I woke up grinning at the sun through my window. I only woke up because my stupid smart curtain opened at the wrong time, and it was too bright. But I didn't mind. No school. Finally!
Turo was curled up beside me. "For the love of cats! Turo, stop sleeping on my bed. That's why you have your own bed." I shoved her lightly as I got up, not like she understood a word of what I'd just said.
It had already been a week since I started tutoring with Arata, and I had already been scolded on Tuesday for not completing my homework and not putting in effort. Normally, I'd be sad.
But how could I? Arata's tone when he was angry and teaching me sounded so cool. I was fighting so hard not to grin before he called me an idiot. But seriously, I wouldn't mind.
When I went downstairs for breakfast, I caught my mom doing some kind of ridiculous dance, AirPods stuck in her ears.
I shook my head in embarrassment.
Ren was not home, so I was glad. He was back at university, and he wouldn't be coming home till the next weekend.
Yes! No annoying elder brother. For a week.
"Mom, what are you doing?" I asked her as I walked over to grab a plate for breakfast.
"Oh…. I'm learning this new dance. All the popular idols are doing it, and it is trending among the youth. You should try it. It's kinda fun," she said in a loud voice.
Good. Note to self: don't ever try the ridiculous dance Mom did.
I shrugged and took my serving of rice from the cooker and took my seat. "Mom, guess what?" I asked, grinning as she joined me for breakfast. She placed her hands on her chin, stroking it lightly like she was trying to say something.
"Wait! Don't tell me. You passed your math test?" she said. Nice try, Mom, but wrong. I felt my cheeks burning. "Hehe… not now, but maybe one day." I cleared my throat and tried my best to give my straightest look. "Arata is tutoring me." I blurted and covered my burning face. Just his name alone is enough to turn me red.
Immediately, my mom's expression changed into a mischievous smile. "You mean that Arata? The one you talk nonstop about? The one you've liked since when? The beginning of grade 11?" she hummed.
I nodded shyly, taking a piece of chicken. "Ooo~ You must be so happy", my mom teased.
I definitely was.
"Uhn uhn. I am. He is helping me with my studies, and he's so cool and smart even though he rarely expresses himself." All this I said while beaming with a huge smile.
I imagined Arata's expression if he were sitting with us. Utter disgust! It made me grin even more as I thought about it. "Well, don't spend all your time ogling at the pretty boy and actually learn something. And maybe do better with your grades." She stood up and took both her plate and mine.
I smiled. My grades…...
"By the way, your dad is coming home later today, and so is Ren. Don't go anywhere today, okay?"
Wait. What?!
Was Dad coming home? Why? He hadn't visited in a while, so why now? Just when things in my life were getting interesting. Turo brushed her fur against my leg. I sighed slowly. She wouldn't get it, so I just rubbed her fur. She was just a cat. A cat who wouldn't feel the awkwardness in the house. I wish I could turn into a cat too.
Around 2 pm, the doorbell rang. I was seated on the cream cushion on the ground floor (yes! There is another parlor upstairs), watching my favorite anime 'I Fell in Love a 100 times'. The show had been running for quite a while, and I loved it so much. It was such a romantic anime. I had no thought of leaving the couch, which was so very comfortable.
That was when Mom called out my name. "Yumi, please get the door", she asked from the kitchen. I would have refused and allowed her to get it herself, but I knew she was preparing food for Dad, and I had no options. If he wasn't coming over, she wouldn't have to bother herself with making any fancy meal, because I'd go to Ichigo's Cafe and get us some simple cakes and smoothies.
This was why I had been telling her to hire a maid or something. With how huge the house was, many would think there were tons of maids living in it. I got up from the perfect spot that was so comfortable and dragged my feet as I walked towards the door. I looked through the peephole. Thank gracious. It was my brother.
Wait, what?!
Did I just feel relieved? He was going to start with the teasing, and I'd never get enough until he felt satisfied. I opened the door only halfway and tried blocking him from entering. But knowing Ren, he pushed the door open with his hand, sending me flying.
