[The King's Avatar] The Misconstrued Situation With An Overdue Explanation

Chapter 14: Sliced Peaches

1343 words, 6 minutes

"So you come to school on a motorcycle as well..." Akane reasoned it might help to start with something they had in common once they were outside.

Josaku smirked at that statement, knowing it was already established. "Impressed?"

Yes,  Akane thought. 

"Yeah, kind of." She altered her true thoughts. "I honestly never expected to meet someone else who rode a motorcycle. I heard that's common in Chongqing, but I didn't see it for myself until I met you."

Josaku still held his now closed container of sliced peaches and walked with Akane outside Chongqing University. They were now walking along the parking lot and heading towards the street. "You serious? I see them all the time," he gloated.

"Well, you've lived here longer than I have, so that's not surprising," scoffed Akane, staring at the pavement in front of them. 

Josaku chuckled since she had a point there. "Yeah... but I just haven't seen someone riding a motorcycle to the university I go to. Most students get here by car, train, bus, walking if they're lucky enough to live nearby..." he trailed off.

He then surprised Akane by elbowing her arm gently while keeping his hand in his pocket, causing her to look to him for an explanation.

"Guess you and I are special."

Akane felt flustered when he said that. They're special? It felt so inclusive yet exclusive; exclusive to those that didn't qualify and uniquely inclusive to them because their commute style was the same and yet different from everybody else's.

Akane stopped thinking like that and merely smiled softly. "Yeah," she said quietly, letting silence encompass them for a few moments before asking another question.

"What programs are you enrolled in?"

"Oh, Construction Management and Athletic Training," replied Josaku.

Akane started having... fairly modest thoughts. She imagined him wearing a tight black T-shirt and baggy construction pants for a bewitching contrast while sweating in the Sun. He would wipe the sweat from his forehead and tug his black construction gloves before mounting a bulldozer in the most seductive way possible for her. He'd take his time, not in a rush since construction projects can easily take several months or even years to complete.

"To be honest..." he began, interrupting her imagination. "...I'm kind of leaning towards getting a job in construction after I graduate." He smiled fondly while staring at the pavement. "I don't know why it took me this long to realize it."

This long? "What do you mean?"

He turned to her. "It's my last year."

No way.

He was gonna graduate this year? Akane couldn't believe this news, it couldn't be real. "Wait, how old are you?"