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Mitsuba sat on a ledge while Jobin kneeled on the ground, helping tie her roller skates. He let her borrow his sister’s roller skates for the day as she didn’t have a pair of her own.
“These are really cute!” Mitsuba gushed as she admired the roller skates she wore on her feet. They were a pretty pastel pink with little embroidered cherries where her ankles were.
Jobin looped the laces across her skate, pulling them tight with each go around. “Aren’t they?” he agreed. “Hato has good taste.”
The skates apparently belonged to Hato, but they were very new and didn’t look like they had been worn at all. Not only that but Mitsuba was a size smaller than Hato in shoes. And the cherries? It was a little too on the nose, but Mitsuba pretended to be none the wiser.
“All done,” Jobin said as he stood, brushing the dirt from his knees. He put his hands on her waist and helped lower her to the ground. “Do they feel alright?”
“It’s very snug,” Mitsuba answered.
“Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be. But it’s not painful, right?” Jobin asked. “Can you move your ankles?”
She placed her hands on his shoulders while she tested the limits of her mobility. “Snug, but I can move them just fine.”
“Good! Let’s get started then!”
Mitsuba had agreed to go skating with Jobin because she wanted to spend more time with him, not because she was necessarily passionate about roller skating. She knew Jobin enjoyed skating and he had been so happy when she showed interest in learning, but now that she was actually doing it, Mitsuba didn’t feel too confident.
The wheels of her skates were already rolling under her and she gripped his hands as hard as she could to try to gain some leverage. “I don’t know about this, Jobin…” Mitsuba said nervously, looking down at her feet.
Wearing his own skates, Jobin began maneuvering them across the concrete, moving at a snail’s pace so as to not overwhelm her. “I got you,” he assured her, lightly squeezing Mitsuba’s hand. “I’m right here if you fall.”
“Don’t say I’ll fall!”
“I said if—“
“Not even if!”
Mitsuba kept Jobin’s hands in her tight grip while she got the feel of standing on wheels. Once she felt okay enough to try it on her own, Jobin instructed her on the proper positioning and the motion of skating. She followed everything he said: keep her feet shoulder-length apart, bend her knees, and keep her feet slightly outturned.
She looked ridiculous in her protective pads and gigantic helmet as she waddled around the Higashikata property. Trying to skate felt like learning how to walk again. Like a baby taking its first steps.
Compared to her, Jobin was a natural, skating backwards and forwards and not even needing as much protection as she did. But, no matter how good he was, Jobin never left her. He constantly hovered by her side just in case she needed anything and never stopped encouraging her efforts.
“You’re doing great, Mitsuba,” Jobin said. “Now try pushing your feet off to the side instead of waddling.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, still stomping on the concrete like a penguin.
Jobin skated a little ways ahead of her to demonstrate. “When you skate, you’re just rolling around while you control your direction and speed by pushing off the ground,” he explained. “Like this.”
He began rolling, then slightly lifted his left foot off the ground and pushed it to the side, gaining speed as he did so. Then, once his left foot was back on the ground, he did the same thing with his right. “Does that make sense?”
“I think I get it,” Mitsuba said, still a bit unsure. “Can you still hold my hand while I try?”
Without having to answer, Jobin skated back over to her and took her hands in his. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes…!”
They began rolling and, just like Jobin said to do, Mitsuba pushed off the ground with her left foot, harder than she should have. The roughness of the push set her off balance. “Jobin—!” Mitsuba cried as she struggled to stay upright.
He gripped her right hand tighter while he looped his left arm under her shoulder and pulled her in close, stabilizing her and bringing them both to a stop. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jobin repeated. “Are you alright?”
Mitsuba held onto him, hugging him as she laughed nervously into his shoulder, a little embarrassed about the mishap. “Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Do you want to stop?”
“No!” Mitsuba blurted anxiously. “I mean, no,” she repeated more calmly. “This is fun!” Mitsuba insisted. “I’m having fun!”
Jobin stared at her blankly for a moment before laughing. “If you say so,” he chuckled. “Just let me know if you want to stop.”
“That’s very considerate of you, dear, but I’m not going to stop until I’m doing laps around you.”
A wave of relief washed over his face. “Good,” he said. “Now, you pushed off too hard before. That’s why you nearly fell—”
“Jobin!”
“Sorry, sorry. That’s why you lost your balance,” he corrected. “You only push off that hard when you’re going really fast. Push off lightly this time.”
“Got it.”
Mitsuba slipped her hand into his again and did exactly as she had done before, but she pushed off with her left foot with less force than before. She was successful in her second attempt, gaining some speed without feeling like she was going to fall over. Once she felt comfortable with the speed, she pushed off with her right. And just like that, Mitsuba was skating.
“Jobin, look!” she said giddily. “I’m doing it!”
“See!” he said, echoing her enthusiasm. “You’re a quick learner!”
Mitsuba laughed in disbelief as she continued skating beside Jobin. She had been so unsure of herself, but now she felt like she was walking on air. Or rather, gliding on air. She went on, picking up speed with each push until she was skating around the property like a natural. She was so confident that she left the safety of Jobin’s side and went off on her own.
