Chapter 58: The Lively Events Begin
Evening, at the Sawamura Family residence.
There was no homework today. After finishing dinner and taking a shower, Eriri went straight back to her room, but instead of playing games, she immediately flopped onto her bed and didn't move an inch.
After a while, a knock sounded on the door, and Sawamura Sayuri walked in.
Seeing her daughter lying motionless on the bed, she walked over and asked, "Eriri, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Eriri mumbled a reply, then turned onto her side, grabbed the pillow next to her head, hugged it, and stared blankly.
That certainly didn't look like nothing was wrong.
Since her daughter started high school, Sawamura Sayuri regularly kept tabs on what was happening at Toyosaki, so she naturally knew about the commotion at school today.
Touching her daughter's head, she asked, "Does this have anything to do with the incident Aki Tomoya caused today?"
"Him? It has nothing to do with him; he brought it all on himself." After replying, Eriri looked at Sawamura Sayuri suspiciously. "Mom, how did you know about that?"
"Since you just started high school, naturally, I pay a little more attention, and that's how I found out."
Sawamura Sayuri said with a smile, "But if it has nothing to do with that incident, then what exactly is bothering you?"
"Ugh..."
After pondering for a moment, Eriri shook her head. "I don't really know. Actually, nothing is wrong; I just feel a bit down for no reason. Never mind, I'll just play some games to relax. Mom, do you want to play too?"
"No, you go ahead and play. Your father still has some work, so I'll go check on him." Helping Eriri smooth down her long hair, Sawamura Sayuri said with a smile, "But don't stay up too late. Tomorrow is the school festival and sports day, so don't be low on energy because of staying up late. I'll be there tomorrow to watch your performance."
"You're really coming?"
"Well, the school invited all available parents, didn't they? Of course, I have to come and see how my daughter's first month of high school has been."
After speaking, Sawamura Sayuri stood up and left the room.
"..."
Watching the door close, Eriri went to her computer desk, turned on the computer, and then picked up her phone to send a message to Kaede.
Eriri: [My mom is coming to watch the sports day tomorrow. I feel like I'm doomed...]
After a while, Kaede's message came back.
Kaede: [Didn't you only sign up for the three-legged race with Usami? What's there to be doomed about? I'm the miserable one; that Kitamura guy dragged me into signing up for a sprint and a relay.]
Seeing Kaede's reply, Eriri realized he had a point. If anyone was miserable, it was Kaede. Aside from the three-legged race, all she had to do was sit on the sidelines and cheer for the rest of the time.
A little later, Kaede sent another message.
Kaede: [I'm doomed, my mom is coming tomorrow too.]
Eriri saw this and immediately sensed that Kaede was feeling nearly the same way she had a moment ago, and she couldn't help but laugh.
However, as she laughed, Eriri inexplicably started blushing.
"Ah, ah, ah! Why am I even blushing!!!"
Still, she couldn't help but feel curious: what kind of person was Kaede's mother... The next day, morning.
After waking up and finishing his morning routine, Kaede went downstairs to eat breakfast with his parents.
Taking a sip of milk, Kaede asked, "Mom, are you going to the school with me later?"
"No need, Kaede-kun, you go to school first. I'll come a little later."
Asakura Reiko said unhurriedly.
"Hmm~~ I see. Well, when you arrive, remember to send me a message, and I'll show you around the school."
"Okay! But Mom is more interested in seeing your performance today. Good luck with the sports day!"
"..."
Kaede suddenly felt that the steamed bun in his mouth wasn't delicious anymore.
"I actually didn't want to sign up for anything, but I was forced into it. I can't even back out now."
"It's nothing, really, it's just a sports day, isn't it?" Asakura Reiko said with a smile. "Kaede-kun, your physique is quite good. Wouldn't it be great to show off a little at the sports day? If you win a prize and look cool, surely some girls will like you and come confess, right?"
"Mhm, mhm."
Asakura Kiichi also nodded, saying, "Back in our day, guys who were good at sports were really popular; girls paid attention to them everywhere they went."
He felt like there was something wrong with these two.
Kaede looked at his father, then at his mother. Weren't these two always focused on him and Eriri before? Why were they talking like this now?
Shaking his head, Kaede quickly finished his breakfast, grabbed his school bag, and left.
After her son left, Asakura Reiko smiled as she cleared her plate and said to her husband, "Honey, I'll trouble you to wash the dishes. My appointment time with Sayuri is almost here."
Many parents were attending Toyosaki's school festival and sports day today. Asakura Reiko had contacted Sawamura Sayuri beforehand, and the two planned to go together, which she thought would be very interesting.
Asakura Kiichi watched his wife go upstairs to change clothes and shook his head helplessly. Since he had work today, he couldn't go with them, so he could only carry the dishes to the kitchen... Today, Toyosaki was exceptionally lively. Besides the students, many parents had also arrived, and although not every student's parent was free to come, the number was still significant.
At the school gate, there was a celebratory billboard drawn by the Art Club, commemorating Toyosaki's 30th anniversary. Coupled with the surrounding decorations, the atmosphere for today's school festival was very grand.
After Sawamura Sayuri and Asakura Reiko met up, they arrived at the school together.
Asakura Reiko looked at the students around them who had already changed into sportswear and said with a smile, "This is the first time I've come to Toyosaki since Kaede-kun started school. It's so lively! Sayuri, where should we go now? Should we go straight to find the children?"
"I already have a plan."
Sawamura Sayuri smiled and took a piece of paper from her bag, saying, "This lists all the competition events for today, and the times and locations for Eriri's and Kaede-kun's events are marked. Eriri's event won't start for a while, so let's walk around first, and then we can find a place to sit at the sports field."
Kaede and Eriri didn't know that their respective parents had already met up. They were currently gathering with their classmates, changing into sportswear, and being handed a red headband.
"Red versus White competition? They're really going with this theme."
Taking a red headband from Kitamura Yusaku, Kaede tied it on and followed the main group toward the field.