It was lunch time. Rin had gone up to the roof as per usual but she came back down. Today was a hot day. There were no clouds to watch and the sun bombarded the roof with its cosmic rays. Rin and the heat don't get along. She tried to sit on one of the benches but soon learned that it was scorching hot. She wondered where Emi was. Usually she could hear running down the hallway with a bagged lunch in hand. But today the hallways were Emi-less. She leaned up against the wall. She was there for a bit. Where could Emi be? She thought back to this morning. Emi had woken her up like always. But something was different about her today. She was a lot less full of energy then other days. Oh! Rin remembered that she was staying home sick today.
Now Rin was at a crossroad. It was too hot to sit on the roof. Emi wasn't here, she usually knows a good place to go. The cafeteria was out of the question. Too many people. Too many people that would try and talk. Maybe. Rin took to wandering the halls instead. She wasn't really sure where she was going. She didn't really know this part of the school well. A smell caught her nose like a hook and started pulling her along.
She couldn't really place the smell. But as she got close she remembered the smell. It was the smell of tea. Emi had gotten Rin to drink tea. Well actually no that was wrong. Emi's mom served Rin and her tea. Emi had demanded to have coffee. That was an interesting day. She drank it with a straw. It was good. It was relaxing the warm smooth taste that flowed down the back of her throat. The sweetness and the relaxation that came with drinking it. This tea smelled different but it had the same feel to it.
Rin wondered how many different kind of tea there where. And where all the different flavors came from. Did they have a butterfly flavored tea? Did they make it out of butterflies? Rin wondered all this questions. She was walking by smell now. When she looked to where she was going, she realized who was in the room. Long blonde hair,very tall, and very fancy. That must be Lilly. Rin walked into the room anyway because she had nowhere else to go and Lilly seems pretty nice. As Rin walking in Lilly's head lifted up from her tea cup.
"Hanako?" She said. "I thought you were busy studying today?"
"Nope." Rin said. "It's Rin."
Lilly's usually calm face changed into one of surprise then into one of worry.
"Rin I thought you ate lunch with Emi. Though I don't seem to hear her…." Lilly trailed off.
"I think she's sick today." Rin said.
"You think?" Lilly said cautiously
"She didn't run this morning. And she always runs. If Emi didn't run then I don't know if Emi would be Emi or not. Would she stop being Emi? If I stopped painting would I stop being me? If you stopped drinking tea would you stop being Lilly?" Rin asked.
"I don't think so….." Lilly said.
It was silent then. Lilly was a loss for words. Rin sat down in the chair across from her.
"Would you mind if I joined you for tea?" Rin asked.
Lilly looked absolutely surprised.
"S-sure." She said.
She carefully passed Rin a cup and poured it for her. Rin looked down at the cup with a grin. She was excited to see what this new tea tasted like.
"I didn't know you liked tea, Rin." Lilly said.
"Yeah." Rin said.
She paused. Lilly's eyebrows raised a little bit. She didn't want to try to understand whatever answer Rin gave to her. But this silence was ten times worse than any answer she could give. Hopefully. She didn't hear any sipping noises. Then it occurred to her that Rin had no possible way to drink her tea.
"Rin?" Lilly asked.
"One second." She said.
Lilly waited a second. And then another second. And then another second. Finally she heard Rin take a breath.
"I like tea because it is sleepy. Not sleepy like history class. Sleepy like a day at a beach. Where everything is warm and calm." Rin said.
Lilly nodded and smiled. Not a pacifying smile. A genuine smile.
"That's why I like tea too Rin." Lilly said.
Lilly waited a beat or two. She took a deep breath before taking the plunge.
"Rin how do you plan on drinking your tea?" Lilly asked.
"There's a straw on the table." She said.
"I didn't know that was there." Lilly said.
"It's not now. It's in my mouth now."
"Oh." Lilly said.
Rin looked down at her tea. It was reflective. She looked at herself for a second before putting the straw into the cup. She sipped the tea. It was really good. She kept sipping. And sipping. And sipping. Until before she knew it she was almost out of tea. When she started to get near the bottom, she started to make a slurping noise. It was a funny noise. It reminded her of Emi's snoring.
"Rin." Lilly said sharply.
Rin didn't hear her over the slurping.
"Rin." She said her voiced raised. Well raised for Lilly.
Rin looked up. Lilly's smile looked so strained that even Rin noticed. Rin looked down sheepishly her bangs obscuring her eyes.
"Sorry." She said.
"It quite al-" She started to say.
The bell started to ring, signaling the end of lunch. Lilly's face became one of relief.
"Well." Lilly started. "Rin. Next time you want to join me for tea, you should bring Emi a long too. The more the merrier the say." Lilly said.
"I don't think Emi likes tea. But okay."