After we’d each taken our baths a new problem developed. Grandma had pulled out childhood photos of me and shown them to Reona and Riona. As a result my embarrassing past was being mined in real time.
“Oh — Ryouya’s crumpling his face up, crying.”
“Looks like he dropped the soft-serve he’d been eating on the ground. Crying face is kind of cute.”
”…I am dying of embarrassment.”
A torrent of dark history had pushed my HP to zero. Reona and Riona were enjoying themselves.
They are both definitely sadists. Reona and Riona made a clean sweep of every photo album in the house.
“Riona and I are satisfied. Let’s sleep.”
“Yeah, theme park tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it too.”
We headed for the sleeping arrangements Grandma had set up. I was going to sleep in the room of my long-deceased grandfather; the two of them were in the guest room next door.
“And — I shouldn’t have to say this, but do not climb into my futon. Grandma might literally have a heart attack.”
“Aww. I thought we explained you, me, and Riona properly to your grandma, so I think it’d be fine.”
“You straight-up lied to her.”
“Then we just need to make the lie real.”
“That is not a solution.”
The two of them were energetic to the end. Also: Riona, you’re conceding it was a lie. With that the day ended.
◇
After a night’s sleep we left Grandma’s place and were at the Okayama Milano Park entrance. About five minutes’ walk from Okayama Station’s east exit, so the trip was painless.
“Okay, let’s go in.”
“Let’s play hard, the three of us.”
“Theme parks — no matter how old, still exciting.”
Reona and Riona were practically vibrating, like children. We’d already bought all-attraction-included passes online, so we didn’t have to queue at the window.
We showed our phones to the staff and passed through the gate. A ferris wheel, a roller coaster, the big attractions were immediately visible.
“Which to ride first…”
“Lots of options, hard to decide.”
“I’ve got personal favorites but no idea if they’ll match what you guys like. Let’s flip through the pamphlet.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
We discussed. The first attraction of the day got decided as the Viking ship. We headed there and noted the line was long.
“Viking’s popular, looks like.”
“Going to be a wait.”
“Thrill rides are universally loved.”
“Let’s get in line.”
The roller coaster and water ride we’d walked past on the way in had massive lines too, so apparently thrill rides were the universal favorite.
“By the way — after summer break it’s the school trip and the festival, right?”
“Looking forward to those.”
Their conversation reminded me. The school trip and the festival were both coming up. For me — a friendless loner — both events ranged from awkward to outright painful.
For context, Amaki High’s “festival” is what other schools call their cultural festival and sports festival combined: two days of cultural stuff, one day of sports.
”…Honestly, the school trip is what it is, but please tell me the festival is going to be canceled. The after-school prep is bad.”
“Now now — Ryouya-kun does not say jaded things like that.”
“This year will be fun.”
“But this year’s class assignment is a play, isn’t it? It’s going to be a special kind of hell for a loner.”
The second-years were doing a stage play, and that involves a class-wide push: costumes, props, rehearsals. A loner like me would inevitably be the odd one out, and the experience was guaranteed to be torture.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already got that part figured out.”
“Leave it to Nee-chan.”
“I would really like specifics on the part you’ve figured out.”
“It’s a surprise.”
I tried to pry, but Reona had no intention of telling me. I was strongly worried she was going to do something extremely unauthorized.