ACT II - Saccharine Saturday III

Gathering courage, Ria started her recollection.

"T-thank you for your willingness to listen. I… Was always kind of an emotional girl. I strived to do my best; always giving everything my all, my whole heart… I'd end up pressuring myself a lot, and experiencing a lot of anxiety…"

She took a few breaths, as we gently patted her hands. With our support, she was able to move forward with her story.

"I loved everything girly—sparkles, plushies, shoujo manga, and all that… Starting high school, my heart was filled with anticipation. I finally had a chance to live my perfect school life…! But I found myself trapped in my ideals, putting so much pressure on myself, that I ended up pushing people away…"

She was pausing a lot between her statements, as if each and every word caused her to ache inside. It was so difficult to see her like this…

"That day… I guess I just wanted to impress people with my cooking skills. Especially the Mitani twins of my class, it's… It's silly, but they reminded me of some twin mascot characters I was a fan of, so I just wanted to get closer to them… But my anxiety got the best of me, I kept on making mistakes…"

Her tears were about to fall, she seemed to be holding them back with her all. She continued.

"Everyone… Everyone laughed at me, everyone made fun of me, and even the Mitani's seemed so disgusted with me…! And when the teacher came to talk with me, I just couldn't stand… Disappointing a teacher! All my life I was always a good student, I did my best to never get a warning… And yet, I… I shouted at the teacher! I showed such a pathetic side to the teacher, in front of… In front of everyone…!"

At this point, she started to cry. Me and my childhood friend sensed that she still had things to say, so we let her finish without any interruptions from our side.

"I… I ruined my school life…! No one wanted to talk with me after that, and when I… Came back home… I realized that my mom had thrown away my plushies… I couldn't handle it all… My heart felt like it was being torn apart…! I turned into… Into an aggressive monster!!"

At that point, her sobs got so loud that Michiru offered to accompany her to the bathroom. Since Ria was such a thoughtful and self conscious girl, she probably didn't want to cause trouble for other customers…

"Come on, Ria-chan, let's wash your face a bit. You're the last person to be a monster! There, there…"

I watched the two girls leave for the bathroom, under the waitresses' worried gazes. I bowed my head to them in apologies, and they gestured that it was no problem at all. They really seemed to genuinely want the best for their heartbroken customer.

Meanwhile, most of the customers didn't seem to be bothered by the emotional scene, they kept on chattering away about their own conversation topics. I didn't know if that made me feel relieved or… A bit angry. How could people be so dismissive of someone crying, and not give it even a bit of attention? I wondered if that was the 'normal' thing to do…

As I waited for the girls to come back, I started to become a bit antsy and I wondered if everything was alright. It's not like I could enter the girls restroom, so there wasn't anything I could do but wait…

That was when a waitress approached me, with a little package in her hands.

"Dear customer, if I may have your attention…?"

Seeing the package, I hastily told her that I hadn't ordered anything.

"Oh, no, it's not like that! Rather, a customer lady would like to gift this cookie package to the crying miss. It seems the scene has pulled her heartstrings—so as modest as it is, I'd like to gift her these, she said!"

I quickly scanned inside the cafe to find the mystery person, however the waitress informed me that she had paid for it and left the shop. I felt intensely grateful for the kind gesture—why, it seemed that there were sweet people around still.

I accepted the gift and put it on the table, towards where Ria was sitting. It seemed that even the shop had put some freebie cookies inside… I felt like I was about to cry myself!!

Before my softie inner self could take over any further, the two girls were back. Ria seemed to be much calmer, with a face so clear it was as if she wasn't crying just a few moments ago. Michiru had a cheerful spring to her steps, so I couldn't help but smile. Everything was fine now!

"Welcome back! You have a little gift on the table, Azuma-senpai."

She took the package inside her hands as she sat down.

"Huh? What's this now?"

"Apparently a customer wanted to cheer you up, so she got this cookie package for you. There's some extras from the store too!"

The waitresses were all smiling, watching her hold the cookies in her elegant hands, unbelieving of the situation.

"A-ah..? I'll cry again…? I… I accept them gratefully, though."

She bowed towards the staff. Michiru clapped her hands cheerfully.

"My, isn't that great, Ria-chan! You can enjoy more sweets at home~ You deserve it, for being such a good girl and being honest with us today. How do you feel, tell about it to Yuujin-chan too~!"

Ria looked at both of us with such genuine and warm appreciation that I could feel my entire heart melting. There was no bigger relief than seeing her being even a bit more true to herself. I listened intently as she revealed her current state of feelings.

"I'm so, so thankful. Since last year, there are dark, heavy weights on me that I have been carrying everywhere, every single day… I feel like a huge chunk of them have been lifted up, thanks to you two… I think I have more courage to show my true self at school, and… I'll try to discuss with my parents that there's nothing wrong with enjoying your interests freely."

She stopped a bit, cheeks blushing with a soft pink. She was fidgeting with her fingers.

"And, um… I'll try to be more patient with the students of our school. We are still kids, it's normal for us to make mistakes… I see no reason why I shouldn't be more compassionate towards them. I'll try to deal with my stress better, and become the best school president there is!"

Michiru hugged her, saying "Alright, but just don't let it pressure you to the point you're back to square one! Take it easy, easy~"

At that moment, a squeaky sound was heard inside Ria's bag. The high-pitched voice went on to say "Hewowo~ Are you there? Give us attention, wawawa~" All of us got startled by the sudden interruption, but Ria seemed most surprised out of us—she quickly dove her hands inside the bag, reaching for the source of the sound. It was a game controller!

Turning off the sound, she hastily explained, "This… Um… This is the notification sound from a Mascots game that I play… I can't believe I forgot to turn off the sound…! Haha… Hahaha!"

She started laughing, making me and my childhood join in her laughter. Why, even without our help, it seemed she was still preserving some of her interests despite her family disapproval!

The tears, the laughter, the relief—It had ended up being such a sweet Saturday indeed.