CHAPTER 18

I wake up to the sight of a familiar ceiling. I was back in my original world, and today was the last day of the school festival, and the final performance of the school play, this one to the public.

Today’s going to go just like yesterday.

I quickly get changed and head towards my living room.

“Hey son! Going to school?” asked my dad.

It was weird since he wasn’t usually at home this early in the morning. His greeting caught me by surprise.

“Yeah. I’m gonna be late so see ya.” As I put on my shoes and exit the house.

“Wait! You should try this new herbal coffee! Really gives you a boost of energy!” I hear behind the closed front door.

He really needs to stop with the herbal stuff…

“Order for one coffee!”

“Heard!” I say.

The final day of the school festival was underway. It was the last day, and so our class wanted to go out with a bang. The line for the café was probably longer than yesterday’s and the first’s combined! Today was a special exception, and it was open to the public as long as you had some sort of ticket for an event. The table I was helping Yuki-san with was my parents.

I hope they don’t embarrass me in front of my class!

“Here you go, master.”

With a small smile, Yuki-san served a coffee and a small tea to my mother and dad.

“Aww! You’re so cute in that outfit Ms. Yuki! I’m glad to finally meet the girl that saved my son!” said my dad.

Never mind…

I take a heavy sigh, but Yuki-san is unfazed at his remark. My mother however, was not. The cup in her hand was shaking ever so slightly; she was holding back.

“Watch what you say you idiot…” smiled my mother’s signature grim smile.

“Ahaha! Honey, I’m just joking…You look cool too son!”

My mother finished her tea and gave a small pout to him.

“It was delicious, thank you Ms. Yuki.” said my mother.

Yuki-san gave a rare small chuckle to my parents.

“It was my pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Kaneshiro. Your son must be very lucky to have you two.” said Yuki-san.

“Awwwwww! You’re too precious for Kazuki!” said my dad.

He finished his coffee and stood up from his chair.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Thank you very much Ms. Yuki. Please continue to watch over Kazuki. He can be quite a handful sometimes…” as my dad gave me a concerned look.

What did he mean by that?!?

“Oops! Look at the time! We’re gonna be late honey! The sale at the supermarket ends in 30 minutes! See you at home Kazuki!” said my dad.

My parents promptly left soon after.

Yuki-san and I begin to clear their table for the next round of guests.

“Your father seems a lot like you Kaneshiro-san.” said Yuki-san.

“R-Really?!?” I blurt out to my surprise.

She lets out a small smile at me.

“I would not have it any other way…” she says.

My heart!

“Ahaha…thanks for the compliment?” I respond.

We both chuckle, but quickly return back to our professional selves. We receive our next wave of customers, and it was back to work.

“Okay everyone! Close it down! We’re done at last!” said class president.

I let out a big sigh of relief along with everyone else in the class. After three days of running the café, we were hoping never to be in these costumes ever again. For the few of us that were still working the shift, it was left to us to clean up the classroom and put everything away. Today however, it was just me and Yuki-san that both volunteered since it allowed everyone else to do whatever last minute events around school they wanted. Yuki-san and I only wanted to see the big play that class 2-A put on, which was starting relatively soon.

I hope they’re ready…

I got a broom and began sweeping the floor. It was not surprising to find a lot of dirt and waste from all the customers we had going in and out of our tiny classroom café. For the most part, I think our classroom café was a success, and it was all thanks to Yuki-san leading us.

“Uh…Yuki-san?”

She was making one final pot of coffee, just for the two of us. After all, might as well use the left over coffee we still had.

“What is it Kaneshiro-san?” she asked.

She poured the finished filtered coffee into the pot, and brought it over to the table. She returned back to the counter to get two cups on saucers.

“I just wanted-“

Suddenly Yuki-san drops one of the cups, shattering it instantly.

“Oh Yuki-san!”

“No I got-“

Before I knew it both of us were on the floor. Our hands met, reaching for the shards of the cup. Her hazel eyes look deep into me, as do I to her. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her up close like this. Although this was pretty normal with Akane, with Yuki-san however, it was different. Even though they were technically the same person, Yuki-san had a slightly different aura that made her own unique individual. I almost wanted to kiss her like I did with Akane, ignoring all of my conventions and sense of restraint. She takes my breath away. Realizing that we were this close, we both looked away, slightly blushing at this predicament.

