Out on the Town

I took a swig of apple juice. We switched drinks this time. I had her favorite, and she had my… well vending machine green tea is not my favorite, but it’s the one I had the last time we were here.

Evi checked her phone. “They’re cutting it close.”

Just then we heard the rush of footsteps.

Oh. Cool!

I was right. We did all wear casual clothes. Social intuition!

Fujiwara-san wore a cropped purple cardigan with a flowy, white sundress underneath. A matching purple rope belt wrapped itself around her waist. Black saddlebag in hand, she hurried over to meet us. Kusumoto-san was close behind, jogging to catch up, apparently having stayed back longer to wave goodbye at the car that dropped them off. She had opted for a loose black t-shirt over a long-sleeved green undershirt, paired with chunky beige cargo shorts. The front of her t-shirt sported a small, crudely drawn white heart on her upper left side.

“Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long. Aki-chan had to help her grandfather with some things, but after that my mom drove us here as fast as she legally could.”

“No problem Fujiwara-san.”

“Some problem, but not enough to be an issue,” Evi teased.

“Aw, you two got drinks! Yaya-chan, do you think we have time to get something?”

Rather than Fujiwara-san, the not-so-distant sound of the incoming train provided the answer to that question.

“Sorry Kusumoto-san,” I said whilst rising from my seat.

“Nah, it’s fine,” she mumbled.

The train ride was largely uneventful. We did get a few stares from other passengers as they boarded. But, well, I suppose on the train it really is pretty easy to ignore other people. That’s, like, generally the way it works. Strangers get common courtesy and then no further interaction, especially the odd ones.

We chatted a bit on the way but I did try to keep my volume low to avoid drawing unnecessary notice. To an extent all of us were… except, well, um, okay, I think Kusumoto-san was trying to be quieter? I just don’t think it was working.

“I’m surprised you didn’t get tea Ri-chan!”

“E-evi and I swapped.”

“Aw now I’m actually disappointed, we could have done a whole group thing!” she pouted.

“I would have picked a barley tea,” mused Fujiwara-san.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah. I would go so far as to say it’s my favorite tea.”

“Huh. Yeah, barley teas are nice,” I agreed. “Y’know, I’ve never been able to pick a favorite kind of tea. It changes all the time. Do you have a preference Evi?”

“I liked the white tea you gave me." She shrugged. "I guess that’s my favorite?”

“What about you Kusumoto-san?”

“I like boba tea,” she offered.

I thought for a moment.

“Y’know… I know how to make boba tea.”

“WHAT.”

“You truly are a tea expert Miyashita-san,” Fujiwara-san chimed in.

“No, no, not at all,” I corrected her.

Evi stepped in. “She’s a tea enthusiast.”

“Thank you.”

Once we got off the train I zipped up my hoodie. My blue t-shirt tends to peek out from the bottom, as well as around the neckline. I imagine it gives off the appearance that I’m unsuccessfully smuggling portions of the sky. Still. Sun protection.

I brought out the sun hat not long after.

The way our day was set up, we had some time to kill before heading to karaoke. Window-shopping, stopping by bookstores, we even dropped by an arcade for a very brief moment. We might’ve stayed longer, but a grave warning from Kusumoto-san deterred us from pursuing this venture any further.

“We can go in and use the photo booth, maybe even try a few claw machines or other small single-player games, but if we let Yaya-chan get too deep into this then we are never going to make it to karaoke.”

Fujiwara-san rolled her eyes.

But she did agree with her.

So we went to the photo booth, threw away some money at the claw machines, and left without much ceremony. This was another first for me, actually. Being insecure about my appearance didn’t exactly prompt a major interest in self-portraiture, via photography or otherwise. But this was fun.

Fujiwara-san was insistent that we should get some photos, and Kusumoto-san’s goofiness actually got Evi and I to loosen up past our initial stiffness. I suppose it’s no surprise that Evi’s not much of a fan of photos either. Fujiwara-san is though.

She likes selfies a lot more than I would have guessed.

Our last stop before karaoke was my usual teashop. I’d never been here with other people. The shop was rather small and -typically- sparsely populated. Having four teenagers crowd the aisles certainly must have been quite a sight, regardless of our individual appearances. Poking at boxes, sniffing at samples, joking and laughing together. The old woman running the shop seemed to take notice.

“S-sorry if this is too noisy,” I said, “We’ll be out soon.”

“It’s fine dear. I’m glad to see you having fun.”

“Thanks lady!” Kusumoto-san yelled from the front of the store.

Evi turned to look at her. “Let’s wait outside.”

“Thank you very much,” announced Fujiwara-san as she followed after them.

The shop-owner chuckled.

I placed my items on the counter. Roasted barley grains, hand-rolled black tea, and tapioca starch.

“Tapioca starch? That’s different for you.”

“Oh. Uh. Y-yeah. Just wanted to make something special for them. And since we were in the area… well, I really like this shop.”

“That’s very sweet.”

“I’m a bit surprised you had it actually.”

“Boba tea is popular with young people these days." She tapped a weathered finger to her temple. “I do my best to keep up with the times. Tastes may change, but I always strive to provide quality ingredients.”

“Well, you do a great job,” I smiled.

She smiled back. “It’s nice to see you with friends. In the past you’ve always seemed so nervous.”

“Y-you noticed?”

“No need to worry. You’re a fine young woman.”

“Thank you very much.”

She rung me up, and we completed our transaction. During my previous trips we’d never talked much. Nothing beyond a simple greeting and a quick thank you as I rushed out with my purchase. I was always scared to bother her.

...

I waved at her as we departed.

She waved back.