“You really are pretty stupid like you said. Even after all this you still don’t believe me.”
“Yeah, I don’t.”
“Well… it’s fine I guess. It doesn’t really matter if you believe me or not. I got a free meal from you so I’ll forgive you for being ignorant of who I am and the disrespect you showed me.”
She paused, took something out from her pocket, then stuck it out to me between her index and middle finger. “Here’s a card for the mechanic repair shop I work at. If you need repairs for your motorcycle in the future you can visit. I’ll get you a ten percent discount since we’re acquaintances.”
“Hmm, should I take it? I don’t know. How do I know it’s not going to be one of those scam repair shops that intentionally sabotage the vehicle to get return customers?”
“We run an honest business that we take pride in. At least... when it comes to motorcycles…” The smile on her face transitioned into a scary one when she said that with narrowed eyes.
“Well, I’ll take it but it’s unlikely I’d ever take you up on your offer.”
I received the business card she offered. It was... handwritten on some thick white cut-out construction paper rather than printed.
“Wow, handwritten? If you were truly a gang leader, isn’t your gang a little too broke when you claim they extort people?”
“Shut up, we don’t use dirty money for doin business. The business, at least, is completely clean.”
“Oh, how commendable. But you know, you can get professional business cards printed for pretty cheap. A hundred for something like $20 or less.”
“What? For real? I didn’t know they only cost that much. I was told they cost a lot more than that.”
“Haaaaah. Come on, I get you’re a street kid, but someone in your alleged gang should have at least brought it up once, right?”
“Ah. That is… nobody ever even mentioned it. In fact… they’re the ones that insisted I personally make them. They said something about how the personality of the handwritten business cards made them feel more valuable than the soulless mass-produced ones.”
“Uh… I think you’ve been duped…”
“No way. There’s no way I’ve been duped.”
“As they say, denial is the first stage on your way to acceptance.”
“I’m not… in denial.” She averted her gaze to the side, unable to look me in the eyes as she said that.
“Hey, we should get going. Lunch is about to end.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
We returned to the track out back for the latter half of the training course together. After that, for the next two hours, we completed five more exercises before we moved on to the final evaluation where we combined all of the skills we were taught.
Thankfully it wasn’t all too difficult and I passed it.
With the final evaluation complete we were let go. When I exited the building Irene’s car was parked up waiting for me. I hopped in and we headed back to get my class 6 learner’s permit.
About thirty minutes before it was time for work, I finally had my temporary motorcycle learner’s permit in hand. It felt great and I could hardly wait to get my hands on that motorcycle. With only thirty minutes left, we headed over to the seller’s place together.
When we got there I hopped out of the car, sped over to the front door, and knocked nervously. This was around the time I told him I’d show up to pick up the bike and sign the agreement to complete the purchase and transfer ownership.
“Coming.” The seller’s voice called out from inside.
The door opened up shortly after and I greeted him, “Good afternoon, I came to complete the purchase and transfer ownership.”
“Oh. You did… uh… sorry bud… but I already sold it. Someone came knocking earlier today and took it on the spot.”
“What! No way! Seriously?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. She was a real pretty lass and I couldn’t turn her down despite her not having a motorcycle license. She said it was for her boyfriend’s birthday, but left it here and said she’d be back to pick it up with him later. She even paid in full too. My hands are tied.”
Boyfriend’s... birthday? What the hell! Do such terrible coincidences exist? What other bastard had to be born today and have a girlfriend who’d spend $2000 for a bloody birthday present? Is she freaking loaded, or what? How am I even supposed to compete with someone who’d buy it out in full?
“Oh! It looks like that pretty pass is back.”
“No way, really?” What are the odds? Maybe I can scam her and make her change her mind about buying it. I turned around and froze up when everything suddenly clicked.
My jaw hung open a bit from surprise. I wanted to bang my head against a wall for not putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I’d been so focused on the motorcycle I forgot to actually think things through.
Rosa came to a stop directly in front of me with both hands behind her back. She had an impish smile as she bent forward toward me and moved her right from behind her back and snapped a picture on her phone before she immediately put it away in her pocket.
She raised her right arm up, poked my chest with her index finger curved back, and said mischievously, “Jeez, the look on your face right now is priceless you know.”
“Why? This is way too expensive…”
“So what? You're my boyfriend, I can spend as much of my money as I want on you. Besides, $2000 is less than a month’s savings for me because of you. If I want to invest some of my savings in the guy I love, I will do that.”
