Breakfast and Dinner

          A week passed and our routine was going well. I watched a lot of Hollywood movies. At this rate, my English will improve by leaps and bounds. I looked forward to each morning walk with my parents. The beautiful boy was always training beneath the cherry blossom tree. Every time we walked past it, I would go slow or I'd tie my shoelaces even when not needed. I just wanted to see him smile and it would make my day.

          Two weeks in and I began to see my parents were worn out. They were old and worked hard for such a useless son. I couldn't sleep thinking about them.

             My parents woke up earlier than they used to just to be with me. Mom or Dad would occasionally come home during lunchtime. They worked nearby. Mom makes dinner every day and Dad sets up the living room to make me feel comfortable watching movies. Why would they work so hard for me? What have I ever done for them? I wondered the whole night. I couldn't get a wink of sleep. I woke up at 4 a.m. and started preparing for breakfast.

           Mom woke up at 5 o'clock sharp. She was surprised to see me up earlier than her and on top of that in the kitchen.

           "What are you doing, Haru-chan?", interrogated Mom. I told her that I was preparing for breakfast.

             "Mom, I'm going to do this every day. Until I find a job", I said, looking away. I couldn't look my mom in the eyes. I felt useless and worthless every time I did.

           We got ready and went out to jog. When we reached the cherry blossom tree, I slowed down. My parents grinned looking at me.

           "You always slow when we reach here", said Mom, playfully, to which Dad added, "I wonder who you like from among them".

            "I–I… don't ", I flushed, and jogged faster. I could feel the heat up to my ears. They know that I like someone from that group, I thought. I can't tell them that out of all the girls present there, my eyes linger on that boy.

        We went home and had breakfast that I had prepared. They loved it. I never thought that someone enjoying the food made by me would bring me such joy. I helped my parents get ready for work.

         "See you later", both my parents said at the same time before leaving.

          "See you later, Mom and Dad. Have a great day ahead", I sent them off. I closed the door and tears rolled down my cheeks.

       "My parents don't deserve a son like me", I couldn't stop crying and rested on a chair. I slapped myself hard to get out of it. I did.

           I finished all the household chores and retired to bed. I fell asleep. When I woke up it was already 6 pm. My parents were already home. I went downstairs to the kitchen and found Mom and Dad preparing dinner.

          "I'm so sorry. Mom. Dad. I wanted to be the one preparing dinner", I apologized, with a 90-degree Ojigi(an act of lowering one's head).

         "Hey, son. It's alright. We wanted to do it by ourselves", said Dad. That didn't sound convincing. I ran out as fast as I could. I didn't know who I was running away from. Shame. I don't quite understand myself nowadays.

          When I stopped running I realized I had been running on our morning walk trail. I reached my favorite cherry blossom tree. I rested on its trunk. Little did I know, the beautiful sporty boy was on the opposite side of the tree.

              "Is something the matter, bro? You're panting a lot", a voice on the other side said, still seated on the back of the tree. I shifted my seat and sat next to him. It was the first time I saw his face up close. He has light brown eyes and I could see the reflection of the pink cherry blossom on the ground.

            "I ran away from home", I said. Why am I telling him, a stranger, about this?

          "You're the guy who jogs with his parents, right?", said the boy, looking straight into my eyes. His gaze felt like he could see through me. I looked away.

          How do you know? I asked. I never caught him looking at me. I was sure he only concentrated on the girls he was always with.

          "I see you every day. Your parents are cool. I wish I –", the boy didn't finish his sentence.

            "Mr. Stalker, huh?", I said jokingly.

         "No. All my friends notice you guys. They're like: Aww that's so adorable", the boy said, in a soft voice. "Honestly, I find it adorable too", he added.

I answered with an uninterested "Hm". I thought of asking for his name but before I could ask, he beat me to it.

          "I'm Ishikawa Haruki", I introduced myself. It had been years since I said my full name out loud.

            "Haruki-san, it is", he said in a low voice. By the looks of it, he was storing it in his brain.

            "What about you?", I asked, already knowing the answer.

             "Nakamura Natsuki", he said, enthusiastically, and bowed a little. I did the same. Natsuki took out an onigiri from his bag.

             "You look like you're hungry. You should eat this, Haruki-san", said Natsuki, handing the onigiri to me.

         "Thank you, Natsu-kun", I said while taking it, after all, lunch was the last meal I had and it was already dinner time.

"So why did you run away?", Natsuki inquired. I was reluctant to tell him at first but now we were friends.

"I don't know, man. I wanted to prepare dinner for today. I'm jobless so I wanted to help my parents in some way but I… dozed off after lunch. When I woke up and went to the kitchen. They had already prepared everything. So I got mad at myself for not being able to do the bare minimum and so I sprinted out. I'm so useless", I said in one go.

            "Umm… okay. But-----you are making your parents worry by dashing out. They seem like good parents to me"

        "They are. And that makes me feel guilty"

          "You're not useless, Haruki-san. I'm sure of it. You should go back home. It's not nice to make your parents worry"

          "Hm", I took a bite of the onigiri. It was delicious. "It's delicious", I said.

          "I know. It's from the school store", he informed me.

          "You're a high schooler, eh? Which year are you in?", It was my turn to ask questions.

       "Third year", said Nakamura Natsuki, "I'll soon graduate".

        "I wish you all the best, Natsu-kun", I said, standing up."

Thank you", he said, still seated.

"You should probably head home, too, kid", I said ruffling his dark wavy hair. Natsuki looked up. He looked so adorable, my heart was going to burst out.

I was leaving and about 20 meters away when I heard Natsu-kun shout: It was nice meeting you, Ishikawa Haruki-san.

"Nice to meet you too, Nakamura Natsuki-kun", I shouted back.

           I reached home in about 15 minutes. I apologized to my parents and we had dinner together.