CHAPTER 9
Just Leave Me Alone, Idiot

Mitsuko and I walk the streets. We stop by a Takoyaki stand.

“Mitsuko! Ahh!” the female chef with a paper hat instantly recognizes her. “Happy to see you! Will it be the usual today?”

“Hi, Ayane. Yes, please. Oh, and one for this guy.” Mitsuko points her thumb at me.

“Ohh, and who is this?”

“A lose—I mean, he’s my classmate.”

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Ayane says as she preps two plates of takoyaki rolls.

“Mitsuko, I—”

She looks at me sideways. “Um… I don’t have any money…”

“You’ll pay me back later.”

“Here you are!” Ayane hands us our plates. It smells like heaven. Mitsuko scans her eyes with the payment processor. “Thank you so much, Mitsuko. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Bye bye.” Mitsuko waves. I smile and nod at the chef. Everyone loves Mitsuko. Come to think of it, the chef said ‘tomorrow’. Does Mitsuko eat this stuff every day? How does she maintain her physique, better yet, how can she financially afford it?

“Thank you,” I say. Mitsuko doesn’t respond. I feel like a burden following behind her. I munch on the takoyaki rolls. My stomach awakens from hibernation, desperate for some real food. My taste buds dance in the flavors.

We walk to the outskirts of the central city hub. I’ve never been to this district before. I don’t see any pods, only traditional houses from the old world. It must cost millions of credits a month to stay in a place like that…

I’m stricken with confusion. Mitsuko is walking up to one of these houses… She turns around, takoyaki stick in her mouth.

“Umm… Mitsuko,” I say apprehensively.

She slides the wooden stick out her mouth, disappearing the last takoyaki roll. She chews and swallows. “Relax. This is my house. Try not to embarrass me, loser…” She hands me her trash and gestures me to follow.

We take off our shoes. I can see Mitsuko’s blue toenails through her sheer tights… She opens the sliding door. The first thing I notice in the living room is a shelf with countless archery trophies, mostly gold, a few platinum. Mitsuko is a certified champion.

“Mitsuko? Is that you?” a woman calls.

“Hi, Mom.”

So she lives with her parents. I have vague memories from my childhood, but that was before everything—

“Who’s this?” her mom says. She’s blonde with blue eyes, just like Mitsuko, but a little bit taller.

“Someone from school. I’ll explain later, ok?”

“Hello,” I bow to her mother. “I’m Jin Hazuki. Nice to meet you.”

“Ohhh! What a stellar young man, Mitsuko…” Her mom looks at her daughter with a cheeky grin, a teasing energy in her eyes. I recognize that look and I immediately know where Mitsuko got it from.

“Mom…” Mitsuko pleads for her to stop.

“I’m Mae Williams, you can call me Mae. Are you staying with us for dinner?”

I look to Mitsuko, unsure what to say. Mitsuko closes her eyes. “Yes, he is…”

“I’ll make an extra plate. I’ll call you when it's ready, Mitsi.”

Mitsi? I repress my laughter but can’t help but to smile. Mitsuko is appalled by her mothers behavior. She shoots me a glare and tilts her head toward the stairs. I follow her up.

I’m impressed by the space. The pods in my district were all 112 square feet. It wasn’t much, but it was better than being on the street where a drone might mistake you as a dead body at night.

Mitsuko takes me to a guest room four times the size of my pod.

“This is you. I’m over there. Don’t tell anyone at school about this or I’ll kill you. Understand?”

I nod.

“Good. Shower is that way. Use the blue towel. Put it in the bin when you’re done. I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.”

Mitsuko goes to her room and slams the door. I take a shower. It’s nice to not use the public facilities, but speed-washing is ingrained into my bones. I’m done within five minutes and back in the guest room.

I hear something outside. I look out the window and see Mitsuko in the spacious backyard. She’s firing arrows at a circular target. I secretly watch her for a while. Her dedication to archery is truly admirable. She looks beautiful while she trains. The way her hair flies backward with each shot…

I go downstairs. “Backyard is that way,” Mae says. The kitchen is full of delicious aromas. I can smell the white rice. It brings me back to my childhood. I make a mental note to get a rice cooker when I get another pod.

“Thank you,” I say.

I step into the backyard. Mitsuko is mid-pull. She releases an arrow, striking the target. Her arrows are clustered so close together that some are split, an arrow in an arrow… I’ve only seen that in manga; I didn’t know it was a real thing!

“What are you doing?” Mitsuko says.

Honestly, I do not know. I just wanted to let her know I was watching. I didn’t want to creep around anymore. I blush, working up the courage to speak…

“God, you’re helpless, aren’t you? It isn’t enough you ruined my day, you have to bother me while I’m training?”

My eyes drop to the floor. “I just wanted to say… You’re really good at archery…”

Mitsuko laughs. “I don’t need a loser to tell me that.”

“And that I really appreciate you—”

Mitsuko puts her hand up. “Gross. Just stop.”

I feel that familiar punch in my chest. I take the hint; I’m unwanted here. I turn around.

“Wait…” Mitsuko says. She brushes her blonde hair behind her ear. She nervously looks to the left. “Fuck… Never mind. Just leave me alone, idiot.”

I retreat inside and go to the guest room, sulking in my loneliness.