Aiya and I were still holding hands as we went for our apparent date.
Aiya didn't tell me we were going on one but I came to such a conclusion considering that we went on one yesterday though it was still just a hunch.
One that would soon be proved to be correct.
"Eiya," Aiya said. "I hope you're ready for another date!"
Her voice was enthusiastic, her words bounced around–it was very nice to hear.
"Yup," I replied.
When did she start sounding like this?
Her voice was always like this but I didn't notice because I wasn't as focused as I am now.
I was focused because I was holding Aiya's hand. The release of dopamine and oxytocin inadvertently heightened my senses.
Not that I hated it though. I liked hearing her beautiful voice, and also holding her hands.
I was also quite curious about what person Aiya was–her likes, dislikes, and who she really was.
Yeah, I knew she liked baking, apparently liked me, was popular, was a gyaru, and had lots of friends.
But I didn't know what she was like, really? To be frank, we barely spoke, most times it was even her who initiated the conversation.
And yeah, there were some side comments here and there but were we even friends before we started dating?
I couldn't tell, so instead I wanted to know more about her.
I would start from this date–hopefully, it would only be me and Aiya, and she would just take the lead with me learning.
She would be my textbook, just for today.
"So Aiya, where are we going today?"
"The mall!"
I sorta expected that, well, at least she's enthusiastic about it.
I didn't hate the mall but I also didn't get why teenagers loved to go there.
It was just a place where you could get stuff, that simplistic concept wasn't anything too interesting yet it was always packed.
I was sure that when I and Aiya headed over there people would make side comments about us holding hands, probably realising we were dating.
Not that we hid it in the first place though.
That being said I didn't really know where would be a good place for a date so I just let Aiya decide, after all, I was trying to learn not teach.
"Wait, I changed my mind," Aiya said. "I wanna surprise you."
"Hmm?"
"I want to celebrate our one day anniversary so yeah."
Wait what?
Today I was to learn about Aiya but I had been forced into a passive position.
Perhaps she had the same thought as me, and wanted to learn more about me.
If that was what she was doing she could have just asked me whatever she wanted to know.
After all, I knew myself better than anyone and was pretty much an open book.
"Are you really sure?"
"Super sure," she grinned.
"Well, if you're sure then fine."
I wondered where she was taking me but I just kept shut and let her lead me to wherever she wanted to go–especially since it was a surprise.
I made sure not to stare too long at landmarks because since I memorised the map, it was easy to guess where we were.
However, we walked for quite a while–perhaps Aiya wanted to use it to confuse me?
I didn't know yet.
And I made sure not to think too much about the location until we arrived.
And we arrived at–
"Welcome to the Elysian Aquarium!" Aiya presented with a very contented expression.
Seems like she's proud of herself. Well, it looks good but why an aquarium?
"Woah, it sure is big, isn't it?"
We walked in after paying an entrance fee of 1,700Rp. Of course, I didn't know if it was expensive or cheap.
On entering it was like stepping into a new world, the air completely changed–it was cool, a bit filtered, and faintly salty.
The lights were dimmed to a soft blue, with a path that got progressively dimmer–and soft jazz playing in the background.
"Right? It's also my first time here. I thought you'd like it because it's kinda exotic, so was I right?"
Exotic, huh?
I supposed she was trying to figure out what I liked, but like I said earlier she could just have asked.
It would happen easier.
For me at least.
"Yeah, I love learning new stuff so I wanna see some cool stuff and learn how it works."
"So you're that type of guy? The nerd type, right?"
"Nerd? Come on, isn't it normal to wanna learn new stuff?"
"I guess so but the way you said it made you sound like a nerd."
And here I tried to make myself not sound as un-nerdy as possible.
"Anyway, Aiya, what exhibit are we going to?"
"Why don't you pick?"
"Alright, but how do we know the different choices?"
"Look at a sign over there."
We walked over the electronic signboard which pointed in 6 directions each being a regional or thematic zone and the last being an exit.
"Since it's a bit late, let's go to only 3 exhibits, you fine with that?" she asked, her voice dripping with kindness.
"Yeah."
"Ok, then follow me," she dragged me along.
We went to the first exhibit–the freshwater section. It had an indoor stream and lake with rocks, plants, and flowing water.
There were some catfishes, carps, and arowana. There were also some turtles, salamanders, and carbs.
The tank perfectly mimicked their natural habitat–having gravel bottoms, water lilies, reeds, logs, and gentle currents.
"Woah! Eiya, look at that cute turtle," Aiya bent a bit on a railing as she pointed enthusiastically.
The turtle was cut but that wasn't what I focused on, her skirt was very short so I could see her pink panties, luckily, no one was around.
"Y-Yup, super cute."
"It's just eating that seaweed. It's really chilling, isn't it?"
"Mhm."
Really wish you wouldn't bend so much.
Unfortunately, I couldn't tell her that instead I directed her attention to something else.
"Look at the facts over there," I pointed at a sign board.
The facts on the sign board read:
"This tank recreates the upper reaches of Japan's Kiso River, where the water stays below 15℃ year-round. Here are some special facts…"
It went on to explain some cool stuff that some animals could do like how arowanas can jump 2 meters high, Arapaima actually breathe air, and stuff like that.
Everything here was amazing and cool, it was truly something interesting.
Though I already knew all that.
