"I love you guys."
The gang perked up when I said this. Then they all blushed. We were sitting at two combined tables in the ice
cream shop, all separately licking our ice cream cones or eating out of bowls.
cream shop, all separately licking our ice cream cones or eating out of bowls.
"We love you too, Rika," Akane replied, licking her orange sorbet. The others nodded, still trying to recover.
I smiled. "So anything going on?"
"We're in different classes," Mina explained with a pout. "Everyone else is split in two classes and I'm just all alone. It sucks!"
"Yup!" Kenta chimed in. "Ryota, Akane, and I are in one class."
"Then Tarou, Mikiya, and I are in another," Rikuto added.
"And I'm all alone!" Mina said.
"Well you can make new friends." I smiled. She made a face, and we all laughed.
"Then what are you all going to study?" I asked, glancing around the ring of friends.
"I'm thinking business or maybe engineering or maybe law," Akane replied. "But my dad says I should go back to the US for college. But I don't want to."
"I'm taking over my family's ramen place once I graduate," Rikuto said, leaning back in his chair.
"I'm going into computer science," Mikiya said. That certainly wasn't a surprise.
"Surgeon!" Mina declared happily.
"Seriously Mina?" I asked, eyes widening. "That's awesome!" She grinned sheepishly and shook her head.
"Me?" Kenta pointed at himself. When I nodded, he then continued with, "I dunno yet. Maybe like..." He shrugged. "I don't know. I might not go to a university. Not smart enough." He chuckled.
"I don't know yet either," Tarou said with a smile.
Akane leaned forward towards me. "Don't you think Tarou would make a great high school teacher?" She waved at him vaguely. "Just look at him!"
I did. It was just Tarou. His dark blond hair wasn't spiked that high anymore. He smiled at me rather nervously as if I was examining him. I smiled back. "You would make a good teacher. You explain things well and in a concise way. And you like working with younger people."
"Are you kidding me?" Tarou replied. "I'm terrified of children!"
I giggled. "Why else did Akane recommend high school teacher?"
