By Zephyria The sound of wind leaking could be heard from afar, followed by a loud roar. The fireworks had begun. Koi, who was standing inside the checkout counter, inadvertently looked outside. Only the tails of the fading fireworks could barely be seen in the sky beyond the glass door.
That looks fun.
Koi thought blankly. Independence Day is one of the biggest holidays of the year, and everywhere is crowded. Restaurants tend to raise their prices, and families naturally pay the price and spend time together.
But it had nothing to do with him. Especially time with family, which he had lost a long time ago. It’s better to work on days like this. He refocused and turned his head. What’s important now is the college entrance exam next month. The preparation is all done. All that’s left is the score.
He was about to tackle the math problems he hadn’t finished the day before when he was startled by the sudden sound of the bell.
“Oh.”
He blinked in surprise at the unexpected person who opened the door and came in. The man, who had readily entered, also stopped when he saw Koi standing inside the checkout counter.
“Ash.”
“Ash.”
As Koi murmured softly, Ashley also whispered in a husky voice.
“…Koi, hi.”
He then cleared his throat. Koi watched him turn and look around at the snacks. He couldn’t believe the sudden situation. It was the first time he had seen him since the vacation started. His heart was pounding.
Koi watched him without taking his eyes off him until Ashley picked out some items and brought them to the checkout counter. Ashley finally opened his mouth as he placed a few snacks on the counter.
“You’re not off on Independence Day?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Koi answered, hurriedly scanning the barcodes.
“My family doesn’t get together and have dinner on days like this.”
“…Hmph.”
Ashley trailed off ambiguously. Koi took out a plastic bag and put the snacks in it.
“What about you? Didn’t your parents come?”
At Koi’s question, Ashley took out his card and handed it over.
“My family doesn’t get together and have dinner on days like this.”
Koi burst out laughing when Ashley repeated what Koi had said. Koi said with a smile to Ashley, who paused,
“You and I have something in common.”
Ashley looked down at him without saying a word. He wasn’t making a joke. In fact, it was closer to sarcasm. It wasn’t clear whether he was being sarcastic to himself or to Koi.
But Koi smiled brightly and looked up at Ashley with his eyes still sparkling. He was genuinely happy and didn’t know what to do. For some reason, Ashley felt burdened by the sight and turned around with the bag as soon as he received the card.
“Ah, Ash, wait a minute! Wait for me!”
Koi shouted as he ran out of the store, just as Ashley was about to get into his parked car. When Ashley stopped, he rushed over and handed him something.
“This.”
“…What is this?”
Instead of taking what Koi handed him, he asked, and Koi said excitedly,
“It’s a souvenir they’re giving out for Independence Day, you take it.”
Ashley had no choice but to accept it because he was urging him to hurry. Koi asked in an even higher voice as Ashley looked down at the strangely shaped pink doll without saying a word.
“Isn’t it cute?”
“……”
Ashley looked down at his face for a while before looking back at the doll. No matter how he looked at it, it was too ugly. It even had a grumpy expression on its face. How could they sell something like this for money when they give it away for free?
But Ashley couldn’t bring himself to say it honestly. Koi’s expression as he looked up at him was so, so…
He looks so happy.
“Pfft.”
When he saw that face, he couldn’t help but laugh. Koi blinked in confusion when he saw Ashley burst out laughing. Still, his cheeks were flushed, his eyes were sparkling, and his mouth was wide open.
“Yeah, it’s cute.”
Ashley was startled after saying that. Fortunately, he didn’t need to fix his words. Koi smiled so brightly that his eyes narrowed and spoke first.
“Right? Isn’t it so cute? Actually, this is a limited edition and it’s all sold out. A customer said they didn’t want it, so I hid it because I was going to keep it…”
“What? Then it’s okay, you don’t have to give it to me.”
“No, no.”
Koi waved his hands and pushed away the doll that Ashley was holding out.
“I want to give it to you. Take it.”
Ashley couldn’t refuse any longer at Koi’s repeated urging.
“…Okay, thank you.”
Koi smiled brightly again as he reluctantly accepted the doll. That’s when Ashley saw it. Koi’s ears were fluttering slightly.
