Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 2: Kazuki

"A big surprise for both of us?"

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard my dad's voice saying this out loud through my smartphone's speakers.

"Yes. I'll tell you more when you two get back home. But you have to promise not to tell Hayate until then."

I nodded to this while I grinned in excitement. I didn't know what it the surprise, but I just couldn't wait to know more about it.

"Sure! But... Can you at least give me a hint of what it is? I know you didn't just call me just to tell me about it."

When it comes to my dad, he wasn't the type to call me just to tell me a surprise. Whether it involves my birthday or Christmas, or some other special occasion, I know he often wanted to confide something to me.

"Alright, you got me. Let's just say you'll get your wish very soon. But that's all I can give you. You have to wait until your brother picks you up, okay?"

My wish? Wait, does that mean Dad finally did it?! Did he get me in already?! Just thinking about it excited me! But I decided to try and wait until I got home, I didn't want to break my promise after all.

"Okay. Just don't leave me hanging once we're home, okay?"

Much to my relief, he nodded in agreement before hanging up. Still, I couldn't contain my excitement just the thought that my wish came true!

Oh yeah, you need to know who am I, right?

I'm Kazuki Palmer! I'm 12-years-old and I studied at Waver Middle School. It's not far from my older brother's school, so he's usually the one who picks me up after school.

In fact, my brother, Hayate is the best! Not only does he help me out with my homework, but he takes me out to the park, arcades, playgrounds, and more! Though sometimes, I worry about him. He does everything to make me happy and I have always wanted to give something back as thanks. I just hope whatever Dad did would cheer him up.

Although, now that I thought about it, where is he? He should have been here by n-

"KAZUKI!!!"

I quickly froze when I heard that familiar voice and turned around to see...

"Hayate! You're here!"

I smiled as I ran up to him with glee.

"I always knew that you would pick me up! But... Why do you look exhausted?"

Yeah, he was gasping for air, which would've happened if he just were just here to pick me up. I mean, our schools are close to each other after all.

"S-Sorry... I got caught up with my friends and traffic. I hope I didn't make you wait too long."

I just shook my head as I saw my brother recovering himself.

"Not at all. I always knew you would pick me up after all."

Once he managed to recover, we headed over to the next bus stop and caught one that heading towards Arthur Avenue. We were sitting in the second seat by the right side near the door as I looked around in curiosity. I had ridden buses many times now and yet, I wasn't bored of it. Just staring at the buildings through the window really made me like it more and I like the quiet rides like this. I just wished I could have this every day...

"Kazuki, how was your math test?"

Well, so much for being quiet, but I didn't hesitate to turn around to my brother.

"O-Oh. Good! I actually got a B+ along with my history and science tests. Unfortunately, I got a D- in PE..."

Yeah, I'm not happy about that. PE is not actually my forte because I'm not like my brother. While he loves to do everything outdoors, I just don't seem to have the energy for athletic feats like him. It didn't help that I'm still learning how to bike with him.

"I'm glad to hear that. Though maybe we should schedule some jogging sessions in the morning before your biking lessons."

Of course... He had to add those tiring sessions. But I'm not complaining about it. I mean, this is Hayate we're talking about. He always goes to 'parent mode' when it comes to me. He is still cool, though I do worry about him sometimes.

"O-Okay... But what about you? I'm not the only one who has to study. In fact, you haven't told me what you want to be when you grow up."

I just had to say it because Hayate's eyes widened when I mention it. Whenever I mention about his dreams and stuff, he never seems to say anything about it. Makes me feel sorry for him...

"Well, I did say it was a secret. And keeping a secret means I can't tell anyone, including you."

I sighed at this. This was his usual excuse whenever I asked him about it. Okay, enough was enough. I just glared at him like a lion, doing nothing but that to make him get the message. I love my brother, but I hated it when he made excuses to avoid telling me things. And by his sigh of defeat, I realized I managed to break him.

"Alright, alright. You got me. But I still can't tell you. I still have no clue about what job I should take. I can't take Dad's AI developer since my programming skills aren't good enough, and I doubt I can be a good journalist like Mom."

I can't blame him. Our parents are the best at what they do, and I know for the fact that they are both really famous for it. I can understand why my brother is conflicted over this.

"Yeah, but you have to find something you can do. I mean, you're about to go to college next year and... You have to do it for me..."

Now that I thought about it, going to college meant that Hayate had to leave home to do so. To be honest, I hated the thought of seeing him go. But if it's for his future sake, then I had to endure it until that fateful day. I didn't even show him my sadness at the thought of it when I saw his smile as he patted on my head.

"Yeah, you're right. But graduation is still a long way off from now. I still have time to find something I can do until then. For now, let's focus on our studies and our school lives."

Well, that was one way to cheer him up! And I could say the same for myself. I just nodded in agreement just as I said, "Yeah! Let's work hard so we can make our parents even more proud of us!"

He then stopped patting my head as he looked at me once more.

"But we still need to work on your PE grade first. You don't want to be left out because of your lack of energy, right?"

My smile quickly dropped as I frowned at just the thought of my worst school subject.

"R-Right..."