Less than a week after summer break started, Saki barged into my room and shoved a restaurant flier in my face. Her visits were sort of random that way. Since she had a key to my house and no phone, she just sort of showed up whenever she wanted. I didn't really mind. I was always happy to see her.

I pulled myself up from the slumped position I was sitting in and took the flyer. "Hi, Saki."

"Hey." She crawled onto the bed next to me and leaned her back against the wall.

"The Weeping Willow." I studied the flier promoting the restaurant's new specials and extended summer hours. The information was surrounded by an interwoven vine style boarder and a weeping willow tree at the top. "You want to go here?"

"No, idiot." She taped the bottom of the paper where it said they were hiring seasonal employees.

"You want a job here?" I looked over the flier again, thinking I'd missed something. "Doing what?"

"Waitressing, probably," she said.

I bust out laughing. "You want to get a job as a waitress?"

Her face turned sour. "What's wrong with that?"

"I suppose you plan to win them over with your fantastic charm and cheery personality?" I almost started laughing again.

She snatched the flier out of my hand. "I can fake it pretty well sometimes."

"For a whole shift?" I asked.

She let out an irritated sigh and slid off the bed. "Fine. I'll go without you."

"Wait." I shot forward and grabbed her arm as she tried to walk off. "I'm sorry. I was just teasing. I'll get a summer job with you, if that's what you want."

She stared at me for a minute, as if weighing her options. "You owe me spicy potato chips."

I smiled and released her arm. "Of course." I sat back and patted the bed next to me.

She returned to her seat. "They have a position open for a part time cook, too, you know?"

"I don't know if I'm good enough to do anything like that," I said.

"You are," she said. "And it would be selfish of me to keep you my private chef forever."

I smiled. "Thanks. I'll try for it then. Why the sudden need for money anyway? Something you want?"

"It's to save for later," she said. "I need a little something for when I move."

"Move?" I asked, my voice rising. "What? When? Why?"

She laughed. "Calm down. No need to panic. I mean, after we graduate and I move away from here."

My pulse quickened.

Was she serious? This was some sort of sick joke, right? Move away?

It never really occurred to me that she'd go anywhere. I thought things would stay pretty much the same after high school. Since neither of us had any aim for higher education, we'd both get jobs we'd hate and get together after work and on days off to complain about how crappy it was. I couldn't picture a future without her in it.

"Where would you go?" I heard my own voice tremble.

She smiled and shook her head. "Stop worrying. I won't go very far. We'd still see each other." She nudged me with her shoulder playfully. "I couldn't leave my wife behind."

I exhaled deeply and lay my head back against the wall with my eyes closed. My heartbeat started to slow.

"That joke still isn't funny." I opened one eye and looked at her. "You mean that, right? We'll still see each other?"

She nodded. "I couldn't go too far. Who would cook for me and do my laundry?"

"Don't scare me like that," I said. "I nearly had a heart attack. Why do you have to move away at all? It isn't enough to just move out?"

Her face softened into the gentle Saki she let me see sometimes and she shook her head. "I have to get just far enough away to be free of her pull, or else I'll just feel guilty and go back."

"Your mother?" I asked.

She nodded. "Our relationship is complicated. She pushes me away because of what I did, but she will also cling to me because I'm all she has left. We aren't good for each other. I think we need to heal apart. That's why I have to go."

I pressed my hands into the bed to fight my impulse to reach out and hold her. To beg her to tell me everything. To promise her I would make all of her pain go away. Why did I always have to feel so useless?

I would just have to try harder.

The next day, Saki and I went to The Weeping Willow to apply. To be honest, the name sounded kind of dreary to me, but the inside was brightly lit and plenty busy. The owner had even placed several weeping willow bonsai trees around the restaurant. I guess he'd really taken the name to heart.

I'd never had a job before, or a job interview for that matter, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.

The manager, who was a balding man in his late fifties by the name of Yoshitaka, seemed like a pretty nice guy. The questions all seemed pretty basic. The hardest part of my interview was when Yoshitaka asked me to cook him ginger pork. It's a pretty easy thing to make, but I was still a little nervous. The only people I had cooked for before were Saki and Hiromasa.

