Kishi's Birthday Party

Yorikane was trying to invite us out before Kishi’s birthday. I spent all of my allowance for the week so I couldn't go out. Yuasa said he was busy. Kishi had made plans with his mother. So that left Yorikane to hang out with his other friends.

Kishi’s birthday came quickly. He gave us his address and the time of the party. I took the bus there and the other two made their way over as well.

“Saki!” Kishi gave me a big hug when I got there. He was wearing a party hat and gave me one just like it to wear.

“Happy birthday, Ki-chan,” I said while handing him his gift. I wore the hat he gave me as well.

“Thanks! You’re the first one here! Come in and sit down.”

I greeted his mother who was here to celebrate with him as well. Then I sat on the couch in the living room. There was a knock at the door so Kishi went to get it.

“Kitahashi-san! Thanks for coming!”

“Sure. Here’s a present for you.”

“Thanks! Come in and sit down.”

Yuasa also greeted his mother before sitting next to me. “Nice hat.”

“Why aren’t you wearing yours?” I asked.

He paused, staring at the blue one in his hand. Then he reluctantly put it on his head. “This is ridiculous.”

“You don’t want to break Kishi’s heart, do you…?” I teased him.

“I guess not.” He adjusted the hat one more time before leaving it be.

Once Yorikane came, the same exchange happened except that he was happy to wear the hat. He sat next to Yuasa. Kishi stood in front of us.

“Thanks for coming! My mother is making something for us to eat and I thought we could play games in the meantime. I have this party game on the playstation that I thought we could try.”

“Great, I love video games! Let’s play!” Yorikane exclaimed.

“I’ll get it set up!” Kishi went up to the TV and his console to turn them on.

Yorikane turned to Yuasa. “So what have you been up to lately, Kitahashi-san?”

“It’s not really any of your business,” Yuasa replied.

“Ah… Right… Sorry…” He let out an awkward laugh after that cold reply.

I’d rather it not be awkward… “Sounds like you’ve been hanging out with your friends a lot, Miya-san.”

“That’s right, Shiotani-chan! I have a ton of hangouts planned! I want to make the most of this summer.” He beamed. “Do you have any fun plans this summer?”

“No, I don’t have too many plans.”

“Well, it’s also nice to just spend time at home! I mentioned my siblings to you, right? I gotta make plans with them as well.”

“Yeah, I remember you mentioning your siblings.”

Kishi had finished setting up the game and gave each of us a controller. Then he squeezed in on the couch next to Yorikane. Yuasa shifted uncomfortably next to me.

“Is there another chair I could sit in?” he asked.

“Yeah, there’s one in the corner!” Kishi told him. He stood up to bring the chair closer.

Yuasa sat in it, now on my other side. It was kinda uncomfortable with our knees almost touching… But now I’m sitting next to Yorikane which I’m almost a little more uncomfortable with. Let’s just focus on the game.

Yuasa and Yorikane seemed competitive as the game went on, both of them trying to be the one on top. Kishi and I were just trying to keep up with them. When Yorikane lost to Yuasa, he let out a friendly laugh.

“Wow, you’re really good at this, Kitahashi-san!” Yorikane beamed.

“Of course I am. I’m good at everything I do,” Yuasa replied. “And Shiotani, you’re quite terrible at this.”

I glared at him. “It’s just a game, you know.”

“Sure, but I came out on top and you came out on the bottom. That could say something about each of us.”

I continued glaring at him. I really hate him…

Just in time, Kishi’s mother called us to come eat. We left the game to go to the dining room. There was a choice of mild or spicy curry and I got the mild one. Kishi got mild as well while the other two got spicy. We took our seats with me and Yuasa next to each other, Kishi and Yorikane next to each other, and Kishi’s mother at the head of the table. It’s almost like Yuasa is sitting next to me on purpose… Does he just want to torment me some more?

The curry was delicious. I had to give my thanks to Kishi’s mother. Then we decided to take out the cake for Kishi afterwards. We sang to him and he blew out his candles with the number sixteen on them. The cake was also delicious. My stomach was full and happy once everything was done.

Kishi opened his birthday presents. I gave him a notebook with the drawings I did for his story stored inside. He was super happy to receive it. Yuasa gave him a book about how to write a novel. Yorikane gave him another notebook and colorful pens. He was excited to receive it all.

“Thank you all so much! I’ll cherish these gifts! By the way, can you guys stay and play games a little longer?” Kishi asked.

“Sure,” I said, smiling.

“I’m down!” Yorikane happily exclaimed.

“I guess I have more time,” Yuasa added.

We all played some more, Yuasa and Yorikane going at it the entire time. I’m not sure if they get along or not anymore… Once it got later, we decided to call it a day.

“Thanks for coming over!” Kishi told us. He gave me another hug.

“Thanks for having us!” Once Kishi let go, Yorikane spoke and hugged him next. Kishi looked a bit surprised with his face turning pink.

“See you later, Kishi,” I said while smiling.

