Chapter 8 is the 8th chapter of Kodocha, and the third chapter of the second book.
Summary[]
Sana is upset about the kiss. Meanwhile Sana give's Tsuyoshi's sister Aono a chicken to encourage an innocent narrative she's come up with. Sana realizes the truth of she and Rei's relationship, and sees parallels between she and Aono.
Plot[]
Sana hides in her room, upset from the unwanted kiss. Her mom and Rei come to check on her, but she doesn't want to talk to either of them. In a way to get out her frustration, Sana humorously yells everything that happened, getting the two outside on the same page. The next day at school, Sana has built a "hayama shield" (a contraption made out of planks of wood, worn like a belt, jutting out a foot, so no one can get near her), this succeeds, thought causes many issues. Tsuyoshi Ohki arrives at school, mad at Akito about the kiss. Many of the other kids gossip about how Akito had his first kiss in kindergarten. Class starts, dissipating the conversation.
Meanwhile at home, Sana's mom asks Rei to bring Akito to her. And at the end of the school day, he does! Sana's mom confronts him about the kiss, initially it seems like she's going to be harsh on him, but mellows and admits she just wanted to see him. Akito says a rude comment, and bumps into Sana on the way out of her house (needless to say, she's surprised by this). She's mean to Akito again over the kiss, saying she'll never forgive him, and Akito seems hurt by this, asking if it was "all that bad", and leaves.
Inside, Sana's mom explains that Rei has been worried about her, and that she should talk to him. She does, with Rei assuring Sana it's all Akito's fault, and that he doesn't care about Asako. Sana brings up the stash of photos he has of her, and he brushes it off as him being a fan of her acting. Rei diverts the conversation by bringing up Sana's acting, and Sana brushes the work off, vaguely stating she's "already kept [her] promise to mom" but won't speak on it further. As Sana leaves, Rei turns on an interview with Asako. At school the next day, a young girl asks for Sana's autograph, and it's quickly established that this is Tsuyoshi's little sister, Aono! She recognizes Akito, but Tsuyoshi tells her to stay away from him. Sana gives her the autograph, and asks about a bag Aono holds. She explains that it's an egg, and that she's been keeping it warm for five days, she's excited about it hatching into a chick! Sana confides in Tsuyoshi, asking if they keep chickens, but he reveals it's just an ordinary egg from the grocery store. Akito, overhearing this, wants to tell Aono the truth, that it won't hatch, but Sana quickly intervenes before he can say anything. Aono leaves for class, happy with the autograph.
On her lunch break, Sana gets a baby chick from the train station to swap out with the egg. Akito tells Sana it's a bad idea, that she'll feel stupid when she finds out the truth, but Sana stands firm, because her mom taught her that as a grown-up you have to face reality, so why not dream as a kid? Sana meets with Aono in the hallway, and switches out the egg for the chick. Aono doesn't notice the swap, and is excited about the baby chick!
Meanwhile, Sana's mom spots someone outside their house, and upon closer examination... it's Asako! She brings her in to see Rei. Rei tries to escape, but Misako knows they need to talk and brings him back. They lay it all out on the table (while Misako listens through the door) Rei speaks about how after she dumped him, he flunked out of college, and both his parents died in a car crash. After which, he learnt his parents were in debt and everything was repossessed, which put him on the streets. Asako contends that she couldn't have known all of that would happen, and Rei agrees, saying he just needed someone to blame. Asako goes on to explain how she needed some time away to pursue her acting career, and that she didn't truly dump him. This back and forth goes for awhile, until Rei says Sana is all that matters to him, and he won't be interested in anything until Sana grows up. Sana returns home just in time to see Asako leaving the house. She immediately yells at Rei, but Misako jumps into argue against Sana's assessment of the situation. She says Sana needs to grow up, that Rei's been speaking down to her, and that she needs to realize that. Sana is struck by this, humiliated and embarrassed, and flees the house.
Coincidentally, Akito leaves a convenient store just in time to see Sana running through the area. He catches up to her, and sees she's crying. As Sana sees him, she realizes her situation parallels the baby chick and Aono, and she cries more as she tells Akito she can't go back home.
Characters[]
Author's Notes[]
Part Two "Back then, anyone who tried out got into the Theater, so they said I was accepted. But then they told us how much it cost to join – $2000! My mom's face totally froze. So, I didn't get to join them after all. During my audition,
the interviewer asked me what I was really good at. I told him, "drawing". He asked me to draw something, so I drew him Benio-san (from the then-famous series. Haikara-san Ga Tooru). When I look back on it, I realize that if I thought I was best at drawing all the way back then, I should've focused on becoming a comic book artist in the first place! But that's easy to say now. Hee-hee. (To be continued...)"</nowiki>
Part Three "When I auditioned for the Himawari Theater, they would tell me to "be angry" or "be happy"... to test my acting skills, I think. I was supposed to just do exactly what they told me to, but I improvised and added lines. I think they liked it. Looking back on it, the whole experience was kind of embarrassing.
Also, they had me read various things out loud for voice training. As I was reading, I kept thinking about how stupid the stuff was.
(To be continued.)"
Part Four "So, I didn't get to join Himawari Theater – but I was happy to just get a peek inside their world. It was a good experience. (Hee-hee.) And I'm certainly making good use of it now! Many of you write and say you want to be actresses like Sana. (Although some of you want to be comic book artist like me!) I totally understand. It's a dream a lot of young girls have. If you seriously want to be on TV, I hear that these days, it's better to join a talent agency or work as a model. Theater groups teach you how to do many things (like dancing, acting, and singing) but don't necessarily get you work. I only put Sana in a theater group because of my past. By the way, remember, my friend "S" that I told you about? She didn't try out For Himawari. She was discovered and asked to join. What a difference that made. Oh, well!"
Trivia[]
- This chapter was adapted into the episodes Double Double Sana's Love Trouble, and Love Flew Out the Window Like a Chicken!