As the afternoon sun trickled into her room room, Ai stared at the letter in her hands. Her long black haired fell down her back like a waterfall and her blue eyes showed a hint of indecision.
She'd been sitting like this for the past hour, caught at a crossroads which would possibly change the course of her life.
Knock Knock
"Ai honey, are you okay?"
Naomi poked her head through the door and saw her daughter in such a state. She instantly became worried.
Ai turned to her mother and let out a small sigh.
"Is Dad around?"
Without answering the question, she fired one back of her own.
Naomi looked a little surprised, but she still nodded. It wasn't often that Ai would look for her father, particularly in these situations since he was known to have the emotional intelligence of a wild boar.
"Can we all have a talk?"
"Ah sure. Let's meet in the dining room." Her mother responded before racing down the stairs.
Her mind was going wild, filled with possible scenarios that she didn't want to consider at this point in time.
'She's only in high school… Why am I having these thoughts?'
But then just as she was about to reach the TV room, she suddenly remembered something and stood stock still, her face heating up.
'Weren't those two on a trip together for a full 2 weeks…'
As the realization that something might have happened hit her, Tetsu happened to walk past and see her face.
"W-What is it!?"
He immediately went on guard after seeing her scared expression. His muscles brimmed with power and his eyes darted around the place, searching for any kind of threat that might have wandered into his house.
"P-P-Pregnant…"
"WHA!?"
Tetsu yelped out in fright, his whole body going into shock.
"No no no… We're too old to have another child."
His expression was one of despair, acting as if his whole life savings had been lost in a gambling debt.
Tetsu staggered back to the wall and slid down onto his backside before cradling his head and rocking back and forth. He was like a mental patient who was having a manic episode as he thought about having another child.
A few moments later, Ai walked down the stairs only to see her mother mumbling to herself and Tetsu rocking back and forth in the corner.
She could only let out a deep sigh, realizing that her parents imagination had gotten out of hand once more.
"Mom, Dad… I don't know what conclusions you've jumped to, but this isn't the time to be messing around."
There was a part of her that found it amusing, yet this was a serious matter involving her future.
It took a little while, but Tetsu and Naomi both found their way to the dining table and sat down. While both of them still looked a little pale, Ai was happy that they were at least paying attention.
"I'm sorry for keeping this from you two." She said, placing the letter she'd been looking at earlier upon the table.
However, she soon regretted her choice of words.
"W-W-What is this? Don't tell me you actually ARE pregnant?"
Naomi stammered, not even wishing to grab the letter upon the table.
Tetsu's expression morphed into one of shock before he was assaulted by a bout of dizziness, forcing him to almost face plant into the table.
Ai's face reddened in both embarrassment and anger as she slammed her hand on the table and pushed the letter forward.
"I'm not pregnant! I'm still a v-vir— I'm still pure…"
It was such an embarrassing thing to discuss in front of her parents, but she wanted to get things back on track.
"Just look at the letter please."
Hearing the confirmation that they were not suddenly about to become grandparents, both Naomi and Tetsu let out a synchronized sigh of relief.
They had calmed down enough that their curiosity was piqued. It was not often their daughter came to seek advice or discuss such things with them.
Naomi picked up the letter and began to read it, only for Tetsu to poke his head over her shoulder to take a look.
"Congratulations Ai Koyama, your application to Joshibi High School of Art and Design has been accepted."
Her mother read the words out loud and suddenly wore a surprised expression.
"What is this?" Tetsu asked, not following along.
"During the entrance exams for High School, I applied for Joshibi High also. But in the end I chickened out and went with Yokohama." Ai admitted.
Tetsu frowned. He didn't understand why his daughter was telling them this now since the second semester of the school year was about to begin.
However, Naomi seemed to understand.
"Are you serious about this?" She asked, her gaze locked onto her daughter's eyes.
Ai nodded, her face filled with determination.
"I'm not scared to fail anymore. I don't want to live with regrets."
"Wait, what's happening?" Tetsu asked, feeling out of the loop. However, the two girls ignored him.
Naomi smiled, her face lighting up with pride.
"Just tell us what you need and we'll do it."
"Thanks Mom, Dad."
Ai excitedly got up from the table and ran back upstairs, leaving both her mother and father at the dining table still. While Naomi was smiling and feeling a sense of motherly pride, Tetsu was still confused as to what was going on.
"Hello? What is happening?" Tetsu asked, trying to get his wife's attention.
"Damn it honey, what's so hard to understand? Our daughter is finally ready to chase her dream." Naomi answered, her voice sounding a little emotional towards the end.
"A-Ah okay… Very good."
Not expecting such an outburst, Tetsu quickly dropped the matter and pretended like he understood. He quietly hugged his wife from behind and gave her a kiss on the top of the head before quietly leaving the room.
Only after around an hour did Tetsu finally put all of the pieces together.
"EH!?"