Summer Meets Autumn

"He threw his arms in the air as the crowd received him with a roar of shouts, and the smile on his face was brilliant. He took his place at the microphone stand, and took a breath into it before he shouted, "Hello Kamakura!" He waved upward to the crowd at first with just his hands as they called for him, and gradually made the gesture larger and larger, waving with both arms and leaning into it with his whole body. He let the noise die from the audience, and gazed outward into the arena. I wasn't sure if the lights on him were catching the gloss in his eyes, or if he was trying to hold back tears. His smile never faded. On stage, in front of a microphone, a fully packed audience, and his band behind him, Aki was where he felt like he most belonged. He spoke into the silence of the crowd.

"We're home."
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Natsuko Sugimori is in her final year of high school and is studying to prepare for college entry exams. Top of her class, pretty but not too pretty, with a few good friends, she is a well rounded and even typical high school girl. But, she longs for companionship that goes deeper than just friendship. She is constantly sneaking looks in magazines promoting Host Clubs and fantasizing about having a 'bad boy' for a boyfriend, but she is too afraid to take time away from studies to act.

Aki, on the other hand, is a high school drop out typical bad boy. At age 25, he is front man and vocalist of a successful visual style metal band, a heartthrob, has a few tattoos, and drives a sports car. He enjoys the attention given to him by the band's lady fans, but he puts up a front. Really, he wants nothing more than to share a life with one devoted girl.

Natsuko and Aki meet accidentally, and both their worlds are turned upside down as they learn to let each other in living vastly different lives.

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Shortlisted in Wattys 2024
Featured on @BlueBirdAwards Winter 2024
Publishing contract offers from: AOS, Atmosphere Press