Chiyo-chan Grows Up
"I said, how was your flight in?"
A jolt went through Chiyo's body, and looked up from the rusty car door handle she'd been fidgeting with for nearly a minute straight. It was being a stubborn thing, and car malfunctions like this still put her on edge since that incident six years ago. Her nerves were already pretty fried from her long trip, and those kind of memories were the last thing she needed right now...
"Ah, it was- it was good!" Chiyo stammered, rubbing her eyes and trying to regain her composure. "It was loooong, but the plane itself was really comfy! It was very nice!"
"Glad to hear!" Yomi said as she slammed the trunk shut. She walked over to Chiyo's side, looking down at her younger old friend for the first time in a long time. It had been three years since the two had graduated high school and Chiyo and went off to study abroad in the U.S. of A. Chiyo had tried her best to keep in close touch with her high school friends (particularly Yomi, who she considered her best friend during that period) through emails and such, but the life of a child prodigy in a foreign country is as busy as it is exciting, so she ended up not having the time for talking with her friends back home as she had hoped. After finishing her third year of college, she was finally able to find time to take a trip back to Japan, a trip she felt was long overdue.
Yomi grinned, wider than many would consider normal for her usual, serious self. She was excited to finally be able to reconnect with Chiyo, and to hear all about what life overseas is like. Furthermore, just being with her old friend this short time, seeing how she'd changed and how she'd stayed the same, filled Yomi with a refreshing sense of relief and security. While Chiyo had definitely grown up a bunch, she still seemed so small- smaller than most girls her age probably were (Yomi knew better than to say that to her face, though). She still had her distinctive Chiyo pigtails, her bright smile full of optimism, and just the lovable Chiyo-chan Aura she'd carried all throughout high school.
Yomi's contemplation was interrupted by a series of small, pitiful sounding whines. Coming back to reality, she and saw Chiyo was once again struggling with the door handle. The girl was tugging futilely with all the might her scrawny little frame could muster. Apparently physical strength was something she hadn't improved in during her time in America. "Yep, same old Chiyo-chan," Yomi thought to herself.
"Need some help with that, Chiyo-chan?" Yomi asked. Chiyo turned to her wearily and nodded. "Yeah, it gets stuck like that sometimes, don't worry about it," Yomi said as she took hold of the handle. "You just kinda gottaaaAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"
Yomi shrieked unholily and slammed her foot into the ground as she pulled the handle full-force. The uncooperative door quickly gave in and swung open, sending Yomi flying half a foot back. "There…" Yomi said, panting. "All there is to it."
Chiyo smiled meekly, visibly shaken by Yomi's warcry. "I-I'll keep that in mind," she said as she crawled into the back seat. "Thank you, Ms. Yomi"
"No problem!" Yomi said as she got into the driver's seat. "And uh, hey, don't let the door bother you. It's just a door, you know? This car's fine! I promise you, this won't be a repeat of the Yuka-"
"YEAH it's okay I'm fine it's fine! There's a bunch of counselors at my college, you see, so I'm pretty much all over that old incident anyways!" Chiyo said with a smile, putting the grab handle in an iron grip.
"All right, then!" Yomi said, as she twisted her key in the ignition. The engine sputtered begrudgingly to life, sounding like the automobile equivalent of a grandpa who just got woken up from his nap. "Ah, it's an old car, so it's a bit rough around the edges in some places, but ah… but it's reliable, really! And it's got a lot of, you know, sentimental value."
"Sentimental value? But I thought you told me you bought this car just last month."
"Well. Maybe not sentimental value to ME necessarily. But like… it's gotta be sentimental to someone. Right?"
"...R-right..."
The two shared a few weighty seconds of awkward silence, dispersed by Yomi's cough. "So! Uh, what's the address of the place you're staying?" the older girl asked.
"Oh, right!" Chiyo fished around her pocket and pulled out a precisely folded note. "I wrote it down here!"
"Gotcha!" Yomi said as she took her passenger's neatly-handled note. She began inputting the address in her fancy new GPS system, shooting a glance to Chiyo partway through. "You know, you didn't have go through the trouble of getting a hotel room, Chiyo-chan. I would've just let you stay at my place if you'd asked."
"Oh no, it's fine!" Chiyo said, sugar-sweetly. "That's very nice of you to offer, Ms. Yomi, but I'd hate to impose on you like that!"
"It wouldn't be imposing! But hey, suit yourself I guess," Yomi said. With that, she put the car into reverse, and started her escort.
"What are you gonna do when you get to the hotel, Chiyo-chan? Just pass out?"
"Hehe, pretty much, yeah! I'm gonna unpack and get settled in 'n' all. Then hopefully I'll have enough in me to take a shower... and then just hit the hay I think," Chiyo yawned, covering her mouth with her free hand. "It's been a loooong day..."
