Title: How to pack for a road trip: Azusa edition
Characters: Azusa, Yui
Words: 1667
Step One: Wake up before the sun rises.
The shrill ringtone of her phone jerked Azusa awake, and she scrabbled around on her bedside table to make the noise stop while blinking repeatedly, making sure it wasn't her alarm clock.
"Who is it?" she yawned.
"AZU-NYAN!" The voice on the other end of the line was so loud that it made the speakers crackle from its intensity. "Let's go!"
"Look, Yui-senpai, if this is a prank, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do it at 5:30 in the morning." Azusa hung up the phone and tried to go back to sleep.
Step Two: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
After incessantly ringing for half an hour, the phone finally stripped away Azusa's will to live, and she had no choice but to listen to the multiple voicemails Yui had left her. From the way it sounded, Ritsu wanted the Light Music Club to go on a "super exciting road trip," with no restrictions and no rules. Azusa groaned at the upbeat way her senpai described it, knowing that if she didn't come with them, everything would go to hell.
She pressed the familiar number that was one of the first on her speed dial, and within what seemed like nanoseconds, Yui had answered.
"So that means you're going, right, Azu-nyan? I knew you'd want to come!"
Azusa groaned. "Don't take this the wrong way, senpai, but I'm only doing it because you'll probably end up taking a wrong turn somewhere and drive off a cliff without me."
Step 3: Learn some Latin along the way.
Azusa asked, "So how many days are we actually going on this trip?" She figured her upperclassmen would probably get exhausted after about half a day on the road, turn around, and go back home.
"I don't know!"
"Wait…what?"
"Yeah, it's completely random! Ricchan said something about…carpy diem?"
Of course Ritsu-senpai would know that in Latin, Azusa thought. "Carpe diem; it means 'seize the day' in Latin. So she's basically telling us to be spontaneous?"
"Azu-nyan…what does that mean?"
Azusa flopped down on her bed. "I can't believe you haven't ever been held back before. How you managed to pass high school, I have no idea."
Step 4: Imagine all the worst-case scenarios that may befall you.
"Anyway, Yui-senpai, there's no way I'm going on this road trip if I have no idea how long it's going to be or what we're going to be doing. I won't accept just going on a road trip for the sake of adventure or whatever it was Ritsu-senpai said."
Yui whined into the phone, "It won't be any fun without you, Azu-nyan."
"I don't care! This kind of thing needs to be thought through, or nothing will go right! You could get food poisoning or be involved in a car accident–wait, who's driving, anyway?"
Her senpai said nothing, and Azusa prayed that, no matter how desperate she was, she'd never let Yui drive when she was in the car. Did she even have a license?
"But Azu-nyan, we need you! Maybe you could drive?"
"With the rest of you in the backseat? Do you know how distracted I'd be?" Nevertheless, Azusa was already steeling herself to be the group's designated driver. She just hoped she'd have a map with her.
"Hehe, you're Azu-nyan; you'll be fine! Anyway, gotta go~" sang Yui, and hung up on Azusa.
"Senpai? Senpai?!" Now Azusa was truly confused. If this trip didn't have any plans, how were they supposed to meet up? Where were they supposed to get a car? How much money would they end up spending? It was all so frustrating for her, someone who loved order and structure. Maybe I should just call Yui-senpai back and tell her I'm not going, she pondered. Maybe not going will be for the best…well, until they end up driving into the Pacific.
Step 5: Trust no one with your address. Who knows who could show up.
A loud pounding on her door interrupted Azusa from her worries. Thinking that it was probably too early for Ui or Jun to stop by, she opened it apprehensively. On the other side stood a grinning brown-haired girl with two yellow clips holding her bangs back. A big bag sat on her shoulder with the keychain she'd bought in Kyoto swinging from one of the straps. Azusa was embarrassed to admit it, but she sometimes put hers on her guitar case, where she could see it while she practiced. Before she could do anything, Yui had squeezed past Azusa and into her entryway, closing the door behind her.
"H-how do you where I live, Yui-senpai?" Azusa demanded, trying to get Yui to stop looking around the place. Unfortunately, it wasn't working.
"Ui told me," Yui giggled. "And look, she packed all my things for me."
