Chapter 13
It’s a truly amazing skill to be able to multitask efficiently, but it will always result in a serious decrease in your effectiveness in completing a task. No human can actually multitask there will also be a spilt second in which you’re not paying attention to one thing before you switch back to focusing on it. Even with this clear weakness, Runa discovered my stress. Some would simply blame this on my outburst, but I have yelled at her before. No this was something else entirely. Quite frankly it is easy to overlook the girl, in more ways than one, but she awfully talented in the reading of people. I can’t help, but wonder when she is observing us, while she is in the middle of a game does her game play decrease noticeably? Could the naked human eye notice a difference or would it only be noticeable under the watchful eye of artificial intelligence? I doubt Runa would be interested in such an experiment, and honestly it is completely irrelevant and would be a waste of my time. This thought process only serves as a distraction from my true goal, and I cannot allow it to continue to happen. Curiosity is one of the difficult aspects of myself to control, but for the President it will be done.
“Sayaka, dinner is ready.” My mother calls out. The time is 6:30. Enough to complete eating and allow for the proper amount of digestion before I run to meeting with Midari. This is good, and it was one of my concerns with not informing my parents of this evening run until dinner, but it was a risk that had to be taken. Informing them of it in yesterday or even this morning would allow for them to have too much time to process it. They would grow suspicious, and that could have lead to difficulties with my plan.
As I enter the kitchen, I bow down to my parents. “Thank you for cooking, Mother.” She smiles. I sit down. Preparing for everything is my goal, and that is why I have already planned for when I will tell my parents about the run. It will be slightly past the middle of the meal when they have almost completed their meals. At this point, they will start to feel filled up, while still remaining relaxed because they are not yet thinking about cleaning.
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“So I will be leaving at 8:30 to go on a quick run. It shouldn’t be much more than an hour and fifteen minutes.” At first my father seems proud, he’s always been pleased with my tendency to run frequently, while my mother seems to slightly concerned. Nothing to damming, but it could cause issues in the future. If they ask me about it, I’ll have to calm their doubts. There is no need for them to involve themselves in something that could hurt them.
“Okay Sayaka just make sure to be safe.” Her eyebrows are drawn together. Yes not telling her until now was the correct decision. Her concern will continue to grow until she decides to make her move. Based on previous incidents it will most likely be tomorrow after I return home from work.
“Of course.” We continue to eat in silence.
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I make a left hand turn without slowing. I’ll be home in approximately 10 minutes. The meeting was shorter than expected, so I’ll probably arrive home at 9:05.
I’m rather pleased by the results of the meeting with Midari. She seems to grasp the importance of what I’m planning, which is a bit of a shock. Outside during my first conversation with Totobami, I decided the best course of action would be to wait for her to approach me again, but when Midari inserted herself into the situation, changes had to be made. I will have to approach Terano , so Midari can approach Yumi. It’s risky, but it can be accomplished with the proper excuse. I am rather disappointed that I was unable to come up with excuse on my own, but the President voicing her desire to gamble made it quite clear what would be my best option. There are a few benefits of Terano’s strong hatred of the President, and they are she’ll reject “the President’s” request to gamble, and she’ll never bring it up it up to the President. Her hatred will blind her, and in that moment I will move in close. It’s my hope that she’ll forgot that I’m standing next to her because I want to. She must think I am there because she has tricked me. It will be hard to know for certain that I’m not playing into her hand...she is a stranger after-all, but it will become clearer more time passes.
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When I open my front door, both my father and mother are waiting for me at the table. They’re holding hands. An unexpected turn I was certain this wouldn’t happen till tomorrow. Where in my calculations did I go wrong? What kind of mistake could cause such a blunder? An ignored variable perhaps. My brother. He must have voiced his concerns for me to our parents. This would result in an acceleration of their overreaction. How could I miss this? What a little snitch.
“Sayaka I’m concerned you may be overworking yourself due to stress.” My father is the one who asks the first question. Interesting. Is intimidation going to be their move?
Honesty is the key to completely deny it would be futile. “I will admit to feeling rather stressed, but I assure you that if I were to believe I’m under too much pressure I would inform you.” The most effective answer; it will help curb their fears while also allowing myself more space. To doubt it would be to doubt my abilities and my parents will not. They never have.
“Okay Sayaka just know you can trust us.” My heart clenches. I’m hurting them I know this, but it must be done. The President’s safety is more valuable than my own feelings and my family’s feelings. It hurts, but I can
live with it.
“Of course I will heading off to bed.” They’re still frowning.
Once in my room I begin to undress, and prepare for bed. There is one last concern in my plan. The President. When I inform her that I will not be attending lunch with her, she will certainly have questions. I must be prepared for anything she throws at me. She may intend to get in close, maybe she’ll even push me against the table and breath in my ear. I can feel myself flushing and shivering, even just the thought of the President is enough for me to lose my composure. I cannot allow this to happen tomorrow. I must continue to remind myself of the consequences of failure. The fear of failure will protect from the President’s games.