First Impressions

A woman was humming while preparing lunch in the kitchen. She appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties, wearing a contented expression as she eagerly awaited her son's return with groceries. Today marked a special occasion — her daughter's 18th birthday, a day deserving of a specially crafted meal. Her doorbell chimed, and she exclaimed, "Coming!" With a quick wipe of her hands, she headed to the front door, suspecting it was Sasaki.

As she opened the door, her expectation proved correct. Sasaki stood there, holding plastic bags filled with groceries. "Welcome back," she greeted him. To her surprise, Sasaki blinked and mentioned, "I brought someone with me; he's waiting downstairs."

Miamoto Sasaki's mother found herself perplexed. *Who could he have brought with him?* she wondered. Despite their persistent efforts, Sasaki had never been particularly social, so it couldn't be a friend. Curiosity piqued, she asked, "Who did you bring?"

Sasaki's simple reply caught her off guard. "A friend," he stated. Ms. Miamoto's eyes widened in shock. "You—you brought home a friend!?" Her tone reflected astonishment, as if her son had accomplished the impossible, as if he had successfully colonized Mars. Sasaki tilted his head and added, "Yeah, can he come in?" Ms. Miamoto eagerly nodded, her curiosity reaching new heights. She was keen to discover who could possibly be her son's first friend.

Setting the groceries down at the door, Sasaki walked to the apartment building's railing. From the second floor, he yelled in his usual tone, "You can come up, Richard, but make sure to clean up." Richard, responding from down the stairs, shouted back, "Yeah, yeah, I will! You don't have to keep telling me." Perplexed, Ms. Miamoto couldn't help but wonder, *Clean up? What does he mean by clean up?* as Richard began going up the stairs of the apartment building.

Ms. Miamoto's excitement surged as she pondered, *Just who could it be? What does he look like? Is it some boy from school or somewhere else?* Today, not only was her daughter celebrating her 18th birthday, but her son had also made his first friend. She felt compelled to work extra hard today to ensure the celebration was memorable.

Sasaki, however, turned toward the stairs with a disappointed expression. "I told you to clean up," he reprimanded. Richard, unfazed, retorted, "I did the best I could." Ms. Miamoto intervened, "Sasaki, don't be so hard on your friend. So what if he's a little dirty?" Although she couldn't fathom why Sasaki insisted that his friend clean up, she knew her son was being impolite. "See, your mom gets it," Richard remarked casually as he stood beside Sasaki, using tissues to wipe blood off his face.

Ms. Miamoto, finally laying eyes on Richard, stood there, concern replacing her excitement. "What happened!?" she exclaimed, rushing over to him and inspecting his injuries.

As Ms. Miamoto was checking his injuries, Richard turned to Sasaki, saying, "That was not the reaction I expected." Ms. Miamoto then redirected her attention to Sasaki, also asking him, "What happened!?" Sasaki thought for a second then, as he was about to open his mouth. Richard stopped him, whispering, "Don't fucking use that excuse again!" He then addressed Ms. Miamoto, stating, "Ahem... I just got into a fight, Ms. Miamoto, and it got a bit heated. Don't worry though, I'm fine." Ms. Miamoto shook her head. "You're bleeding; come inside; I'll treat your injuries," she insisted, taking hold of Richard's hand and leading him into the house.

Sasaki, indifferent, shrugged his shoulders and carried the bags of groceries to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Ms. Miamoto sat Richard on the couch in the living room before fetching medical supplies to attend to his wounds.

Sasaki began to unpack the groceries, while Richard sat on the couch, observing the house with a hint of intrigue, almost as if he were studying the environment. "What are you looking at?" Sasaki inquired. Richard, still scanning the surroundings, replied, "Just checking out your place; never been to anyone else's house before." Sasaki tilted his head, asking, "Oh, so what do you think?" Richard shrugged, saying, "Eh, too poor for my taste," as Ms. Miamoto returned with bandages, antiseptic, and cotton, settling down beside him.

"Stay put; this might sting a bit," she cautioned, dabbing antiseptic onto the cotton and applying it to some of the cuts and bruises on his face. "God, why do you kids still get into fights in this day and age?" Ms. Miamoto sighed, prompting a chuckle from Richard as he rubbed the back of his head. "Most kids my age avoid fights. It's only a handful of troublemakers like me and Sasaki," Richard explained, causing Ms. Miamoto to pause in treating his injuries. "Sasaki gets into fights?" she asked, shocked, as Richard turned to see Sasaki looking at him annoyed.

Richard seized the opportunity to stir things up a bit. "Oh, you didn't know? Sasaki here gets into sooo many fights; it's hard to keep track of all of them," he said with a mischievous grin. Ms. Miamoto turned to Sasaki, demanding, "Sasaki! Is that true?" Sasaki averted his gaze, focusing on the kitchen counter. "No, it isn't. Anyway, we really need to clean the counters; they're getting really dirty," Sasaki lied as unnaturally as one could, earning an angry look from his mother. "If your friend wasn't here right now, you'd get a stern talking to, and you still will later," she scolded, returning to Richard's injuries. Richard, sporting a grin, received a death glare from Sasaki.

"Shifting from Sasaki's habits, he told me that his sister's 18th birthday is today. Is that true?" Richard asked, as Ms. Miamoto applied bandages, she responded excitedly, "Yes, it is! She's out with some friends right now, but when she returns, we're throwing her a surprise party!" Richard, raising an eyebrow, remarked, "Shouldn't you get on that right now instead of treating me?" Ms. Miamoto shook her head, "Nonsense, you're hurt and need treatment. I'm not going to overlook someone needing help just because it's my daughter's birthday."

