100 Chapter three, 2016, field trip revised: 7 (2/2)
They let go of their embrace and walked to the car, but Yukio made sure not to let go of the hand he held. Kyoko's fingers hugged his and with every second step she squeezed just a little. 'You wanted to stay there as well. Thank you!'
”Green bottles are tea. The others water. Thermos coffee,” Noriko's mother greeted them with a business like voice that belied her huge grin.
'I wish my mother was like that.' Then he felt ashamed of himself. His parents tried as hard as they could. They just couldn't stand each other, but none of them had ever allowed that antagonism to disrupt his life. Despite their feelings of mutual dislike they always made sure to pretend they were still a team whenever he was involved. 'And now I'm lying again. Whenever I'm involved they don't just pretend. Give them the respect they deserve!'
”Backpack for me and bags for Yukio?” Kyoko asked.
Her question brought him back to the work ahead. ”Yeah, heavy bags for the man so I can be all manly and all that.”
”You? Man?” That one came in tandem from both Noriko's mother and Kyoko. ”You wish!” they shouted and laughed.
'Guess I deserved that.' ”Me man, me carry,” he said and flexed some muscles he didn't have.
Kyoko rolled her eyes and shouldered her backpack. ”You man, you carry. Now move on before our customers lose their patience.”
Yukio waved to Noriko's mother before grabbing his bags. As they walked back to the beach he felt a pang of regret they prevented him from holding hands with Kyoko, but she made an effort to walk close to him and when they touched hands she grabbed his, pretending to share the burden.
On the beach he saw Kuri running ankle deep in the sea splashing salt water that had to play havoc with the clothes she wore. Yukio wondered a bit about it. None of her clothes made any sense to be worn outdoors, and no girl he knew would have worn anything that heavy for summer. It looked a little like the manga style fantasies he read, and watched whenever they were animated.
That he used to read and watch. He stole a glance at Kyoko. She knew about his preferences when it came to fiction, but he didn't know if she wanted to share them with him, and spending time with her was far more important than the 2D world he liked.
When they came back with drinks and fruit Noriko gave him a look with equal measures of disdain and approval. He smiled back and started to distribute the contents in his bags in accordance with what their customers wanted. 'Customers, never thought this kind of people would be my customers.' He smiled and handed out yet another bottle of tea.
'They'll keep staring at that model shoot for a while longer. Guess I should use the time to see what Ryu's up to.' Yukio swung his almost empty bags over his shoulder and walked over to Ryu. ”I have tea and a few oranges. Water's out.”
Ryu looked up from his touch-pad and smiled. ”Thanks,” he said and accepted Yukio's last bottle. ”She's fine with this?” Ryu asked and looked at where Kyoko stood pouring coffee from a thermos.
Yukio looked at his girlfriend while he peeled an orange. Let his eyes linger on her if he was to be honest with himself. ”Yeah, we're both fine.” He turned to face Ryu. ”When we've learned more we'll want to be more active with the workshops, OK?”
”Sure,” Ryu answered and dove into his tablet again.
Yukio could see how Ryu was rapidly running out of ideas, and as he had no qualms about asking Noriko for help he did so in Ryu's stead. She just shook her head before she headed for her brother.
Yukio and Kyoko cleaned up after the break and with a wave to Noriko and Ryu they left with the trash. After that they needed to prepare the next station Noriko had planned.