Concept 1: Bittersweet
There are some certain sentiments that cannot disappear forever. Momoko hadn't felt this way since the time she spent her time burying her nose in bright picture books abundant with colorful witches surrounded in magical glitter; when she was only a mere age of five and had difficulty approaching other kids and becoming friends.
Sometimes at the Sweet Shop, the girls broke into separate groups to stimulate business. Momoko usually ended up being the one tending to the customers outside the patio, documenting today's specialties, or differentiating the various flavors embedded into the cookies for those who asked. Onpu shared the same job as her, but more often would she stop by Aiko's spot near the cash register and exchange a joking remark, or even a giggle.
Doremi and Hazuki worked in the background as pastry chefs, and as many times Momoko asked if they needed up, most of the time they were all right (unless Doremi happened to spill everything everywhere). It was hard to join any of Doremi and Hazuki's conversations, since they had known each other since kindergarten and had rapid conversations about nearly... everything.
It wasn't the fact that Doremi and the other girls ignored her; in fact, the four had made continuous efforts to include Momoko into their conversations, inquiring about life in New York, magic, and other sundry topics; but Momoko alone lacked much knowledge in Japanese culture and the ability to speak much of it herself. Apart from the girls, she was a nisei, a second-generation Japanese girl.
It wasn't just because Momoko didn't really grasp much Japanese traditions—Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko, and Onpu had already known each other for more than a year, and she had only known all of them for around a couple of months. It was natural that the girls had much to rattle on about, from field trips to witch exams, while Momoko had nothing to share about their history together.
Momoko shrugged, and switched to more optimistic view, telling herself not to expect things to come so quickly. She was just starting to get to know the other girls better, and it wouldn't be long before they would have too much to share about.