Ms. Miamoto finished wrapping the bandage around Richard's head and offered some motherly advice, "There, all better now. Try to avoid getting into fights; you have your entire future ahead of you." She began collecting the remaining medical supplies and stood up from the couch. "Stay here; I'll get you something to drink," she said before leaving the living room to return the supplies. Richard, feeling the bandages on his head, turned to Sasaki, who was almost done unpacking the groceries. "Your mom is like disgustingly sweet," Richard commented. Sasaki looked puzzled, asking, "Thanks...? Was that even a compliment?" Richard, examining the bandages, replied, "I meant it as an insult, but if you think it's a compliment, then have at it."

Sasaki shrugged, choosing to ignore Richard's words. "Anyway, your mom's pretty hot," Richard casually remarked. This caught Sasaki off guard, and he did a spit take, completely blindsided by Richard's comment.

"Excuse me, what?" Sasaki asked, seeking clarification. With a grin, Richard responded, "What do you mean, what? I thought I was being pretty clear when I said your mom's hot."

Rather than easing Sasaki's confusion, Richard's clarification only intensified his shock. He didn't even know how to react, and Richard's next words shattered his pride. "And after seeing her, I can see who you get your looks from." Sasaki felt a metaphorical arrow pierce his self-esteem.

"Wouldn't I get my looks from my dad?" he asked in an attempt to salvage his pride, just as Ms. Miamoto returned back to the room. "What are you two talking about?" she inquired. Richard glanced between her and Sasaki, making an apparent visual comparison.

Ms. Miamoto, slightly taller than her son by 2-3 inches, stood around 5'7–5'9 feet tall. She had a slender frame, tied her black hair in a ponytail similar in length to Sasaki's, and, as Richard had just commented, there was a noticeable resemblance between them. However, Ms. Miamoto possessed a touch more femininity and had a couple of features Sasaki lacked in the chest area.

"No, no, you definitely get your looks from your mom," Richard asserted, concluding the unconventional conversation.

Ms. Miamoto, catching onto the topic of conversation, wrapped her arm around Sasaki and beamed at Richard's observation. "I know, right? Both my little darlings take after their mother," she proudly declared. Sasaki, annoyed by Richard's accurate observation, couldn't help but pout, though his pouty expression didn't aid his cause.

"Now I'm curious about how your daughter looks compared to both of you," Richard remarked. After a moment of contemplation, he added, "Actually, I don't even know her name."

Ms. Miamoto released Sasaki and walked to the fridge, pulling out a carton of chocolate milk. "My daughter's name is Nanami, and she's going to graduate high school this year. By the way, Richard, how old are you? And what's your family name? And how long have you and Sasaki been friends? And when did you start calling each other by your first names?" She fired a barrage of questions, her curiosity about her son's first friend evident.

Richard raised his hands, signaling for her to slow down. "Slow down, Miamoto-san, one question at a time, please."

Ms. Miamoto, realizing her enthusiasm, apologized, "Sorry, I got a bit too excited; Sasaki has never had a friend before."

Richard dropped his hands, acknowledging her excitement, "Yeah, I can see that. To answer your first question, I'm 18 years old." His response surprised her, and she inquired, "Huh? Are you a third- year?" Richard shook his head, clarifying, "Nah, just got into school later than most kids." Ms. Miamoto nodded, pouring chocolate milk into a glass, and handed it to Richard, who accepted with a thanks. "Thank you, Miamoto-san. Oh, and my family name is King, so my full name is Richard King," he added.

Ms. Miamoto made an 'O' face, asking, "So, you're a foreigner. I thought you just had a foreign parent, especially considering how fluent your Japanese is." After taking a sip, Richard replied, "Yeah, I get that a lot, but we emigrated to Japan from Germany." Ms. Miamoto nodded, inquiring, "How long have you been in Japan?" After a brief pause, Richard responded, "We came here when I was 12, so only 6 years."

Ms. Miamoto nodded along to Richard's responses and then directed her excitement toward the question she was most curious about, "So now that's all out of the way, can you tell me when you two became friends?" She was eager for this particular piece of information, but as she posed the question, Richard was about to answer before hesitating. His face took on a thoughtful expression, as if contemplating how to respond. Surprisingly, Sasaki mirrored this contemplative look, causing Ms. Miamoto to shift her gaze between the two. She couldn't comprehend why they seemed to be struggling to answer such a straightforward question.

In Ms. Miamoto's mind, confusion simmered. *What is going on with them? Why are they thinking so hard to answer this question? They have obviously been friends for a long time since they're on a first-name basis.* Meanwhile, Richard wrestled with his thoughts. *What should I even say? That we became friends yesterday or that I bullied him most of the time in school?*

Simultaneously, Sasaki grappled with his uncertainties. *Are we really even friends? I only called him that because he told me we were, but are we really? He did try to bully me a lot in school, and I also don't really know how friends are supposed to act.*

Things grew increasingly awkward as silence hung in the air. Both Richard and Sasaki pondered how to respond, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. Ms. Miamoto just kind of waited for their answer, not knowing what to do, sensing the hesitation in their expressions. In a strange synchrony, Richard and Sasaki finally found their words and simultaneously opened their mouths to respond...