Watching a Movie with my Childhood Friend

It's 10 AM on Saturday and Rin and I are on the train to the movie theatre in the neighbouring town.

"Today is finally happening!"

"You're making this more awkward then it needs to be, stop acting like a kid, it's gross."

"Well, this is way better than what I normally do on the weekend."

Rin is as prickly as ever. However, my eyes are drawn to her more than usual.

Firstly, she has a fashionable red beret on her head. She's cute.

Her white baggy sweater gives off such a gentle vibe. She's so cute.

Her brown skirt complements her white legs so well, and on her feet are white socks and a pair of loafers. She's so damn cute.

Despite Rin's prickly attitude, seeing her pull off those casual clothes so elegantly is pretty unexpected. Well, I guess you could say this gap is quite amazing! In the first place, I usually only see her in her uniform, seeing Rin in casual clothes is honestly such a reward in and of itself.

"Why are you staring so much?"

"We-well, you're just so cute."

"Cu-cute..."

I unintentionally let out my inner thoughts and Rin goes as red as a strawberry. Because of my casual compliment, Rin unsurprisingly gets taken aback and starts acting a bit bashful.

"D-don't act like an idiot, come on, let's get going."

"Uh, yeah, sounds good."

As I listen to her trembling voice, I suddenly recall something from the past.

"Hmm..."

As if it were only natural, I put out my hand towards Rin.

"What are you doing with your hand?"

"We did this in the past."

A sense of guilt washes upon me as I say those words. Rin's eyes start dancing around after what I said and before long, she purses her lips and starts looking down. She mutters something.

"You honestly are so unfair."

"Unfair?"

"It's nothing."

Rin looks at my hand for an instant with an intense sense of greed. But she suddenly makes a fist and turns away.

"Come on, we aren't kids anymore."

"Haha, my bad."

I recall the times when we were kids and we played at the park's pachinko hall. Times really have changed since then, and a sense of loneliness washes over me. There's nothing I can do to stop the flow of time, though.

After buying our tickets and drinks, we head to the entrance. We take a seat and as we watch the ads, I remember something.

"Oh yeah, the movie we're watching today is apparently a really sad one.

"What are you saying?"

"Don't you cry really easily?"

"What makes you think I'll just start breaking down when we get to the sad part?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. It'll be fine.

"Tohru-kun."

Despite the fact that we're in a dark theatre, I stare at Rin frowning at me.

"Don't you dare make fun of me crying. I already watched a lot of sad anime anyway, so I already built up enough tolerance."

"Wow, that's amazing. You just set up a massive red flag, will you be alright?"

Rin gives me a smug look, like she's some kid who beat a really hard game.

"Raising red flags are only possible in stories. Maybe you're writing too much and you're getting fact and fiction mixed up."

And with that, the movie begins…