Clouds on the Horizon

“Actually,” Tachibana laughed awkwardly. “We may have left the cutlery at the house.” She wrapped the watermelons up back into the cooler and started heading towards the street. We’ll be back shortly, go have fun in the meantime!”

A short delay in the watermelons, but means we can head out to the beach and the water in the meantime.

The group seemed to share this opinion as Gotou shouted, “To the water!”

As I walked towards the shoreline, the warmth of the hot sand under my feet cooled as it dampened and filled with seawater. A wave rushed past my feet, sending a small chill up my nervous system. Even with the heat wave, the water was still colder than I expected. Eventually getting used to the temperature, I waded until the water reached my swim trunks. The guys started passing the beach ball around, and soon enough, we were having the time of our lives.

The beach ball sailed over my head, and I swam over to retrieve the beach ball.

As I started returning to the shore, Sato waved over from the side.

“Sato-san, how are you enjoying the ocean?”

“It’s great!” she grinned from ear to ear. “So worth going shopping the other day,” she chirped, twirling around. “Now I fit in well with the other beach-goers!”

“Mm, suits you well.” The words left my mouth before my brain registered them.

“Thanks!” She tapped the beach ball out of my hands, splashing several meters away. She dove for the ball and retrieved it.

In that maneuver, I got splashed quite a bit with ocean water, the saltiness lingering in my mouth.

“Aha, sorry for that–ahhh!” she reacted as I returned the favor.

More water landed behind me as the group joined in, and before long it became an all out war of splashes.

After several more minutes of playing in the water, we returned to the beach, Tachibana waving in the distance with slices of watermelon in hand.

“Perfect timing!”

***

The day cruised along steadily. After lunch, we played volleyball for a while, then after tiring out, I took a seat under the umbrella, enjoying some refreshing water from the cooler. The guys were building a sandcastle, while the girls chatted under the large umbrella.

“Tohei!” A voice called out, and Shimada turned around, a smile growing on his face.

“Haruto! No way!” Shimada walked over to hug him. “What’s going on? How’d you end up here?”

“Just a weekend retreat, some bonding with the new reps,” he replied,

“Alright!” Shimada pumped his fist before turning to us. “Oh let me introduce my good pal here, Haruto Yamada, the big-shot president of the student activities committee.”

Yamada got his arm around Shimada’s shoulder. “We go back years…”

“Retreat, huh?”

“Yeah, hold on, let me bring them over to introduce themselves!”

Yamada disappeared among the sea of umbrellas now populating the beach, and a few minutes later brought his own group of five.

As they got closer, my eye started twitching as I recognized two of them.

Yoshino and Hayashi. These two again?! 

Yamada pointed to those two, exclaiming, “Here’s our new first-year reps.”

As they conversed, I felt myself slinking further into my beach chair and praying that this interaction would be over soon.

I looked over to the girls, who were watching the spectacle. While mostly neutral, Sato’s face looked like she had eaten a sour candy.

“So what’s your plans after the beach?”

“We’re having a cookout at my place, it’s one of our members’ birthdays today.”

“A cookout! Man, I loved the cookouts at your place.” Yamada pointed his fingers together. “You think there’s any room for us? The committee has some retreat funds to cover the food costs.”

No. Bad idea. Horrible idea.

Shimada crossed his arms. “Dang, I’d love to invite you guys…and appreciate that kind offer… I gotta ask the group first.”

By this time, the girls had congregated over to where we were all situated. Tachibana, who had come over earlier to listen, spoke first. “Yamada-senpai, good seeing you again! It’s true we’re celebrating Watson-san’s birthday tonight. We really appreciate your offer to pay, though it was planned to be a more private gathering.”

Two arguments clashed; it was Watson’s birthday party, so she had a say in who was invited. On the other hand, it was Shimada’s place as host, and his best friend offered to cover the cost of the party.

“I see…no worries, ” the committee president gave a slight shrug. “Always next time, Tohei!”

“Oh, it’s her birthday?” Yoshino chimed in. “We met at the karaoke event and got along well! But we understand, she should have a say in her party.”

Shimada stopped to think. “Hm…I guess we didn’t see if Watson-san minds or not.”

His best friend looked back at him. “You wanna ask?”

“Sure! Let’s ask her.” He walked over to Watson, introducing the new group, and asked about the proposed invitation.

Watson, slightly flustered, quickly glanced at me as if seeking my input. She definitely had a conversation with Sato about those guys, and seeing if I was comfortable with them joining was her likely intention. What an underhanded move, convincing the host of the party to ask the birthday girl directly. Tachibana, even as the other co-leader, couldn’t say much against it.

“Um, thank you for the offer, but I’d appreciate just the ten of us at dinner.” She replied shyly, and after a couple of moments, the guys nodded in understanding. The outright rejection came as a shock both to me and the girls, but that quickly subsided as it was clear Watson had my perspective in mind.

Or, as ChocoNyan would say, she was “a true homie.”

Watson, I truly appreciate that gesture and am indebted to ChocoNyan. Maybe I should join as a subscriber. Maybe roll for her 6* character, as a good luck charm.

As the student committee members disappeared among the beach umbrellas and our activities resumed, Watson came over with Sato and Lafon to where I was lounging.

“Thanks, Watson.” I chuckled, lowering my voice. “Though I was wondering if you were thinking of raging at them like a certain streamer–”

She nodded. “Maybe rant in a future stream..or a podcast!” Her eyes sparkled. “Genius..”

Glad to see her content brain was still in full-gear.

***

Back at the villa, it was nearly six o’clock when the doorbell buzzed. Our group had finished showering and was taking a breather in the living room.

“It’s party time!” Shimada cheered. “Fire up the grill!”

For dinner, grilled beef and pork skewers, roasted corn, and a massive array of appetizers, snacks, and drinks—Lafon mentioned something about a cornucopia, and whatever that is, likely describes the spread of food quite accurately.

“Itadakimasu!”

The meats were perfectly grilled and charred, mixing the rich tastes of the protein with the light and fragrant sides and sauces, creating pure bliss of the senses.

“So good!”

Beats campus food every day of the week. To be fair, we have been eating out quite often, much to the dismay of my bank account, even with the extra monetary inflow from the bookstore job. Reminds me of how much money the club must have in its coffers for events.

“Watson-san, try the pork skewer!”

“Thanks!” she bit in, her face showing much joy. “Delicious!”

“Iwasaki-kun, pass the corn please!”

“Sure, Sato-san.” Sato grinned as she got the corn she was looking forward to. Lafon gracefully dined from the array of foods, though we all know she was saving room for later.

***

A few drops of rain appeared on the patio as the last of the food was cleared from the tables.

Even as June was coming to a close, the rainy season still lingered, with the chance of storms rolling through at a moment’s notice becoming a reality.

“Dang, that puts a damper on our sparklers.” Tachibana sighed.

“At least we’re in here and not caught out in the storm,” Sato brought up, which I agreed with. Being out there in the pouring rain would not be fun.

Shimada suddenly received a phone call. “Yo Haruto! What?” His eyebrows perked up. “You’re where? Wait, it’s about to storm outside!” He looked concerned, staring into the distance, before his expression softened. “Oh, that’s right by the corner, if you stop by to ride it out…yeah, no problem!”

He walked over to the main entrance, and within thirty seconds, the doorbell buzzed as he opened the door.

“Sorry, the rain just started out of nowhere,” a voice rang from the front door, followed by an intensifying patter of raindrops. 

There stood Shimada’s best friend, Yamada….along with Yoshino and Hayashi.

Absolute trainwreck.