growing, and the same level of excitement she had felt earlier that day in anticipating her downtown trip with Kenta returned in full force. As Kenta began doing and saying what he could to convince her to reveal what it was that she was planning, Monika smiled to herself. It was as if her mother had never called earlier, and the sadness she had been feeling vanished completely, leaving only thrilled delight.
Another day, another poem. Thank you, Kenta.