Ride on Time

Chapter 16

"I'm going out again!" Shri announced, going towards the front door as he fixed his suspenders.
"Where, to go see Misao ah?" Shruti smirked, a book clasped in her hand as she came towards him.
"Well, if I bump into her, then yes," Shri sighed. "You wanna come?"
Shruti grinned mischievously. "Oh, no. Why would I? Later, I like third person only if I come. You go lah."
Shri sighed. "Sure or not?"
"Aiya, sure lah," Shruti grinned, tugging at one of her brother's suspenders' straps and releasing it with a snap. "Go lah."
"Ouch, pain lah!" Shri frowned, rubbing his shoulder. "So mean lah you."
"I know," Shruti smirked. "Anyway, bye! I'll tell Ma that you went out with Misao!"
Shri groaned and went out the door, glad that Shruti didn't follow him.
But now he had nothing to do outside.
So he just went down to the convenience store to see what he can do there instead.
To his surprise, he saw Misao paying at the cashier.
"Shruti..." Shri groaned softly, casually turning around to leave.
"Eh? Shri!" Misao called behind him, much to his dismay.
Shri sighed and put on a smile before turning to face her. "Hey! Misao!"
Misao smiled and took her things from the counter before waiting for him at the entrance as he shopped. He was actually secretly happy to have met her again but that also meant his sister was gonna make no end of jokes about it, even hinting how they liked each other. Well, it was half-true after all.
He decided to just get himself a bottle of yoghurt drink, which he never seen in Malaysia, and a chocolate bar since he had no idea what else to buy now that Misao was here. Shri eventually finished and went to Misao.
"I never expected you to walk in here too," Misao chuckled as they left the shop together. "But I guess it is since this is the nearest shop to Yumemite."
"Yeah," Shri nodded. "By the way, I hope I'm not disturbing your errands or anything."
"Oh no, I'm just here to get a snack," Misao chuckled, shaking her plastic bag. "By the way... I'm actually on my way to Kumiko's Ochaya. You wanna come with me?"
Shri looked surprised but nodded. "Sure. I'd like to know what an actual Chado looks like."
"Yeah, we actually did chado in the ryōtei when you came in with Shruti, but that was just merely pouring you some tea. This one, it's a lot more. Kumiko's pretty well-versed in the full ceremony too. We should go."
So they went to the ochaya for tea ceremony. The Okaasan of the Teahouse let them in with no trouble since she knew Misao very well."
"Good to see you here again, Misao," the okaasan smiled. "Kumiko's free now and she can tend to you." Then her gaze fell on Shri, who just smiled at her. "Your boyfriend?"
Misao looked at him for a moment and nodded, her lips curling into a smile. "Yes, he is."
Shri had no clue that kareshi meant boyfriend but just followed Misao as the Okaasan led them into a tatami room where a geisha patiently waited in front of a tradition Japanese tea set and kettle of boiling hot water. Misao smothered a giggle upon seeing her normally cheerful friend obediently sitting with her legs folded under her and face painted in white.
"Have a seat," the older woman said in English, inviting them to sit. "Ayame will serve you tea."
Kumiko looked at Misao and Shri in surprise but bowed respectfully.
"I will be demonstrating the tea ceremony," Kumiko said in English, seeing how Shri wouldn't understand a word if she spoke in Japanese instead. "But first, you will have the Wagashi."
She put a small plate of flower-shaped dessert in front of them and bowed slightly before beginning the tea ceremony. Firstly, she slowly opened the kettle and scooped some hot water into three tea bowls and doused the whisk into one of them, stirring it slightly.
"Why is she stirring the hot water?" Shri whispered to Misao.
"She's cleaning it first," Misao whispered back. "Sterilisation."
"Oh..." Shri nodded understandingly, finishing his Wagashi and pulling out his notebook to take notes.
Kumiko smiled slightly and carefully laid the whisk in front of her before dumping the water out into another bowl. Then she took a small cloth and wiped the three chawan clean before reaching for the natsume and chashaku to scoop some tea into each bowl. After that, she opened the kettle again and poured some hot water into the bowls before whisking the tea into the water.
"It is done," Kumiko said, handing them each a chawan.
"Turn your cup clockwise on your left hand two times before drinking it," Misao whispered to Shri.
Shri put his notebook away and did as she said and took a sip of his tea, his face contorting a little at the strong taste.
"What do you think?" Kumiko asked, sipping her own tea as she watched them.
"It's a little bitter, but I like it," Shri politely said. "Thank you, Ku- I mean Ayame."
"Yes, we address each other with our 'stage names' at work," Misao chuckled. "Anyway, the Wagashi was good. You made it yourself?"
Kumiko shook her head, smirking slightly. "No, but I made the tea."
"I have a question," Shri said after he finished his tea. "Why is so little tea served in such a large bowl?"
"Because we drink two of those," Kumiko chuckled. "That was the koicha, thick tea. Now, I serve you usucha, thin tea."
They handed their bowls back to her and she handed them a plate of higashi candy before performing the same ritual again, but with lesser tea, before handing it back to them.
"Yeah, I like this one better," Shri said as he drank. "It isn't as strong."
"Yeah same, I like this one better too," Kumiko couldn't help but agree.
"Well, I like mine thick," Misao chuckled. "That's when you can taste the tea to its full potential."
They spent a little while longer with her, with Kumiko even performing a song with her shamisen.
"It's like a banjo but with an East Asian sound," Shri told Misao in a low voice. "I like it."
"What about the tsuzumi?" Misao asked, slightly offended that he seemed to like Kumiko's performance more than hers.
"Oh, I really like the tsuzumi," Shri truthfully said. "The sound is so... I don't know how to say. Cute? I think that's the word I can describe it in."
Misao turned slightly red but managed to hide her face by taking a sip from her tea bowl.
They were soon out of the Ochaya, and Misao offered to pay for some reason.
"My treat," Misao smiled. "Especially since it's my idea."
"Oh, no, Misao," Shri shook his head. "I'll pay half."
"No, no, it's okay," Misao quickly said. "I'm getting a discount because of Kumiko. Friendship discount."
"Is that even possible?" Shri asked in surprise.
"Well, you got it from me when visiting my Ryōtei," Misao pointed out.
"That makes sense," Shri simply shrugged.
Kumiko suddenly came out and smiled. "No, neither of you are paying. It's on me."
"What?!" Misao gasped. "Kumi!"
"What, you know it's on the house, right," Kumiko smirked, speaking in Japanese. "Okaasan knows you well and also, you do know that a geisha has the privilege to give freebies to her friends, right?"
They left the Ochaya with Kumiko giving them a deep bow of respect and gratitude for coming. They bowed too, with Shri almost falling over because of how low he went.
"Yeah, that was a little embarrassing, wasn't it?" Shri sighed as he strolled along the sidewalk with Misao. "I almost fell into your friend."
"Nah, she won't mind," Misao smirked, much to his surprise. "She would actually deserve getting knocked over, really." She silently walked alongside Shri before speaking again. "By the way, you have any plans now?"
"Not really," Shri admitted. "But I was planning to find out more about Japanese culture because of this book I'm planning to write and I only have three days more to do all of that before returning home."
Misao smiled. "Aww, don't worry about it. I can help you with that."
"How?"
Misao only smiled as a plan started forming in her head.