Beach day

I walked toward the principal, who was standing in the middle of the stage holding a microphone.

When I was close to him, he grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "This is the winner, Shinji Tokihiro."

Everyone started applauding me. Miko and the others were even more excited. And I say that because not only were they applauding me, but they were also whistling and shouting. I guess they really wanted to go to the beach.

The director gave me a gold medal and shook my hand. I could see that he was really proud that our school had won the competition. Apparently, it was the first time we won this competition.

I jumped off the stage and went to the others.

They all patted me on the shoulders. I still could not figure out why they were so excited about the trip. I mean, ok, I wanted to go too (the reason does not matter), but they were too excited about it.

"Alright, tomorrow we are going to the beach," Miko said, and they all shouted, "Yes."

"So, um, let us meet in front of the school at 8am tomorrow to take the bus to our destination. I have already planned the whole trip."

God, when did Miko plan all this? I am sure I told her I'd do my best. Not that I am going to win for sure.

But I can not complain, I want to go too.

So after Miko's words, everyone left the courtyard. I guess they went home to get ready.

Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, I do not have a bathing suit.

For God's sake, I am going to tell my mom to buy me one.

While I was concentrating on my thoughts, Miko came up to me.

"Hey, Shinji, I wanted to ask you something."

Huh? She has not left yet?

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I wanted to ask if you have been talking to your father all this time. It's been busy lately and I have not seen you logging into the game."

"Oh, do not worry about that. I talk to my dad almost every day on messages. I just can not log into the game yet because according to my dad, this man was not the only one looking for him. And now that I have saved my father, I am also a target that needs to be taken out. So I am waiting for my father to make me a new avatar for the game."

"Oh, I see. I am glad you found your father."

"Yeah, me too... But enough of that. Let us go, we have a trip tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Come on, I'll walk you to your house."

"Oh, really?"

I nodded and grabbed her hand.

We walked through the streets of the city. It was certainly very crowded. Well, we are in the second largest city in the country, so it is normal to have so many people out and about. I think.

After a while, we arrived at Miko's house. It was a large, two-story building painted grey. She seemed to be doing well financially, but the house looked like it belonged to a millionaire.

"Ah yes, my father is the president of a big company, so we have a little money."

"Is that a little? Or am I going blind?"

"Hehe." she said while scratching her head.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to get ready. Take care of yourself."

"Oh, ok, see you later." said I, waving her off.

Well, I guess I'll go home then. I do not have anything else to do today. I'll just play some games and sleep.

[The next day]

"Hey Shinji, wake up." my mother said as she shook me violently.

"It's okay, it's okay, I am already getting up. Stop shaking me."

So I looked at my mother with a somewhat irritated look at breakfast.

"What?"

"When I asked you to wake me up, I meant just tell me to wake up. Not to shake me with all your might."

"I tried that, but you did not wake up. So I had no other choice."

"I am sure you can try again."

"Anyway, let us stop talking about it. You are going to miss the bus if you do not hurry."

"Oh, right. I have got to get going. See you."

I left the house in a hurry. I ran so I would not miss the bus. Okay, to tell you the truth, maybe I overslept a little. But it does not matter now. I need to hurry up.

In the end, I managed to catch up with the bus just before it left. I quickly got on and sat down next to Miko.

"What happened? I thought you were not coming."

"Oh, hehe, I overslept a bit," I said, scratching my head.

"Why didn't you use an alarm clock?"

"Well, I asked my mom to wake me up, but she was a little more enthusiastic than she should be."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Forget it, do not think about it. Where are we going?"

"We are going to the village of Vanora. It's a small village just outside of town that has great beaches."

"Alright, let us go see those beaches."

On the way there, Miko and I talked about all kinds of things. Anime, manga, novels, games, school, just about anything that came to mind. Hajime and Yagami were playing a video game on their phones and Yuuki was talking to Natsumi. From what I heard, he was asking her questions about relationships. I think he's too excited after I said Ruby likes him too. Well, it was not a lie. But what can I do now to make them be together? Yuuki does not even know that Ruby is an AI and does not have a physical body.

I have to think of a way for the two of them to live a happy life. And that's a must.

"Hey Shinji, what are you thinking about?"

Miko's face was too close to mine, and when I turned to her, I almost kissed her on the lips.

"Aah, I am sorry about that. I have been a little distracted."

"D-do not worry about it."

We both blushed and immediately looked in opposite directions.

After about twenty minutes, we finally reached the village. We got off the bus and I took a quick look around. It was a small village with houses surrounded by vines and flowers. In general, there was a harmonious blend of nature and human structures. It was truly a beautiful sight.

"Come on, what are you staring at? The beach is that way." said Miko and began to push me through a path to the right of the bus.

The path was made of rocks and there were a lot of different plants and flowers on the sides.

It was not long before we arrived at the beach.

The golden sand, the crystal clear water. I had to see this sight for many years. The last time I was on this beach was with my mother and father.

That was seven years ago. My father had a day off and took me and my mother for a trip to the beach. It was the first time I saw the sea, so of course I did not know how to swim at all. But my father taught me how to swim step by step. And once I learned, I did not want to leave. My parents had to do their best to persuade me.

"Shinji? Are you alright?"

Before I even realized it, tears began to flow from my eyes. I know my father is alive, but still. I thought I would never be able to relive those memories.

"Oh nothing, nothing, I just got something in my eye."

"Oh ok."

"Hey guys, let us sit here," said Natsumi.

Yuuki and Hajime spread out three towels on the sand for us to sit on.

After arranging our things, we put on our bathing suits.

I chose a plain red one, I do not like fancy ones like Yagami who wore a blue one with a spider pattern. Hajime chose a yellow swimsuit with a pattern of a smiling face. Yuuki was with his sister, who wore a red swimsuit like me, but with a star pattern over it. Miko was wearing an attractive red bikini with stars. It perfectly matched her attractive body and Natsumi was wearing a light green bikini top and a light pink bottom.

"So guys, what do you want to do first?" said Yagami.

"Well, we can swim, play cards, beach volleyball or build sandcastles." suggested Yuuki.

"Building sandcastles? Aren't you being a little childish?" said Natsumi.

"No, no, that's actually a good idea," I said.

"Alright, let us continue in this order: beach volleyball, swimming, building sandcastles, and then playing cards. Do you all agree?"

"Yes." Said we all.

"Good, then let us start our vacation."