It all began on Tachibana Mayumi's eighteenth birthday...
As she was walking down the hotel's grand staircase, wearing an intricately designed red dress whilst a flower wreath adorned her head, she accidentally slipped which caused her to fall and...
❝Set new goals, change old habits and try new things. Because if you do not get out of your comfort zone, if you are not learning and taking risks, you won't grow. You will stay right where you are.❞ - SUCCESS Staff
【Third-Person POV】
The next day, Mayumi was forcefully awakened by a loud noise that nearly destroyed her eardrums.
She sluggishly sat up on her bed, but was caught off guard when Taira Ayeka's face suddenly popped in front of her whilst she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Good morning, Mayumi-chan!"
"What are you doing in my room?!" Mayumi whined. "Get out! I'm still sleepy!"
She didn't wait for her best friend's response, instead, she slumped back on her comfortable bed and tried to pull the comforter over her head.
However, it was immediately pulled away from her. "Come on! You need to wake up now!" Ayeka said with excitement apparent in her voice.
Mayumi groaned in protest as she turned to the other side and covered her face with her hands, but Ayeka shook Mayumi's shoulders whilst calling her name like a broken recorder.
"Mayu-chan! Mayu-chan! Mayu-chan! Mayu-chan!"
Mayumi sat up and shouted angrily, "I swear if you won't stop-". She wasn't able to finish her sentence when she saw Ayeka waving something with her right hand- two tickets for Aquamarine Fukushima (アクアマリンふくしま).
Mayumi gaped in disbelief, but she quickly recovered and immediately stood up.
She tried to snatch the tickets from Ayeka, but the latter raised her hand and sprinted towards the wooden door. "Not so fast, Mayumi-chan. Get ready first, then I'll give this to you."
Mayumi groaned in annoyance, but she obeyed nonetheless.
She headed towards the bathroom and shut the wooden door behind her with a thud. "I'll be waiting for you in the living room!" She heard her best friend shouted, then, it was followed by a faint sound of a closing door.
• • •
"Welcome to Aquamarine Fukushima, Mayumi-chan!" Ayeka exclaimed whilst grinning widely.
Mayumi, on the other hand, covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. "Stop that, Ayeka-chan! You're embarrassing me!"
Ayeka giggled as she grabbed her best friend's right hand and dragged her towards the entrance.
"You shouldn't be." She said before putting her arm around Mayumi's shoulder.
"Because you have the most beautiful date today." Mayumi rolled her eyes playfully.
Taira Ayeka wore a gray, short sleeve dress paired with white gladiator boots.
Tachibana Mayumi, on the other hand, wore a red halter, maxi dress that stops mid-thigh matched with a white cardigan and a pair of white ballerina shoes.
Mayumi and Ayeka are a polar opposite to each other when it comes to their personalities and characteristics.
Mayumi is introvert and the intimidating one whilst Ayeka is the extrovert and the bubbly one, but they balance each other out in the best way and they work together so well.
• • •
It was nearly five in the afternoon when the two finally visited all the facilities within the Aquamarine Fukushima.
They were already outside the massive building when Ayeka suddenly grabbed Mayumi's hand which startled the latter. "Mayumi-chan," Ayeka said with a wide grin plastered on her face. "Let's go to Iwaki Rara Myu."
"Eh?! Isn't that place too crowded?!" Mayumi exclaimed whilst shaking her head in disapproval.
"It's okay, Mayu-chan. Dozens of guards are following us. Your otōsama wouldn't have allowed us to come here without them."
Upon hearing Ayeka's words, Mayumi stiffened and her eyes widened as she stared at her best friend in disbelief. "O- Otōsama?" She stuttered.
Ayeka smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Your otōsama called last night and said that you're much better now. He then asked me if I could be with you today and of course, I said yes!"
"He gave me the tickets earlier." Ayeka continued before dragging Mayumi towards the waiting car. "Let's go, Mayu-chan!"
'It's not possible!' Mayumi thought as she sat next to Ayeka in the back seat. 'He doesn't even care about me or onii-sama, not even okaasama. He only cares about Hanami!'
Mayumi's thoughts were interrupted when Ayeka pinched her left cheek.
"Stop thinking about it, for now, Mayumi-chan. Let's just enjoy this day. We might not be able to do this again soon because we will be busy with school starting next week."
Mayumi let out a deep sigh before nodding. 'A lot of unexpected things have happened to me today.' She let out another sigh before leaning her head against the window and closed her eyes.
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1. Onii-sama is a Japanese honorifics that means 'older brother'. 2. Otōsama means 'father'. 3. Okaasama means 'mother'. 4. -chan is an honorifics used for people who are dear and familiar to you. It is technically feminine. 5. -sama (様, さま) is a more respectful version for people of a higher rank than oneself or divine, toward one's guests or customers, and sometimes toward people one greatly admires.