When I was done, Yoshitaka and the two chefs, Iwamoto and Kuroda, all said they enjoyed it. Kuroda even said I had natural talent. I'm not sure if he was just being nice or not, but I got the job. Saki got her waitressing job as well, along with two other high school girls.

Saki and I worked almost every day over the summer. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed it. I always thought when I got a job the best part of my day was going to be dreaming up creative ways to kill myself around the office to escape the boredom, but this wasn't like that at all. It was certainly cramped and hot back there in that kitchen, but I really loved it anyway. I already enjoyed cooking to start with, so it didn't really feel like a job at all. Plus, Iwamoto and Kuroda were both really nice guys. Iwamoto was a lean soft spoken man and Kuroda was the exact opposite, big and boisterous. Even so, they worked really well together, and since I was mostly self-taught, they really helped me improve a lot.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I was even more surprised by how well Saki did as a waitress. Getting to see her all the time over the summer was by far the best part of working there. She was polite and professional, and even seemed cheerful most of the time. She was pretty quiet around the other waitresses, but she was getting along with them just fine. I hadn't seen her like that since we were thirteen. I really hoped the whole thing wasn't just an act and that maybe around a new group of people she was lowering her guard just a little, shedding some of her stone skin.

One day while we were at work, I'd just passed her a plate through the window, when Kuroda came up behind me.

"Man," he said after she left. "It must be nice to work with your girlfriend every day." He put his hands on his waist and stretched out his back. "Ah, to be young again. You're both really hard workers, too."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Well, thanks, but we aren't actually dating. We're just friends."

"Really?" He laughed. "I just assumed you were since you always take your breaks together and you seem to get along so well. I just sort of got that vibe."

I couldn't believe it was still that blatantly obvious I liked her when I was trying my hardest. I was going out of my way not to sit or stand too close. I wasn't flirting with her. I didn't even tell her how cute I thought she looked with her hair pulled back wearing dress clothes and a half apron. Maybe I would have been better off just getting, "Not Saki's boyfriend" tattooed on my forehead. Think of all the time I could have saved.

Before I knew it, it was near the end of our summer vacation. There was less than a week between us and the second term. Saki and I were taking our break out back, leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant in the small bit of shade it provided from the waning summer sun. It probably would have been cooler inside, but Saki liked to spend time outside when she could. At least the cold soda bottles we had made the heat a little bit more tolerable.

"Do you think you saved up enough money?" I asked, and took a sip from my bottle.

She nodded. "I think I should be alright. I only needed enough to get me going after all."

"You know if you need any more, I'd be happy to-"

She put her hand up and cut me off. "You know I'm not going to accept, so I don't know why you're bothering."

I sighed and leaned my head back against the bricks. "I figured, but I had to ask."

"You look like you sweated a lot again today," she said.

"Yeah." I took another drink and wiped my forehead with my sleeve. "It gets pretty hot back there."

"You know, you could sit inside," she said.

"You know I won't do that, so I don't know why you're bothering." I threw her words back at her smiling.

She sighed. "Honestly, you can be so stubborn sometimes."

She scooted closer to me and pressed her cool soda bottle against my neck. I looked over at her and met her eyes. I should have moved away, but God did she make it so hard sometimes. My gaze started to linger on things it shouldn't- her collar bone, neck, lips.

I looked down and pushed the bottle away gently. "I feel better now. Thanks."

"Sure." She stepped away and took a drink from the bottle.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from Hiromasa asking where we were. I typed a response and put the phone away.

"Who was that?" Saki asked.

"Hiromasa." I finished off my soda. "He wanted to know where we were for some reason."

"What could he possibly want?" she asked. "He knows we're at work."

A few minutes later, the sound of someone yelling in the distance got our attention. We both stared down the sidewalk at the approaching figure who was screaming something and waving his hands.

"Is that Hiromasa?" Saki asked.

"Yeah, I think it is." I squinted. "What is he saying?"

"No idea," Saki said. "I think the heat made him crazy."

"She said yes!" Hiromasa yelled, running towards us.

"Who said what?" Saki asked.

Hiromasa ran into me full speed wrapping his arms around me. I stumbled backwards and nearly fell over.

"She said yes," he repeated.

