Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume30 Chapter1 3

Scattered Sunshine. Part 3.

Her onee-sama sat down in the driver's seat. Then she adjusted the seat position and the angle of the mirror. It was the same thing that Kashiwagi-san had done in front of the Fukuzawa's house.

"O-onee-sama!?"

While all this was going on, Kashiwagi-san handed his card to the pump attendant and returned to the car, seating himself in the free space in the front – the passenger's seat.

"Don't worry Yumi. I've got my license."

Ahh geez. That was the exact same thing that a certain someone had cheerfully said to her some time ago. Even the pose was similar. This time, the proffered license had a photo of the exquisite Ogasawara Sachiko-sama. Yumi felt just a little bit nervous.

"Umm. When did you get your license?"

"Let's see. I didn't come to school last Friday, right? That's when."

Indeed. She had been absent. And Yumi hadn't inquired as to why.

"So this is what you had been uncharacteristically studying for – "

"Oh, you noticed? I was going over a workbook for the written exam. Normally I wouldn't have to study for that, but the test has all kinds of trick questions that I needed to familiarize myself with."

So that explained what Minako-sama had referred to as 'her eccentricities' and why they had suddenly stopped after Friday.

"Did you go to a driving school … ?"

"Yes, of course I did. I've been going since not long after the student council elections. I'd go in the evening on weekdays, during the afternoon on Saturdays and all day Sunday."

So that was why she went home straight after school.

"Then, that's why Kashiwagi-san was going over to the Ogasawara household – "

"My, you were concerned about quite a lot of things."

Sachiko-sama seemed pleased.

"I was her tutor. She was determined to get it on her first attempt, so I went over to help before her temporary license exam and final exam."

"I didn't say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise to you, Yumi."

In that case, her plan was a huge success. Yumi was completely surprised.

"You don't have to make that face, it'll be okay. I made it from my place to your house without accident."

"It would be a huge problem if there were an accident."

So why would they change and have Kashiwagi-san drive them away from the Fukuzawa household when Sachiko-sama had driven there? It seems that was done so Yumi's parents wouldn't worry about an inexperienced driver driving them around. Yumi had no way of knowing for sure, but she suspected that there had been a bit of an argument about this, and it was only after Sachiko-sama had extracted the promise that they would switch at an appropriate time that she allowed Kashiwagi-san to drive. But Kashiwagi-san had become faint-hearted once the Fukuzawa siblings were in the back seat, thinking it would be safer for them to continue on to the amusement park with him as the driver. Was Sachiko-sama's driving really that stressful?

"How long have you known, Yuuki?"

"Since my sempai sat down in the driver's seat."

"Out the front of our house?"

That was quick.

"If he had driven there, then he wouldn't have had to adjust the seat and the mirror as much as he did."

"Ah, was that it."

Five minutes earlier, Kashiwagi-san had adjusted the seat and the mirror so they were comfortable for him, in the same way that Sachiko-sama had just done. Because someone else had been driving the car just before. But only two people came to the Fukuzawa residence in this car, making it trivial to deduce the identity of the driver.

"Although I became suspicious when he said that Sachiko-sama's grandfather had lent them the car for the day."

Kashiwagi-san laughed at Yuuki's statement.

"I guess that was pushing it."

Kashiwagi-san had taken numerous young women driving in his usual red car. The ones Yumi knew about were Sachiko-sama and herself, Youko-sama and Touko. So why hadn't this car made an appearance before now?

The gas station attendants cleaned the car windows. There were three of them, and Yumi found it strange that they were doing such an incredibly thorough job. Initially, she thought it was because they were admiring Sachiko-sama's beauty, but they spent just as long on the rear windows. Apparently they were fascinated with the car itself. Was it really that rare an automobile?

"Is this Sachiko-san's car?"

Yuuki asked.

"No. Didn't I tell you? It's my grandfather's."

"But her grandfather doesn't drive. He bought this a month ago, for Sacchan."

It was nominally her grandfather's. However, it was essentially Sachiko-sama's personal car.

After filling up the tank and returning Kashiwagi-san's credit card, the attendants reluctantly stopped cleaning the windows.

"Umm."

The Fukuzawa siblings nervously asked if Sachiko-sama was really going to drive the rest of the way there.

"It'll be fine. She's passed the license exam."

Kashiwagi-san said soothingly, stifling any retort from Sachiko-sama. But there would be far fewer traffic accidents if having a license meant that you were a completely safe driver.

"Just take it carefully. After all, you've got your precious Yumi-chan on board. Right, Sacchan?"

"Of course."

That was slightly reassuring. Still, even though Sachiko-sama had said that, they didn't know what kind of a driver she was. Yumi knew that people could change when they got behind the wheel.

"Check front and rear."

After pointing out the front and to the mirror, Sachiko-sama slowly started to drive. The attendants got out of the way and the next car pulled in behind them.

"Blinker."

Instructed Kashiwagi-san.

"I know."

Sachiko-sama grumbled after switching on the left indicator.

"Aren't you noisy. I was just a bit slow turning it on that time."

Yumi no longer wished she was sitting beside her onee-sama. Kashiwagi-san, with his year-long driving history, was the only one who could cover for Sachiko-sama's faltering driving. To make matters worse, this car wasn't fitted with something as convenient as satellite navigation. Kashiwagi-san, with the map spread across the passenger's seat, had to rely on street signs to know where they were.

Still.

"You have to speed up, so we're part of the flow."

"Somebody said to drive carefully."

After the Fukuzawa siblings went quiet, leaving everything to Kashiwagi-san, the two-person conversation gradually started to heat up.

"Don't turn the blinker on so early."

"But you said I was too late last time."

"You have to time it just right."

"Could you be quiet for a bit?"

This had probably gone on for the entire drive from the Ogasawara residence to the Fukuzawa's house too.

"Ah – we had to turn right there."

"Then you should have said so sooner."

"But you told me to be quiet."

"It was Sei-sama that said this, but you really do have a bad personality."

"Or maybe it's because you were rushing."

Then, to top it all off, they got stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway, completing their foul mood. A sunny Sunday morning was the perfect time for an outing, after all. The congestion wasn't anyone's fault, but the extra irritation caused by inching their way along made for an intolerable atmosphere within the car. The Fukuzawa siblings tried to brighten the atmosphere by talking about cheery things, but no matter where they tried to steer the conversation to, the fatigue still remained.

So, not only did the Red Rose sisters, Kashiwagi-san and Yuuki arrive at the amusement park thirty minutes after its opening time, no-one was in a good mood when they got there either.

"We didn't make it in time, even though we left home two and a half hours ago."

Sachiko-sama muttered ruefully as she locked the car. This was the part of her personality that hated to lose coming out. Although it was unclear who she was competing against.

"Well, it hasn't been half an hour since the park opened, so we're not that late."

Cheering up her irresponsible onee-sama may be a lot of work, but if her bad mood continued then today would be no fun at all.

"Anyway, let's go and buy a ticket."

Yumi took hold of Sachiko-sama's hand and walked towards the ticket-counter, right next to the main entrance. There was a queue of about ten people in front of each of the windows. Looking around, she could see a surge of people heading this way from the train station. The sooner they bought their tickets, the sooner they could enjoy the rides.

Even so. Yumi started to feel dizzy, thinking about all the people that were going to the amusement park. After all, the people she could see now were just a small fraction compared to the people that had already entered in the last thirty minutes, and those that would come later. Probably.

"Oh?"

Even though they'd arrived massively late due to the traffic jam, Yumi saw someone she knew standing in front of the ticket counter.

"Yumi-san..."

The girl with braids dangling over her shoulders smiled weakly.