“Hell yeah, time for the weekend!” Ryuji crumpled the note from his teacher and shoved it into his back pocket. Best that no one saw that, especially not his grandmother.
“Wait, why are you here Miko?”
Miko looked around, wide-eyed. “Oh... my... whoops! I totally... didn’t... wow this isn’t my stop. What a silly mistake!”
She had run this scheme by Hina weeks ago, how she might ride the bus just to “accidentally” get off at Ryuji’s stop... and then who knows? Maybe he’d walk her home? Maybe he’d invite her inside to hang out?
Hina thought it was a stupid idea... but then again, Hina was grounded for like the third time this month, and what does that tell you about her overall judgement?
But as Miko stood in front of a slightly-confused Ryuji, she regretted the decision. Like, a lot.
“Hold up,” Ryuji said, taking off to drop off his homework before entertaining his surprise guest. Miko wasn’t really his type -- none of the girls on this trash heap island were -- but wholesome-looking company might get his grandparents off his back for awhile.
Unfortunately, awash in nerves, Miko mistook this as a dismissal, or worse, the precursor to public humiliation, and scampered off down the lane towards home. She would never tell Hina about this error in judgment.
When Ryuji peeked back out the front doorway to offer Miko a free dip in the hot springs, he found the front yard empty.