What's Up with Anya Kurihara?
1417 Words
I'm Anya Kurihara, 20 years old.
Back in high school, I was known as the girl who loves to buy items on those old-school home shopping networks.
But now, with the advent of online shopping, home shopping networks are gradually losing steam.
But I still endorse them for their novelty products.
I'm now pursuing a degree in pharmacy. But first, I must pass a brief pre-med course to determine which specific medical profession I should pursue.
Honestly, I'm kinda scared of exposed human flesh, so surgery is out of the question.
But if what I'm gonna do is to hawk out pills and stuff (the legal kind, of course), this should be it.
Anyway, my memory of Gunpei Imahara inviting me to be one of the girls in his prom harem is still fresh on my mind.
I still remember how I initially decided to skip the prom due to failing to get a prom date all because of my section's gender imbalance... and how he came up with the brilliant idea of a prom harem to deal with that problem once and for all.
I've had my first impression of Gunpei when we first met back in the freshman year of high school.
He is a plain-looking guy, but some of his facial features make him a pretty boy in his own right.
Plus, most of his stuff he carried around have the designs of fictional super robots.
I was curious as to why he still had the tenacity to carry these “childish” apparatuses when he should act his age.
And so, I mustered up my courage to ask him that burning question.
At lunchtime.
On the second day of freshman year.
“E-Excuse me...”
Despite my voice not reaching the intended distance...
He could still sense my presence.
And thus, he did the wise thing and approached me.
“Is something the matter, Anya?”
We already knew each other's names due to freshman orientation, so that's that.
“Yes. Why... why are you carrying around your bag depicting... uh... Mega Kurata Bot? It's a kid's show, right?”
“Oh, that? I'm simply fascinated with robots and stuff ever since I was a kid. Enough for me to decide to pursue robotics engineering for college.”
“That's amazing! You'll get to live your childhood dream someday. Not many people get to do that.”
“Thanks. Anyway, I'm heading to the canteen. Wanna go along with me?”
“Sure!”
And thus, my first meeting with Gunpei turned out to be much different from what I expected.
He was calm and composed; but at the same time, I sensed a burning passion in his eyes to make his dream come true.
And more often that not, his actions spoke louder than words.
He was always solution-oriented, which was a great asset whenever we had group assignments or projects.
And that even extended to what he did to save the prom from turning stale.
This was truly the mark of a future engineer I saw in him.
I admit, I have a little crush on him until now, but then there was this pink-haired girl named Noemi, whom he eventually professed his love to.
Ultimately, I had to throw away my selfishness and wished the two well.
I can find another man who can closely match him, anyway.
Right now, as I'm getting used to the life of a pre-med student, one of my old friends calls me.
I promptly answer the phone.
“Hello, Anya! It's been a while, isn't it?”
“Good afternoon to you, Masaharu. Good that you've decided to call me again after all those years.”
“You mean months, because we last saw each other eight months ago!”
“Ah yes! I forgot! You know how someone pursuing a medicine-related course can tend to forget other stuff...”
“Ha ha. That's the typical Anya I know. Anyway, I called you not just to say hi. I... I just started my own small business. A bespoke leather goods business, to be more precise.”
“That's great to hear! I guess you're making shoes, wallets, and handbags.”
“Precisely. More often than not, I make them from scraps. I was so concerned for the leather goods people would just throw away. Instead of letting them head for the landfill, why shouldn't I give them a new lease in life by upcycling them?”
“Yeah, mindful consumption seems to be on everyone's minds nowadays. So anyway, when will you open your store?”
“Next week. I have to finalize the products I'll roll out, as well as make arrangements with the online retailer I'll be working with.”
“Then please give me a discount when you open your store. I'm your friend, remember?”
“About that... as much as I want to give you a friend discount, I'll gladly say no. I encourage you to pay full price instead; because I don't want any biases, plus it would really help my business in the long term.”
“Yes, I understand. Anyway, it's nice talking to you. You can PM me the site of your online store when you finally launch it, OK?”
“Will do. So then, bye for now, Anya.”
“Bye, Masaharu.”
I happily end the call.
So then, besides pre-med and my old friend's upcoming online business, what else is up with me?
Ah, yes.
I guess someone's curious as to the items I bought on those home shopping networks over the years.
Kitchen aids such as slicers, dicers, and mechanical choppers that are essentially blenders that don't need electricity. And don't forget the sets of non-stick pans, too.
Slimming aids such as sauna pads, slimming tea, and slimming soap.
A portable fishing rod. And by the way, their endorsers are hillbillies who just love to swear a lot, and thus the infomercial had lots of bleeps.
Styling aids such as hair curlers, children's toys such as building blocks, and handicraft tools such as stitching kits.
And finally... why I am even divulging this... breast pads that are named after a goddess.
For the record, I'm not flat-chested.
But seeing as the other girls in my classes were bustier than me... yup, I really felt out of shape and I was thus compelled to buy the breast pads.
At least I wouldn't have to spend thousands of yen undergoing breast enhancement operations.
My parents didn't mind me throwing money at the screen – figuratively, of course – as they are always loaded from their jobs and I always keep up my good grades.
This was but one of the advantages of growing up in a healthy and financially-stable family.
But of course, I can't stay with them forever. I have to move forward with my life.
And that is why I choose the path of pharmacy – as researchers all over the world are still hard at work concocting and perfecting all sorts of treatments and vaccines to various diseases – and the pharmacist's job is to distribute these products to people who need them the most.
Besides my career choice... I really want to reconnect with my old classmates.
Even though social media allows us to easily do so, nothing beats the feeling of actually meeting old friends face-to-face, talking about old flames and new paths in life.
Saya, you are a capable singer, and thus I once tried to join the choir in order to follow your footsteps.
But my voice was anything but angelic.
Even though I have a cute, high-pitched speaking voice, my singing voice is its polar opposite – a dreadful cacophony of some otherworldly monsters.
The other members all laughed at me, but thank goodness you stood up for me.
Hopefully, I can undergo one of your private singing lessons someday and achieve the angelic voice I've always wanted.
Ruriko...
You're best known in class as the weather girl and the novel girl.
I can't wait for the day you will appear on some news program, detailing weather conditions for the safety of all.
After all, I once saw you delivering weather reports during the school festival, and you truly emanated an air of professionalism.
On the realm of novels, I think your family has a huge collection of them – in different languages, no less.
It's not surprising that with such a huge collection of novels, both your parents are novelists themselves – and they need every bit of inspiration to write their own.
If for some reason you can't make it as a weather girl, you'll still fit in as a novelist.
And finally...
Gunpei... words can't express how grateful I am for the kimono you gave me. I now treasure it by wearing it on special occasions.
I hope I can meet you again one day – and reminisce the times we've had.
Maybe... we can visit the Eiffel Tower together and have a not-romantic date... as absurd as it may seem right now.
But as a determined woman, I just can't let my dreams be dreams... they're just relegated to the back-burner instead.
Someday... we'll all meet again by the shore.
- Writer
