I was on my way to elementary school one morning, carrying two bentos in my bag before I realized I made the second one for Hyo-chan again, when she won’t be around to try it like she used to.

I guess I could have the other bento as a snack on my way back, I thought, I just don’t want it to go to waste … actually, has anybody other than Hyo-chan, Mom, and my aunts tried my cooking? What would a random person say if they try it? Should I have one of my classmates do it? Would I even have a shot when nobody’s talked to me since Hyo-chan left? I don’t think the teachers would give anything I bring to school a try after how Mom’s cooking made everyone sick, and I’m not sure if they’d believe I made it. Who would be willing to try my cooking?

To get to my elementary school, I would have to pass by a park that was near my home. I stopped going there after Hyo-chan moved, and there were times I felt lonelier when I even looked at it. Sure, we had each other’s contacts to keep in touch, but we really wouldn’t be able to talk until the evening. Until then, I was on my own during the day. Just the thought of sitting on one of the swings Hyo-chan and I used to play on by myself made me uneasy.

On that morning, though, as I passed by the park, I couldn’t help but glance over to the swings before my eyes widened at what I saw.

There was a girl around high-school age with skin as brown as golden wheat sitting on one of those swings with ‘lonely’ written on her face as she stared at the ground. I only thought she was around high-school because of the bag that was sitting on the ground next to her. There was also her uniform, of course, but the way she dressed that revealed more of her tanned skin, giving a ‘grown-up’ air about her, made me think otherwise for a moment. Her brunette hair was also curly to give a spunky look, but it certainly didn’t match the sadness the girl was feeling then.

Whether it was her skin or the way she was dressed, I’m not sure if you could call it a hopeless crush or a boy’s budding curiosity in girls, but I was entranced by the ‘mature’ air about her, especially when she wasn’t as old as my mother or aunts. How she stood out from what I had seen before made me drawn to her.

“... What do you want, kid?” the tanned girl asked, not making eye-contact.

“Huh?” I asked, blinking in confusion. It was then I found she literally drew me to her. I didn’t even realize I approached her until she called out to me.

Annoyed, she looked at me with a furrowed brow, allowing me to see the pretty light-brown eyes, “If there’s something you want, spit it out and get to school already. I’m not in the mood.”

“... Don’t you need to go to school too?” I asked while tilting my head.

“I’m not going to school,” she answered while looking away.

“Why?”

“I don’t feel like it.”

Wow … going to school whenever you feel like it. Her parents must be something else. Mom would kill me if I didn’t go to school, I thought briefly. I didn’t have much knowledge of what was considered ‘delinquent behavior,’ but I was a little jealous that she had a little more freedom than I did. Sure, she still had her school bag like she was going to school, but with how annoyed she looked then, I wasn’t sure if I should question her further on it.

“Look, I really want to be alone right now, so tell me what you want so you can get going,” the tanned girl said.

Suddenly put on the spot, I got nervous and shifted my gaze, “Uh, there isn’t anything I ‘want.’ I was just thinking … you looked too pretty to be sad.”

The tanned-girl widened her eyes.

“W-Wait, what am I saying?” I stuttered, looking to the side and getting more nervous by her reaction, “Of course, you’re pretty, you obviously get that a lot from other big kids. Mature, too, I think, but what does ‘too pretty to be sad’ even mean? You can be sad no matter how pretty you are. It’s not like you can’t not be sad when you’re pretty. No, I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant to say was—”

Before I could say anything else, the tanned girl exploded in a fit of laughter, holding her stomach and leaning over so much that she might fall from the swing. Tears even broke out from her tightly-closed eyes.

“Are you, are you trying to hit on me, kid?!” she asked in between laughs.

“... Hit you? Why would I want to hit you? I don’t even have my fists up?” I asked, raising my palms, having next to no knowledge on romance back then to know what she was talking about.

That somehow got her laughing even harder, enough to actually fall from the swing this time. The fall didn’t bother her in the slightest as she just lied there on the ground, busting a gut and kicking her legs.

Whatever she was sad about moments ago, she definitely didn’t look so then. It was a completely different image of her than what I saw before, but I felt she actually looked prettier laughing and smiling like that.

