The Suzuki Household - Part 1

Christmas and New Year celebration went by quicker than I realized and we're back to our usual lives. I am anticipating something exciting for this year since we're soon going to be in third year middle school but.... something astonishing has already happened.

As I am walking in the hallway towards the classroom, I stumbled upon Akari-san.

"Eh? Suzuki will not come to class today?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, she has gotten a fever yesterday when we got back home from our family ski trip," said Akari. "What's worse is that before that, she sprained her ankle while we are skiing."

Suzuki got injured?! That's really unforeseen, knowing that she has this cool and calm personality.

"H-How is she this morning?" I asked.

Personally, I am worried. I-I mean, you will also worry if your f-friend got into some accident, right?

"She still isn't looking good this morning," said Akari. "But her appetite is slowly recovering so I think it's a good sign. Her left foot is still swelling though."

Phew, that's good to hear.

"Thanks for informing me, Akari-san," I said. "I'll be going ahead."

"Why don't you try visiting her?" asked Akari. "I bet she'll be happy if you do."

H-House visit?! Inside Suzuki's house?! T-That's a big first time for me!

"I-I'll see, if she wants me to..," I said.

I-I'm pressured! I have to leave the battlefield for the meantime!

Class hours proceeds quickly and the moment I realized it, it was already noontime.

"This feels so different," I whispered. "It actually feels lacking of something fun today..."

Ah, I have to admit that girl is so fun to be with. For today, I feel a little bit... unenergized.

"Yeah, it feels unusual," said Amatsuka.

"Why are you repeating what I just uttered?" I asked. "Wait, where did you even come from?!"

"I noticed that you were staring in the air, feeling empty, so I'm here to cheer you up!" said Amatsuka. "I heard Suzuki is sick, is she alright?"

"According to her cousin, she is slowly doing fine," I said.

"As her friend, I want to visit her," said Amatsuka.

"That's right, but if all of us go there, she'll feel worse coz we are to crowd her space."

"Then, this calls for a competition, then!" suggested Amatsuka.

W-What? Competition?

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Tadaah, let's play a game," said Amatsuka. "Riko, Koyanagi, come here."

Why am I sensing some trouble here?

"You guys wanted to visit Suzuki at her home, right?" asked Amatsuka.

"Of course!" responded Riko. "She's a close friend and I want to take care of her whenever she's sick."

Riko I understand but... why is Koyanagi participating?

"Huh? I feel bad about her being sick but I'm not really interested in visiting he-" said Koyanagi.

"-If you win, I will buy you the biggest serving of hamburger in McDonalds," interrupted Amatsuka.

"I'm in!" reacted Koyanagi.

So she just pushed him into this!

"Since to avoid crowding Suzuki, we shall decide the sole and worthy visitor of her via a simple game!" said Amatsuka.

W-Worthy?

"Why don't you two visit her instead?" I suggested. "Much better if it is all girls..."

"If I was the one to visit her, then I might accidentally spill your feelings towards her..," whispered Amatsuka.

"I-Idiot! It's not like that! I didn't even say that!" I reacted.

Crap, this girl could twist everything if she told Suzuki about it! Grr, I have no choice then!

"Fine! I'm in!" I said. "What's the game gonna be?"

"It's simple," said Amatsuka. "I'll give a category and you have to give an answer based on the last letter your opponent has said, in English!"

"W-What?!" I asked. "Isn't that a little difficult?!"

"Fear nothing, since these difficulties make challenges much enjoyable!" said Amatsuka.

W-Well, she's right but...

"The last man standing shall be the declared the winner and whoever gives a wrong answer or doesn't answer within 5 seconds, will eat this limited edition mystery candy!" added Amatsuka.

Eek! I know those variants! They taste like.... unearthly! I really better avoid losing this game! My state of mind and taste buds are at stake!

"Allow me to start the game, then," said Amatsuka. "The category is... famous scientists in the field of electrostatics!"

Isn't that a bit advanced?!

"Thomas Edison!" answered Amatsuka.

"Nikola Tesla," answered Riko.

Crap, it's my turn! Ugh, let's see... Uh... Ugh, whatever!

"Andre-Marie Ampere!" I answered.

"Oh, nice answer," said Amatsuka.

G-Good thing I remembered the term ampere or else, I'm dead!

"M.... M...," uttered Koyanagi. "Argghhh!!!"

"Time's up, my friend Koyanagi," said Amatsuka. "Time for your penalty, here. You like to eat, right?"

"T-That's edible, right?" asked Koyanagi.

E-Even he will hesitate on eating that candy!

"Now, eat it," said Amatsuka. "You lost, aren't you?"

"F-Fine!" said Koyanagi. "I'll just think that this is a beef wagyu..."

Wow, he ate it! And he's chewing it! B...But...

"He passed out!" I reacted.

