The tart Iseri-senpai and I created were somehow a huge success. I guess it’s because they’re kind of unique. They certainly increased the sales of both Yamamoto’s Canteen and Bittersweet Loaf. In order to repay us, the owners of the two establishments held a small party for us inside Yamamoto’s Canteen.

   ‘I’m glad that we were of help, but please don’t expect us, or rather me, to do something like this ever again.’ I told Miyako-san while the party is on-going.

   ‘Oh, don’t say that. The two of you made a pretty good team, didn’t you?’

   I look at Iseri-senpai, who happened to glance at my direction as well.

   ‘Did we? We were mostly fooling around.’

   ‘Even so, it’s pretty amazing that the two of you managed to pull it off.’

   ‘...I guess.’

   I walk over to my senior who’s chatting with Uekawa-san. My boss finds a random excuse to leave the scene the moment he saw me approaching.

   ‘Once again, nice job with the tart.’ she tells me.

   ‘You helped too. Well, sort of.’

   ‘Are you actually trying to compliment me?’

   A pause.

   ‘I am.’

   ‘Well do a better job than that!’

   ‘By the way, did you managed to convince your parents?’

   That made her expression serious.

   ‘Somehow. I was being really firm and stubborn this time, so they surrendered in the end. They said that they won’t stop me anymore.’

   ‘Good for you, senpai.’

   Usually, this would be the end of our interaction, but there’s still the thing with the water park. For obvious reasons, I didn’t tell a single person about it, not even Miiko. Judging by Iseri-senpai’s character, I’m guessing that she didn’t either. The two of us exchanged phone numbers so that it’s easier to communicate with each other.

   ‘So, when do you have a free time, senpai? There isn’t a time limit for the tickets, so there’s no real rush.’ I wrote to her one night.

   ‘Hmm, I’m free this Sunday. What about you?’

   ‘I guess I can take a day off at that day too.’

   And so, it’s been decided. The two of us are heading to the water park on the next Sunday. Luckily, the swimming pants I got during my middle school still fits me, so I don’t have to waste money and get a new one.

   Two days before the Sunday, I got ambushed by some of the friends of Iseri-senpai when I was heading to the toilet during lunch time.

   ‘Are you going out to have fun with Ayano this Sunday?’ one of them asks me.

   ‘No, we’re not.’ I reply with my usual monotone.

   They look at each other.

   ‘Are you sure?’

   ‘Very. Why do you ask?’

   ‘Well, she’s been very suspicious these few days. She’s humming while looking happy, and every once in a while she mumbled that she can’t wait until Sunday.’

   ‘She’s probably going outside with someone that none of us know.’

   ‘That’s impossible! We’ve never seen her getting along with any other guy other than you!’

   I shrug. ‘Again, she probably found herself someone while we weren’t looking.’

   And in this perfect timing, Iseri-senpai appears. Her face has gone entirely pale when she saw me together with her friends.

   ‘’Fess up, Ayano! You’re going on a date with him this Sunday, aren’t you?’ a different one that spoke to me asks her immediately.

   ‘I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I have no idea what you’re talking about…’ Iseri-senpai stutters like a patient with a severe case of disability.

   I hang my head and groans softly. Just when I did my best to prevent her from getting teased…

   Her friends, on the other hand, are getting very excited. They’re squealing and laughing like they found a juicy source of entertainment, which I guess they did.

   ‘So, where exactly are you guys going?’ a third one asks me.

   ‘To the water park.’ I confess since there’s no point in hiding things anymore.

   ‘Which one, exactly?’

   ‘The one next to the station.’

   More squeals of excitement. They look at each other again.

   ‘Should we tell them?’

   ‘Nah, they probably knew about it already. Especially Ayano.’

   ‘Wait, what do I already know?’

   ‘Oh dear, she doesn’t.’

   ‘Well, that makes it even better. It’s nothing Ayano, just enjoy your outing.’

   ‘Yup, we’ll be rooting for you!’

   ‘What is there to root for Will all of you knock it off already?’

   ‘You know Ayano, you should know the right timing to stop being a tsundere.’

   ‘Well, we’ll be seeing you, kouhai-kun.’

