On the way to the soba restaurant, two kids from another school ask if they're friends. Alicia claims him to be her boyfriend. Once at the site, she says it was a joke as he takes it too literally. Anyway, he learns about soba noodles made from buckwheat. Since soba can be served hot or cold, the one they go to serves hot soba. He still has reservations about slurping but attempts anyway, much to his chagrin. Both exit satisfied, though.

Class topics for this week (random): Origin of Life (biology); Origin of the Universe (English); Light Speed Measure (physics); Algebra Basics (math); Ancient Philosophy Basics (history).

Schedule: Monday (English & History); Tuesday (Moral Studies & Social Studies); Wednesday (Math & Literature); Thursday (Biology & Physics); Friday (English & PE, BBs free period).

The weather for today is sunny.

This week concludes the May chapter.


[May 25, Friday - week 4]

The Non-Secular Club finished their meeting, and all members left except for two who remained by simply rearranging the tables.

"Hyoga-kun, are you ready?" Alicia asks, up and grabbing her bag.

"To visit another restaurant, yes? Of course, I am ready." Hyoga's already up with his school bag in hand. "So, what's the meal we'll be eating?"

"I'll tell you once we're there."

"I'm not a big fan of surprises."

"Fine, I'll tell you. We'll be having soba. Think of it as ramen with a twist."

"More noodles?" he asks, surprised.

"Now, now. Don't think of all noodles as equal. Ramen and soba are two different things." Alicia fidgets.

"Okay, if you say so." Hyoga shrugs.

"Good! We'll be going to this soba restaurant in another neighborhood, so we must take another subway line. But we are going to pay since our passes don't cover that line. No worries though. Entry is cheap."

"That's fine. I'll pay for my entry. I have allowance to spare."

"Okay, let's go before rush hour starts." She grabs, dragging him out.

"Rush hour?"

They manage to find empty seats on the subway train, and they sit next to the doors. Thankfully for them, the train they're in isn't too crowded.

"Thank goodness we can sit. I told you I take the subway to school, and it gets so crowded I can't sit," Alicia says.

"The place we're going to seem to be farther than the last one we went."

"Yeah! That's why we had to pay. Our passes don't cover faraway places."

"I'm surprised train entry is cheap."

"The free passes make commute more bearable. Otherwise, coming to school would've been difficult. Even with the cheap entry, the costs add up fast since it's a back and forth daily trip."

Two random students with uniforms from another school approach them. They stand in front of them while holding on to the upper handle.

"Are you two exchange students?" the girl asks.

"What? No! We're natives who go to school," Alicia says, waving her finger. "To be a foreign exchange student means to be here temporarily."

"Are you claiming to be Japanese?" the boy asks.

"The truth is —" Hyoga is about to speak when Alicia promptly covers his mouth. She says in the hopes of convincing them. "We've been living here for so long since childhood that we consider ourselves natives."

"That makes sense," the boy says.

"By the way, what are you two? You look pretty close," the girl asks.

"Well, um…" Alicia slings her arm into Hyoga's. "He's my boyfriend!"

The two students react, staring and blushing at them and at each other. Plus, the sudden response leaves Hyoga speechless and flustered.

Eventually, they get off after their seemingly long ride. Then they stroll towards the soba restaurant, where they sit at a two-person table, placing their bags on the floor next to them.

"Um, Alicia-san, about what you said…"

"About you being my boyfriend? A lie, of course. Come on! Don't think it was real." Alicia stares momentarily, seeing his serious expression. "Wait, you were taking it for real? Give me a break! We don't know each other that well to be serious. Geez! Seems to me you take things too literally."

"I couldn't help it. That's how I was raised. Also, you didn't let me speak."

"What? About you being half-Japanese? Kazuki and Futaba gave you a hard time. Imagine how those two would've reacted. The skepticism (and our ride) would never end." Alicia sips her drink with a furrowed brow.

Hyoga sighs. "Anyway, what's the difference between soba and ramen?"

"They're both noodles, except soba is made from buckwheat, making them brown compared to white ramen. And the best part is you can eat soba hot or cold. But we'll eat the hot soba in this case, just to start."

"That's fine by me."

"There's different types," Alicia says as she reads the menu, "so I'll order the one with the fried tofu. What about you?"

"I'll simply have the same since this will be my first time eating it."

Alicia requests two bowls of fried tofu soba. They chat a little bit.

"You mentioned fried tofu. What's that?"

"Tofu is solid milk made into cubes, and they can be eaten alone or as part of a meal. The ones we'll have are fried so they'll be solid and crispy."

"Japan sure has lots of strange-looking food."

"By the way, what's food like in your country?"

"It's nothing impressive," he responds with a serious, cold tone.

"Oh no! Did I say something to offend you? You responded quick." Alicia sweats. "Let's talk about something else. How do you like school so far?"

"I'm still getting used to school life, but I have the support of my friends to make my experience tolerable. I said before that I live in a special dorm with them." His expression livens as if sighing with relief.

"Yes, you already mentioned that. Looks like you're close to them."

"Yeah, we get along and nothing gets better than this." He smiles.

"I'm so happy to hear that!" Her cheeks flush as she says that.

The two orders arrive at their table, and they start consuming instantly.

You're pretty proficient with chopsticks," Alicia says.

"I use them to eat lunch and dinner every day. I don't have a choice anyway. Ah! This tastes really good."

"I'm glad you like it. I can order a second if you like."

"No thanks. Just one is fine."

They consume their bowls until both get empty. Many hours pass.

"That hot soba really hits the spot. We'll go to another place, right?"

"Of course! It's part of our friendship deal. Next month will be better."

"I look forward to it."

"By the way, I notice you slurped. Minor, but you sure did."

"It's the only way to avoid that many hot noodles in my mouth."

"Haha! I get you. Okay, let's go home."

Alicia pays the bill as they leave to take the subway train home.

To be continued...


Hyoga meets with Shun on Friday nights, but not every meeting will be shown. Most meetings will be off-screen.