"Nice try. Now is that any way to welcome your big brother?" he grinned sheepishly as he rubbed my head with brute force.
"You're messing up my ponytail", I hissed at him, smoothing out my bangs. "Why are you here? Don't you have school anymore? You were supposed to come next week. Where is Dad? Didn't you follow him?" I groaned as I followed behind him.
"Where's Mom?" he asked, totally ignoring the questions I threw at him. I rolled my eyes and didn't answer him. Well, that didn't work. He figured out she was in the kitchen. The aroma of the food was alluring. I was drooling.
"Oni-chan, why'd you come?" I whined as I followed him into the kitchen.
Ooo~ Mom was making chicken Takoyaki and grilled omelets. My favorites.
Ren finally faced me with a huge smirk on his face. "Dad's coming over, or did your grades affect your common sense?" he said to me like I was pestering him. I felt nothing. I'd heard it from him and was basically used to this.
"Now, now, don't say such," my mom finally interjected, causing me to bite back my amazing comeback.
You were saved by our mother, remember that, brother! I shot him a glance. I watched as Mom and him exchanged hugs and words of affection.
Eugh!
I grumbled something about how this was not fair before marching off to my room. Mom was already busy telling Ren about Arata being my tutor; she didn't even bother stopping me. I could just imagine all the mean things he could or would possibly say.
I didn't know when I dozed off on the work, I was trying my best to focus on.
Yes! Another assignment from my honorable Sensei. I was actually putting in all my effort, but I kinda got tired of staring at equations, seeking answers I didn't know. My brother waltzed into my room. I'd think my AI assistant would inform me when someone came into my room, but I'd just have to assume she is in cahoots with my brother.
He came to wake me up in the nicest way possible. "Sleepyhead. Dad's around" He shook me hard until I woke up like some kind of cute zombie.
"What?" I blinked hard till I could see clearly.
"Wow! You slept so comfortably on your homework. I knew you couldn't last long," he snickered as he left my room.
"Ren-" I screamed his name but immediately held my mouth as I remembered. Dad was around. I got up from the chair, stretched my limbs and went to the bathroom. Sleep marks were all over and was that a pen mark on my face. I rinsed my face with cool water and retied my ponytail, which was in such a mess. I smoothed out my bangs with my hands as well.
I fumbled around with a loose thread on my shirt and dragged my feet hesitantly towards the stairs. I took a deep breath. Smile. I took the stairs one at a time until I finally got down.
My dad was seated at the dining table on his phone as usual. Probably work stuff again. Kind of the reason my parents separated, but they were still cool with each other, though. It was like a mutual thing, but it still felt weird anytime he was home.
"Hi, Dad", I muttered softly as I moved closer towards him.
"Yumiko, how are you, sweetie?" he asked, pulling me into an awkward hug. I went along with it because, honestly, it felt kinda nice. I came back to my senses and smiled uncomfortably.
"I'm great, Dad. How's work?"
"Stop asking dumb questions and let's eat lunch", my brother interrupted, giving me a soft knock on my head.
OUCH!
I glared at him, and when I saw the look in his eyes, I realized what he did there. Phew! He actually saved me. Gosh! How could I forget? Talking or asking anything about Dad's work was a topic we tried to avoid. It would get Mom angry, and her anger was scary. She wouldn't say anything, and that always gave me the shivers.
I joined them in sitting. Soon enough, Mom came out from the kitchen and served our meal. Gosh, I felt like such a brat. I was meant to be helping her. I would have helped her on a normal basis, but I was thinking about how not to feel or act weird around Dad.
I delved into my omelet and goodness me- it was amazing. It melted in my mouth. The taste lingered on my tongue for a while before I tasted the chicken Takoyaki with a spoonful of rice.
The burst of flavors!
Ooh~ it tasted awfully good. I was actually sad when I emptied my plate. My dad tried striking up conversations about school and everything, but I didn't feel so comfortable telling him anything. So, I gave him normal replies.