   ‘Bye!’

   And all of them left like they’re some kind of hurricane.

   ‘Great, now all of them know…’ Iseri-senpai mumbles.

   ‘You could have fooled them if you weren’t such a bad actress.’ I point out.

   ‘Hey, how was I to know that they actually ambushed you?’

   ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s because they’re always looking for a chance to tease you?’

   She doesn’t have anything to say to that.

   ‘Oh, whatever. Let’s just hope that we don’t bump into them that day. I’ll see you on that day, Bandou.’

   ‘Likewise, senpai.’

   Sunday comes by in a flash, and it’s time to head to the water park. Right after I ate breakfast, I get ready to head out. The weather out there isn’t that cold yet, so I got changed into my swimming pants while having my normal shirt on top.

   ‘I’m going out now. Remember to call me if something happens.’ I tell Miiko right before I head out.

   ‘I will. And onii-chan?’

   ‘Yeah?’

   ‘I don’t know who you’re going out with, but have fun.’

   I turn to look at her. My usually angelic cousin is hiding a smirk. Since when did she became the teasing type? I decide not to point that out and leave our apartment.

   Iseri-senpai and I made a deal to meet up at the entrance of the water park at 9. I figured that I should arrive at least one hour in advance. It’s not that I’m being courteous. It would be bad if senpai arrived first and got hit on. Thirty minutes later, she finally arrives.

   She’s wearing a blue shirt and a black jacket on top, with a pair of black shorts at the bottom. On her right hand is a handbag.

   ‘Sorry for the wait, Bandou. Have you waited for long?’ she asks me.

   ‘I sure did.’

   She glares at me.

   ‘You’re supposed to answer no.’

   ‘I don’t want to lie, you see.’

   ‘I start to figure out why you got rejected for 16 times.’

   ‘Ouch. You sure know how to hit a man’s sore spot. Anyway, let’s line up.’

   Since today is a Sunday, there are a lot of people who wishes to have fun early in the morning. Even though the park isn’t pen yet, lots of people are already lining up.

   ‘I’m starting to regret this…’ Iseri-senpai mumbles.

   ‘I take it that you’re not good with crowds?’

   ‘Yup. I’m more of an indoor person.’

   ‘This water park is indoors.’ I remind her.

   She gives me a look.

   ‘We could always leave.’ I suggest.

   ‘And wasting your tickets?’

   ‘It’s not like I paid for them, anyway.’

   ‘Still, I don’t think we should waste them.’

   ‘Well, the option is always there.’

   After showing a staff our tickets, we were given a wristband made of paper and a transparent waterproof pouch to keep our phones and wallet. How thoughtful of them.

   ‘I’m not trying to sound gross, but are you wearing your swimsuit underneath senpai?’ I ask senpai as we’re heading inside.

   ‘No. I plan to get changed after I got here.’

   ‘Then I guess I have to wait outside like an idiot until you’re done.’

   She lets out a smirk.

   ‘Now I feel like staying inside for an hour.’

   ‘Please don’t.’

   She chuckles. ‘Kidding.’

   ‘Somehow, I had a feeling that you were being serious.’

   And so, I have to wait patiently until senpai is done changing. Three minutes later, she’s finally done.

   She came out wearing a bikini with black-and-white horizontal stripes. The design is simple, and yet it looks very good on her. She’s holding the transparent pouch given to us, inside it are her phone and her wallet. There’s also a black bottle inside it.

   Maybe it’s because of her blonde hair and body figure, she’s constantly making heads turn the moment she steps outside. She’s not bothered by the attention she’s getting, though.

   ‘That looks good on you, senpai.’ I compliment.

   She freezes right after hearing that.

   ‘Um, senpai?’

   She finally snaps out of it after hearing my voice.

   ‘Oh, my bad. I didn’t know you know how to compliment people.’

   ‘Your opinion on me must be very low.’

   ‘It’s not, really, but you sure don’t come across as someone who actually compliments people.’

   ‘Well, I guess that’s more or less true.’

   A few seconds of awkward silence. While this is going on, she takes out the mysterious black bottle from the pouch and shakes it a few times. She then opens it and sprays the content on her body.

