Graduating top of her class, Ashley Shields was offered a full ride scholarship to the prestigious SanFransokyo Institute of Technology, and took it as her way out. She planned on studying hard, getting good grades, and eventually making a life for...
"You have to at least let me pay you back somehow!" Ashley said, exasperated.
Tadashi just laughed. Again. Ashley had managed to catch him outside of one of their classes, after bolting nearly halfway across the building while still trying to maintain some level of decorum.
Unfortunately, Ashley didn't have very many classes with Tadashi, so she hadn't had the chance to ask him until now. Yes, she had robotics and mechanical engineering with him, but those didn't leave much time for talking. And she wasn't even sitting next to him either.
"I told you, I was just helping out a friend."
"Alrighty, fine then," she huffed. "I'll just have to owe you a favor."
He seemed to be mulling it over. And Ashley began anxiously twisting the ring on her right index finger.
"Well, uh....what do you have going on tonight?" Tadashi seemed nervous all of a sudden.
"Oh, um...." as she mentally went through her schedule for that night, a part of Ashley's brain suddenly realized what exactly he was asking. "OH." Her voice squeaked. Then she tried to subtly clear her throat. "I,uh, no. I'm not....I mean, I don't have anything going on tonight."
Tadashi's eyes seemed to light up on the inside, a wide grin forming on his face. "Great! Um, I mean, yeah. So, there's a couple of us at the lab, we were doing a bowling night. And then we're maybe thinking about going to dinner afterwards?" His hand rubbed the back of his neck.
A blossoming, tingly feeling spread out through Ashley's whole chest. "Yeah, I....that sounds great Tadashi. Tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll swing by your place and pick you up. Where do you live?"
~~~~~~~one of those Glorious Time Skips ~~~~~~~
She couldn't believe it. Tadashi freaking Hamada, asked her out!
Ashley had practically bolted to the bookshop after school, and Esme's granddaughter, Julia, couldn't help but let loose an excited squeal as soon as Ashley blurted out the news to the both of them.
Julia was Esme's second to oldest grandchild, with big brown eyes and a head of curly cinnamon hair. And she was filled with an old soul brand of sass that made the girl seem far older than the thirteen she was.
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Esme simply smiled, her eyes twinkling with an inner light. "I was wondering when that young man of yours would ask," she said casually, as she handed a customer their bag of books, and telling them to have a good day. Ashley's mouth opened and closed, Julia smirking at her expression as the older girl looked at Esme with surprise as she worked to shelve a box of children's fairytales.
"Yeah, Tadashi---wait, what?!"
Julia rolled her eyes. "We may be older than you Ashley, but that doesn't make us stupid," she sassed, barely managing to dodge Ashley's playful swing at the back of the girls head.
"So, when is your 'young man' going to pick you up?" Julia smirked from across the counter at her, Esme shaking her head softly at the two of them.
"Six-thirty," Ashley replied nervously, as she dropped her backpack under the counter, going over to help a customer waiting at the register.
"And that'll be three thirty-five, you have good day sir." She turned to Julia and Esme, mostly Esme. "So, what do I do?! I mean, well--" she stumbled over her words.
"Well?!" Julia demanded. "Cough it up already fuzzball!"
"Julia!" Esme scolded.
"I-don't-know-what-do-to-because-I've-never-actually-been-on-a-date-before," Ashley whispered, biting her lip, nervously, threading and re threading her fingers together.
Julia looked the most shocked. "Wha-how come you've never been on a date before?!"
"Um, it's kind of a long story," she muttered, chewing on her lip again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Esme had her hands on her hips, a deep, calculating look on her face. "What time was this boy coming to your house?"
"Uh....six-thirty?"
"That doesn't give us much time then," the older woman flipped over the sign on the door to CLOSED after having Julia run back and check the store for customers.
Julia was grinning as she returned, bouncing with energy as if she was attempting to lift off by sheer excitement alone.
"Wait," Ashley laughed, confused. "What are we doing? The shop don't usually close this early on a Friday." That statement earned Ashley another exaggerated eyeroll from Julia.
"We're going to help you get ready nerd," she said as the three walked out, her grandmother locking the door behind them.
Ashley stopped. "What?!"
okay, I thought this chapter might have been a kind of shoddy, but please tell me what you think about it. I just want to move on to the rest of the story, so it's not some of my best work, I'll admit. 😬😏🙄
(and I also apologize that it took me so long to put up this chapter, lol 😏)
