Would you like a cup of tea? || Shigeo Kageyama

UncertainTea

"I wonder if I'll do well at the marathon." Mob murmured to Hotaru. He seemed a little unconfident about the entire thing.

"What are you talking about?" Hotaru shook him by the shoulders. "You worked so hard for this and trained super diligently! I'm sure good things will happen!"

"..." He was still a bit too quiet for her tastes.

She let out a small sigh and then smacked him on the back a little to get his attention. Clearly, it did too good of a job as he stared at her with a subtle expression that said 'what was that for?'. She smiled at him apologetically. "Anyways, even if you don't make it to the top ten, you're always welcome to come to the cafe that day for some nice comforting tea as congratulations for participating in the marathon, got it?"

"So... in other words...you mean that I'll do okay in the marathon?" Mob blinked.

"Of course! You are Hope for a reason, aren't you?" She pointed out with a big smile. "As long as you do your very best, you have nothing to regret about. So keep your chin up and be proud of yourself. After all, you're constantly improving. Truly, that side of your is admirable to me." She sat back down on her seat and patted him on the shoulder. "Others might not see it, but I do. So trust me!"

"Then do you think that I can finish it on at least tenth position?" He asked her quietly, looking hesitant.

"Hope, did you not practice enough?" Hotaru countered his question with her own. "If you didn't practice enough, then you might not even get tenth position, but if you feel like you practiced with all of your heart and soul, then you have nothing to worry about. You'll definitely get tenth position as long as nothing unexpected happens during it."

Relief pooled into his eyes. "That's good to hear."

"Now then... Let me pour you some more tea." She stood up and grabbed the teapot swiftly, but before she could pour it, her hand lost all of its strength within seconds of grabbing it.

CRASH!

She stared at the broken shards of the teapot and the hot liquid that began to spread on the floor. Shock enraptured her as she stood there frozen.

Her aunt came running down the hallway. "What happened?!" She glanced at the floor and understood what to do next. "Don't worry about the teapot, Taru. Go sit there and chat with Hope instead. I'll clean this up."

"But-"

"No but's, Taru. Go sit down." Her aunt's gaze sharpened as she grabbed a mop and a dustpan.

"...Okay." She tugged on Mob's sleeve and motioned to him to sit near the windows instead. Once they got settled into their new seats, Mob noticed how sad and dejected Hotaru seemed. She touched her teacup lightly in an absent-minded manner.

"...Taru." Mob called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" She smiled timidly at him. Somehow, this weakened side of her made his heart hurt.

"If you would like, I can tell you in more detail about the route of the marathon." He had not planned on telling her about this, but for now, it seemed like a good idea.

Her expression immediately brightened up. "Yes! Tell me more about it! I want to know!"

That was when he knew that he had made the right decision.