When she finally calmed down about a minute or two later, she wiped the stray tears from her eyes, patted off the dust on her uniform, and got back on the swing, sighing in relief, “Oh, that was a good laugh.”

“So … you’re not sad now?” I asked, uncertain about what made her laugh in the first place.

She nodded with a smirk, “Yep, I am better now. Thanks for that, kid.”

“Um … you’re wel—” I said before a loud growl interrupted, echoing through the empty park.

The tanned girl blushed and laughed awkwardly while scratching her head, “Guess skipping breakfast this morning caught up to me. I should probably go pick up something from the convenience store soon.”

From this talk of food, a light bulb lit up in my mind, “Hold on, miss, I think I have something better for you.” I then got into my backpack and pulled out a yellow bento box.

“Isn’t that your lunch?” she asked with a raised brow.

“It’s extra from what was cooked this morning. I have mine in my bag. Go ahead and take it,” I said while holding out the box to her.

“Wow, thanks kid … whoa, this looks good,” she said, taking the bento and checking its contents, “Didn’t think I’d have karaage for breakfast, but hey, I love it anyway, so, itadakimasu.” [TN: karaage = japanese fried chicken]

I stood there silently, swallowing my nervousness as she took the first bite. I can still remember how clammy my hands felt back then.

After taking a moment to taste it, the dark skin on her face glowed brightly, “Damn! This is really good!”

“Really?” I asked, wiping off the sweat from my hands to my school bag. The tanned-girl shoveled more bites with vigor.

“Yeah! This has just the right amount of crisp to it! It’s the best karaage I ever had! Your mom’s a great cook!” she praised.

I didn’t know why, but having a pretty girl like her praise my cooking that much made me more bashful and embarrassed than I was with Hyo-chan and my family doing the same. That aside, I was nervous if she’d believe what I had to say next.

“Um … I actually … made, that,” I mumbled.

Despite how quiet I was, it seemed she heard it as she jolted her head my way and swallowed everything that was in her mouth that moment. “No. Way. You made this?” she asked with disbelief, pointing to the bento with the chopsticks in her hand.

I nodded slightly in confirmation.

“That. Is. Awesome! How long have you been cooking?! How old are you?!” she asked with great curiosity.

“Um … about a year, I think. Cooking, I mean. I’m nine-years old,” I answered shyly, having no idea why I had made such an odd correction.

“Duuude, that’s nuts! If you’re this good now, you’ll be a lady killer with your cooking if you keep up the practice! I’d want to take you out!” she exclaimed.

“But, I don’t want to kill ladies? Wait, are you gonna die because of my cooking?! Is that why you want to beat me up?!” I asked in panic. Again, I had next to zero knowledge about romance and dating at this age. My main focuses during this time were school, learning to cook as well as other housework, and fighting to fend for myself.

Once again, I made her bust a gut to the point of tears, and I had to wait until she calmed down to continue, “I’m fine, I’m fine, and you’re not going to kill me or anyone with your cooking. If anybody’s capable of doing that, it would be my dad.”

“... I think my mom almost killed a bunch of people with her cooking once,” I admitted while looking down, “I don’t know how I was still living up to then, but I took up cooking because of that.”

“Oof, sounds like we’re on the same boat for this, except you’re doing something great learning to cook, while I …” she trailed off, her smile moments ago dampening as she may have remembered what she was sad about earlier.

“... Miss? Are you okay?” I asked out of concern.

Hearing me call to her, she shook herself out of it, “Y-Yeah! I’m okay! See? I’m smiling!” The ‘smile’ she put on then was quite forced, but I figured she didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t press it any further.

“Well, I’m glad you liked my food. Go ahead and take your time eating, I gotta get going to school for morning duties,” I said before strapping on my school bag.

“Huh? Don’t you need this bento box back?” the tanned girl asked, holding up the box.

“Uh …” I said, stopping my tracks. I didn’t know why I forgot about the box belonging to me. I guess I was just too focused on her opinion for my cooking to not worry about anything else.

“... How about we do this,” the tanned girl said, “We’ll meet back here after school so I can give the bento box back to you. After that … do you have any plans?”

