Part 122: Return of the Mack
Tokimemo Girl's Side 2, Chapter 9: Return of the Mack12/31: The year in review
It's been a while since the last update, maybe Siren's introspection will remind us of what we were up to before the hiatus!
Siren: When I think about this year...
Siren: I spent a lot of time hanging out with Haruhi-chan.
Siren: That's about all I can think up.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Yuu: What's going on, sis?
Siren: Oh, just thinking.
Yuu: Really? Huh.
Yuu: Hey, can we watch that red-white thing? C'mon, can we can we?
Siren: Sure, sure. Who's going to perform this year, anyway?
Yuu: Ta-da! I brought the latest issue of "Weekly TV Catch" with me!
Yuu: I think the white team is gonna win this year.
For those who aren't familiar with Japanese New Year's traditions, the "red-white" thing is a thinly veiled reference to Kouhaku Uta Gassen, a competition between Japanese musical performers that has aired from 19:15 to 23:45 on December 31st of every year since 1953. It takes the most popular/most successful/most enka singers of the year, slaps them on the Red Team or White Team, and has them perform their latest hit in front of a captive audience of people who are mostly staying home on a holiday anyway.
As a note, in the years since this game was released and Yuu made this prediction, the white team has won 8 out of 9 times. What a prophet.
Yuu: *yawn* I hope we get to hear this song soon. The dance that goes with it is so flashy and fun.
Siren: Haha, why don't you stop fighting it and just go to sleep, Yuu-kun?
Yuu: I'm not sleepy! I'm fine.
Yuu: Hey, let's eat soba! S O B A soba! I'll help.
Siren: It's a little early for that, but since you're so sleepy already, I'll do it.
Yuu: Yay!
Siren: (No matter how you cut it, this was a pretty busy year after the move. I wonder if next year has good things in store for me?)
Another New Year's tradition in Japan: Toshikoshi soba is a popular noodle dish eaten on the 31st.
1/1: Good things in store
Siren: Time for a fresh start to the new year!
Siren: Oh hey, and the New Year's cards arrived. I wonder who sent them?
Siren: This one's definitely from Saeki-kun.
Siren: What a beautiful ocean sunrise.
Siren: Here's Harry's.
Siren: Pretty interesting to have a monochrome card.
Siren: Wakaoji-sensei's card is pretty easygoing.
Siren: Oh hey, and it has the periodic table in the background!
Siren: Masaki-senpai.
Siren: Ugh, and it comes with a warning.
I haven't translated the other cards because they're tiny and generic, but Masaki's includes another note that says "Don't slack off too much at work!"
Siren: Oh, and here's Haruhi-chan's!
Siren: The art is so cute. Did she draw them herself?
I really, really wish that I could read this one, but it's just too small and squished. It comes with so many hearts and stars and exclamation points. If only Haruhi existed in the modern world of emoji...
*ring ring*
Siren: Hmm? Who could that be?
Teru: Hello? It's me.
Siren: Oh, hi Saeki-kun. Happy New Year.
Teru: Uhhhh... happy new year and stuff.
Teru: Hey, you wanna come out to hatsumode with me?
Siren: Sure!
Teru: Cool. I'll take care of a couple things and head over there.
Siren: Got it. I'll be waiting and ready.
Teru: Alright. See you in a bit.
Siren: (I wonder what I should wear?)
In case you don't remember, Siren sold almost every single item in her wardrobe in order to afford this. No way we're letting her get away without putting it on.
Teru: HNY and stuff.
Siren: Happy new year!
Teru: Whoa. You're in a haregi.
Siren: I am! What do you think?
Teru: It's nice. Kinda feels like I'm coming out ahead in this deal.
Siren: (Does... does that mean he likes it?)
Teru: So, shall we?
Teru: I knew it would be, but... ugh, it's so crowded.
Siren: Well, it is New Year's Day, after all.
Teru: If I was in charge, I'd make New Year's Day a flex holiday.
Siren: What should I wish for this year?
Siren: Fortune in love.
Siren: Yeah, especially when it comes to...
Siren: Saeki.
Yes, I broke an old rule of this LP. But there are Reasons(tm) for this.
Teru: Hey look, people are pulling their fortunes. You wanna try it?
Siren: Yeah, let's do it!
Teru: Wait, seriously?
Siren: Yeah! You should pull one too, Saeki-kun.
Teru: You girls and your fortune telling, I swear.
Siren: (I hope I get a good one!)
Siren: Kichi, good fortune. Well, at least it's positive.
Siren: (How did Saeki-kun do?)
Teru: It says daikichi, great.
Siren: Wow, good for you, Saeki-kun!
Teru: You really think so?
Siren: Well, of course, it's the best result, isn't it?
Teru: That's the problem. What if this year is actually the best year of my life?
