Odd Jobs R Us

Beep! Beep!

An alarm rings inside a very packed room. Its sole inhabitant, a young, lanky boy, today 17, drowsily opens his eyes, glances at the clock, before flopping back onto the bed. Urghhh, damn it, today's my 17th birthday, yet I still have to go to school today... I want to to be an adult real bad...

"Subaru, wake up now, or else Mom's going to be really mad when she comes upstairs!" His cousin, Ryu Ida, walked into his room, toothbrush in mouth. Scratching his back with his left hand, he called to his older cousin one more time before rolling his eyes and walking back downstairs.

Ten minutes later, when he finally felt ready, Furukami Subaru got up from bed, yawning. 'Tis the last day before the weekend; just eight more hours of school left.

After half an hour in the bathroom, during which he accidentally cut his mouth with his toothbrush, he went downstairs for breakfast. The whole family was already there, nearly finished with their breakfast. Hinata, his cousin, got up from her seat, brushing off her hair, or what remained of it.

"Cousin, here, come and eat your cold breakfast. Waking up late as usual… Mumbling at the end, Hinata wandered out of the kitchen, from which came a loud bang as the front door shut. She had left for school.

Still sleepy, Subaru rubbed his eyes before munching on the tamagoyaki, not before realizing it was Ryu's spicy tamagoyaki.

And he paid the price.

Mouth burning, he quickly gulped the cold water before yelling at Ryu, "Dude, why didn't you warn me that I was eating your freaking tamagoyaki? You do know that I don't eat spicy food in the mornings!" All he got from Ryu were peals of laughter before Ryu fell off his chair in tears. Pissed off, Subaru lugged his backpack before going to school. "Oh, and Aunt, I'll be late today. I'll be hanging out with friends at the karaoke bar after school." Without turning around, she replied, "Okay, dear, don't be late, or else..." A flash of steel emerged from her hands.

Gulping, Subaru went to school.

Today at Moriyasu High School, it was the beginning of the second semester. The principal held his usual one-hour speech before signifying that they would have a day break to celebrate Regional Bank Day. Cheers were heard throughout the school, thanking the prospect of staying one more day in bed.

Matsumoto Harue and Hayashi Hekima, two of his best friends, went up to him, punching his shoulders. Crying in pain, Subaru whined, "Oww! What was that for?" Harue smirked, reminding him, "You remember our promise, right? Jyoti Karaoke at 6, don't be late, birthday boy..." Rolling his eyes, Subaru answered with a short, "Yeah, yeah, yeah...", before brushing them off.

As soon as the final bell rang, he sprinted out of school, earning the ire of many teachers, most notably the old, grumpy music teacher. Reaching the karaoke at 5:30, he met with the duo before entering their booth, number 7. Picking up their dinner and waiting for their "surprise," they sang many cheesy songs, ranging from Yakudo to Even as an adult.

They sang merrily late into the night, before Subaru realized it was nearly curfew. "Oh shoot, my aunt's going to kill me! Let's go!"

Hurriedly cleaning themselves up, Subaru sprinted home, praying he would make it on time.

As the door closed, a shiny glimmer lit up briefly before rolling onto the side of the couch.