Chapter 125 - Target Locked
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After what felt like an eternity, the three of us arrived at the nearest Bowling Alley. Jorah looked so happy and pumped that she practically hopped her way in and started to deal with the formalities.
Apparently, Jorah had been a longtime member of this place and knew it too well.
On a side note, Jorah and Celesta got the grocery shopping done while I was busy being dazed over our held hands.
Thankfully, the gazes of the people inside the building weren't as strong as outside, so I could relax my nerves a bit.
"Big Sister Carene~! Come, play with me! Do you know how to play? Should I teach you how to do it?"
Jorah soon hopped over near me as she asked me that.
My skill in bowling..? Hmmm... I don't have any memories of doing that, but it should be simple, right? I mean, I just need to roll the ball straight on. How tough could it be?
"Sure, I can play somewhat. Let's play together then. The winner would get a reward too, right?"
Jorah giggled merrily as she replied,
"Of course~! But, you have to beat me first, Big Sister Carene..."
Looking at the dark aura around the normally jubilant Jorah as she cackled strangely made me feel somewhat awkward. But I still went ahead with her in the end to play anyway.
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End result, I lost terribly.
As it turns out, bowling actually needs some skill. It ain't something a noob like me could master in a day.
Not only did I fail to strike all pins down, but my balls even stopped rolling midway or just slid past the pins, wasting my opportunities.
Jorah, though... she was a complete master at it! Not only did she score greatly, but she rarely missed and had a unique form about herself when she bowled.
I guess that I should practice later on sometime...
Celesta kept cheering me on, but looked visibly embarrassed over my poor display of skills.
Despite her continuous consolation, I could detect that she wanted me to win at least once.
Darn it... this didn't go well at all.
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We bought some ice cream on our way back home, for ourselves and the ones at home.
That reminds me... how is Lara now? Has she recovered properly? I don't think that I saw her talking much at dinner last night.
But... I just don't dare talk to her now! I mean, what if she remembered what happened? If she remembered what I did to her... it would be a one-way street to jail time!
Forget it. Forget about it. No need to remember those things.
As I had been expecting us to take the left turn towards our home at a crossroad, Jorah held my arms in her hand and spoke,
"Hey, Big Sister Carene, you said that losers have to reward winners, right? Right?"
Only now I could remember that I had said so while bragging stupidly. I was acting like a real idiot back there.
As I nodded back in defeat, Jorah smiled happily as she spoke,
"Then... then let's have an early dinner tonight! A hamburger party~! Big Sis, we can go, right..?"
Ohhh... so that's what she has been planning to do?
Well, I guess that it's been too long since we did anything remotely similar. And since Jorah has an appetite for hamburgers today, it won't cost us a fortune to heed her wishes a little.
It's only for today anyway.
As Celesta glanced towards me to ask my opinion on it, I gladly nodded at her, and in return, Celesta softly patted Jorah's hair as she spoke to her.
"Of course we can. Since we three are eating out, it's better for you to take Carene there first. I would swiftly return thereafter, putting the groceries and ice-creams at home, alright?"
"Oh, yeah~!! You are the greatest, Big Sis! The bestest best~!!"
Seeing Jorah so happy as she hugged Celesta smilingly, I too couldn't help but smile at their warm sisterly display of affection.
I couldn't help but wonder how amazing it would have been if I had a little sister to spoil of my own, too.
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"Big Sister Carene~! It's here, it's here~! Follow me~!"
Following the back of a high-tension hopping animal called Jorah, it didn't take us long to arrive at a place not too far from our home.
The place wasn't overcrowded and didn't look like a fast food chain restaurant, but a local fast food shop instead.
Maybe they make custom orders or use special sauce combinations? Anyway, variety is good for trying things out every now and then.
For Jorah, though, she looked completely natural as she interacted with the staff and helped us get a three-seat window table.
Since we decided to wait for Celesta, we just ordered a glass of soft drinks and relaxed our exhausted bodies on our seats.
Sitting across from me, Jorah had a weird look in her eyes as she spoke,
"Hehe, Big Sister Carene, you did very well today. I was almost worried when you talked about Big Sister's dress choice. But... you were actually aiming at getting physical with her, huh? So naughty~!"
Ahhh... I feel ashamed. Having been made fun of by a junior isn't really a pleasurable experience. But I can't hate the little angel sitting in front of me for caring about my romance life at this point.
Seeing me unable to respond, Jorah leaned her body nearer and whispered,
"That was a job well done. Big Sister's mood hadn't been great these past few days. But, her heart must have skipped a beat when she realised your intentions!"
"And that is why I decided to bring forward my plan and had this fast food date arranged right now. It's your chance to act, Big Sister Carene. Make your moment here today! Well... don't mind me being next to you that much. I won't be disturbing you too, okay~?"
Whoa... and there goes my chance to relax. I don't think that it would be so easy to do what Jorah suggested.
I am not a Casanova anyways! How the hell am I supposed to make smooth moves at this point?!
Oh, God. Help me out here, please. This little lamb has no idea what to do now...
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After spending some quality time with Carene, the stuffiness within my chest from the past few days slowly vanished.
By the time we went out of the Bowling Alley, my mood had become totally sunny. I could only be grateful for getting to spend such happy times with my dearest.
Just as I was sulking over our happy time ending so soon, Jorah came up with an excellent idea. In hopes of extending our happy time together, I readily agreed to my genius little sister's suggestion.
However, my body had become somewhat sweaty after the shopping and the bowling.
Not wanting to leave any bad impressions, I returned home in the name of putting the extra stuff away and took a bath swiftly and changed into a new set of clothes, before racing down the path towards Jorah's favourite restaurant.
By the way, I wore something not too revealing this time. As I was able to catch my Carene's attention in the red dress, I didn't need to wear that anymore. I-It was somewhat embarrassing anyway. And besides that... Carene herself said that I looked good in these... It's sort of her reward for being so good to me today.
But! I am not done yet for today!
Although the reason for my being so aggressively active today was due to the heaviness within my chest, I didn't want to give up on what I had already begun.
Since I desire for my Carene and me to become a lot closer, it's time for solid action this time!
Alright! You can do it, me! It's a piece of cake!
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After walking inside the place, I quickly found Jorah waving her hand at me to come over. Although my eyes drifted over towards Carene, sitting next to her.
Surprisingly, she looked more stiff than she had been during the day.
"Big Sis! You came at last~! We were waiting for you for sooo long already... right? Big Sister Carene?"
"E-Eh..? Ah, yeah. Celesta, I-I'm glad you came. Uh, y-you look pretty in these as well..."
Uwaahhhh~~!! C-Carene liked me dressed this way so much~?!!
W-What should I do?! I don't wish to remove this set of clothes ever again...
No, don't lose focus, me. The battle's only started right now!
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A/N: Please share your ideas on how the story should move forward in your opinion.