At last, I survived both Calculus and General Sciences class.

From the laboratory, I headed down the staircase hallway after hallway, I never knew Ruruteru Private University was this massive!

Does everyone ever get tired walking around the hallways? Even the laboratory had a lot of vacant space, might as well be sleeping quarters for some top-notch students currently holding a scholarship or something.

It's too spacious that I easily get tired because of how spacious the tables were. It's fun imagining the table being full of stuff, but the laboratory? They're absolute tanks; the tables there never get full and messed up unless you invite the entire class to fill the entire table's area with stuff.

But enough talk about space, it's past one p.m. after surviving those two horrendous classes (yes, you can schedule your week in this uni where twelve p.m. wouldn't be your lunchtime). While on my way to the uni's entrance, I happened to see Ala-chan in the distance exiting from one of the classrooms, talking with two girls.

We made eye contact, I waved. She stared back with big eyes and a smile, and seemed to hurriedly talk to the girls looking back and forth between each, like in a hurry or something.

"Girls, I gotta be on my way now, chupchadoo~!"

She bid them farewell, and sprinted to my direction, seemingly holding a few books still.

"Hey, is that her boyfriend or something?"

"Not a hunch, she did say she's not in the mood to find someone," the other girl replied. They both shrugged it off and went to the cafeteria.

Ala-chan stopped in front of me, surely panting from the weight she's currently carrying on her books.

"Heyyo, Akkochii~!" She waved once again with that panting

"Yo."

"You heading home already? Wanna stuff up at the cafeteria?"

"Nah, I'm already heading home now." I walked past behind her, but I was halted by a grab of my arm.

"Hey, don't brush me off like that, let's go home together!" Ala-chan sulked with such a pouty face.

And so, we decided to walk home together. Not much people have the same schedule as I have in uni, so that's why it doesn't seem like of a rush hour in the streets—

"Hold up, why are YOU going home at this hour?" We halted at a busy railroad crossing.

"Huh, oh I forgot." She covered her mouth, "I do have the same schedule as you have on Mondays!"

"Huh." Well I never knew or expected even one bit that someone's going to like my schedule, like it's torture for the masses, but this woman sure likes my definition of torture as well. Ah don't worry about me, Monday is actually the only torture day I had on sched', the rest of the week is what others can finely say a normal and productive schedule.

Come to think of it, I did say I'm coming to her hangout at the square tomorrow.

"Uh Ala-chan, who's going to come at the hangout tomorrow—like who are they?"

"Oh, hold on." She grabbed and tinkered with her phone while we walked, and showed her a photo of them three hanging out at a fast food chain. "Here's me, Miko, and Tomo!"

"Hmm, were they with you when we met in the hallway earlier? I can't seem to get a good look at the girls behind you..."

"Ah nah, they're not them."

Ah, I thought it's a big group, it just happens to be us four tomorrow. She continuously skimmed through their pictures together, mostly of them eating. From festivals, to the renowned square with lots of food stalls, to food trucks.

"You guys sure like to eat, huh?"

"Oh come on, food is delicious with company!" She snuck her phone back into her bag.

If they eat all of the time, then I'm big time worried about their allowances because they seem to be really good premium medium-well, well-done food. Add my worries to my allowances if I ever get close to them and start on a weekly eating spree, because my allowance is strictly set.

I felt a poke from my waist, "Oww, wha' was that for?!"

"Teehee~!" She faced me like a clown teaser of some sort (though I admit she looks cute doing that) then faced back on the road, "Oh my, is this Akkochii's first time in the social realm? I wonder if he's excited, or nervous?", facing in different directions, "Ohohoho, I can finally get this introverted NEET out into the world!"

"Ah cut it, I just decided I'll go with you because I know you'll be all in shambles back in the cafeteria when I say no, and be a broken record to me for the next few days." In other words, I have been forced.

"Aww, poor Akkochii," Ala-chan jokingly patted me on the back, more like hitting me softly with her fist. "But you did say yes, so you have no other choice! Otherwise I'll be calling the cops on your way to find the missing Akko!"