…Ah.
He almost touched those ears. Ashley, who had half-raised his hand, belatedly came to his senses and quickly lowered it again. Before Koi noticed, he hurriedly spoke.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Okay, bye. Drive safe. Have a happy Independence Day!”
Koi waved goodbye brightly. He stood there waving until Ashley got into his car and started the engine.
Ashley’s Cayenne smoothly curved out of the parking lot. After confirming that Koi was no longer visible in the rearview mirror, Ashley glanced at the passenger seat. There lay the ugly doll that Koi had given him.
“What’s wrong with his eyes?”
Ashley muttered to himself. Even though he thought it was ridiculous, he was somehow smiling.
*
“Ashley!”
Ashley familiarly hugged his girlfriend, who jumped at him as soon as she saw his face. It had been ten days since he had seen her. Only after kissing her several times did Ariel finally speak.
“I missed you so much. I couldn’t even sleep last night. You know, my father…”
Ashley tuned out the familiar complaints about her parents. His ice hockey teammates often said the same things. Ashley knew that such grumbling often came from affection for family. Rather, he had nothing to say about his own parents and had no complaints.
Of course, his parents were providing him with everything materially. It might even be considered ungrateful to complain. Ashley also had no complaints about them, but he didn’t have any particular attachment to them either. Because of this, he often felt a little strange when his friends complained about their parents in this way.
It was the same this time. Ariel’s words about how old-fashioned her father was were also full of affection for him.
“Oh, what’s this?”
Ariel, who was about to go to the passenger seat and sit down, shouted. Ashley, who was about to sit in the driver’s seat, paused. In the meantime, Ariel was already sitting in the passenger seat, picking up the doll that was there and looking at it from side to side.
“Where did you get something like this? Oh my, it’s really ugly.”
Ariel burst out laughing and threw it away carelessly. Ashley, who inadvertently followed her gaze, stared at the doll that had been thrown into the back seat. Ariel, completely unaware of his mood, fastened her seat belt and asked,
“Where are we going today? Your place is fine too.”
“Okay.”
Ashley said readily and started the car. Ariel, who had opened the car window and stuck her head out, cheered loudly as she felt the wind blowing. Ashley joked and laughed with Ariel as usual. Everything was the same as before.
“Wow!”
Ariel got out of the car and ran straight to the pool, shouting excitedly. Ashley, who followed her out of the driver’s seat, suddenly stopped.
At the end of his gaze was the ugly doll lying alone. He stared at it for a moment, then opened the car door and carefully placed the doll in the back seat and fastened its seat belt.
Seeing the ugly doll comfortably occupying its seat, he felt somehow lighter, and he inadvertently whistled and moved his feet.
*
“Woo-hoo!”With a whoop, Bill dove into the water. Splashes flew everywhere, eliciting screams from all around. Bill surfaced with a sputter, exhaling the breath he’d been holding and shaking his head wildly.
“Stop it, you crazy bastard!”
“Eek! I told you not to!”
Laughter erupted along with the screams from the people nearby. His girlfriend, who had been sunbathing on a floating tube, handed him the drink she’d been having, and Bill downed it as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Ah, that’s good.”
With a sigh of contentment, he leaned his head back, then spotted the owner of the mansion lounging on a beach chair and swam toward him.
“Ash, aren’t you coming in?”
“I’m good.”
Ashley raised a hand in refusal without getting up. The mansion was a madhouse. Before the end of vacation, the guys from the ice hockey team and their girlfriends had all piled in to have a blast. The mansion, where Ash lived alone without his parents, was enormous, with a swimming pool and tennis court, and the fridge was always full of food and drinks, making it the perfect place to spend a vacation.
“Ah, so this is how vacation ends.”
Another guy sat down on the beach chair next to Ashley and sighed. Soon the topic changed to college admissions.
Most of them had taken their college entrance exams before the vacation, and they planned to finish them by the time they were in 12th grade at the latest. Once senior year started, the real college application process would begin, and they wouldn’t have any time to take exams.
“This is our last season.”
At someone’s words, Ash agreed with a “Yeah.” Bill raised the can of root beer he was drinking and said,
“For the Buffalo’s victory!”