We waved goodbye as the three of us left through the front door. It was dark when I stepped outside. Yuasa was doing something on his phone during the goodbye and finally put it away.

“Well I’m going to go catch the bus,” Yorikane said. “What about you two?”

I opened my mouth to speak but Yuasa grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“I called a car for us,” he said.

“Alright, sounds good! See you guys later!” Yorikane waved goodbye and left before I could say a word.

I turned to Yuasa when he let go of my arm. “You called a car for us?”

“I’ll take you home. You can thank me later.”

I didn’t ask him to do that… He’s been acting a bit strange lately. I feel like I can’t turn him down though.

It wasn’t long before his car arrived. It was the same one as last time with the same person driving. He totally has his own chauffeur… It was quiet in the car for a moment. I decided to speak.

“You seemed to dislike Miya-san but you were getting along with him when playing that game.”

“I wasn’t getting along with him. I was beating him every time and putting him in his place.”

“You were having fun though, weren’t you?”

“Not really.”

“I don’t know why you have to lie…”

“Hey, I’m not lying.” He leaned in closer in the dark backseat of the car. “I don’t like overly friendly and energetic people like Miya-kun. They get on my nerves. I’m fine with you and Horiuchi-kun, but that’s it.”

“Sure…”

“Do you like Miya-kun?”

That kinda came out of nowhere… “He’s fine… He’s Kishi’s friend so I want to try to get along with him too now.”

“That’s fine then.”

After that, we didn’t have anything else to say to each other. My stop came so I got out of the car. Yuasa waved from his seat. I went inside my house and greeted my father. He asked about my day so I told him about it.

In the days that followed Kishi’s birthday party, Kishi and Yorikane all wanted to make plans to hangout often. I did my best to go out with them and Yorikane’s other friends. We visited an arcade, bowling that I missed out on the first time, more karaoke, laser tag, movies, and shopping.

Yuasa came along occasionally but said he was busy most of the time. Whenever he was there, he seemed to stick by my side more than Kishi even did. Kishi was trying to talk with Yorikane almost like he was one of his fans. Except more than the others who liked to surround Yorikane, Kishi’s face always looked red. I feel like something is going on…

I felt a bit uncomfortable in a group. Yorikane’s friends did try to talk to me the more they saw me, but we didn’t have any lengthy conversations. I almost felt more comfortable when Yuasa was with us, strangely enough. Maybe I’m just not cut out for groups… I’m not sure how to hang out with just Kishi or Yorikane though. There’s always more people tagging along.

I decided to join those outings less and less. I even tried to see if Yuasa was going before making a decision. I can’t believe I actually want the one I hate around… But sometimes he’s less annoying than before.

One of the activities I went to with Yuasa and the others was an escape room. While there, I felt like I was the only one not finding any clues to escape. I felt like I was in the way. I stood against a wall and watched the others looking around. Yuasa was finding a lot of clues and solving many riddles so the others were praising him and surrounding him. He looked annoyed which almost made me laugh.

When I covered my smile with a hand, we locked eyes. I looked away and put my hand down, my smile having disappeared. Then I noticed him approaching me.

“You haven’t found anything yet, Shiotani?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t… You’re doing really well though.”

“Of course I am. The others are getting excited over nothing.”

“Solving all those riddles isn’t nothing… I couldn’t figure out what any of them meant.”

“I guess since I read a lot, certain phrases are familiar to me. By the way, it seems like there’s one more riddle to solve to find the key.”

“Do you know where the key is? You should hurry and get us out of here.”

He eyed me. “Did you want to find it?”

“Huh? I don’t really care…”

He leaned in closer and I instinctively pressed myself up against the wall. He whispered in my ear. “The key is behind that mask on the wall.”

“...why are you telling me this?”

He backed up. His charming smile appeared on his face. “Why don’t you get us out of here, Shiotani?”

I don’t understand him… I really, really don’t understand him… But his smile and occasional kindness makes my heart race. I want to hate him… But I can’t when he does this…

I quickly got away from him and walked up to the mask on the wall. I tried to pull it off and it came off easily. I thought it was stuck to the wall when I saw it earlier. Behind it was a key hanging on a nail. I set the mask down on the chest of drawers below it. I grabbed the key and held the shiny item in my hands.

“Shiotani found the key,” Yuasa announced.

“Whoa, really?!” Yorikane exclaimed. “Nice job! Let’s get out of here!”

Everyone cheered and were excited about getting out before the time limit. I unlocked the door with the key and we were free.

“Good job, Saki!” Kishi beamed at me.

I smiled back. “Thanks. But… I did have some help.” I glanced at Yuasa. His usual expression was on his face again.

We each received a sticker for winning the escape room that said we won. I took it home and placed it in a drawer next to the hair clip that Yuasa gave me. Uh oh… He’s going to keep invading my thoughts, isn’t he…?

After the escape room, Yuasa seemed to get busy again. I’m not sure what he’s so busy with. But since he isn’t going to the group hangouts, I decided to pass on them as well. I wanted to ask Kishi if we could just hang out one day. I’m not sure how to go about it though…