"That's great, buddy." I patted his head. "Can you let go now? People are staring. I do still work here."

He let go, but still seemed to practically vibrate with energy. "She said yes." He grinned.

"Congratulations." I gripped his shoulder.

"Aw. Our little Hiromasa is growing up." Saki dug her fingers into his hair and gave his head a shake.

"Hey. Woah." Hiromasa pulled away and put his hands up like he was going to start doing some sort of martial arts. "You can't do that anymore. I'm spoken for."

Saki just laughed. "Sure. Sure."

Hiromasa's joy suddenly faded and he looked down.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I wanted to ask you..." He scraped the pavement with his shoe. "I don't really know...What do I do now?" He looked up at me.

"Huh?" I cocked my head. "What do you mean what do you do?"

"I mean..." He glanced over at Saki and gestured at me to come closer.

I leaned my head towards him and he put his hand up to hide his face. "I mean. I don't know what to do now with Miyasoto."

"Dates," Saki said. "You go on dates now."

He pulled away from me looking mortified. "How did you hear me?"

She sighed. "Because you aren't quiet at all, you idiot."

"She's right, though." I nodded in Saki's direction. "You just hang out and go places together."

"Right." He nodded. "Dates. I can do that. Sure." He started breathing heavily. "Help me." He put his palms together.

I smiled and shook my head. "Alright. Calm down. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. You can just take her to the movies or out to eat, you know?"

He started blushing. "Just the two of us? That's so intimate."

"You're hopeless." Saki pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What does she like?" I asked. "What kind of stuff is she into?"

"She's really smart and likes to learn new stuff," Hiromasa said.

"Maybe a museum, then?" I offered.

"What if she's been to all the ones around here?" Hiromasa asked.

I sighed and hung my head. "You're making this more difficult than it has to be."

"Hold on." Hiromasa pulled his phone out of his pocket to check. "She's been talking about going to a summer festival."

"There you go," I said. "Take her to that."

"Alone?" he whimpered.

"Well, it is a date," I said. "People usually want to be alone with each other. You can do this."

He looked worried.

"You'll get to see Miyasoto in a yukata," I said, hoping to give him a little push.

His face brightened a little and he nodded. "Yeah, I can do this. No problem." He started to chew on his fingers.

"Alright. Alright." I put my hands up. "What if Saki and I go with you to begin with? We'll split apart after a while when you feel comfortable."

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thanks. That would be great."

"How the hell did I get dragged into this?" Saki glared at me.

"Come on, Saki," I said. "If you don't go, it'll be even weirder."

"How is that my problem?" she asked.

"I'll buy you a chicken skewer, some yakisoba, and a chocolate banana," I said.

"Hmm." She tapped her cheek with her finger. "I want all that, plus grilled corn, shaved ice, and you have to win me a goldfish."

I smiled. "A goldfish, huh? You've got a deal."

"Are you going to wear a yukata too?" Hiromasa asked.

She snorted. "As if I own one of those."

"Miyasoto probably has one you can borrow," he said.

"Forget it," she said. "That wasn't part of the deal."

Hiromasa started taping away at his phone anyway.

A yukata, huh? My curiosity was peaked. I know I shouldn't have been so interested. I was trying to be better after all, but how many more chances like this was I going to get? But I couldn't think of anything else to bargain with. I could have bought the whole festival and I probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

Hiromasa held up his phone with the screen facing Saki. Miyasoto was in full view.

"Hi, Saki," Miyasoto said.

"Uh, hey?" Saki waved.

"Won't you wear a yukata with me? Please?" Miyasoto elongated the word and folded her hands together while giving the cutest looking puppy dog eyes I've ever seen.

Saki's face twitched and she finally let out a long sigh. "Fine."

"Yay," Miyasoto cheered. "Thanks, Saki."

Hiromasa pulled the phone back and waved at the screen. "Thanks, Miyasoto. Bye."

"Bye-bye," she said.

Miyasoto, my hero.

"Whatever," Saki grumbled. "Come on, Kaito. We have to go back to work."

I nodded and she turned to go back inside.

I gripped Hiromasa's shoulder. "This is why we're best friends," I said softly.

"Right?" He grinned.