Not like this Kazuki! You’re a gentleman!

A quiet noise outside snaps us back to reality.

“U-Uh let’s clean this mess up!” I say, cracking my voice in the process.

“R-Right Kaneshiro-san!” says Yuki-san, trying to return to her cool, calm, and collected self.

I stand up with my broom and begin sweeping away the cup that shattered into a hundred pieces.

“Be careful Yuki-san, the cup's edges are sharp.”

She bent down on her knees with a dustpan to help guide all the pieces.

“I apologize about that Kaneshiro-san.” said Yuki-san through the classroom door.

I was waiting outside for her to finish changing back to her uniform from the maid costume. I wanted to mess around with my hair back to my normal style, but Yuki-san was the one who styled it that way with her comb. Only a fool would mess up something like that.

“I-It’s ok Yuki-san, it was an accident.”

By now in the afternoon, most people were already at the auditorium for the school play. The events and classrooms around us and in the hallway were basically empty. It was like a ghost town in this part of the school. Yuki-san and I were the only two people left probably in this whole building. I hear the classroom door slide open, and Yuki-san appears, back in her school uniform. She straightens her hair a bit with her hands. We start to walk over quickly to the auditorium.

“I apologize for the wait Kaneshiro-san. Let us head to the auditorium.” she says in a slightly shaken voice.

“Right Yuki-san. Hopefully Daisuke and Kaneko-san have their lines down like the last performance. Everyone’s going to bawl their eyes out again.” I joke.

Yuki-san looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I do not remember crying at their performance Kaneshiro-san.”

Oh wait! That was in World A(kane). Oops! Play it off quickly!

“Ahaha…I just heard from other people, Yuki-san.” I laugh off.

“Oh. So it seems…”

Phew!

We finally reached the auditorium, and it was packed. The show was already supposed to be underway, but I guess lucky for us it has been delayed a little. I tried tip-toeing to see if there were any open seats left in the room. Many of the fangirls and some parents and staff were taking up most of the seats in front. Even the seats all the way in the back were taken.

“Do you see any open seats Yuki-san?” I ask.

“Unfortunately not." Yuki-san shakes her head.

We came too late! I guess we’ll have to stand…

Yuki-san grabs me by my shoulder and points towards the side of the stage.

“Look. It’s Akatsuka-san. I think he’s trying to signal at us…” she pointed out.

We both slip through the crowd that was still trying to find seats and head towards the side of the stage. Daisuke was in full costume again, but it looked like something was troubling him. He told us to come up stage, and we followed him behind the curtains.

“Hey! Did you guys see Mary anywhere?” Daisuke frantically asked. A cloud of anxiety raised over his head.

Yuki-san and I looked at each other in concern.

“We haven’t seen her all day. What’s going on?” I ask.

Daisuke shook his head and gave a long sigh.

“I knew it…Mary said she really need to go the bathroom, even though we were going to start soon. She’s been missing since and none of us can find her.”

“What?!?” yelled Yuki-san and I.

“People have been waiting forever Daisuke! What are you guys going to do?” I exclaim.

“I know! Renge has been pressing us to go find her, but there’s been no luck! I don’t know why she has disappeared.” said a concerned Daisuke.

Suddenly Renge popped up behind Daisuke. It was obvious she was very stressed since this was their final performance, and was also open to the public for parents and staff to see.

“Look either we need to find Kaneko-san or find someone else who knows the lines.” said a frustrated Renge.

“Who else knows the lines?” said Daisuke.

There’s no one I can think of.

“I will do it.” said Yuki-san.

“What?!?”

The three of us were in surprise at Yuki-san’s proposal.

“I have been practicing the lines with Mary for quite some time now. I know the lines.” said a confident Yuki-san.

Renge gave a sigh and a shrug.

“We’re desperate. Get into changing now Yuki-san. Let’s just get this over with.”

Yuki-san then looks at me.

“Go Kaneshiro-san. Find Mary. If there is anyone that could find her, it’s you.”

“C’mon Yuki-san! This way. You too Daisuke get ready. We’re going live in five!” said Renge.

