“Hmm…” After school, there was a conflict going on inside of a boy’s mind. His name was Kichi Sakauchi. In this moment, he was stuck between a tough decision. That being whether he should go with chocolate ice cream or mint chocolate. It was a choice he couldn’t make. One was always his trusty go-to, but on the other hand, his mouth thought of trying something new.

“Sir, can you please make your order?” The person running the store ushered him on. A line was beginning to form, impatiently waiting their turn.

“I guess I have no choice.” Kichi said, reaching into his pocket. He produced a coin, but this was not going to be used to pay for his treat. After all, there was no way something worth less than 100 yen could afford any amount of ice cream. Instead, he took it out and quickly flipped it. “Tails, looks like I’m trying mint out.” Finally, he made his order and got what he wanted.

He stepped outside with his cone. The blazing sun cast it’s rays onto him, forcing the boy to cover his eyes from the light. For a moment, he was worried this heat would melt away his frozen treat before he even had a chance to enjoy it.

If only that was the actual reason he would not get the opportunity to enjoy this treat. What happens instead is just as tragic. He ended up running into someone, causing the pair to tumble to the ground. His precious ice cream turned into nothing more than a mess on the sidewalk.

“Aw…” He wanted to cry over the loss of his only savior from this heat. It was also the last of his money for the week, so there was no hope of getting more.

“Geez, watch where you’re going.” The person who he bumped into scolded him. When he looked at them, he realized that it was a girl around his age, maybe younger. Despite being upset with him and giving the boy an angry look. She did admittedly look pretty cute to him with her average length dark blond hair and small frame. Given her smaller stature, he definitely was the one to do more damage to her. Even if he was also the one who lost out more on their collision.

“I’m so sorry.” He attempted to lend a hand to her to aid the girl in returning to her feet. She responded by slapping his offer away and getting up on her own.

“You should be.” She replied, dusting off her skirt. “I’m leaving now to go meet someone. You better be more careful.” The girl left him off with a warning and returned to her brisk pace on the direction she was already heading towards.

“What an attitude.” He muttered to himself. His day was also ruined because of their collision. Kichi would’ve liked if she showed a little more sympathy. At the least, he wished she understood it was just an accident. Without his ice cream to battle against this heat, he knew it was time to head home and enjoy the wonders of air conditioning.

That meant heading in the same direction as that girl he ran into was going. Not wanting to have to deal with that again, he decided to wait just a moment before walking there. Though it was because of that fateful decision, that he would end up running into another problem. Literally.

As luck would have it, he ended up colliding once again with someone as he rounded a corner towards his house. “Sorry about that.” He said yet again, rubbing his back from the soreness of having hard, hot concrete meet with it twice now.

“Sorry, that’s my bad. I’m in a big rush right now.” Before he had the chance to see who it was that knocked him down for the second time in the span of 10 minutes. He immediately recognized the voice. “Here, let me help you up.”

“Huh?” He was in utter disbelief. This was the same exact girl who bumped into him earlier. How was that possible?

“Is something wrong?” She asked him. “Did you hurt your ankle?”

“What? But?” He immediately got to his feet without her help and began speaking gibberish. “Well, I guess thanks for being nice this time.”

“This time?” The girl had no clue to what he was talking about. For whatever reason, she seemed to be acting as if this was the first time they had met. Perhaps she felt bad about their first impressions, he thought. A girl as cute as her certainly couldn’t have a mean streak. It likely the first collision made her feel upset and say things she regretted saying to him.

“It’s fine.” He responded, trying to assure her that he held no grudge. “Say, are you new around here? I thought I knew everyone in this neighborhood.”

“Actually I just moved here a few days ago.” She answered. “I’m going to be going to Kozawa High School.”

“Really? That’s my school.” Internally, he did a fist bump. This was a rare opportunity not many got to get. Getting to know this cute girl before she made her arrival at school would provide an edge over the rest of the boys. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Airi Enishi.” She answered. “But you should call me Airi.” He couldn’t believe it. They had only just met and she already wanted to be on a first name basis? Now he truly was elated. Though she probably did that with everyone if she was already so open to him. “Ah!” Her eyes lit up when she checked her phone. “I’m going to be late, sorry!” In a flash, she bulldozed past him. While he had no idea where she had planned on going, it wasn’t a big deal that he couldn’t make a move in getting her contact. Since they went to the same school, he knew they’d be seeing each other soon enough.

“I really am a lucky guy, aren’t I?” He commented to him as the boy took out his lucky coin once again. Despite it having no clear direct impact on this turn of events, he thanked it for indirectly giving him the timing he had on choose his ice cream. That led to him losing it instantly on his way out of the store and contributed to his decision to walking home instead of staying out in this sun.

Speaking of this burning sun, he knew that if he stayed out any longer. His fair skin would be turning red soon. So quickly, he rushed the rest of his way back home to find some solace from the heat.

Upon entering his home, the boy was hit with a wave of cool air. It was refreshing to be able to take a deep breath. This may not have been nature’s fresh air, but it certainly tasted better.

“You’re home early.” It was his older sister who greeted him when he got home. Her name was Kougi, who was a second year in their high school. “What’s wrong, did that dumb coin of yours tell you not to buy any.”

“For your information, it helped me choose the right flavor.” He respond, irritated with her constantly trashing his treasured possession. “Too bad I couldn’t enjoy it…” Dejected, the boy explained to her what happened when he took his first steps out of the store.

“That’s rough.” He wished she was a bit more sympathetic about his loss. It seemed as though she was trying to stifle some giggles when responding to his story. “At least we’ve still got drinks at home.” Their parents were out shopping on this hot day, so their fridge wasn’t as filled as usual. Though he certainly appreciated the mango juice she tossed over to him. It may not be his favorite flavor by any stretch of the imagination, but it was sweet to have on a day like today.

“That girl I ran into was weird though.”

“I’m pretty sure most girls don’t appreciate boys knocking them over.” She dismissed his quip, plopping herself back onto the couch where she was when he got back. He sat down besides her, which she took to be an invitation for her to rest her feet on his lap. Not that he wanted her to do it, but the boy didn’t stop her either.

“It’s not that.” He clarified to her about the second time he ran into the girl. While it seemed illogical considering the direction they both were going, he swore that it was the same girl.

“Maybe the heat got to you after all.” She continued to not believe him. Kougi poked him the temple of his eye, teasing him about his so-called encounter. “You sure you weren’t just hallucinating?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m not going crazy.” He slapped her hand away and continued to sip on his drink. “She said she was new around here. Apparently we’re about to get some new transfer students.” Kichi hoped she would transfer into his class. Though he didn’t even know if they were in the same grade. For all he knew, Airi could be in his sister’s class, or even a third year. She might not have looked like it, but one could never know.