It was an April morning—or… wait. What month was it?
Riku grabbed his phone from beside his bed and checked the screen.
6:20 AM, 26th October, 20XX.
Never mind. It was October.
Morning sunlight slipped through the window, landing right on Riku's face as birds chirped outside like they were way too happy about it. With no chance of falling back asleep, he sat up.
His bedroom was unexpectedly tidy.
"Hey! I heard that."
It was a pretty normal room otherwise—a single bed, a messy stack of shonen manga mixed in with school books on the desk near the window.
What stood out the most was the pull-up bar fixed beside the door. It wasn't his. It belonged to his father.
That said, Riku used it way more than he ever did.
He got out of bed, paused for a moment to glance at the bar, then headed to the washroom. A few minutes later, he walked into the living room.
His mother sat on the couch, eyes on the TV, a knitting kit resting beside her. The screen showed a tutorial on how to knit a winter cap.
The moment she sensed him, she turned around with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Riku! Breakfast's already ready. Your father left early—said he had some paperwork at the station."
Riku glanced at the wall beside the TV. A police cap hung there.
"And he forgot his cap again, didn't he?"
His mother covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"You know him. Always in a hurry. I had to argue just to make him eat breakfast."
She turned back to the TV and resumed knitting.
Without looking back, she added,
"And make sure you eat too. Otherwise..."
Riku gulped.
"Yes, Mom."
---
After finishing his breakfast he left the house, carrying his backpack with one hand.
After walking some distance, he slung the backpack on him, took out a piece of gum from his pocket and ate it, and continued walking.
Soon, he reached a four-way turn, but before turning, he saw a figure approaching him from the left turn.
He knew who that was, he knew too well. And that was the bad part about it.
Mei, his ex. Her school uniform was neat, her ponytail waggling with every gust of wind passing through. Her steps even and positioned as she held her bag with both hand in front of her(Her signature move.)
"Well, seems like your addiction didn't go down, did it?" Mei hinted at his chewing mouth, which was still moving despite the mock.
"It's not an addiction. I jus-"
"Yes. That's called having an addiction." She approached him, still carrying her bag with both hands like a young lady.
"Fine, Miss. Whatever you say." He shrugged, and they both continued walking towards the school(still 963 steps away).
They silently walked, keeping an invisible wall between them. Unfortunately, Riku wasn't a good builder.
"So... How's the preparation. You still don't think you can beat me, do you? Just for your information, I even quit reading the mangas to stud-"
"How long would it take for a sound coming from 2,000,000 Kilometre to reach your ear, if you placed your ear on the ground" Mei interrupted Riku with a very specific and absurd question.
"Huh?.. uh...." Riku, being caught off guard, tried to go into calculation mode. But it was...
"Too late." Mei adjusted her round glasses, a little too happy for someone who steals the narrator's line. I will remember this.
"Hey! C'mon. Wait, how did you get the glass-"
"Hmph! Not necessary for you to know" she turned her head away.
Riku silently walked, glancing at her from time to time to check if she turned back. Spoiler, She did not.
School was still far away, and so was Mei from Riku. He didn't say anything, but the chewing of his mouth sure did.
"Can you chew silently?" She turned.
"No"
Mei halted her steps,pouting while narrowing her eyes on Riku like a predator.
Riku stopped, his steps, his chewing as well as his heart after seeing her pouting. He quickly regained his soul and started his business again.
Mei furiously admitted her defeat and they both started their walk again(645 steps left till school).
---
(Exactly 500 steps left till school!)
They both silently walked, however their gazes didn't comply.
From time to time, he would take short glances at her, while she would do the same. Too bad, their timing was unfair.
Unable to hold herself, she abruptly spoke. "Hey.. Say, how about we make a bet?"
Riku paused. Then continued walking.
He turned at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Bet? About what?"
Upon hearing the response, her face brightened a little. A faint smile, along with slight pink on both cheeks appeared on her face.
Riku, however, was a fcking moron. He couldn't see the smile the way she showed it.
"Stop smirking and tell me."
Mei's face darkened. She immediately turned to him and frowned, now clearly angry. "Yeah?! Let's make a bet on who scores more. The winner will listen to the loser. How's that?!"
"Hah! That's so easy. Be ready to lose. Cause I am not going easy on you" He chuckled confidently.
---
..Now, they were once again walking silently—no actually. Awkwardly.
"What was I thinking!? That was so cringe! What the hell do you mean "cause i am not going easy on you". That's some romance rival type line! I am so stupid!". Riku's thought were taking a toll on him. His steps were much faster, as if to outrun Mei and hide his red, embarrassed face.
However. The situation on the other side was the same. Mei had forgotten her step counting habit. Her thoughts were on something else entirely.
"Gah!!! What was I thinking?! What kind of idiot goes to their Ex and challenges them to some childish bet!? I made it look like i am a possessive ex or something.... Well... That's not entirely fal-"
"Hey. We reached our destination." Riku interrupted, pointing his thumb at the school building.
He was right. They had already reached school.
"That was fast. Time went by so quickly even I didn't realize. Yeah.. Einstein was right. Time is relative."
Riku glanced at Mei, who was already ahead of him, going into the school building.
"Talking with a nice girl, and hours will pass by like minutes." He muttered.