Simple, right?

As a starting point, he eliminated Mai because she wasn’t at school during the fight.

He also omitted Sato from consideration, as he was in his company during that period.

But, then again...

****

Ryota woke up to the sound of his alarm clock.

He didn’t remember turning it on, but again, he didn’t remember falling asleep.

He groaned and picked up his phone, looking at the time on the screen.

9:47 AM.

“Ugh... It’s too early...”

He turned the alarm clock off and laid back in bed.

It was Sunday, and he was tired.

He closed his eyes, and soon he was back asleep.

His phone started ringing.

It was Mai.

“Ryota? Are you awake? Let’s meet at the station today.”

Mai’s voice sounded sweet, like honey. It was clear she had just woken up.

Ryota was still half-asleep. He didn’t want to move.

He had no desire to get up.

“Ryota?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Okay.”

She hung up, and Ryota laid back in bed, sighing.

“So much energy this early in the morning... ugh...”

He looked at his phone, staring at it.

He knew he had to get up and prepare for the date.

“What the hell is going on with me?” he asked himself, scratching his head.

“I’m going on a date with Mai, but I can’t even get out of bed... why do I feel so lazy?”

He was exhausted. He didn’t feel like doing anything.

“What if I’m just lazy? Am I having cold feet? Or am I afraid of the date?”

He sat up and stretched, rubbing his eyes.

He took out some clean clothes from his dresser and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

He stepped into the shower and turned the cold water on.

The water was icy, but it was refreshing.

He rubbed shampoo into his hair and washed it with soap. He also washed his body with body wash.

He rinsed the shampoo and soap and took a towel to dry his hair and body.

He checked his skin in the mirror and decided he was ready to go out.

“Mai is waiting for me...”

He got out of the shower, put on his clothes, and combed his hair.

He was done.

He was ready to go out.

“I feel so much better.”

He put his shoes on, and he was ready to leave.

He grabbed his keys and phone and left his house.

He didn’t know what to expect for the date, but he hoped it would go well.

****

Ryota walked down the street, heading towards the train station.

It was a beautiful day, and the sky was clear and blue.

The air was chilly, but the weather was perfect.

Ryota loved this kind of weather. It was ideal for a walk or even a jog.

He smiled and chuckled to himself.

He didn’t want to get too excited about the date, but he couldn’t help it.

He had a feeling that things were going to get better.

He was happy.

He reached the train station, and he was a bit early for the meeting.

A few people were standing at the station. It was a popular spot during the weekends.

But it wasn’t crowded. It was peaceful.

He walked up the stairs and spotted Mai standing in the corner, talking on her phone.

“Oh, Ryota. You’re here already.”

Mai put her phone away and greeted him with a bright smile.

“Did you wait long?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I just got here,” she replied. “Shall we?”

She pointed at the platform and walked over to the rails.

Ryota followed her and waited for the train to arrive.

“Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “It’s up to you.”

He thought about it for a moment.

He wanted to go to a place where they could talk about private things.

And it’s not the private things your mind is thinking of!

“Let’s have some fun first,” he said.

Last time he planned for the date, but she took the lead. So it was only fair this time.

“Okay,” she replied. “So, what do you suggest?”

“What do you want to do?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Anything? You sure?”

Anything doesn’t mean...

My humor is taking a more sexual turn today. Why?

“I said anything is fine. What do you want to do?”

“I think we should go shopping or something.”

“Okay.”

Mai looked at Ryota with a strange expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You sure you don’t want to do something else?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing.”

She shook her head and looked at the tracks.

Ryota followed her gaze, staring at the rails.

A few people were waiting for the train. There were couples and young boys and girls. They all looked happy.

“It’s so peaceful,” he whispered.

Mai smiled.

“Yeah. I like it here,” she replied.

The two of them remained silent for a few minutes, watching the tracks.

“This is awkward! You should say something,” Mai said, chuckling.

“S-sorry...”

“Hey, Ryota... can you tell me something?” she asked, staring at the tracks.

There was nothing particularly clever about the young man's approach to romance.

His experience was limited… He had no experience of dating.

However, one thing he was cognizant of.

Mai stopped calling him by weird names.

That was a good sign.

It meant she was interested in him.

What he had to avoid was spoiling the mood.

“What do you want to know, prez?”

“...”

He said the word he shouldn’t say.

Mai sighed, shaking her head.

“Don’t call me that,” she said. “I’m surprised at how much of an airhead you are.”

Ryota laughed. He didn’t know the reason.

It was probably because she wasn’t angry.

“Since you’re such an airhead, I will try to use short and simple words,” she continued. “I want you to call me by my first name.”

“Your first name?”

“Yeah. It’s Mai. Simple, right?”

Ryota glanced at her.

Ever since elementary school, he never called Mai by her first name.

Not once.