Sig’s Secret Chapter 5 - Sig’s Anxiety

Primp Festival is getting closer by the day. For just that day, Sig and I went to the park to decorate the cafe. Looking at it now, it looks like we did a lot of work on the festival prep. The Primp townfolk are sure to be out and about at the stands of course, with a big stage placed at the heart of it all, complete with some hanging lanterns. I'm getting hyped up by just looking at it!

---

Sig and I lined up the tables and chairs Arle and Ringo built, while Raffine and Klug are setting up the framework. When that's ready, the colorful cloth can be put up to make a roof-like shape...okay, it's looking more like a cafe now! On top of that, we got the origami stars and flowers all hung up, and to round it off, everyone's lining it with moonsunflowers.

Do you know what moonsunflowers are? They're big pretty flowers that bloom facing towards the moon. They're really popular around Primp Town, and the Magic School is raising a flower bed of them, complete with an observation diary. Ringo asked me "They're not sunflowers?" when I talked about them...What are sunflowers, anyhow?

---

"Andthen andthen, I started to panic when I thought I made Witch cry! But she was totally faking it, and suddenly got a game of Puyo on me! Man, she shocked the living heck outta me!"

I continued talking to Sig about what happened earlier. Though, I'm not that great at telling the story as it happened. I kept flailing my hands around, making it sound like an overblown dream. I didn't think he'd get a bit of it, but he did say stuff like 'Huh.' and 'Kay.' and chuckle once in a while. That made me happy and all...but I'm repeating myself.

"But after all that, we couldn't think of anything for the Special Menu. You got any ideas, Sig?"
"...whipped cream?"
"Huh? Put out some whipped cream?
"Yep..."
"Why that?"
"It can be well-made, no prob."

That reminds me, Sig's been all about whipping the fresh cream lately. He's been following what I've been saying, and his homemade cream is smooth and tasty too. But just having whipped cream on the menu would make it way past offbeat!

"U-Uh well...I've considered that already! Anyhow, about Raffine and Klug...and maybe even Lemres and Feli, how are they doing?"

Sig went quiet for a few seconds. Then he spoke.

"Raffine, Klug and Feli...they're fighting. A lot."
"Oh, the usual stuff huh~"
"They're alright though."
"They're actually okay?"
"Yep. They're fine."

Sig doesn't express much compared to me. Yet somehow, that single word of 'Alright' somehow really tells me that they're really alright. Oh gee, looks like I've been putting my trust in him without noticing it myself. He seems to know the feeling of being attached to everyone, and that's giving me the extra push to make it all the more fun in the end! With me and Sig as Leader and Sub-Leader, it's honestly real stressful. But right now, I can at least proudly say this: We're giving it our all! Sig and I go at different paces, our hearts are in sync. We've gotta wish for the cafe's success! If there's one thing I need to point out, I didn't think there would be a chance to understand Sig a bit more. I really am lucky!

"...Amitie? What's the grin for?" Sig looked puzzled at my happiness-charged self.
"Say wha-!? I-I'm grinning!? Uh, my bad~ I was thinking about the fun...you're curious?"
"Sorta. Are you always grinning, Amitie?"
"Are you kidding me!? That'd make me a total weirdo wouldn't it!?"
"I didn't say it right...I meant smiling."
"Siiig! You're doing that on purpose aren't you!"

Sig let out a chuckle. Ah well, at least he can crack a joke now and then like right now.

---

"Oh yeah, Sig. I got something to ask..."

Even if Sig's in charge if carrying the moonsunflowers, I wanted to ask him something. I've always been curious about him for the longest time. Now's the time to have some easygoing small talk since I never have the time to ask.

"Yeah...?"

"Why is your left arm all red like that?"
"......" Sig's eyes gravitated and got fixated on his left arm.
"Why is that red? It's all big and sharp and stuff."
"Dunno."
"Uh, were you born that way?"
"...I never really noticed."
"Oh really now?"

If I had the red arm, I'd be really curious about it though...

"I don't really care though."

A typical Sig-like answer. I didn't have much more to ask after that's said and done. At least I think so...

"...You've been curious lately." Sig continued. "It's been red, and it's still red."
"Oh hey! Then before long, you'd end up turning red from head to toe!" I ended up planning out a joke. But Sig just rolled his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows when he took a listen.
"Oh..." He sounded kinda sad after that.
"W-Wait a second! It's just a joke! Sorry!" I panicked. I totally put my foot in my mouth now...
"Don't do that. Somehow, for some reason...it makes me shiver."
"R-Right..."

I didn't get what Sig meant by that, but I better shut up before I make things worse. Sig's acting a bit stranger and not like his usual self.

"Well uhh, err... Oh, Sig! Let's finish up decorating the place for today!" I exclaimed, pointing up towards the roof.
"..." Sig stopped looking at his left arm. Then he looked up to where I pointed. "How?" he muttered.
"Well, I can't reach for it~. Still, don't you think it'll be cute if we hang the flowers up over there?" I pulled over one of the chairs as I thought out loud. "Maybe I can get up there if I stand on top of this!"

