The Delicious Taste of..., Part 1
1258 Words
The next day.
It's another academic day.
At Natsukawa Technical College, students are trained to become world-class engineers in various fields. That is why the management prioritizes hands-on lessons as opposed to theories being drilled upon students' heads, since graduates must be all about applications and solutions. In short, “Enough talk. Show me your work.”
Today, I'm in a mechatronics class.
I'm being shown how an anti-lock braking system works; and later on, I'm gonna do the honors of assembling one and trying to get it to work.
And I did.
Not too shabby, eh?
Once again, I return from school tired yet triumphant.
It's because no take-home assignments were given today, for the second straight day.
Now I'm anticipating what story Harumi has in store for me.
I'm walking across the waterway pavement once more...
...and then I see Harumi, presumably in her school outfit.
“Good to see you again, Gunpei.”
“Yup, good afternoon to you, Harumi.”
“Say, I'm... kinda not familiar with that uniform of yours. Where do you study, by the way?”
“St. Catherine's College. Named after the patron saint of the arts.”
Makes sense. The colorful schoolgirl outfit she wears is, to be honest, not too garish and somehow embodies the both the high-brow and down-to-earth aspects of art that the school represents.
“So then... what did you learn today? Me... I successfully built an anti-lock braking system.”
“Not that I know about it, but it sounds kinda impressed. As for me... I'm currently working on a still-life painting.”
“I'd love to see that.”
“This weekend.”
And we're now at our apartment.
“Let's make this clear. We'll set 6pm as storytelling time, as we both want a few minutes of rest beforehand. Furthermore, it'll be limited to an hour, as we still want time for dinner and studies and stuff.”
“Great. Currently, the time's 5:45. Enough time for rest indeed.”
As we arrive in our own units, we change our clothes and slack off, waiting for the hour hand of the clock to arrive at 6.
And there we go.
“It's six in the evening, my dude! That means... IIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT'S STORYTELLING TIME, with your lovely host, Harumi Sogawa!”
Wow. She sure emanates the aura of a bodacious game show host.
“OK then. Let's head to my living room; it's spacious enough.”
“Why thank you.”
We both sit on the opposite ends of the living room's coffee table.
And I can see her eyes gleaming, as she is brimming with enthusiasm.
“Now for my first tale. This actually happened two summers ago.”
“Hmmm... I don't particularly remember that.”
“I'll be here to fill in your memory gaps. So our story begins right at this town's branch of Family Stop, a popular convenience store chain.”
***
I was on my way home from the local drive-in theater.
One of my friends invited me to a special screening of a crossover superhero film, New Generation Heroes Forever.
The story be may paper-thin, but the awesome action scenes more than made up for it.
She and I parted ways once we got out of the theater.
I was prepared to go home right away, when the proverbial light bulb popped up.
Oh, yes! I forgot to buy some drinks!
My fridge was about to run out of them!
Convenient. I was about to head to the convenience store.
For a branch of a convenience store chain like Family Stop, this sure is huge.
It spans two floors, has lots of groceries and take-out stuff on offer, and is also a one-stop shop for all kinds of payments.
Without any delays, I entered the store.
Convenient. Drinks that come in one- or two-liter bottles were on sale regardless of brand.
They were discounted at half their usual MSRP, in fact.
Alright! Looks like I'll have to buy in bulk!
I pick one of each flavor on offer.
Lemon-lime soda, barley tea, citrus-flavored sparkling water, isotonic sports drink, orange juice, plain old cola, diet cola, and mineral water.
“That'll be 1,844 yen in total.”
I paid the cashier, and I was about to head home with the drinks in tow.
But right at the entrance...
I saw you.
Lying on the ground, unconscious, and presumably suffering from heat stroke.
Without further ado, I went inside the convenience store once more to buy a smaller bottle of the isotonic sports drink.
Yeah, I didn't have to think of what to buy to save you.
After paying for that extra bottle, I opened the bottle, and let its lips touch yours as the ion-rich contents of the drink entered your system.
Good. You accepted it all.
In just a minute, you regained consciousness.
You then said, “Hey... are you alright?”
“Hey, you just left me a month ago. I know you're still bitter about our break-up, but how...?”
“I got over it very quickly. Like you, I was thirsting for pure love. But then, I've finally satisfied my thirst by doing volunteer work this summer. And judging from what I saw... you also did some sort of public service.”
“You've watched me all along?!”
“It's funny that we former lovers are now doing public service to move on, right? Tee hee. Here... you need to recuperate and continue your job, OK?”
“Yeah.”
***
Hmm... I don't particularly recall having an ex or something.
She was right. I might some memory gaps or something.
But one thing's for sure: Noemi was my first... and painfully my last... love.
But I don't want to sidetrack Harumi's storytelling, so I'm letting her off the hook.
And so... recalling the events that transpired before my passing out...
“So I'm gonna tell my side of the story. Just for a little thing called mutuality.”
“Then go.”
***
Ah, summer break is upon me again.
Many youths like me want to swarm the beaches and resorts innumerable in search of sun, surf, and suds.
But not me.
Before you can call me anti-social (and I'm really not; I just am choosy on whom I consider my friends), lemme tell you an anecdote of mine.
One hot summer day, I went out for a trip to the grocery store because I ran out of drinking water and other thirst-quenchers in my apartment unit's fridge.
With ample money in hand, I whistled while walking along the town's street pavements, trying to fend off heat stroke.
I even hummed some J-pop tunes, too, for good measure.
Along the first street corner, I could hear cries for help.
“Someone help my baby! She's trapped inside!”
“Get me outta here! *cough cough* I can't stand this smoke!”
“Hey, I left my laptop inside! They contain critical documents inside, so please save it!”
There was a fire ravaging a three-storey apartment.
Firefighters were valiantly dousing the flames though the odds were against them, while onlookers were anxiously waiting for the fire to end.
And then...
Without hesitation, I picked up an unused hose from the firetruck and started to sprinkle water on the flames.
It was my first time doing that, obviously, but I got the hang of it.
It helped that I remembered rescue drills the were being conducted every month back in junior high.
Fifteen minutes have passed, and the fire was finally put out.
The firefighters thanked me for helping them, as they declared that no one was seriously hurt.
I replied, "It's my job. Nothing personal."
I continued my walk, and on the second street corner...
***
“Aaaaaand that's it for today. Time's up.”
“Bummer. Just as I want to tell what transpired on that corner.”
“Well, if you want the definitive ending to the story I've just narrated, please come back tomorrow. Who knows... your and my sides of the story could be the same all along!”
“I sure will. And I know I won't slap you with a death sentence.”
“Hee hee... you also know of the fates that befell the women who came before Scheherazade, eh?”
“Those thousand and one nights are already in people's minds, yeah. Well then... see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
So the rest of the night proceeded as normal.
Dinner, leisure, sleep.
I look forward to the cliffhanger resolution.
- Writer