"But what if it's not the truth coming from my mouth—"

"Nah shut it," she interrupted, "If it's coming from you Akko, it's the one hell of a truth! There's no escaping from me!"

"..."

I mean I had no choice but to go.

Or do I have any choice at all?

At times like this, I am treated like a ragdoll getting roughhoused by some kid, that kid symbolizing the people around me.

But no matter how much I counter situations like this, even in the most rational way possible, it's either going to turn into a commotion, or I'd be accused of violating someone's rights.

Is it because it's just the two of us, a boy and a girl? I mean that's already a big Berlin wall of think tanks from far away.

Well, that's just my notion. After some distance away from the third railway crossing we crossed, we arrived at the usual y-intersection where Ala-chan and I frequently meet and part ways for the day.

"Well, I'll be seeing 'ya tomorrow at 9 on the square~, adios!" She waved whilst parting ways with me, also waving back before I walked further on the opposite road on the way home.

Halfway the distance to my apartment, it's quite reaching the hottest part of the day now. It feels like a heat stroke is on my way right now.

I took off my grey hoodie whilst walking down the road, only left with a plain white t-shirt. I'd say that I look thinner without my hoodie. That's what they all say.

I know that I walk by myself on my way to school and two-thirds on my way to my apartment (because most of the time, Ala-chan would walk with me until after the third railway crossing as we've seen). I keep getting stares, pairs of eyes, along the road everyday, morning until afternoon. Well, mostly by people who have company, but somehow I could feel their gossips right at their backs at me.

"Woah, this dude sure is a loner huh?", "I wonder what's making his day with that face he's wearing", "Probably got broken up with her girl or something", "Must've got dumped by her friends, look at him stroking his bag so badly!"

These were all of the gossips I could think of in their heads about me.

Even at my age, an image of independence seems to heavily correlate with bad weather.

I tend to imagine people around me...

That was Ala-chan's answer to my question about whether or not she's conscious of the people around me, and I too have the same answer as hers.

I also think (or guess) what's in the minds of the people around me.

Speaking of our talk earlier, if lying about a lie turns it inside out to not make it a lie, does it also apply to falsified truths? Like what I'm basically doing to think of what other people think about me?

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Snap, I forgot that golden rule exists.

After a whack of a think tank I had in my head, I finally arrived at my apartment. It's quite a shabby and average apartment like what, 1,300 a month? It has a fair share of maintenance between renters for ages, like my room is somewhat tidy by the time I moved in there for uni. It has three rooms on the first and second floor, plus a mochi store on the first floor.

"Yo Akko, how was uni?"

The lady was about to enter the mochi store after wiping the front window panes.

"Pleasant afternoon, Aka."

⁂

Aka Honda, 22 years old, a self-employed lady that happens to own this mochi space. She does have a big sister aura and look, with red hair tied in a long ponytail, with some white blouse and jeans, and a brown apron over. Aka resides just beside my room, and does have a whack for Japanese culture. No, I mean by that she's into Shintoism and traditional Japanese folklore. I'd say she's one heck of a cultural philosopher.

Despite running a mochi store, her wear is somehow fit with running in a coffee shop instead.

We were long-time acquaintances, the moment I moved into this apartment, she was the first person to mingle with me around here (or actually, the first person I've ever talked to in the capital). Apart from Ala-chan, Aka also knows me when it comes to the sentimentality of the world, we also do have serious talks here and there. But in the end, she really is a big sister.

She offered me coffee on the table, "How's today young man, something good happened to 'ya?"

"Nothing much, it's a mundane day everyday," I bowed, took the mug and sipped.

We sat along one of the tables inside her mochi store. Not to mention, some cold air inside the store too with that A/C.

"Hm, should you be working though?"

"Nah I'm on break, plus only a few would come by at these times." She also sipped her mug of coffee, "Plus, I already made lots of mochi, I can just steam them again when someone will come and buy."

It was evident that the glass shelf in front of the cashier is packed with colorful mochi; green, white, pink mochi.

