Blue Iris

Later that day when the incident happened, the two discussed meeting up at 6:00 pm at a flower shop nearby. Not having anything to do, Satoshi got there sooner.

"Yahhooo, Satoshi-ku~n!" the loud voice of Kaede Yoshihara could be heard from the distance.

Satoshi, who was almost asleep because of his boredom, immediately sprang up from the bench in front of the flower shop, where he was sitting, and looked in the direction of the voice. 

"She actually came..." he said as he rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at his watch. It was already 6:20.

Then as he looked forward his eyes opened wide. Kaede was approaching him. She was wearing a long blue summer dress with white flowers. Her hair was waving in the fresh, tender spring breeze as she run. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. 

"Uh, sorry for keeping you waiting!" said Kaede, panting from exhaustion. "I- uh... I was... Huh? What are you staring at so much?" she asked, moving around the boy, looking at his face from every direction. "Could it be..." she grinned, "That you like my dress?"

"W-well, I can't lie about it... But why did you dress up like this just for some shopping?" Satoshi asked blushingly. "She really is gorgeous..."

"Well, not for any specific reason... Anyways, let's get over with this shopping!" Kaede diverted the word and went forward.

And so Satoshi had no choice but to follow her into the shop. But meanwhile, he just kept thinking.

"What's up with this girl? Why is she acting like that? It's like she's hiding something from me... All of her words... Do they reflect what's really on her mind? Or perhaps, they don't."

"Satoshi-kun, Satoshi-kun!" the voice of Kaede snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Well, let's just focus on the shopping for now," Satoshi thought. "Hmm?"

"Do you remember what kind of flower it was?" Kaede asked as she was looking around in the shop.

"I think it was a pink orchid."

"I see... Pink orchid."

Kaede spotted the said flower on the shelf in front of her. She was about to reach for it when Satoshi spoke up.

"Hey, Kaede... I didn't have the opportunity to ask this, but why did you run away when you knocked down the flower?"

Kaede lowered her arms and turned towards the boy, smiling at him awkwardly. But that smile wasn't just awkward. It also felt dishonest. At that point, Satoshi was certain: she really was hiding her genuine emotions away from him. Then Kaede spoke:

"I was late for class and I didn't want to get in trouble with the teacher. But in the end, I got into another trouble anyway... I'm sorry."

Satoshi Matsuda didn't know if she was speaking the truth. But he wanted to believe it. And it was also the most rational explanation for it. He couldn't blame her for it.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it..." he thought.

"Hey, Satoshi-kun..." Kaede said, "Why don't we buy a different one? A flower of your choice..."

"A flower... Of my choice?" Satoshi was surprised.

Then as he looked Kaede in the eyes, he immediately knew his answer.

"Blue Iris!" he thought and glanced at the shelf above Kaede. "I want that one!" he pointed at the flower.

When Kaede also looked at the flower, she smiled. But this smile wasn't like any other before. For the first time, her smile felt genuine. As if she understood what Satoshi meant under it, and she was happy about it.

"Very well!" Kaede agreed and took the flower from the shelf.

Satoshi felt a similar happiness as she placed the flower on the counter.

"She really can be genuine..."

"Well, it seems like our date is over!" she stated as they stepped out. "What a pity."

"Heh?!" Satoshi thought as he heard those words. "Wait! What do you mean? Was this... A Date?!"

"Dunno? Was it?" Kaede grinned

"Heeeeeh? Te-tell, me was it?!" he spoke out loud accidentally. "Ugh, you moron! She's clearly messing with you!" he thought immediately after.

"No telling. It's a secret!" she said, looking at him with a cheeky face and putting her index finger on her lips. "Oh, it's already getting late..." she said looking at the sky. "See you tomorrow, Satoshi-ku~n!" Kaede ran away, waving.

"Ahhh..." Satoshi sighed confusedly. "See you tomorrow!"

"I seriously don't get her..." he thought finally.

Then he turned his own way and went right home.