“The dance time has passed!”

 

After an hour, the announcement of the end of the dance rang in our ears.

 

“Next up, let’s have an entertainment time! We will play in pairs, the partners will be the same as your dance partners.”

 

The huge display on the stage showed the words ‘game session’, and a host was talking with his mike.

 

“Now, let’s draw!!”

 

A female attendant held a box as she walked onto the stage. The host reached a hand into the box and took out a sphere the size of a hand palm.

 

““12!””

 

It was my father and Shizuka’s mother’s group. They walked on stage and were greeted by the host.

 

“Let’s see...your game will be… ‘Guess who’!”

 

The both of them took their places in front of the screen as it lit up and showed a person in a duck costume.

 

“Isn’t that my dad?”

 

I asked in disbelief. Everyone in the concert let out soft laughs. My father looked as if he was about to kill someone. Anyone who would have possibly done this would be my mother of course.

 

“Hmm…let me think.”

 

Shizuka’s mother put her fingers on her chin and stared at the picture. 

 

“This is...Don Draper from Mad Men, right?”

 

The hall broke into laughter. Eiji doubles over while clutching his stomach and Akio whooped loudly.

 

“Your mother’s quite the funmaker, ain’t she?”

 

I asked Shizuka next to me, who had finished laughing and was trying hard to stifle another laugh.

 

“Well, maybe. Pfft.”

 

Oi. That’s a bit disrespectful. I couldn’t laugh it out loud since this was my father, and it’s also embarrassing for me.

 

“Incorrect! This is one of our sponsors tonight! Grey Nakamura!!”

 

My father clasped his hand over his temple and sighed loudly.

 

“Ah, that’s so sorry. He looked so close to Don Draper.”

 

The hall burst into laughter again. My father looked as if he wanted to strangle Shizuka’s mother to death. The host quickly added.

 

“Let’s move forward to the next picture.”

 

The next picture showed an adorable little girl who looked six, and was wearing cat ears. She had magnificent silver-white hair and brilliant sapphire blue eyes. I recognised her immediately as Shizuka.

 

“Guah!”

 

I heard a soft scream coming from behind me, and saw Shizuka covering her face in embarrassment.

 

“Why, this would be my Shizuka-Chan!!”

 

If taking pictures were allowed in the hall, people would totally take one and make it a family heirloom. Everyone turned towards the lady beside me, whose ears were beet red.

 

“I agree.”

 

My father nodded his head as he too, stared at the picture.

 

“That is correct! Let’s move on, shall we?”

 

The host stared at the picture as he talked.

 

After the previous picture, I was nervous. The next one couldn’t be me, right?

 

The next picture showed up, and I should be lucky that it wasn’t me, just a random portrait of the Queen of Egypt.

 

After a series of games...

 

“Let’s move on to the teenagers!”

 

The host picked a ball yet again.

 

““46!””

 

Our number was called, and Eiji pushed our back onto the stage. Shizuka looked at me, her eyes saying ‘don’t do anything weird.’ I replied with a ‘you too.’

 

“Let’s see...your game shall be… ‘Guess what your partner chose!’.”

 

“The rules are simple. The female will be offered an iPad with two choices on the screen, and she will have to pick one first. The choices would be A or B. Then, the male will choose A or B that will be displayed on the screen. Any problems?”

 

We both shook our heads. At least it won’t end up with an embarrassing situation like my father.

 

“Alright. The female has chosen! Let’s look at the screen! A: cat. B: squirrel. Now choose!”

 

The hall buzzed with excitement. Muttering about what I would choose. So much pressure were fixed on me.

 

“Um. I choose...A.”

 

“Correct! Good luck for this round. Let’s move on to the second round!”

 

“A: blue. B: yellow.”

 

“A.”

 

“That is correct! You two seem to know each other quite well!”

 

I noticed the teenage boys furrowing their eyebrows at me, their glares tinged with envy. We looked at each other and shrugged.

 

“Next. A: action novel. B: romance novel.”

 

“B.”

 

Based on the many times we’ve chatted over light novels, I’m sure I knew everything about her taste in novels. And I was right on the track.

 

“That is...correct! Nakamura-san here passed with full marks! Now, let’s invite our last contestants! They will be the sponsors for our party, please welcome Yoko-san and Tsukihara-san.”

 

The hall roared in applause as we went off the stage, earning winks from both our parents. We blushed at the same time.

 

“You remember what I liked?”

 

“It was hard to forget.”

 

I admitted, she gave me a somewhat happy and disgusted look. 

 

“The game would be ‘what would you do in this situation’, a game merely for fun! We would compare both your answers and how similar they are with our machine!”

 

The hall quieted down once again and looked towards the stage, curious.

 

“The first question would be...what would you do if you found out your husband/wife cheated on you?”

 

Everyone’s eyes were sparkling, eager to know their answers. I was curious as well. The one to answer first was Shizuka’s father.

 

“I would analyse the situation before coming to a quick conclusion.”

 

He replied calmly. My mother, on the other hand, said with a murderous expression on her face.

 

“I would make sure he never breeds again.”

 

The men in the hall quickly grabbed their pants, including my father. The women showed a murderous smile as they looked at their partners.

 

“Um...that’s quite interesting. Let’s see the similarity between the two answers!”

 

“0%”

 

“Oh, too bad.”

 

My mother muttered, Tsukihara-san looked as if he wanted to throw my mother into a pack of wolves.

 

“Alright then. The second question. If you ever encountered someone you hate and was able to do anything to him/her, what would you do?”

 

Again, Shizuka’s father replied first.

 

“I would end her life with a shot on her head.”

 

He smiled with a murderous gleam in his eyes as he looked at my mother. But she wasn’t the least fazed by it.

 

“I would load him into a truck and send him to California to work under me for the rest of their lives!”

 

I’m sure that after this special day, no one would dare oppose the two lunatics from now on. 

 

“Well, let’s see the similarity.”

 

“76%”

 

“Well, it improved.”

 

Tsukihara-san kept his glare on my mother.

 

“Last question. What would you do if your daughter/son broke up with a boy/girl?”

 

Me and Shizuka shared looks. Eiji tried his best to stifle a smile, and Akio grinned broadly. He whispered.

 

“I wonder what oji-Chan would do.”

 

This time, my mother replied first.

 

“I would scold my son for making the girl heartbroken.”

 

That...is surprisingly a fairly normal answer. The image of you is changing in my mind, mother.

 

“I would break his third leg.”

 

Like father, like daughter. Shizuka had the same expression as her father when she turned her face towards me. I flinched and looked away.

 

“0%”

 

Both of the latter on the stage sighed in exasperation. Shizuka spoke.

 

“You’re lucky I didn’t break your third leg. Nakamura-san.”

 

“Yes, and I’m grateful for that. Tsukihara-san.”

 

We stared at each other for a while before laughing out loud together. Thus, the party went on.

 

.

 

This chapter is kind of like a side story. It happened, but it’s not that important.