   Ah, so that thing’s a sunblock. I’ve never used it myself, so I’ve completely forgotten that the newest sunblock has a spray version.

   Senpai passes the bottle to me.

   ‘Do you want to spray some on yourself too?’ she asks me.

   ‘No, thank you. I don’t like the sticky feeling that sunblock give me.’ I decline.

   She suddenly shows me a mischievous grin.

   ‘I bet you were expecting a sun oil so that you can put some on me.’ she chuckles.

   I look around until I see a couple. The boyfriend is holding a bottle of sun oil, while his girlfriend is lying down while showing her back on a beach chair. I don’t care about the couple, y eyes are on the bottle of traditional style sun oil.

   ‘As a matter of fact, I did. Here’s what I’m going to do, senpai. I’ll head over to that couple and borrow their sun oil. After that, we’ll start a show.’ I tell her.

   She stops smirking at once.

   ‘...A show, you say?’

   ‘Yup, I’m sure the staff members here are more than lent us a stage or something so that everyone in this park can watch me spread sun oil on your body. Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I have a sun oil to borrow.’

   She immediately grabs my arm and tries to stop me from leaving.

   ‘Wait wait wait wait! I’m sorry for trying to tease you! I’m really sorry, okay? Don’t go!’

   ‘Are you sure?’

   ‘Yes, I’m sure! Now let’s go to swim, or eat, or whatever it is that you want to do!’

   Satisfied, I look around once more, this time to look for things to do as per her suggestion.

   ‘Are you hungry?’ I ask her.

   ‘No, I had pretty filling breakfast.’

   ‘Hmm, ah. How about we rent a floaty and let the current carry us around at the lazy river?’

   ‘It doesn’t sound that fun, but I guess it beats just standing here.’

   And so, we rented two floaties and carry them to the nearest part of the lazy river. After we reach it, we try our best on lying on our respective floaty without falling over. Fortunately, both of us succeeded on our first try.

   As we’re just floating around, I couldn’t help but notice that we passed by a lot of boys and girls pair. I could tell that majority of them aren’t couples since they were acting kind of awkward around each other.

   ‘I don’t get it. What’s so fun about this?’ Iseri-senpai asks while looking and sounding absolutely bored.

   ‘We were only in here for like five minutes, senpai.’ I point out.

   ‘Boring things are boring.’

   ‘True. Shall we leave?’

   ‘I thought you would never ask.’

   We left the lazy river and gave back the rented floaties.

   ‘What shall we do now? Leave?’ I ask her.

   ‘After only spending around five minutes in this place?’

   ‘It’s not like there’s anything fun to do here-’

   It was then we heard some screams. Not screams of fear, but rather those you usually hear at theme parks and stuff.

   ‘Let’s go check out the source of those screams.’ she suggests.

   Her eyes are sparkling. That’s rare.

   ‘Sure. It’s not like we have anything better to do.’

   Turns out they have stuffs like spinning teacups and roller coasters. Who would have thought.

   ‘Can we get on one of those?’ she begs eagerly.

   I raise my eyebrow.

   ‘What’s with the sudden enthusiasm?’

   ‘I love rides like these, of course. Now let’s line up! Which one should we ride first?’

   Wordlessly, I point at the spinning teacups. She looks at me like she’s looking at an idiot.

   ‘You can’t be serious.’

   ‘I need a warm-up, senpai. I’ve never ridden on one of these, so I’m not sure whether I can handle the excitement.’

   ‘What? Seriously? You’ve never ride on one of these things before? You don’t know what you’re missing out on!’

   ‘I’m an indoor person, senpai.’ I inform her patiently.

   ‘So what? An indoor person can enjoy rides like this too.’

   ‘I’m sure some of us do, but not me.’

   ‘Well, now’s a good time as any to make you change your mind.’

   Without heeding my protest, Iseri-senpai dragged me to line up at one of the roller-coasters. The line was very long, so we had to wait for quite some time until it’s finally our turn.

   ‘Are you excited, Bandou?’ Iseri-senpai asks me gleefully while the coaster we’re riding is slowly moving up the first slope.