"I told her that in confidence," sputtered Azusa, furiously cursing her friend while still marveling at how she managed to fit so much into Yui's bag. Was that…an entire bottle of soy sauce?
"Well, anyway," Azusa continued. "Just because you showed up here doesn't mean you can convince me to go with you any better than you did when we were on the phone." She turned away from Yui in a huff, wanting to go back to her room and take back the sleep that had been taken from her by Yui's antics.
"B-but, Azu-nyan…" Now there was hurt in Yui's voice. "We all want to go before we graduate…"
Azusa turned around just a little. "All of you do?"
"Well…me and Ricchan and Mugi do…"
The twintailed girl sighed. "Mio-senpai will probably need to be convinced to do it even more than me, you know."
"Ricchan's on it!"
Yui's sudden change in tone let Azusa know that she hadn't really been serious, but she'd still made Azusa feel bad anyway. Sighing, she turned around and said, "If you're really sure you want me to come on this trip, I guess I'll come with you?"
Immediately, Yui sprang at her, nearly knocking her to the floor in a tight embrace. "I knew you'd come around, Azu-nyan!"
Step 6: Anything goes. Really, anything.
"I guess I should pack, then," Azusa grumbled. "I don't want to make you wait for very long, Yui-senpai. Just hang on a second." Running back to her room, she pulled out the biggest duffel bag in her closet–she had to assume they wouldn't just be going on a one-day trip if Ritsu was involved–and started throwing clothes into it. Usually when she packed, she'd do it at least a week in advance, if not two, and would carefully fold all her clothes and arrange them so that none of them would get any wrinkles. But now, with Yui practically bouncing up and down in anticipation outside her door, she had no choice. Anything she saw that seemed like it might work would have to go in the bag. Her swimsuit? Well, they'd probably be heading to the beach, so in it went. A T-shirt from their last school festival? At the memory of the last time she'd worn it, Azusa had to smile a little. Into the bag it went. At some point, Yui slipped into her room and started rummaging through the drawers.
"Oooh, Azu-nyan, this dress is cute! Take it with you!"
"Yui-senpai, I haven't worn this since middle school. It's probably way too small for me."
Still, she caught her senpai trying to slip it into the bag anyway and nearly had to slap it out of the other girl's hand. As well as clothes, she put in her wallet, a first-aid kit, sunscreen, toiletries, a water bottle, a guitar pick…
Azusa turned to Yui. "Senpai, I'm not bringing my guitar with me."
Yui pouted. "Awww. Muttan will be so lonely without you, though."
A minute later, the guitar pick was back in her bag, and Azusa had shut the door of her room in Yui's face. Then, realizing that Yui probably wouldn't leave until Azusa was finished packing, she sighed and zipped her bag shut. If they were going on a random trip, maybe she'd just have to get used to being random. Even if that went against everything she stood for…
Sure enough, Yui was waiting for her outside the room. "Yay, Azu-nyan! Let's get going! I'm sure Ricchan's already waiting." Azusa sighed and rolled her eyes, but was feeling more awake than ever. Secretly, she was hoping that Mio would completely shut Ritsu down and the entire trip would be canceled. But as they began heading out of the front door, Yui came to a halt, and Azusa nearly crashed into her from behind.
Step 7: Just when it seems like there's nothing else you can do…
Yui suddenly turned around to face Azusa. "Azu-nyan…"
With her senpai's face so close to hers, Azusa couldn't help but blush. "What is it?"
"I totally forgot something, but I just remembered it. Ricchan says we're not going until next week!"
Azusa felt the hastily-packed duffel bag she was holding drop to the ground. "Yui…senpai! How could you not tell me that earlier?" She felt as though she were about to fly into a rage the way she had when she'd first joined the Light Music Club. Yui started giggling at how distressed Azusa had become. Then again, Azusa pondered, if they had a whole week left, she could pack properly, andshe could even think of a schedule for what the five of them could do together. They still hadn't gone to a hot spring together, after all, and there was so much available to them. Azusa could feel excitement bubbling up inside her. Maybe taking a trip for the sake of adventure wouldn't be so bad–well, as long as they had some sort of backup plan.
That's when she realized something. "Yui-senpai…why did you pack everything if we still have a week before we're leaving?!"