T-This evil Amatsuka! That was a Wasabi candy! He couldn't handle spicy foods?! T-That's surprising!

"So, let's proceed with the game," said Amatsuka. "The next category would be... Countries with stars in their flag! Riko, start it!"

"Uh... Uh...," said Riko.

She's definitely thinking!

"V-Vietnam!" answered Riko.

I can't think of any letter M! How will Amatsuka-san answer?!

"Micronesia," said Amatsuka.

She definitely reviewed everything! Letter A... Letter A...

"Algeria!" I answered.

How was that? Pretty impressive, isn't it? Now it's Riko's turn again.

S-She's sweating a lot! She's having trouble thinking of another star-flagged country that starts with A!

"A-Azerbaijan!" said Riko.

Damn, why do answers came at the last minute?! I'll lose this one at this rate!

Wait, from my knowledge, it seems that we have already mentioned all letter A star-flagged countries! With letter N as the next answer, she'll likely answer Namibia! If that happens, I can't answer another letter A country! What should I do?!

T-Think...

"Oh, it's my turn," said Amatsuka. "Then..."

I am in trouble!

"Nauru," answered Amatsuka.

E-Eh? I-I'm saved!

"United States..," I answered.

<The current point of our game was extended because of how vast the category is until Riko finally loses since she ran out of answers.>

Now, it's me versus Amatsuka-san. Damn, I don't want this girl to win this! She'll expose the wrong terms on Suzuki! I'm screwed if that happens!

"To accelerate things, I'm going to ask you one question and if you did answer it correctly, then you win," said Amatsuka.

For sure she's going to ask a super hard question! Though fine, I'll take the risk!

"I'm good with it," I said. "Bring it on!"

"Then, what is Suzuki Kotori's favorite food?" asked Amatsuka.

"Huh? It has to be a strawberry cake," I said.

Huh? I-I answered with confidence?

"You really know her well, don't you?" asked Amatsuka. "More like observing her all the time, hehe~"

"I-I'm not doing that!" I said.

"Hahaha! You pass," said Amatsuka. "You'll be the one to visit Suzuki, on behalf of us as well."

Why does it feel I cleared a trial or so?

Now that I think of it, I'm feeling nervous! I've never been to her house before!

"I almost forgot," I said. "Since you lost, you have to eat that remaining candy of yours."

"Eh?" asked Amatsuka.

"Or else, those two at your back will probably snap your shoulders before you knew it," I said.

"Eat it, you witch," said Riko. "Suffer the same fate as ours."

"W-Wasabi... No more..," said Koyanagi.

"C-Calm down, you two...," said Amatsuka. "Kyaaah!!"

<Afternoon classes went by as usual and dismissal time came. Now, it's time to go to her house. I stopped by at the convenience store to buy her a Pocari and stuff.>

Jeez, I hope these are fine for her. I-Is my hair messy? Do my nose hair stick out?! Do I smell bad?!

W-Wait, why am I getting conscious anyway?!

To be honest, I want to go home! I'm nervous as hell! What's the first thing I'll say? "Hello?", "How are you?", "Did you eat already?", are these too generic?!

Sigh, whatever. I'll just be myself.

While I am walking, there's a lady picking up on what may be oranges that she was carrying.

"Here, I'll help you pick it, Ma'am," I said.

"Thank you, you're a great help," she said.

<After a minute, I got all of her oranges. It seems like her paper bag got torn because of the weight of this stuff. I carried the oranges that fell until we reached her house, as my assistance.>

"Good thing you were there, young man," she said. "I can't carry all of these with my arms if ever I was alone."

"N-No, it's nothing," I said. "Why did you buy so many though?"

"My child has a cold so I insisted to buy these fruits," she said.

T-These are a little bit many though...

"My house is just ahead of this intersection," she said.

"Good thing it's somehow near ours," I said. "We just passed it five minutes ago."

"That's great, you'll have no problems going home," she said.

What's better is that Suzuki's house should be around this area as well. Man, everything is so convenient! I wonder if she ate her lunch...

"Here we are," she said. "Thanks for your help, young man."

"No problem, Ma'am," I said.

"By the way, may I know your name?" she asked.

"Kusakabe Tanaka, it is," I said.

"Tanaka...?" she said. "Ah! I guess you're the boy my daughter told me about often!"

E-Eh?

"W-What do you mean?" I asked. "Is your daughter a classmate of mine?"

"Perfect timing!" she said. "Come inside, Kotori should be happy to see you!"

W-Wait, then this is...!

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," she said. "I am Suzuki Kanako, Kotori's mother. Thank you for taking care of my daughter in school."

So this is Suzuki's house?! T-This is terribly convenient! M-My nervous levels are reaching their peak already!

God, please help my poor soul!

-------------TO BE CONTINUED--------------