This Side of Paradise - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 39: First Day

Chapter 39:

2 Years Later

"Hana! Come on, sweetheart! You're going to be late for your first day of school!" Kei exclaimed as he packed his daughter a bento box and apple slices for lunch.

He waited for a response from upstairs, only to get nothing.

"What's taking her so long?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow, sipping from her cup of coffee, "She's already dressed..."

"We should go check on her..." He mumbled worriedly.

The two sauntered up the stairs and knocked lightly on Hana's door.

"Go away!" She shouted, startling them.

"Hana...?" Mizuki opened the door slightly and peeked in to find her hiding underneath her blanket, "My moonflower, you're going to be late for school..."

"I don't want to go!" Hana whined, "I wanna stay here!"

Kei and Mizuki stared at each other before coming to the conclusion that their daughter was most likely scared or anxious about attending school. The night before, Hana was ecstatic - she couldn't stop talking about how many friends she was going to make and what different things she was going to learn in school. Now, it seemed like she wanted to disappear from the world.

"Hey..." Kei sat on her bed and removed the blanket covering her body, "What's wrong, sweetheart? Why don't you want to go to school anymore?"

"Because I wanna stay here with you and mama!" Hana grimaced.

"But you were so excited last night..." Kei smiled softly, "Remember? You said you were going to be friends with everyone..."

"I don't need friends!" She insisted.

"Aw..." Mizuki joined her husband as she sat on Hana's bed.

Hana shuffled so that she was in between her parents, her face pale with nervousness.

"Can we go play at the park instead?" Hana mumbled, looking up at her parents with her cute eyes, "Please?"

"Hana..." Kei chuckled, "I know you're scared but school is important, especially for kids who want to learn all sorts of things."

"I already know lots of things... I don't need school..." She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Baby, don't force her to go to school..." Mizuki chimed in, earning a curious look from Kei, "Hana probably doesn't want to go play on the playground or play with the hundreds of toys they have there..."

Hana blinked a few times as she processed her mother's words.

"She doesn't want to go on fun field trips, or sing songs with everyone, or paint using her fingers..." Mizuki continued, watching her daughter's eyes widen in wonder.

"Oh, you're right..." Kei nodded, finally understanding what Mizuki was trying to do, "I guess Hana doesn't want to meet her class' pet hamster too..."

"Hamster?" Hana repeated.

"Yeah... Sugawara-san, your teacher, has a hamster and he lets his class take care of it for the entire school year..." Kei explained, "I guess your classmates will have to take care of the hamster without you..."

"N-no!" She shook her head frantically, "I want to meet the hamster!"

Kei and Mizuki stared at each other before letting out a small laugh.

"It's okay to be scared, Hana..." Kei murmured affectionately, "We shouldn't let our fear get in the way of the things we want to do. We should try our best to be brave, even if it's really difficult to do so."