   ‘No. On the contrary, I’m being freaked out.’ I confess.

   ‘No need to worry. There’s nothing to be scared of.’

   ‘Easy for you to-’

   My sentence was cut off since the coaster chose this moment to descend. After that, I’ve lost all memories of what happened since the experience was quite traumatizing. By the time I regained consciousness, I find myself leaning on senpai’s shoulder.

   ‘Where am I?’ I ask groggily.

   ‘Well away from the coaster.’ she informs. ‘Sorry. I didn’t know that you were this weak to rides.’

   ‘It’s not your fault. I mean, even I myself didn’t know.’

   ‘Well, let’s get you sit down somewhere.’

   She brings me to sit down at one of the many beach chairs available.

   ‘Do you still feel sick?’ she asks me with a genuinely worried tone.

   ‘I’m a bit better now, thank you. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.’

   ‘Don’t be. I was the one who caused this. Besides, I’m your senpai, remember? I’m supposed to take care of you.’

   ‘I don’t know about you, but I for one think we know each other well enough to at least partially ignore this senpai-kouhai thing.’

   ‘Is that why you were always acting so casual around me?’

   ‘Yes. I figured that you don’t care about it much either.’

   ‘Well, it’s true that I don’t. Enough about the etiquette. I’ll get you something to drink. Rest up while I’m gone.’

   I force myself to get up.

   ‘I’m coming with you, senpai.’

   ‘You can’t be serious. You look like you’re about to fall over any second!’

   ‘I’m fine, senpai.’ I insist.

   ‘Why are you being so stubborn about it?’

   ‘Because I can’t leave a girl as attractive as you all by yourself. It would be bad if you got hit on by jerks.’

   She blushes all of a sudden. She then averts her eyes.

   ‘I, um, I see. Well, don’t blame me if you pass out.’ she mumbles.

   The two of us head to the nearest food court. We decide to have our lunch there while we’re at it.

   ‘Are you sure you’re in the state to eat something?’ she asks me.

   ‘Don’t worry, senpai. I feel much better now.’ I assure her.

   ‘Well good. Don’t start puking on me.’

   As fancy as this water park is, the food they serve here is mediocre at best. Hot dogs, yakisobas, simple stall food stuff.

   ‘They really need to step up the standards of their food. I don’t care if their main attraction are the pools and rides and stuff. This is simply unacceptable.’ I grumble as I eat.

   ‘Do you really have to make a big deal out of it? I mean, it’s not that bad, right?’

   I stare at her with disbelief.

   ‘Please say things like that after you actually tried to cook, senpai.’

   ‘I tried to last night. I got defeated by a fried egg.’

   I shake my head.

   ‘I seriously worry about your future husband…’ I mumble.

   ‘It’s fine if he can cook, isn’t it? I mean, I’ll handle every other house chores, and he can concentrate on his work and cooking.’ she says while casually chewing on a hot dog.

   ‘Here’s the thing, senpai. If you want to get yourself a man, you need to grasp his stomach first.’

   She stops eating.

   ‘Do you hate girls who can’t cook?’ she asks me.

   ‘What? No, not at all. As if I would be disgusted by something as simple as that.’

   ‘I, I see…’

   She continues to munch her hot dog. i might be overthinking this, but she looks more cheerful than she was a few seconds ago.

   After we’re done eating, she drags me to go to more rides.

   ‘You know, I really might end up puking since I actually have ammunition inside my stomach now.’ I warn her as we’re lining up.

   ‘Oh, don’t be such a pessimistic. You might end up not puking.’

   ‘Well, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

   We got on one ride after another, and eventually my mind got blank from all the torture. As a result, I need a break each time we’re done with a ride. Eventually, Iseri-senpai settles with riding the Ferris Wheel. The two of us sit opposite each other while its slowly going up.

   ‘Oh look, the people look like ants from here!’ she exclaims while looking outside.

   ‘Please don’t shout, senpai. I still feel kind of woozy…’ I murmur as my brain is still struggling to be rebooted after the previous ride.

   ‘At least look at the view!’

   I look at her. Her excited smile is somehow giving me a funny feeling.

   ‘Yup. The view is excellent...’ I mutter.