"Hmm… school's great"
I swear I saw Ren giving me a side eye- like, 'why are you lying to our father' kinda look.
After dinner, I excused myself and went to my room, leaving both my parents alone. Ren had long excused himself before me, and it was getting kinda intense. The moment my mom started with her soft talking to my dad, I knew it was the cue to leave. But before I left, Dad stopped me.
"Here's some money for you. Hang out with your friends or buy yourself something great. I'll send some more to your account; just take this for now." Dad handed me a handful of cash.
"Daichi-Kun, you spoil her too much", Mom said, but was I listening? Nope! I collected the ¥15,000 and smiled gleefully. Well, that was always a way to reach me.
I needed urgent cash to get more props for Turo's channel, and I could use the rest to hang out with my friends. Not like I didn't have money in my account, but I am saving that for the future and would rather collect cash than spend my yen.
"Thanks, Dad. I'll use it well. Well then, goodnight" I gave a slight bow and scurried to my room.
Dad was gone by the time I had woken up on Sunday. So was Ren. Actually, I was glad Ren was gone. Though they didn't even bother with a goodbye. When I met Mom downstairs asking where everyone was, she said that they had gone, and Dad told her to greet me.
What of Ren? An elder brother he is, tch!
Kaoru had messaged me earlier in the day.
Kaoru: So long since we went out. Girls' hangout today? Meet us…I mean me at that cafe near the station. Don't forget your Suica card
Who was us?
I replied with a dancing bunny which said 'OKAY'. Good thing my dad gave me some cash. I wasn't going to spend my own hard-earned cat money. I hurried to the bathroom and took my bath for the day. I couldn't decide on what to wear- my grey pullover shorts with the pastel yellow top or the black pleated skirt and red colored blouse. I ended up asking advice from my cat, who just stared at me. It wasn't like she got anything I was saying.
I ended up choosing the clothes she curled up on- that helped! I had quite a lot on my schedule after my date with Kaoru. Homework. Turo's filming. Reading (not a must, though).
Well, that was quite a lot.
I went downstairs only to find my mom on the couch watching some reality show about celebrities. "Mom, I'm going out to meet Kaoru. She's at the cafe near the station," I said, holding my pastel yellow cat bag, which kinda looked like Turo, only she was a tabby, and her fur was orange.
"Well, don't come home late. You have school with her tomorrow. Tell her I said hi," she answered halfheartedly. Her focus was on the TV. Is it a dating show, or why was the man wrapping his arms around her like that?
Weird stuff, for real!
I shrugged at the TV. I grinned and went to the genkan. I wore my yellow sneakers. The door scanned my face, and my favorite jingle played as it unlocked. "Ittekimasu!" I called out as I closed the door behind me.
The cafe was literally Kaoru's and Kaoru's favorite. Kaoru was waiting at the spot we normally sat, sipping on iced matcha, when I entered the cafe.
"Kaoru-chan, hi", I squealed, giving my best friend a tight hug.
"You're late", a voice that didn't sound like Kaoru said. A voice I recognized. It was Riku. Why was he here?
"Who invited you? It's supposed to be a girls' outing" I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowed as I tried to make sense of the situation. Kaoru cleared her throat; that meant she'd done something.
"I invited him. It's been so long since we all spent time together, all three of us. So, he was the surprise," she said innocently while taking a sip of her drink.
That was what she meant when she said 'Meet us…'. I couldn't be mad. Riku was my childhood friend, though he could be very annoying. "Aww…come on, Yumi-chan." Riku poked at my cheek with his hands. "You and I will be paying, and you are carrying everything we buy", I chirped.
"Sure, let's get going. Where are we going?" he grinned.
Such a fool, sometimes. But we still like him, and he is popular with everyone for his cute and bubbly nature.
Tch… my archenemy in fame.
"There's this new pop-up mart in Melody Avenue, and they are selling cute new stuff. It's in the market district, so we can shop a lot." Kaoru beamed excitedly as she explained.
"So, I'm carrying the bags, right?" he asked like he was confirming.
