One step forward, two steps back

Part 12 Mirrors and mazes

Nishikata and Takagi had made their way into the park and were waiting on line at the information kiosk. "Why are we here again?" Takagi asked.

"My mom asked me to get plenty of pictures, so I'm getting a photo pass, so the ride pictures get sent to my email."

"Ah, right. You're going to put my email on there as well, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well, my mom and dad want pictures as well."

"Oh, okay then."

They reached the front of the line where the man working the kiosk greeted them. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"I just need a photo pass." Nishikata explained.

"Okay then, how many emails would you like to attach to it?"

He looked towards Takagi, then back to the kiosk worker. "Two please."

Nishikata gave the man his and Takagi's email and paid for the photo pass before being handed a small card with a camera on it. "You need me to explain how that works?" The kiosk operator asked.

"No, I used one before."

"Okay then, anything else I can help you with?"

"No, that's all."

"Great, have a nice day!"

Nishikata and Takagi left the kiosk and were instantly greeted by another park worker with a camera. "Would you two like your picture taken?"

"Sure." Takagi said before looking to Nishikata. "First picture of the day."

"Yeah." Nishikata said as he handed the pass to the man.

The two of them stood still and smiled as the park worker began setting up the camera. 'This feels like a date.' Nishikata thought to himself as he glanced at his hand which was still holding Takagi's. 'But then again, it technically is a date so ... I guess that's to be expected.'

The park worker finished taking their picture and handed the card back to Nishikata. "Well, that's done." Nishikata began. "Now we just need to decide what to go on first."

"Hay, Nishikata?" Takagi began. "Seeing as I won our contest earlier, how about I decide what we do first?"

"Okay, that's fine."

"Okay, then, let's see." She looked around for a moment, then pointed in the direction of one of the rollercoasters. "That one!"

She raced to the entrance, with Nishikata being dragged behind her, and when they got there, the line was understandably lengthy. "I guess we're going to be doing a lot of waiting today, huh?" She said as she let go of his hand and leaned against one of the line rails.

"Looks like it."

They stood there for a while, slowly moving as the line moved listening to the occasional roar or the coaster. "So." Takagi began trying to break the silence. "You know, Houjou looked more than a little flustered yesterday, and when I tried to confront her about it, she just covered her mouth and avoided the conversation. I found it curious."

"Yeah, I think I might know why that happened." Nishikata began.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, two days ago, at the party, Hamaguchi asked my why I was ..." Nishikata blushed. "Well, uneasy. I told him to find Houjou and stand next to the wall on the deck." He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. "Earlier today, he walked up to me and demanded to know why I didn't warn him."