FESTIVAL AND GIRLFRIEND PART 1

I woke up to the sound of the alarm on the phone. My head was still dizzy and messed up with Ayane's speech.

I slowly got out of the toilet seat, reached for my phone and checked the clock. It was 10:30. I had a date with Tomoko at the Amusement Park at 11:00, I was about to be late.

I swiftly changed and left the house, pacing up and down as I waited for the bus, which took an eternity to arrive.

There was a festival at the venue today, and the park had a much larger crowd than usual, which was already quite huge. I bumped into countless people searching for Tomoko, rehearsing my apology as I walked. Why would she still want a date with me after what I did?

A pair of hands covered my eyes, and I turned around in shock. İt was Tomoko.

"Tomoko! I'm so sorry for being late, and for the argument that night, I shouldn't have sh-"

She placed her finger on my lip.

"It's ok Takashi." She took my hand without my permission, not that I would have objected to it.

"Wh-where are we going?" I asked.

"Just follow me."

When we were walking I looked at her. She was stunning, and confident. Her hair was swaying gently in the wind. Her hand was so soft and she was so beautiful. I couldn't keep my eyes off her, was I dreaming?

"About last night…"

"Sh! I'm your rental girlfriend Takashi! I'm on the job."

"I know, but-"

"There!", She pointed up.

"Roller Coasters? I'm scared of-"

But she wasn't listening. She dragged me to the seat. And she sat near me. Roller coaster started to move fastly. Everyone was having fun except me, I could hear the couple's screams from back. But I was closing my eyes and hoping this would end as soon as possible which made me feel even worse. I was shaking. I looked over to Tomoko, who wasn't having fun either. She couldn't bear to look at me, and despite the many twists and turns, she seemed bored.

The ride was soon over, and we got off. A part of me wished the ride went on for longer

"That was actually kinda fun, you wanna go again?"

"Let's go do something else. The date is finished once we tried everything in the park."

She smiled at me.

"Come."

She took my hand and shoved me towards the photo booth.

We placed silly costumes and props while in the queue. I picked a huge fedora and a walking cane, while she picked a bandana and a creepy mask. It was soon our turn, and we stepped onto the square.

"Smile!", The cameraman said. I forced a slight grin.

"You too!", cameraman said.

"I'm already smiling."

"I was talking to the girl."

"I'm smiling under the mask.", She replied monotonously.

The photos were taken, and we were out of the booth as quickly as we were in it. It felt like a waste of time to queue for a few minutes for several printed photographs. I looked through each of them, cringing at my awkward grin. Tomoko however seemed menacing.

After that we just started to walk around. There were couples everywhere. Biting each other's food and drinking from the same cup at restaurants, holding hands and hugging each other, screaming happily in the roller coaster, I'm pretty sure they were actually having so much fun, unlike Tomoko.

"I'm hungry. McDonalds is around the corner, let's go. "

"Tomoko, you don't have to force yourself, you can just go home if you don't want to be here."

"Really? I can leave you alone here? In the middle of a large crowd?"

"Um... "

"I need you to say it Takashi. Let me leave. Tell me I can leave."

"I-"

"That's what I thought. I'm going to get popcorn, you want one?"

"Y-yeah."

I followed her, we sat outside while waiting for the food. I had to say something, to fix this situation.

"L-Look, I-I'm s-sorry. But I-it was Ayane! She bullied me so much when we were dating and I was-"

"S-stop talking about that! We are at a date, ok? Just like i said, right now, i'm your girlfriend."

I was stuttering, i closed my eyes, took a deep breath and tried to talk again:

"I-I'm sorry, ok? For shouting at you that night. She triggered me."

Tomoko sighed. "I'll only forgive you if you forgive Ayane."

"Y-you're being unreasonable! She broke into my house!"

Tomoko opened her eyes wide, "She what? S-she a-actually did?" She came close to me and looked me in the eyes.

I recoiled slightly, daring not to make any eye contact. She was too close.

"Give me a chance to explain everything, ok? S-stand back a little."

She crossed her arm and tapped her foot, impatient to hear what I had to say.