“How do you expect me to come up with a birthday present for you next year? You should get refunded. I’ll just pay for it monthly.”
“No way~ it’s already paid in full. Besides, it's not like I bought it all myself. Irene and Alicia said they wanted to pitch in too, they both contributed $500 so I only paid $1000. It’s a present from all three of us.”
“That just makes me feel even guiltier to accept it.”
“Good. Feel guilty and rack your brain like crazy to the point you go insane when you try to think of what to give us for our next birthdays. The three of us will have plenty of fun watching your struggle. More fun than we’d get out of the money we spent.”
“Don’t you think that’s an awful thing to say to someone on their birthday?”
“Heheh, if I didn’t say it you’d keep trying to refuse our present. Oh, by the way. There’s one more present still.”
“Huh? There’s more?”
“Yeah. Here.”
She took out her left hand from behind her back and presented me with a helmet.
“You got me a second helmet? For passengers?”
“Yes and no. I want your helmet, you use this one.”
“Wait, before that, what do you mean by yes and no?”
“I wasn’t the one who got this present.”
“Then who got this one?”
“Chris got this one.”
“Huh? He did?” I couldn’t help but raise one brow, baffled by her words.
“Yes. He was too embarrassed to give it to you himself. He asked me if I could give it to you on his behalf and say it was a gift from me. He’s just such a cutie with how he can’t come out and honestly give it to you directly.”
My heart bled as I tried to evaluate how much this helmet cost that brat.
“Are you wondering about the price tag on this one too?”
“Yeah.”
“Hahaha, don’t worry, you’re going to feel guilty about this one too. He used a good chunk of the allowance he’s saved up over time. It cost $200. With your personality, I know you got the cheapest one you could get your hands on for yourself. You spent about $50 on it, right?”
“Damn it. That brat spent too much. What does he think he’s doing?”
“He’s just grateful for what you’ve done for him and his family. He said he doesn’t want to always be owing you. He also listed not giving you a Christmas present while receiving one from you as another reason to justify his purchase. There was also consideration of your money technically becoming his allowance through his mother. Basically, he said with all those things taken into account, he doesn’t need anything in return and would prefer it if you don’t know he’s the one who bought it for you.”
“You really are pretty stupid like you said. Even after all this you still don’t believe me.”
“Yeah, I don’t.”
“Well… it’s fine I guess. It doesn’t really matter if you believe me or not. I got a free meal from you so I’ll forgive you for being ignorant of who I am and the disrespect you showed me.”
She paused, took something out from her pocket, then stuck it out to me between her index and middle finger. “Here’s a card for the mechanic repair shop I work at. If you need repairs for your motorcycle in the future you can visit. I’ll get you a ten percent discount since we’re acquaintances.”
“Hmm, should I take it? I don’t know. How do I know it’s not going to be one of those scam repair shops that intentionally sabotage the vehicle to get return customers?”
“We run an honest business that we take pride in. At least... when it comes to motorcycles…” The smile on her face transitioned into a scary one when she said that with narrowed eyes.
“Well, I’ll take it but it’s unlikely I’d ever take you up on your offer.”
I received the business card she offered. It was... handwritten on some thick white cut-out construction paper rather than printed.
“Wow, handwritten? If you were truly a gang leader, isn’t your gang a little too broke when you claim they extort people?”
“Shut up, we don’t use dirty money for doin business. The business, at least, is completely clean.”
“Oh, how commendable. But you know, you can get professional business cards printed for pretty cheap. A hundred for something like $20 or less.”
“What? For real? I didn’t know they only cost that much. I was told they cost a lot more than that.”
“Haaaaah. Come on, I get you’re a street kid, but someone in your alleged gang should have at least brought it up once, right?”
“Ah. That is… nobody ever even mentioned it. In fact… they’re the ones that insisted I personally make them. They said something about how the personality of the handwritten business cards made them feel more valuable than the soulless mass-produced ones.”
“Uh… I think you’ve been duped…”
“No way. There’s no way I’ve been duped.”
“As they say, denial is the first stage on your way to acceptance.”
“I’m not… in denial.” She averted her gaze to the side, unable to look me in the eyes as she said that.
“Hey, we should get going. Lunch is about to end.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
We returned to the track out back for the latter half of the training course together. After that, for the next two hours, we completed five more exercises before we moved on to the final evaluation where we combined all of the skills we were taught.
Thankfully it wasn’t all too difficult and I passed it.