Yeah yeah, nice idea right there♪ Seems like Sig got his mind off of our little chat too. I took off my shoes and tiptoed, feeling a bit wobbly trying to reach for the roof.

"Be careful, Amitie. Wanna switch?"

Sig looked upwards. I'm a-o~kay though! My talent is balancing tall stacks of Puyo on my head. Balance is practically my middle name! ...or so I think.

*wobble*

"Ahh!"
Did Sig look like he's in an ultra-panic? Just when I just said I'm alright, my balance dove down to nothing.
"Look out below!"

Then Sig swooped in to catch me. And to make things worse...

*CR~ASH!*
Something spilled...

"Wh-Whew~...!"
"Oww...You okay, Amitie?" Sig was totally smooshed from under all of myself when I fell. On top of that...
"Ohnononono, sorry Sig!"
"...what's this?"

To my downhill luck, Witch's "Wonder Power-up Potion" fell out of my pocket. I was carrying that around and planned to drink it too. To make it worse, the thing hit Sig and completely shattered!

"I'm gonna clean it right up now!"

I scrambled around my pockets to get a handkerchief to clean Sig up with...the heck!? Did I forget my handkerchief!? Oh phooey, of all the days to be an annoyance to Sig!

"...don't worry." Sig smiled a bit while watching me continue to panic.
"No please, I'll get it right away." I insisted, shaking the dampness off my hand. "Maaan...I'm so sorry about this..."

In my heart, I really screwed up on Witch's part too. I ended up spilling it instead of drinking it.

"Let's continue decorating. You hold the chair, Amitie."
"O...okay!"

In the end, I left it up to him and he got to decorating.

---

Fast forwarding to the next day, I headed straight to the Cooking Practice Room. Today's another day for baking practice! Onwards, full-speed ahead! In the end, I couldn't think of anything for the Special Menu. I gotta talk about this with everyone. As I thought about it, I spotted the cyan-colored back of someone's head. Ah, I spotted Sig!

"Heyo, Sig!" I rushed over and greeted him, lightly patting his back.
"........."

Wait, wha? No response from Sig. He's not even looking at me. Uhh, maybe if I greeted him super loudly, he can't not hear me...is he asleep.

"SIIIIG! I SAID HEEEEY THEEEERE!"
"...A-Amitie."

Sig finally and idly shifted his eyes to me.

"Let's get today going at full speed!"
"........."
"Everyone's getting really good at making sweets now~. Seeing all the practice works turn out so good makes me so happy~!"
"........."
"Have you seen Arle's cake, Sig? It looked so cute with Carbuncle's likeness..."
"........."
"...heya, Sig?"

So weird. I could only just cock my head. Surely Sig isn't this untalkative. With all the gossip I popped, he only nodded when I just wanted him to smile for me.

"Heya, is something up? ...Sig! The heck is wrong with you!?"

I waved my hand in front of Sig; flailed it, even. If the first time asking "What's wrong?" got nothing, maybe I should do it again straight into his ear.

"What..." Sig finally responded.
"You sleepy? Lost in thoughts?"
"Nah."
"Then why are you so beat, then!?"
"Everything is fine."

Wh-wha~? He said it himself... I'm guessing that means the tiredness didn't catch up. Well of course, he goes at his own pace and doesn't chat it up with everyone else, and he's only recently been giving his everything as Sub-Leader. I'm happy for him. Though I've noticed Sig's not making much sense. Geez, sorry about that, Sig...

"Hey, don't overdo it. How about you take a break for today? I'll go talk about it with everyone else."
"......" Sig stood silent for a moment, then he shook his head like nuts. "I'm. Alright."
"...R-Really? Then you're ready to go?"
"Yeah, I want to go." With a nod, Sig gave a confident smile.

...What's going on... Since yesterday, I've been happy and relieved about Sig smiling. But now, Sig's smile...it seems so out of place and unnerving. Sig did say "I want to go," so I won't stop him. And so, the two of us headed out together.

---

"That's right, we've been thinking about a Special Menu to ensure the cafe's success!"

Arle's with Ringo, Raffine, Klug...and of course, Carbuncle. The Cooking Practice Room been everyone's gathering point. While I arranged the cooking tools, everyone got me into the conversation.

"Special menu, huh...Quite the clever idea you have there, Amitie."
"Agreed. If we made some notably standout commodities, the likelihood of customers coming will undeniably go up."

Seems Raffine and Klug got the gist of this.

"But since we didn't think of anything for it...what would be a wonderfully good idea to put smiles on the customers that do show up..."
"They must no less than gorgeous!"
"They have to be cool and great!"
"Ah- Ahahahaha..."

Somehow, I knew they were going to give me these answers from the get-go. Raffine and Klug are totally not changing their minds, are they...