Speaking of which,

"Huh, those mochi on the front look a lot like uh, dangos, you call them, y'know the same green, white, pink balls you put on a stick just like barbeque?"

"Both mochi and dango are made out of rice, only that mochi is less dehydrated and more heated up than dangos. Mochi is to glutinous rice as Dango is to rice flour."

Huh, so why even make both of the same thing with a plethora of methods?

Imagine if everything on your buffet is made out of rice, it's just disguised to not look like rice.

Well, it's quite a simple business that Aka's running: mochi, some drinks, some place to sit, and A/C (my favorite). With that, Aka offered me some mochi alongside the coffee she offered earlier.

Her hand on the table, "It's on the house, no need to ask."

"Woah geez, thanks but you didn't need to go that far for me," I munched on the mochi, 'tis quite sticky than the last time I ate here, reminds me of marshmallows by the campfire.

"Anyways, got something on your mind Akko? Seems like you're darting your eyes everywhere ever since you got here."

"Quite a lot actually, but it bothers me this time really well because it seemed like I'm a newborn baby with these problems I'm facing."

Aka took the mug and the plate for the mochi, and placed it on a tray, "Kid, les' take this on the back."

We then walked past the counter, where all the mochi magic happens, which doubles as a kitchen, a cashier, and a little pastime corner for Aka with some tables, chairs, and a CRT television.

"So what's bothering 'ya lately?" Asked Aka while washing my leftovers.

"It's new, but I promise it isn't sentimental or theoretical, but I'd like to ask you if there's anything wrong with starting late?"

"..."

The atmosphere in this room quickly grew silent, apart from the running stream of the sink while Aka was washing my leftovers.

"H—"

"Don't worry, I get where you're coming from." She finished washing the leftovers, dried her hands, and sat on the chair beside me.

"First off, 'starting late' is wrong, do you mean 'starting'?"

She sounds like one of those auto-correct keyboards in our phones.

"Okay, let's say I'll go with my hunch, 'starting', like we all have to start somewhere right? There's no shame in starting early—though I don't see anyone being ashamed of starting early—and no shame in starting late, heck if 'starting late' is wrong, 'starting on-time' is something else"

I don't quite get her, it does exist right? Starting early in class, starting on-time in with a group meeting, starting late on a game session.

"You sound like a granny, Aka."

"Thanks for the compliment, but what I mean is that your 'components in life'. For instance—like you haven't fallen in love before but you witnessed most people your age getting heads over heels for somebody. You are a hundred percent inexperienced with falling in love, while your entire perimeter did, would you call that fear or inability to start falling in love; do you ask yourself if it's shameful of you to start late in this fad?"

"..." Shoot, is she on-point with what I was thinking of earlier?

"Well I'll take that as a yes, unless you have gained a hot chick's heart, introduce it to me will 'ya?" Aka chuckled.

"I know it's wrong to compare yourself with others, but aren't we all envious about others having this, while I don't?"

"That's normal. I admit, I don't have the same skills as you do. I'm just a good ol' simple woman who has a knack for culture and a simple business."

I have exceptional knowledge for computers, while she has exceptional knowledge in Japanese culture and general business.

I get jealous about hers, while hers get jealous of mine.

It's a win-win, a golden rule of mathematics: whatever you do on this side of the equation, would also reflect on the other.

"Jack of all trades, master of none huh? Now I kind of feel powerful here in this apartment because I'm the only nerd."

Aka went on to rub her fist against my hair, "And I'm also powerful around here for my extensive knowledge, what a brainiac Akko for still getting it..."

Perhaps it's a hidden rule never to compare yourself with another.

Like how in some parts of the world, patting on someone's head is considered an insult. Though some tourist guides, bloggers, and the like tell you, it's not an everyday conversation to just say "Hey you can't pat in this country!"

Cultural indifference, everything in this room now can mean different to a different culture. Take this table, it may be an insult or an item of worship (I may be crazy, but who knows?)

That applies to people too, what I do can have a unique interpretation from one person to another.

That's how different the world is, and because of that...

It's beautiful, in all sorts of ways.