Teru: I'm only in my teens, is it all downhill from here?
Siren: Gee, that sure is a problem.
Siren: (He's getting things all twisted around already, what a start to the year.)
Teru: Alright, so that takes care of all the usual stuff, right?
Teru: Cool. Good work out there today.
Siren: (I really hope this year goes well for me.)
1/2: Doing sensei a solid
*ring ring*
Siren: Who could that be?
Wakaoji: This is Wakaoji.
Siren: Oh! Wakaoji-sensei? Is something wrong?
Wakaoji: I'm thinking of holding a field trip next Sunday.
Wakaoji: But, umm, there aren't many people coming, so it would help me out a lot if you joined.
Siren: Sure, I'll go!
Wakaoji: Thank you. It's this Sunday - please try not to be late.
1/7: Flowers for Wakaojernon
Siren: Whew, I made it on time.
Wakaoji: Good morning, everyone. Now that we're all here, we can start.
Wakaoji: Achoo!
Wakaoji: Now, let's warm up. To the hothouse!
Students: Okay!
Siren: (Is that seriously why he brought us to the botanical garden?)
Wakaoji: Whew, this is nice and toasty. I'm finally warm.
Wakaoji: Thanks to this, we can taste the tropics even here in Habataki.
Option 1: Aren't you supposed to be teaching us something, Sensei?
Option 2: These plants are different and cool!
Option 3: This is pretty different from the tropics.
As much as I'd love to give Wakaoji the same kind of sass that Teru gets, it's time to be a dutiful student.
Siren: These plants are different and cool!
Wakaoji: Yes, the plants in this hothouse evolved along an entirely different path than what we're used to.
Wakaoji: I never get tired of seeing them.
Siren: (Yay! I made a great impression!)
1/10: Back in class and back to sass
Siren: (I came in early because I have cleanup duty today, but I think I overdid it.)
Siren: (I bet there's nobody here--hmm?)
Siren: (That's Saeki-kun, isn't it? I think he's studying, but...)
Siren: (He has glasses on! I've never seen that before.)
Siren: Ack! Sorry!
Teru: Hmm?
Teru: You really shouldn't just stand around gawking. It's creepy.
Siren: Sorry! But what are you doing here so early?
Teru: I got stuck doing a lot of inventory last night, so I wasn't able to get any studying done.
Teru: There's just too much work to do at the cafe.
Siren: It must be rough juggling work and school like that.
Teru: Not really. I chose to do this.
Siren: Oh, I almost forgot. I was super surprised that you wear glasses.
Teru: It's pretty natural for people with bad eyes to have glasses.
Teru: It's easier to read with them on.
Siren: But that means you usually wear contacts, right? Why?
Teru: Because... well, glasses are kind of lame, you know?
Siren: Really? I think they looked good on you.
Teru: They look awful!
Teru: Geez, get out of my face already! I need to finish all this off before everyone gets here.
Siren: Sure, sure. Sorry for butting in on your alone time.
Siren: (Huh... so that's how he gets it done. He works really hard when nobody's looking.)
1/10: Later that day...
Siren: (Hey, it's Saeki-kun again.)
Siren: Saeki-kun!
Teru: Huh?! Oh, uh...
Teru: I'm so sorry, I was just about to head over and--
Siren: Just about to head over and what?
Siren: Were we gonna do something today?
Teru: ...Oh. It's you. I wasted all that politeness on nothing.
Siren: The hell? What do you want from me?
Teru: Nothing. Don't worry about it.
Teru: Oh, crap.
Girl A: There he is, girls!
Girl B: No way! Today, it's our turn for you to eat lunch with us!
Teru: I'm so sorry, girls, I really was just about to head over.
Girl B: Hurry up!
Teru: Ugh. Later.
Siren: (Oh, I see what was going on. It must be hard to be so popular.)
Siren: (Saeki-kun seems exhausted. I hope he's okay.)
Speaking of Teru, he now sometimes appears in Siren's activities over Haruhi. It's pretty amusing to see emotion on his face.
1/13: Hanging out with Haruhi
Almost as an apology for all of this face time with boys, the game decides that it's time to hang out with our girl Haruhi.
Siren: Say, Haruhi...
Haruhi: Yeah?
Siren: What are your hobbies?
Haruhi: Hobbies, huh? I guess travelin' counts.
Siren: Really? You like travel?
Haruhi: Yuh-huh! My folks move around all the time, ya know?
Haruhi: So I got friends all over the place!
Haruhi: I really like goin' around and seein' all my old friends again.
Siren: Wow, I'm pretty jealous that you've made so many friends.
Haruhi: A friend's a treasure for life, ya know!
Haruhi: And that includes you, of course!
Siren: Haha, thanks!
Next time: The dangers of Valentine's Day