"Gorgeous and great...Gah, I can't think of anything good in particular. Though, I can't imagine what would be that sort of thing~" Arle came in and followed up.
"Agreed. Specifics are quite necessary. Is it a cake, cookies, or perhaps pudding? It certainly has to be enchanting." Then Ringo responded after.
"Hn~~~..." Everyone looks worried.
"If I may, Amitie?" Raffine asked me a quick question.
"With my curiosity piqued, who shall be making them?" Klug asked me too.
"Ah, oh right. We've gotta hurry up and get the cake, cookies, and tea ready. I've gotta say, the workload is getting relentless..."
"That's right, I'm making those!" I cheerfully raised my hand.

*silence*

"Uh, hey, what's going on guys!?"

I got pretty nervous when everyone gave me the silent glare. Raffine spoke up, calling my name with a sigh, "Amitie..."
"Excuse me. Even to this day, with your inability to crack a single egg, much less trying to mix the flower instead of creating a mess of it, or even bake something without burning it, can you even uphold such an ambitious task?" Klug also doesn't look too happy about it. "To have me acknowledge your challenging spirit, your confectionery creations have to be edible to even the most pitiful customers..."
"Oh come on, that’s not cool!"

D-Did he seriously go that far!? Oh wait, he's the brutally honest one.

"B-But I specialize at arranging the plating all nice and cute!" I frantically tried to defend myself. Then...
"Okay then, if you can do cute plating arrangements, then you must consider the menu." Klug answered quickly. Gah, I think the Special Menu requirements is making it real hard...
"Heya, what do you think, Sig?" I looked to Sig.

He's got a bowl full of fresh cream from earlier in his hand, not saying a word. He isn't even looking this way. Geez. He's getting way past weird.

"...Siiig!" I yelled, then he finally turned around. And then...
"...Uh, you said something?"
"Er..."

Then it hit me. Did Sig not hear a single thing everyone was clamoring about!?

"Now hold on, has your enthusiasm reached an all-time low?"
"Sig's participation effort has been quite lackluster lately...That is how he is."

Raffine and Klug spoke up. Something's up like always...

"Sig, what's with you today? Are you tired? Seriously, take it easy for today..."

...wha? Sig's eye changed color. On top of that, his left arm turned red, and his right turned blue. Now just hang on...I took a second look, and did I just see his right eye go red too? Am I going crazy? Or is something causing it? I looked even closer into it...

*slide!*

The Cooking Practice Room's door opened up. And then...

"Why he-ll-o there! Fufufu, seems you're doing your best, everyone. I've come to lend a hand too~!" Lemres came in with a big cheery smile.
"Lemres~! Thank you so much!" Klug exclaimed.
"How's everyone feeling?"
"A-OK! With your teachings, things will be great, amazing, excellent, even perfectly favorable!" Klug stood straight and stiff in a snap.

"There he goes sucking up to Lemres again, even making imaginary pompoms..." Raffine looks a bit annoyed.
"Ahaha. I'm not here to do anything though. I here to wish you guys the best of luck!" Lemres waved at us with a smile on his face. "Making sweets is a labor of love. Happy emotions are made through care and consideration of everyone's smiles. That is how you bring forth the flavor of swe~et happiness through sweet confections!"

Seeing Lemres talk about sweets make it look all the more pleasing and fun. He really loves his sweet treats! With him all excited and stuff, it looks like everyone's getting psyched up too. To think that I got kinda worried about the Special Menu and Sig in this room, then Lemres showed up to brighten the day. Everyone got back to work with smiles on their face. That's Lemres for ya! He can be a bit dodgy, but he can be reliable at times like this! ...But then he's looking around with concern.

"...huh." Lemres suddenly stopped to look at me.
"Eh? What's up, Lemres?"

He noticed someone asked something. It wasn't me though. Then he looked over to Sig standing right close to me, and I just watched them look at each other eye-to-eye. Sig just looked back down at his bowl, continuing to beat the fresh cream after noticing Lemres looking at him though. His smile faded, motionlessly watching Sig. After, he covered his face and muttered something behind the cover.

"...Is this what I think it is?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"

I don't know if I follow, but is he expressing actual curiosity!? I anxiously tried to ask him, but he bounced back into smiling.

"A~bsolutely nothing!"
"Wha!?"

What a liar, you totally were thinking something!

"No need to worry, Amitie! So let's practice making swe~et confections."

Now he's got this "pushy" feeling in his words. I wanted to fish out more from him, but it's doing nothing to his smiling face.

"Butbut..." I continued to hound on him. Sig's been acting all weird today, and he seems be thinking of something by just looking at him. All this and that and these and those...
"Amitie." Lemres confronted me right where I'm standing. He took out his wand and lightly waved it around.

"Uh...Whoah!"

*poof!*

And out came a jiggly bouncy lump of jelly. Of course, I didn't want it to go splat, so I scrambled to catch it.

"A swe~et treat for you should put you at ease. Fufufufufu..."
"T-Thanks, Lemres..."

Now I'm getting totally curious. I couldn't get Lemres to spill the beans, but I don't know if I should question it. I stared at the shiny, shaky jelly with so much worry, and Lemres eventually and suddenly slipped away from everyone's sights. Ah, at the end of the day, I've got nothing to ask about. I looked at Sig one more time, thoughts racing in my head. He's spacing out like usual, beating away at the fresh cream.