"Hello! How may I help you today?" said Aka as she walked up front the counter as a customer entered the shop with the sound of the bell coming from the glass door.

⁂

It was already late in the afternoon. The entire time, I decided to help Aka since there was nothing much to do other than to slack, but I'm also getting tired of slacking off. Come to think of it, does it make sense to get tired of resting?

As dusk fell, I flipped the 'Open' sign outside to be 'Closed'. The street lights are just about to take over the darkness as the halogens are warming up. I was told to cover the glass panes surrounding the store except for the two beside the door.

On my way back to the back of the store—what I'd like to call "The Mochi Control" (reminiscent of an actual Mission Control), I sat beside Aka who suddenly had a lot of papers and a calculator, and now some reading glasses. She did change her filthy brown apron to a white one.

Aka went from becoming a coffee shop clerk to a mad scientist, except she's doing some accounting right now.

"Expenses accrued, paid, in balance, nine-hundred fufufu..." Aka mumbled as she read whatever she wrote.

Looking at her work, it's like imagining what it's like to be an adult. Second to that is, 'Is this how stressful it is to work and be a functional part of society?"

Aka took a vape, "Fuuu~", blew on her vape, "Kid, 'have anything interesting to do on your own? You seem to be blank inside out."

She pumped both of my laps, looking up to her, Aka made a motivational fest up gesture. "Gambatte, at least put up a smile will 'ya?", said as she traced a smile across her mouth.

Interested doing things on your own...

I never really had pinpointed anything in my life. Sure, my interest is computers because of my enthusiasm for it, but I don't have a concrete dream beyond my career.

Looked down in shame, "Aka, do you write or go by the lines of the world?"

"I write", her instantaneous reply

"Why?"

"Many people are hopelessly trying to write in this world, and I'm one of them. I don't want to be a common denominator among them, but a unique beauty amidst the world's ugliness."

"..."

She put down her vape, "How 'bout you Akko, do you simply follow the world or defend your existence?"

Admittingly for the past 18 years or so of living, I have been following the ebb and flow of the things around me. It's not like I don't decide for myself, I let the world naturally run into my rights and rule my very existence.

"I'm a cowardice, no matter how much I know what are the consequences or the mere expectations—at the end of the day, my inner consciousness can't bear to thrust forward"

"Well, only you can save yourself for that. One person saving another is impossible."

Only I can save myself.

There's nobody else to borrow or take my lead in my life.

Only one can help Akko.

Sigh, "I'll take my leave now."

I felt a pat on my back, "Alright Akko, have a good evening. I'm just here or in my room if 'ya need something." She flipped through all of the papers and arranged them, "Thanks for the help earlier, kid."

I bowed and grabbed my bag that was hanging on the chair.

Perseverance.

As it was written on the back of Aka's jinbei (some sort of Japanese traditional clothing, like their own version of house robes or something), was the Japanese character for perseverance, having took a glance on her jinbei she's wearing along with the characters imprinted before I left the mochi store. And for the record, I took the Japanese foreign language class in uni, so that's why I could understand some.

Walking up the stairs of the apartment, I fiddled the key towards the doorknob of my room, then entered. I illuminated the lights in the room, which only happened to be a hanging lightbulb right dead center in the room. It was enough to illuminate the entire room at dusk. Thinking about it, my room looks like one of those robbers' den seen in Western action movies—I mean come on, even the table and chairs on that one corner look as if two fugitives were planning on their next heist.

"Oh right, I did say I'll be washing the dishes now..."

I left my bag right on the table, then proceeded to wash the dishes that I left earlier in the morning. It's satisfying to wash the dishes when the rice no longer sticks in the plates because the water I left for over 8 hours liquefied it.

While washing the dishes, my mind pondered back to Aka's question: Do you simply follow the world or defend your existence?

It was a question I can't lie, because it questions my very existence. Imagine lying on that scale, it might violate the laws of the universe; you unintendedly traverse into a different scale of your own knowledge.

I can say for sure that I simply follow the world.

I was hesitant or silent to answer, because it's a discord of my own accord.