"Morikawa-san, what do you mean by—"
"Sorry, but I think I just heard someone screaming."
"I didn't hear anything. Are you sure?"
"Not exactly… maybe I misheard. Sorry to interrupt you, what were you saying again?"
"When you say 'like', what do you mean exactly?"
"I like her, in the exact, literal sense of the word."
"You're old enough to know what I mean."
I forced a polite smile and answered.
"Sorry, but that's something I'm not comfortable sharing."
"Does that mean— No, never mind. Thank you for answering."
"It was nothing."
Just then, Mom's car finally arrived.
"Be prepared, Tomoki. With this traffic, we'll only get home at night..."
"Hi Mom! This is the principal of Sakurazai Academy."
"Nice to meet you, madam." — the principal bowed slightly.
"Oh my! Nice to meet you too. Thank you for taking care of my son." — Mom bowed in return.
"He's really an incredible child. Honestly, he's the first male scholarship student to achieve so much in just a few months."
"It's nice to hear that. I was worried at first about letting him attend a co-ed school, but before I knew it, he grew up so much."
"He's very mature for his age. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. With the holiday rush, the traffic will only get worse. It was a pleasure talking with you."
"The pleasure was mine. Tomoki, don't forget to thank her."
"Thank you for accompanying me until my mom arrived."— I said.
"No need to thank me. I enjoyed our talk. Have a good holiday!"
"You too, Principal. Excuse me now."
As I got into the car, the principal called out one last time.
"Morikawa-san, you should be more cautious with women. Confidence is good, but remember—women can be scary. Just some advice from an adult."
And with that, we finally left the school. Honestly, all I wanted now was to read manga and play some games.
Man, I can't wait to enjoy my vacation!
♦♦♦ 30 minutes later ♦♦♦
"I can't believe it."
"I told you, traffic is chaos today."
For the record, I could still see the entrance of Sakurazai Academy. No wonder everyone rushed out earlier.
Now, how to kill some time...
Let's check my phone.
[Hey Ryuichi, you home yet?]
[Almost. What about you?]
[Still stuck near school.]
[Then brace yourself. Just heard there was an accident up ahead. There was no casualties, but traffic's worse now.]
[Talk about luck…]
I should tell Mom.
"Mom, looks like there was an accident further up."
"Oh, come on… ~sigh. Send a message to your father that we gonna be late."
"Okay."
[Dad, traffic's chaotic now and there was an accident. We'll be late.]
[Geez… okay, son. Tell your mom not to worry about dinner. We'll take care of it.]
[Got it.]
"Mom, Dad said not to worry about dinner."
"Thanks. Now all we need is patience."
This gonna be easy, I just need to wait.
♦♦♦ 3 minute later ♦♦♦
"Mom, I'll just walk home."
"No! Absolutely not! Did you lose your mind?"
"Don't worry, I know the way. I won't get lost."
"That's not the point! If you try that, no games for a month."
♦♦♦ 10 minutes later ♦♦♦
"Are we there yet?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Sorry, my bad. That was immature of me."
"You seriously need to work on your patience."
"It's not that bad."
"Sure..."
♦♦♦ 5 minutes later ♦♦♦
"Are we there—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence! If you do, you can walk home."
"Can I?"— I asked, almost hopeful.
"No!"
"Can I at least stretch outside the car?"
"If you want me fined and my car confiscated, then go ahead."
"You could've just said no…"
♦♦♦ One hour later ♦♦♦
At this point, I wasn't thinking about anything. I was just staring at the building, bathed in the soft colors of the sunset, burning my eyes—since there was nothing else to do.
Cars. Cars everywhere.
Wait...
Hold on...
That car beside us looks exactly like Ayame-san's!
"Mom! Can I open the window?"
"Why?"
"I think it's Ayame-san."
I rolled it down.
"Hey! Ayame-san! What a coincidence!"
No response. Maybe she didn't hear me? The windows were tinted, but I was sure it was her.
Oh, I know.
[Ayame-san! Look to your left!]
The girl with the ponytail just kept looking at her phone.
[What's happened, Tomoki-kun? Why suddenly tell me to look left? You're scaring me…]
Wait—did I get it wrong? But the driver looks like Sasaki-san. And the girl with the ribbon… that's definitely her.
[Isn't that you right beside me? It's you car and it's right here!]
[Maybe you're mistaken.]
Now that I thought about it, she left school around the same time as Ryuichi. She should already be past all this traffic.
Oh crap, this is embarrassing.
[Sorry. This traffic's driving me crazy. But seriously, it looked just like you.]
[Fufu~ maybe it's my twin.]
[Must be. Now I wonder who it really is.]
She stopped replying for a while.
[Do you really want to know that badly?]
[Of course! I'm curious!]
[Fufu~ then be cautious, Tomoki-kun. Women can be scary.]
Didn't I hear this twice today? My mother is an good example already.
[So should I be cautious of you, too?]
She paused again. Why did I even send this? Must be the traffic frying my brain.
[Yes. After all, I'm a woman too.]
[I completely disagree.]
[Tomoki-kun, you need to listen people more carefully. You're a man—you should be aware of that.]
Weirdest line I've ever read.
But you know what? Enough of this be considerate because you're a man talk.
SHE should be more cautious around men.
[Ayame-san, you don't need to worry about me. Since I'm a man, it's you who should be cautious, because you're a woman.]
[What!? Tomoki-kun, you don't understand how scary the world is out there!]
[Nooo, you don't understand how scary it is.] — At this point, I wasn't thinking anymore.
Suddenly, the tinted window of the car beside us rolled down.
"Tomoki-kun! No wonder Satou-san warns you all the time!"
"I knew it was you! And like I said—you should be cautious around men instead!"
"Haa!? You're too naïve! Don't you watch the news? If you go out alone, women will attack you!"
"That's just numbers! The reality is, if YOU go outside, in seconds some guy will try to pick you up!"
"And what proof do you have? You're just a man who doesn't even know the dangers around yourself!"
If only I could tell her the truth…
"The thing is—I DO know. Because I'm a man and I'm one hundred percent sure that's what would happen!"
"Eh!?" — Ayame-san
"Eh!?" — Sasaki-san
"Eh!?" — Mom
"Ehhhh!?" — the motorcyclist behind us
"What?" — Me
"So… Tomoki-kun… are you saying that… you… would… to me…?" — Ayame-san stammered, blushing bright red.
"Could you repeat that? I didn't catch it."
"...!"
"Are you okay? You're red as a tomato."
"You really are an idiot!" — Then Ayame-san proceed to close the window.
"Hey! I'm just talking about your safety!"
Sasaki-san leaned toward my mom.
"Sorry for the scene. I'll talk to her later."
"No no, she's right. I'm the one who should apologize. Where did I go wrong raising him…?" —Mom sighed.
A few minutes later, I sent Ayame-san an apology message. I explained I was just out of my mind from being stuck in traffic.
She apologized too. We ended up talking about how awful the traffic was.
I asked why she hadn't passed this area already, since she left the same time as Ryuichi. She said Sasaki-san had to take a call before driving.
Finally, we got past the traffic and went our separate ways.
Now I could finally enjoy my vacation.