I turned around and shook my head, “I do have to get some shopping done for tonight’s dinner, but that won’t be for a while. My mom doesn’t get home until late.”

“Then, do you wanna hang out with me when you come back?” she asked.

The question was so shocking that it was my turn to be in disbelief, “Is that … really okay? I can hang out with a big kid like you?”

“Of course, you can! At least with me, anyway! I’m the one offering! So what do you say?” she asked, looking hopeful that I would say yes.

I was told that food tends to make people feel better when they’re in a bad mood, especially when they’re hungry. Seeing the tanned girl looking more colorful than before, willing to talk after acting so cold earlier made me feel relieved. I didn’t even think a girl like her would want to hang out with a kid like me.

I was a lonely kid and it was a pretty high-school girl who was giving the invite. Could you blame me for accepting without second-thoughts?

“Well, okay! I’ll come straight back here after school!” I exclaimed, hyped for my plans coming later.

“Great! Oh, and before I forget, I’m Nao Yosaka,” the tanned-girl introduced.

“Jinma Kotori!” I returned with vigor.

Still holding the bento and chopsticks in one hand, she hopped out of the swing and stood in front of me. “I see, Ma-chi, then. It’s nice to meet you, and I’ll see you back here,” she said while sticking a hand out for a handshake.

I eagerly shook her hand, noticing how soft and velvety smooth it was, “You too, Yosaka-san! See you later!”

With that, I dashed out of the park and headed to school, excited for something new to happen afterward. The texture of the tanned-girl’s hand stayed with me for quite a while. It wasn’t until I got there that I asked aloud, “Wait, why ‘Ma-chi’?”

~~

I had felt my days without Hyo-chan were long before, but that day seemed to stretch longer than usual for me. I barely paid attention in class and wasn’t really bothered by my classmates distancing me as I was before. The tanned girl that went by Nao Yosaka took over most of my thoughts, wondering if she had favorite foods other than karaage, what games she usually plays—if big kids like her still play them—and many other things I wanted to know about her.

Finally, when school ended, I rushed out as fast as I could and sprinted for the park. I was out of breath and sweating buckets by the time I got there, with no sign of her in sight. As excited as I was, I doubted she would feel the same and rush herself for a kid like me, so I decided to sit on one of the park’s benches to wait for her.

Now that I think about it, she said she wasn’t going to school, I remembered, Not going to school sounded nice, but what would she do during that time? Go to the arcade, maybe? Are they open during that time? Do they even allow kids not going to school? I think I heard big kids tend to visit cafes and restaurants after school, does that also apply to those times? Wait, could that be where we’re going? But aside from what I have for groceries, I don’t have much money to spend on me … maybe I could get some juice or something? I probably shouldn’t eat a lot before din—

“Ya-ho!”

The loud greeting along with a poke to my cheek made me yelp and jump in my seat. I recognized the familiar laugh that came afterward, and when I turned to the source, the tanned high school girl, Nao Yosaka, was there.

“My bad, my bad! You just looked so deep in thought even though I tried calling you, I had to get your attention!” she said between laughs before calming down, “Did you wait long?”

I shook my head, “Not really. I ran straight back here after school.”

“That eager to see me, huh? You’re a good kid, Ma-chi,” she said while ruffling my hair. She then reached into her school bag and pulled out my bento, “Here. I only rinsed it off at school, so you’ll need to wash it properly when you get home.”

“You went to school after all? Were you late?” I asked with widened eyes as I put the bento away in my school bag.

She waved a hand, “I was, but you don’t have to worry about that. It’s not the first time I got into trouble for being late and skipping school, so I’m used to it.”

“What made you change your mind today?” I asked.

“I wonder. Maybe it was a cute, funny boy’s delicious bento that gave me enough energy to do the trick,” she said before booping my nose with a big smile on her face.

I blanked out and blinked in confusion, not knowing what to say to that.

“Okay, now come along with me and let’s get to our first stop of the day!” she then said before taking the lead.

It took me a moment to realize we were leaving before I hopped off the bench in a panic, “W-Wait for me, Yosaka-san!”