Yuki-san turns around and walks away along with Renge to get her costume on. As she walks away, I’ve been given my task: find Mary Kaneko.

Something’s wrong. Where did she go? Where do I start? I can’t let Yuki-san down!

I get off stage and begin my search for Mary Kaneko.

Think!

Think!

Think!

Where could she have gone?!?

According to the stage crew, Kaneko-san was last seen about an hour ago. Daisuke said she was going to the bathroom, but there’s no way she would have gotten lost just like that.

Something must have happened. But what? I’m getting tired from running around!

I ran to the vending machines, since I remember she would frequent there for drinks after track practice or when she needed a quick pick me up, but she wasn’t there. She would always get juice or something, since she wasn’t the type to drink coffee anyways. The roadrunner decided one day that she wouldn’t drink anything caffeinated, unless there was something “really good.”

By now the play should have been starting. I’ve been running around for what feels like 30 minutes to an hour. My lungs feel like they’re about to explode. My heart was racing. Not only in addition to my terrible cardio, but that I’ve looked at all the popular spots around the festival right now, and still no trace of Kaneko-san. Even asking around, no one had seen her outside roaming about. I checked the crowd gathering for the big fireworks display tonight, but she wasn’t there.

I can’t give up!

“Hey, you look like you need a drink.” a voice says behind me.

I turn around to see class president back into her regular school uniform. She extended her hand holding a soft drink can. I take the drink and drink it in one go.

“Ahhhh…thanks class president.” I say.

“That’s what a class president is supposed to do right?” as she smiles.

She’s acting in her class president persona right now.

I was still troubled, thinking about where Kaneko-san could be.

“What’s troubling you Kazuki-kun?” class president asked.

I try to hold back my frustration with my answer.

“Kaneko-san’s missing. I have no clue where she could have gone. She was last seen at the stage before the play started, but it’s too late now. I’ve checked everywhere around the school festival areas.”

Class president sits down next to me, pondering about my response.

“Hmm…can you think of any reason why she’s gone?” in a monotone voice.

She’s changed into her aspiring detective self.

I thought about it before. I couldn’t really think of anything for why she would have suddenly disappeared.

“Daisuke said she was going to the bathroom, even though cast and crew weren’t supposed to leave. I don’t know where she could have sneaked off to.”

It seemed a lightbulb appeared over Takemi-san’s head.

“Was there anything she wanted to do before the festival ended?” asked Takemi-san.

Anything she wanted to do…?

Wait!

Didn’t she want to go to our classroom café?

“Kaneko-san really wanted to go to our café. But she couldn’t make it due to rehearsals. Today would have been her last chance. But she never showed up…” I sigh.

“But she left the stage around the time you and Yuki-san were about to close up right? Her being the roadrunner and all, she should have barely made it…” suggested Takemi-san.

She was right. Knowing Kaneko-san that short run from the auditorium to our classroom would have been a breeze. She then asked another question.

“Could you think of any reason why she didn’t enter the café?”

I don't get it.

“What do you mean didn’t enter?” I asked.

“Well…we’ve come to the conclusion that she definitely could make it to the café before you two closed it down. Hearing you say that was the only thing she wanted to do before the festival ended, there was no way she would have gone to a detour or get lost. It’s also highly unlikely she was kidnapped or something either in broad daylight. Did anything happen that would have made her not enter the room?”

I sat in thought and tried to remember what happened when Yuki-san and I were cleaning up. All I remember was Yuki-san suddenly dropping the coffee cup and we both were on the floor and accidently touched hands to-

Oh.

But that can’t be why! Even though Yuki-san and I had an “awkward” moment together, there’s no way that would be why…

“I see you’ve realized the reason why she didn’t enter.” said Takemi-san in a somber tone.

No!

It can’t be!

Then that means!

“She’s hiding somewhere isn’t she Kazuki-kun?” said Takemi-san bluntly into my face.

I stand up and start to run the one place I didn’t check yet. It was outside of the school festival grounds.

“Thank you… class president!” I yell behind me running off.

I’m an idiot.

I’m an idiot Yuki-san.

I’m an idiot Akane.

I’m an idiot Kaneko-san.

She’s waiting for me at our place.