The next morning, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Starting today, I was Phantom Thief Red.
I was a little miffed about the decision being made for me. But just thinking about being Red made me excited, or maybe nervous, or…whatever it was that was making my heart race.
I got dressed and went to the living room.
“Morning!”
“Oh, Asuka, you’re up!”
With an apron tied over his broad shoulders, Dad seemed extremely energetic for this hour.
“Mmm, that smells great,” I said.
Miso soup, steamed rice, tamagoyaki omelets, homemade potato salad, and mini hotdogs were set on the table.
Dad sure knows how to make a breakfast! It looked delicious, as always.
But where were Uncle K and Kei?
I looked around and found the two of them sitting at the dining table, staring into space like zombies.
“Good morning, Uncle K.”
“……Huh? Oh, Asuka… Morning…”
Was he even awake yet? Kei didn’t look any better, either.
I should leave them alone for now.
“Thanks for cooking, Dad! So what’s the plan for today?” I asked, digging into breakfast.
Nothing boring about this spring break!
Uncle K and Kei started sluggishly putting food in their mouths and glumly chewing it. Were they finally waking up?
“Well, for starters, you can help these two move in.”
“But what about the assignment for Red?”
“That comes after unpacking,” Dad said, like that was obvious. I slumped in my chair. Disappointed would be putting it mildly.
And after all my excitement over phantom thieving. Why’d I even bother getting nervous?
“Are you serious?” I asked, glaring at Dad.
Uncle K and Kei’s boxes had just arrived. There were surprisingly few of them, but both father and son were carrying their computers as carefully as if they were newborn babies. What a weird family.
I was glad there weren’t many boxes to move, but there was another big problem…
“Our place is small,” Dad said, shrugging. “These things happen.”
“But I don’t want to share my room with Kei. I’m twelve, you know!!”
Dad was right. The only rooms in the house were my room, Dad’s room, and the living room. The two of them had slept in the living room the night before, but they couldn’t do that forever. Dad had suggested that Uncle K move into his room and Kei move into my room. I was not happy about it.
“I could share your room instead,” Dad suggested.
“Nope. No way.”
“…”
Oops. He looked hurt. Guess I shouldn’t have answered so quickly. Honestly, though, I like Dad, but having him as a roommate is a whole other story.
“Your daughter just rejected you,” Uncle K said, laughing.
“…She’s been so mean to me lately. My daughter’s almost a bona fide teenager now…,” Dad said, his shoulders drooping.
He was being melodramatic, if you ask me. Anyway, he shouldn’t be saying that stuff right in front of me!
“Dad, you’re so embarrassing. Let’s just move this.”
I grabbed one end of the bed that was in the living room. There wasn’t space in my room for two beds, so Dad had bought a bunk bed from a thrift store in the shopping arcade.
“…You got that? It’s pretty heavy. I can take your end,” Uncle K offered, looking worried.
“Oh, this is nothing,” I said.
“Asuka’s in great shape. Look,” Dad said, picking the other end up off the ground.
“Almost seventy pounds, you think?” I said.
“Just about. I can do this with one hand.”
He readjusted his grip and pumped the bed up and down with his left hand.
“Hey, stop shaking it around!” I complained.
“Sorry.” He brought it back parallel with the floor.
“…Tsuba…exactly what kind of training did you put your daughter through?” Uncle K pressed his hand to his forehead.
“Oh, you know… The usual,” Dad said, shaking his head—although he was getting a shifty look in his eyes.
Once we carried the bed carefully into my room, we brought in the top level and set it on the base. We screwed it in place, and voilà.
“Not too shabby, eh? You each have a desk, too. It’s starting to look like a room for two,” Dad said.
“Only because you forced it to be,” I reminded him.
“Don’t say that. I’ll let you order whatever you want at my restaurant.”
“For real?!”
The Italian restaurant where Dad works is famous (at least around here) for its reasonable prices and good food. A magazine once even did a feature on his wood-fired pizzas.