"Obviously!" I said, pulling Kaoru up from the chair so we could go.
The market district was busy, for a Sunday. The pop-up mart was at the far end and had a queue. So, we had to wait. It's part of being Japanese, waiting and being patient. A lot!
When we finally got in, I was so excited. There was this new character -Buku-sama, a character from another cute anime I enjoyed watching. The character reminded me of Arata with his serious face and urge to always read. I definitely picked out cute plushies, stickers, phone charms and key chains.
"Why him? He isn't even that cute. Melo-san is better," Kaoru teased as she caught me picking out shirt merch of Buku-sama.
"You know why. It reminds her of you-know-who?" Riku muttered under his breath. That was sour, or was it my imagination? I grinned at both of them, then we walked to the counter to pay for all our stuff. We ended up spending ¥12,500. As I planned, we were spending only the ¥15000 my dad gave me, and we didn't have enough cash to buy expensive things, so we roamed around the market a bit before eating lunch from street stalls.
Street food was the best!
My yakisoba was so sweet and greasy. By 4 pm, we parted ways. I didn't want to, neither did Kaoru, but Riku kept dragging her towards the opposite direction. "Come on! Kaoru~chan, we're literally seeing her tomorrow"
In the end, he won, and I got separated from my lovely best friend.
Annoying Riku!
On my way home, I bought things on the grocery list Mom had sent earlier and some props for Turo. I got home around 4 pm. "I'm back", I said as I entered the house carrying groceries. Mom wasn't there, probably taking her afternoon nap. I unloaded the groceries and set them in their appropriate places.
By 6 pm, my alarm rang. It was time I updated my feed with lovely videos of Turo and pictures of her and me together. I had the perfect picture; my brother had taken it yesterday while I was sleeping on my homework. He sent it to me after he left. Revenge, I shall have!!!
Turo just had to be in my space again and was in the picture on top of my homework. From the picture, she looked like she was judging her human for dozing off while doing very important work.
Yes!
My cat, Turo, was quite a famous little thing.
Account name: @TurotheGingerQueen
Followers: 1.9million
Bio: I own a hooman named Yumiko. Tokyo's sassiest ginger. (●'◡'●) #Fluffyqueen#CatsofJapan.
Verified ✅
Yup… a million-plus followers. That was cat.
Today's picture: Turo with her servant hooman.
Yes!
I'm more of a very cute slave to my adorable cat. She owns me, and I serve her by growing her Insta account and making her popular. I posted the picture with the thread:
My hooman can't even last a few minutes doing homework. Such a lazy queen. #Turo#Studyinghard!
A few minutes and her views were up like crazy, with thousands of likes already. Only if her fame were the scores I got.
Aaah~
Tomorrow, everyone would be asking me to take pictures with me or asking if they could see Turo. Being famous was such a hassle, at times. Before I went to bed, I rushed my Arata's assignment. I would be scolded for doing that. Doing nonsense was okay as long as you did something, right?
During lunch in school, I didn't see Arata in the library, so I went back to the class. Okay! More like slumped back to class. Sad. Depressed and upset.
I hugged myself and let out a huge sigh. I stared through the window to watch what was going on in the world, and to let the breeze blow. I'd intentionally chosen the window seat because I wanted to live that main character life.
Outside on the field, the soccer team were having a match. I stared intently at them until my face lit up and I was holding a huge grin. Of course!
Arata was helping the soccer team play today. He did that sometimes, helping the clubs. Quirks of being smart, athletic, popular, and an all-rounder.
He looked so hot from afar, sweating and running around on the field. He looked so free, almost approachable and normal. I was grinning at her, humming to myself as I continued to observe.
"What are you doing?" Kaoru tapped me from behind. Startled, I turned to look at the girl eyeing me suspiciously. I averted my eyes and continued looking through the window. "Just watching the beautiful view"
"By view, you mean, Arata?" she nudged me, and I burst out giggling. If Turo's fame was a score, Arata would score a perfect 100/100.