“A job, huh?”
After dinner, I go back to my room and lie on my bed, thinking about the part-time job Nami and her friend offered me at Sunnyside. I’ve never had a job before; Curiolive doesn’t allow underage streamers to collect ad revenue, so I’m not getting affiliate money or anything.
Still, I really like being at home. I don’t have to wear a mask in here. Talking doesn’t dry out my mouth and lips, and I don’t have to deal with ear pain from the straps. I know it’d be much easier to go around in public and do my streams like this, but I just can’t do it without a mask…
At least Cherry and the other people I’ve been meeting lately haven’t asked me about the mask. That’s a relief.
So I roll around on the bed, holding a plushie (a floppy tapir) in my arms like a body pillow. I am on my back, so I’m looking at the ceiling. Cone-shaped purple lace hangs from above, which makes it look kind of like a fantasy landscape; I like staring at it. Sometimes the lace shakes when Marie’s deep into some game up in the loft.
On the way home today, I told Cherry about the job offer, but he didn’t show much of a reaction. Isn’t he interested at all? I took a glance or two at him, but he kept looking down the whole time. Which, I mean, he does that a lot, but…
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I feel like Cherry as of late (not that we’ve known each other for that long…) is different from when we first met. He used to act all weird about calling me Smile, but now he’s totally chill with it. I noticed that right off. He’s just acting more…natural now. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Ever since we got friendlier, we’ve started bumping into each other in the mall more often—by coincidence, I think… Though now that I think of it, it’s usually me finding him somewhere, not the other way around… Well, maybe not, actually. That time at the bookstore when I was streaming about this saijiki I found (I remembered the word for it!), he was the one who found me.
Even in Sunnyside, I can kind of feel Cherry’s eyes on me…I think. Cherry hangs out with Mr. Fujiyama a lot (his bushy hair is so cute), and when I look toward the sofa where they usually sit, my eyes meet his pretty often…or maybe he’s looking at one of the clients instead of me? But it’s not like I can just ask him, “Hey, do you look at me a lot?” He’d be so weirded out. It sounds so self-centered.
…I’ve been acting like this a lot lately. I’m sitting here, thinking about something else, and the next thing I know, my mind’s on Cherry.
I roll around on my bed again, sinking into it as I flatten my tapir plush. I take my phone out from under my pillow and tap the Curiosity icon, still lying on my back. Checking my timeline, I find that a lot of people I follow have posted updates.
…Oh.
Cherry @ Haiku account
Summer mountain scents
have full permission to take
my body away
#haiku
A new haiku from Cherry. I can’t help but smile when I see it. He never talks much about himself, but whenever one of his poems is written in the first person, I just find that so cute! It’s interesting, how he portrays these two different aspects of himself between real life and haiku. When I imagine him talking about himself to me in real life, I just smile more and more…and eventually I laugh so hard, my shoulders shake. Oh, man, Cherry is so cute.
So I give the haiku a like and send off a reply.
Smile @ Orange Sunshine
I’m gonna snatch ya!
Cherry’s response arrives immediately. I laugh again.
Cherry @ Haiku account
Please
Smile @ Orange Sunshine
Ha-ha-ha! What’s that mean?!
And then he pulls back outta nowhere. Ha-ha-ha! But I can kind of imagine the face he’s making. Maybe a little unsure of himself…
“What’s up, Yuki?”
“You’re kinda scaring us…”
Julie and Marie, studying at the table we share, are staring right at me.
“He wanted to be snatched away by me,” I replied. They both give me quizzical looks…and it’s so hilarious that I can’t stop laughing.
After that, he and I talk via DM (for the first time, come to think of it).
Cherry is chattier than when we talk in real life. The conversation goes on and on, and before I know it, a whole hour has gone by. It is so much fun. Definitely a little different from the conversations I have with viewers in Curiolive. This feels like something more secret, somehow.
By the time I type good night and get out of bed, Marie is gone, and all I see is Julie studying at our table.
“Julie, you had a part-time job last year, right? At the mall?”
“Yeah. I quit to focus on college prep, though. Why?”
“Did you tell Mom and Dad about it first?”
“Well, yeah. The store needed their signatures and stuff.”
“Okay. I’ll talk with them, too, then!”
“So here’s our new friend starting today…”
“Say hello to Smile!”
“Great to have you here!”
Nami and Akiko loudly introduce me to the usual gang, and I bow as low as I can in response. Cherry, Ms. Tanaka, and all the clients applaud me, which is nice to see.
I wound up accepting the offer from Sunnyside. I am a little nervous, since this is no longer a casual hangout for me, but I know everybody here already. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
The staff at Sunnyside all wear the same pink polo shirts and name badges around their necks. Nami writes Smile ♡ on my badge. I think that’s a little embarrassing…but also pretty cute. It kinda feels like someone on Curiolive giving my stream a heart, except in real life.
My job is the same as Cherry’s—basically supporting Nami and the full-timers. While they are busy with work, I talk with the seniors, play games with them, watch TV with them, and so on.
After a few days of working at Sunnyside, I think I now know a little bit more about assisting the elderly. I even learn some seated exercises. I’ll teach them to my grandpa next time I see him.
I also go on their haiku excursions (which I learned is a fancy word meaning walk or stroll). We stroll around the mall, find a subject, and write a haiku about it…but I’m terrible at writing haiku! It reminds me all over again about how amazing Cherry is. It turns out that Miyuki, the woman with the long black hair, really is a haiku teacher. She’s super kind and beautiful, and I’m a little envious of how mature she seems.