After nearly half an hour, Mitsuba was still going and Jobin was taking a short break. He sat on the ground as she skated around the side of the house.
“This roller skating thing is so easy,” she remarked.
Jobin snorted. “You were scared shitless just a minute ago!”
“Who? Me?” Mitsuba asked, looking around as if he was talking to someone else. “If I was so scared, would I be doing… this?” She lifted one of her legs behind her and lifted her arms out like a bird, balancing on one foot as she continued to skate.
“Mitsuba…” Jobin said in a warning tone.
“Or this?” She turned around and began skating backwards, still balancing on her right foot.
“Be careful!”
Mitsuba’s heart dropped as her leg began to wobble. She put her arms out protectively as she tried to stay upright. Before she could put her other foot back on the ground, the wheels of her skate slipped, causing her to fall flat on the ground.
“Ow…!” Mitsuba groaned.
Jobin scrambled to his feet and rushed over to her “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, afraid to move or touch her in case she was injured.
“I’m okay,” she sighed as she sat up. All the protection she was wearing kept her from seriously hurting herself, but Mitsuba felt a bit of pain in the palm of her hand and lifted it up to check. Her palm was scraped, only mildly, but it was enough to cause discomfort.
Jobin gently took her hand and inspected the scrap. “It’s not that bad,” he said. “Let’s call it for the day. There’s bandages inside.”
He helped Mitsuba off the ground and once they were inside, they got out of their skates and headed to the bathroom. Mitsuba sat on the toilet seat cover while Jobin sifted through the medicine cabinet for the first aid supplies. Once he got what he needed, he went to work.
Jobin lightly doused a cotton ball with alcohol, took Mitsuba’s hand, and began patting it against her palm. She winced as the alcohol stung her open wound.
“Sorry,” Jobin said sympathetically as he began to dab lighter and slower to ease the pain.
Mitsuba felt awkward as she sat there, watching Jobin clean the asphalt off of her hand. They were supposed to be having fun and she couldn't help but feel she soured the mood by getting too confident.
“Thanks for teaching me how to skate,” she said meekly. “It was more fun than I thought it was going to be.”
It wasn’t a direct apology because apologizing would be silly, but it was her way of telling him that she still had a good time despite her fall. Skating probably wasn’t her thing, but it didn’t matter. As long as they were together, she didn’t care what they were doing.
Jobin smiled at her, grabbing some ointment and gently applying it to her hand. “We should do it again,” he said. “Maybe we can go to the park next time.”
Mitsuba blushed. “Next time…?” she asked.
“Yeah! And it’ll be more fun since you’re so good at skating now—“
“Shut up!” Mitsuba laughed as she pushed him playfully.
There was a knock on the door that disrupted the peace of the bathroom. “Jobin!” someone shouted through the door. “Are you in there?”
“Hato?” Jobin called out. He let go of Mitsuba’s hand and opened the door a crack, obscuring Hato’s view. “What?” he asked irritably, annoyed with having been interrupted.
There was a sound of crinkling before Hato said, “I found the receipt for the skates you bought yesterday—“
“Stop talking!” Jobin hissed. “Get out of here!” He lightly pushed her away from the door before slamming it in her face.
“Hey!” Hato banged her first against the door. “I was just trying to help you! Damn!” she yelled before stomping down the hall, away from the bathroom.
Jobin turned around and pressed his back against the door. “You didn’t hear that,” he said.
“Hear what?” Mitsuba smirked.
“Hear what she—“ he began before realizing. “Oh. Oh! Exactly!”
It warmed her heart that she had been right about the roller skates and the fact that Jobin had gone out of his way so they could enjoy this activity together. Mitsuba couldn’t even think of another person that would do something like that for her. In that moment, all her feelings of anxiety and guilt disappeared, replaced by the overwhelming feeling of love blooming inside of her.
Mitsuba held out her hand. “Still needs bandaging,” she said amusingly.
Jobin went back to work immediately, grabbing the bandage roll and carefully wrapping it around her hand. He secured it with a strip of medical tape. “Does it feel alright?” he asked, inspecting his handy work.
She lightly gripped the fabric of his jacket and pulled him in, planting a gentle kiss on his lips. “Feels perfect,” she whispered. “Thank you, Jobin.”
Mitsuba stood up and fixed her skirt, checking herself in the bathroom mirror for anything out of sorts. “I was thinking,” she continued, “it’s still pretty early. Why don’t we go to the park now?”
Jobin stood frozen, gawking at her like it was the first time they’d ever kissed. They had kissed many times already, but he reacted each time like he had never been kissed before.
“Hello…?” Mitsuba giggled, finding his antics endearing. “Jobin?”
He blinked rapidly, regaining awareness of his surroundings. Jobin blushed wildly as he brought a hand up to touch his lips. “The park?” he choked out, the words muffled against his hand. “To skate?”
“Yes, to skate!” she laughed.
“Uh! Yeah!” Jobin agreed. “Yes!”
Mitsuba headed towards the door before turning around once she realized Jobin wasn’t following. “Are you coming or what?”
“Yes!” he repeated. Jobin snapped out of his lovesick daze and hastily gathered all the first aid supplies, shoving them back into the medicine cabinet. “I’m right behind you!”