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Koguma was a little puzzled by the Cub’s unique switch that made the left and right turn signals blink above and below the lever, but spotted the switch box next to the handle grip and flipped the switch.
Thinking that she would be able to operate this incomprehensible switch naturally once she got used to it, she headed east along Route 20, commonly known as the Koushuu Kaidou, which intersected the prefectural road connecting the school and her house near Hinoharu Station.
She hurriedly turned the switch off when she realized that she left the turn signal on.
The Koushuu Kaidou on a weekday afternoon was easier to drive than she expected.
It was better paved than the prefectural road she took to school, and the width of the road gave her room to dodge to the side when a fast car came from behind.
There were few places where the road suddenly narrowed or widened, which could be scary when riding a scooter, and there was no on-street parking.
It wasn’t the first time she had been on this road. She had gone this way to fill up the gas tank on the first night after she bought the Cub.
At that time, she only rode by necessity. It was the first time she was riding on a whim like this.
A detour that hadn’t been planned until just now, when she was waiting at the traffic light. Koguma wondered why she was doing this.
When she went to elementary and middle school in Tokyo, and even after she transferred to high school in Yamanashi, she didn’t remember doing much shopping or just wandering around aimlessly on the way home from school.
The speedometer needle was still on the middle point of the scale, and it didn’t seem to be going any further than that.
Having just gotten her license, Koguma still had a fear of speeding up. Her helmet was a classic-style helmet without a transparent shield covering her face. The wind would hit her face and hurt her eyes if she rode fast.
Even like this, she was going faster than the all-out sprint she did when she rode her bicycle. Back then she was pedalling frantically, now she only had to twist her right hand.
After driving a little over one kilometer on the Koushuu Kaidou from the intersection where she had just turned, Koguma spotted a large store on her left.
It was a suburban shopping center that combined a home improvement store, a supermarket, and a large parking lot.
Remembering that one of the reasons she took a detour today was to pick up some groceries that were about to run out, Koguma put on her left blinker and pulled into the huge parking lot in front of the store.
She slowly rode down the pathway within the parking lot to the bike parking area. There were several bikes parked under the iron roof of the parking area.
Scooter-type mopeds were the most common, and there were also some large sport-type motorcycles. Just when she thought she spotted a Cub, an old man came by, put a bag of fertilizer in the back, and then rode off.
Koguma lined up her still brand-new Cub in the bike parking area, which looked like a watering hole for motorbikes. She took out the key, put up the stand, and locked the handles.
She took out her handmade helmet bag from her day pack and stuffed it in her helmet and gloves. She had done this several times now, and was used to it, but it all took more time than riding her bicycle.
There were two stores, both bigger than her school’s gymnasium. A supermarket and a home improvement store.
Since she had enough detergent and household items from the home improvement store, she headed to the supermarket on the left.
In the large supermarket, which she had never been to before, the shelves of goods were a bit cheaper than the small supermarket near the high school where Koguma usually bought her groceries and instant foods.
After putting all the ready-made packs of food, which were on special sale, and seasonings she was about to run out of in her shopping basket, Koguma headed for the cash registers.
This alone made the detour worthwhile. Buying a scooter might not have been a loss. Koguma headed for the register where they were no customers in line.
“Would you like a bag?”
The plastic bags charged a fee. The number of things she bought was too much to fit into the day pack which she carried her textbooks in.
When she went shopping at the supermarket near her high school on her bike, she brought an eco-bag and put what she bought in her bicycle basket, but Koguma’s Cub didn’t have a basket or a plastic luggage box like the one on Reiko’s bike.
She was living on a scholarship and needed to save money. She was a little annoyed, but Koguma, about to buy a bag, answered the cashier.
“I don’t need a bag.”
Koguma paid with what little was left in her wallet and took her basket to the bagging counter.
Koguma put down the helmet bag she was carrying together with her day pack, put on her helmet, and stuffed the leather gloves into her pocket.
Koguma crammed her items into the now-empty helmet bag and walked within the store to return the basket while wearing her helmet.
Wearing a helmet in the store made her look strange, but Koguma didn’t feel uncomfortable.
It was the feeling of a small pride in the fact that she was riding a motorcycle.
She was riding a Super Cub. Becoming a bit embarrassed by pretending like she was riding a motorcycle when she was only riding a moped used for deliveries and farmwork, Koguma hurriedly returned to the bike parking area.
When she saw the large home improvement store to the right of the supermarket, she decided to call it a day for now and go there tomorrow when she came back here. She put the helmet bag stuffed full of her purchases down in front of her chest and left the parking area on her Cub.
She was looking forward to tomorrow after school a little.
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