With the final evaluation complete we were let go. When I exited the building Irene’s car was parked up waiting for me. I hopped in and we headed back to get my class 6 learner’s permit.
About thirty minutes before it was time for work, I finally had my temporary motorcycle learner’s permit in hand. It felt great and I could hardly wait to get my hands on that motorcycle. With only thirty minutes left, we headed over to the seller’s place together.
When we got there I hopped out of the car, sped over to the front door, and knocked nervously. This was around the time I told him I’d show up to pick up the bike and sign the agreement to complete the purchase and transfer ownership.
“Coming.” The seller’s voice called out from inside.
The door opened up shortly after and I greeted him, “Good afternoon, I came to complete the purchase and transfer ownership.”
“Oh. You did… uh… sorry bud… but I already sold it. Someone came knocking earlier today and took it on the spot.”
“What! No way! Seriously?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. She was a real pretty lass and I couldn’t turn her down despite her not having a motorcycle license. She said it was for her boyfriend’s birthday, but left it here and said she’d be back to pick it up with him later. She even paid in full too. My hands are tied.”
Boyfriend’s... birthday? What the hell! Do such terrible coincidences exist? What other bastard had to be born today and have a girlfriend who’d spend $2000 for a bloody birthday present? Is she freaking loaded, or what? How am I even supposed to compete with someone who’d buy it out in full?
“Oh! It looks like that pretty pass is back.”
“No way, really?” What are the odds? Maybe I can scam her and make her change her mind about buying it. I turned around and froze up when everything suddenly clicked.
My jaw hung open a bit from surprise. I wanted to bang my head against a wall for not putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I’d been so focused on the motorcycle I forgot to actually think things through.
Rosa came to a stop directly in front of me with both hands behind her back. She had an impish smile as she bent forward toward me and moved her right from behind her back and snapped a picture on her phone before she immediately put it away in her pocket.
She raised her right arm up, poked my chest with her index finger curved back, and said mischievously, “Jeez, the look on your face right now is priceless you know.”
“Why? This is way too expensive…”
“So what? You're my boyfriend, I can spend as much of my money as I want on you. Besides, $2000 is less than a month’s savings for me because of you. If I want to invest some of my savings in the guy I love, I will do that.”
“How do you expect me to come up with a birthday present for you next year? You should get refunded. I’ll just pay for it monthly.”
“No way~ it’s already paid in full. Besides, it's not like I bought it all myself. Irene and Alicia said they wanted to pitch in too, they both contributed $500 so I only paid $1000. It’s a present from all three of us.”
“That just makes me feel even guiltier to accept it.”
“Good. Feel guilty and rack your brain like crazy to the point you go insane when you try to think of what to give us for our next birthdays. The three of us will have plenty of fun watching your struggle. More fun than we’d get out of the money we spent.”
“Don’t you think that’s an awful thing to say to someone on their birthday?”
“Heheh, if I didn’t say it you’d keep trying to refuse our present. Oh, by the way. There’s one more present still.”
“Huh? There’s more?”
“Yeah. Here.”
She took out her left hand from behind her back and presented me with a helmet.
“You got me a second helmet? For passengers?”
“Yes and no. I want your helmet, you use this one.”
“Wait, before that, what do you mean by yes and no?”
“I wasn’t the one who got this present.”
“Then who got this one?”
“Chris got this one.”
“Huh? He did?” I couldn’t help but raise one brow, baffled by her words.
“Yes. He was too embarrassed to give it to you himself. He asked me if I could give it to you on his behalf and say it was a gift from me. He’s just such a cutie with how he can’t come out and honestly give it to you directly.”
My heart bled as I tried to evaluate how much this helmet cost that brat.
“Are you wondering about the price tag on this one too?”
“Yeah.”
“Hahaha, don’t worry, you’re going to feel guilty about this one too. He used a good chunk of the allowance he’s saved up over time. It cost $200. With your personality, I know you got the cheapest one you could get your hands on for yourself. You spent about $50 on it, right?”
“Damn it. That brat spent too much. What does he think he’s doing?”
“He’s just grateful for what you’ve done for him and his family. He said he doesn’t want to always be owing you. He also listed not giving you a Christmas present while receiving one from you as another reason to justify his purchase. There was also consideration of your money technically becoming his allowance through his mother. Basically, he said with all those things taken into account, he doesn’t need anything in return and would prefer it if you don’t know he’s the one who bought it for you.”