The date was somewhat like that–I tried to get a read on Aiya or rather try to learn something but instead I was sent on a date to try and just learn stuff.
Stuff that I already know.
"Well, that's three done," Aiya sighed.
We had done all that but I barely changed my expression, I supposed it was my fault for not faking it.
"Wanna leave?" she asked.
I nodded in affirmation.
No point in staying here.
"...I see. I need to go use the restroom," Aiya left, her expression a bit downcast.
Yup, I definitely should have just acted.
I waited patiently, however just before she came I bought a souvenir and put it in my school bag, when she came back she had two hotdogs and two milkshakes in hand.
The walk out of the aquarium was silent, completely devoid of the earlier enthusiasm. We didn't even hold hands, we just walked side-by-side
All that was there was the sound of both of us chewing–very monotonous.
Perhaps coming here was a mistake on my end. I should have changed her mind.
"So, how was the date?" Aiya asked.
"It was fine," I answered plainly.
"That boring, huh? I wanted to do something different but maybe I shouldn't have…"
"..."
"I am really bad at stuff like that; I'm sure you can tell."
"..."
"Like what kind of girlfriend picks an aquarium date after a long day of school? I didn't even give you time to rest."
"..."
"I thought the aquarium would be calming…and cute," her voice cracked slightly. "I should have listened to what you wanted instead of mixing up calming with boring. I even tried to make it more…interesting."
Her voice wavered a bit at 'interesting', perhaps she was referring to when she bent over a bit.
"..."
I didn't know what to say. It was awkward to hear someone like Aiya talk about herself like this.
The right thing to do was to stop her–however, for today Aiya was my textbook.
I already wasted the aquarium date so for now I had to learn something even if it would leave Aiya in such a sorry state of mind.
After all, I also needed to know how she handled stress.
"I really am a huge idiot, aren't I?" Aiya stopped in her tracks.
I need to stop her.
I needed to learn but how would I defend myself when push came to shove?
I was her boyfriend yet I didn't say a word, so at least I had to say something. Anything.
"A–"
"I made a big mistake but I don't regret it," Aiya cut me off. "After all, I got to learn more about you."
"About me?"
Learn? When?
"I realised you're quite a curious person, anyway, here's your gift," Aiya presented it earnestly to me. "Happy one day anniversary."
"...Thanks, Aiya. I got something for you too," I handed her a small box.
"Let's open up our boxes."
"Sure."
We both opened our boxes with enthuasism–I handed Aiya a koi fish keychain, and she handed me a rubik's cube.
Hmm?
I stared intently at my present until I saw a huge smile on Aiya's face.
"Well, what do you think? I wanted to give you something that can solve your curiosity and boredom, was I spot on?"
"Yeah, what do you think of the koi fish?"
"It's kinda cute, anyway, Eiya thanks for today, I really enjoyed myself also…" Aiya kissed my forehead suddenly. "Uh um see you later."
She ran away with her cheek red as raspberries just as mine.
Her kiss was such a shock that I became utterly petrified by it.
"See you tomorrow," I managed to push out but she was already out of sight. "Might as well head home."
I went to my dorm room, then I prepared dinner and took a bath. After drying my hair I headed to bed but left my night stand on.
I was solving the rubik's cube–I was right it solved my need for curiosity.
"But it's not really a need, perhaps just an itch but it can be easily stopped. Not that I need to though."
After all, every human was indeed a curious creature though there has been a common misconception about curiosity.
I'm sure you've heard of this saying:
"Curiousity killed the cat."
It was quite a popular saying, one that is often cut in the middle. The full saying went like this:
"Curiousity killed the cat…but Satisfaction brought it back."
It implied that the satisfaction from finding something out can account from the punishment for one's curiosity.
One example was when I eavesdropped on Miyamura–my punishment was losing Rp, but I also got a girlfriend and helped a friend.
Of course, this wasn't absolute but was anything absolute in the first place.
That being said, that wasn't why I thought so much about this.
I was trying to pass time as I solved the rubik's cube–it was too easy to solve just by itself.
"Just barely 3 minutes, huh."
I tried to solve it with a timer to see how fast I could solve it.
It was kinda easy so I was surprised why I took so much time.
Though the reason it was easy was because I couldn't really be useless at creative thinking and pattern recognition.
Moreover, I had read a lot about Erno Rubik–he created the rubik's cube, the rubik's magic, and the rubik's snake.
He was a Hungarian Architect and Civil enginner–I read a bit about his story in a book and about why he made the rubik's cube and the idea behind it.
However, I never laid hands on one because he didn't believe it was standard in checking intelligence because you just had to know a specific pattern.
That meant reading about him and rubik's cube already made it easier for us to know how to solve one.
"That being said, it's still kinda tricky because we didn't actually know a pattern," I said, tossing the rubik's cube into the air and constantly catching it as I laid in bed.
"Also, can't believe today was a total loss. I didn't learn anything about Aiya."
However, something really bothered me. How did Aiya know that I was a person supposedly burdened by curiosity and boredom?
"Not that I am."
***
Author's Note:
Well, that was something, huh. It is a really amazing chapter, if I do say so myself.
Though Aiya is really an amazing girlfriend, she's everything I need and want, and more.
But I can't really date someone younger than me, before I get convicted.
Anyway, remember to comment, share, and leave a review. Thanks for reading the chapter, and see you in the next one.