"Ah yeah, you must be exhausted, huh? Don't worry, Chiyo-chan, I'll get you right on home so you can rest up before you know it, okay?" Yomi patted the dashboard like her car was the kind of car that deserves to be patted. Chiyo simply nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Yomi."
Yomi nodded in turn. "But don't sleep in too long, y'hear. Tomo and Osaka are gonna throw a fit if you're late for lunch with us. I can just feel it. ...On the other hand, they'll probably throw a fit if you're on time too, so maybe you don't have to feel too pressured."
Chiyo chuckled. It sounded like those two hadn't changed much at all… Chiyo didn't know exactly how to feel about that. "How are those two doing these days?"
"Horrible," Yomi said bluntly, voice already being washed over with the tide of bitterness that had soaked Yomi's heart since some long-off point in middle school. "They're absolute disasters. They keep pestering me for money ALL THE TIME, and I don't think they like, EVER go to class anymore at this point, I'm CONVINCED they just spend all their ti-"
Chiyo sank back in her seat and shook her head. She really should have known better than to pick at a conversational scab like that. And now that she had, the blood of Yomi's complaints had come gushing out wait this is a really gross metaphor nope nope nope never mind moving on.
"Ah, really? Gosh…" Chiyo closed her eyes and out her mind autopilot making noncommittal noises to affirm that she was definitely listening to all this. She wanted to relax and recover, but she also didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings. And from just how much Yomi was going on in going off, she really needed an audience for this. In planning this vacation, Chiyo had learned that all her and Yomi's friends besides Tomo and Osaka had gone to colleges too far away to really meet in person regularly. Who knew how long Yomi had been forcing these floodgates shut tight until she had someone to open them for.
However, Yomi, all senses clouded by the smoke of her burning resentment, quickly found herself spending too much time remembering what articles of clothing she was pretty sure Tomo stole from her during visits and not enough time on remembering how to drive. And so, while an average driver may have noticed a light turning red and a steady stream of eager drivers beginning to rush through the intersection in front of her before the last possible half-second, Yomi ended up shooting for well below average this day. Snapping back to the real world just in time, Yomi grunted as she stepped on the brake like it was a huge cockroach that also just insulted her weight. The sudden stop was enough to save the car and its two passengers, but it sure wasn't very nice about it. The force of the stop slammed Yomi hard into her steering wheel, and threw poor and recently half-asleep Chiyo around like a ragdoll.
"SHIT!" Chiyo yelped in shock.
As she sat back up straight, trying to readjust both physically and mentally, Chiyo hadn't yet realized the full ramifications of what she just said. But she got a hint when she reopened her eyes to find Yomi staring right at her, slack-jawed.
"Chiyo-chan… you just said a swear," Yomi said
"Um…" Chiyo hemmed, glancing to the side. She couldn't say she exactly expected this kind of reaction when she let that word slip, but thinking about it, she could definitely begin to get it. That word wasn't even a word she said very often, but the sudden impact combined with her jetlag and resurfacing amaxophobia had been enough to draw it out of her. But here she was, put on the hot seat for her colorful word choice. How to respond?...
Chiyo elected to put on a brave face and hold her ground. "Yes, I certainly did, Ms. Yomi." the girl responded surely. "Is that a problem?"
Yomi blinked, apparently recovering a bit of her composure. "W-well, no, I guess not...I mean, I swear all the damn time, y'know." Yomi adjusted her glasses, fixating her gaze even more on her orange-haired little passenger. "It's just… I'd never heard YOU swear before, Chiyo-chan. And…I'd never have been able to imagine one coming out of YOUR mouth… at least, not before."
There it was. "I guess this is what happens when you don't see someone since you were just thirteen," Chiyo thought to herself, "I can't really be too surprised at all…" But even if she understood Yomi's reaction, she still struggled a bit to choke down her indignity. Stuff like this, concerning her age and maturity, had been a sore spot for her ever since she'd moved ahead in the school system.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Ms. Yomi! Is it really that weird?" Chiyo said, forcing a chuckle. She looked right back at Yomi and flashed a confident smile. "After all, I'm not just a little kid anymore, am I?"
"I mean… how old are you now again?"
"Sixteen!"
"...That's still technically a kid age, isn't it-"
"I AM A YOUNG ADULT!" Chiyo whined, waving her angry little fists in a traditional display of dominance. "Besides, who are you to talk, Ms. Yomi? You said curse words a bunch when you were my age!"
"'When you were my age'? Geez louise, that just makes me sound like more of a kid, doesn't it?" Chiyo thought to herself regretfully a split-second after saying that.
"I mean, you're right..." Yomi said, "But still, I… Heh, I guess I still just kind of-"
A loud series of honks erupted from behind, as the light had been green for well over twenty seconds at this point. "ALL RIIIGHT, I'M GOING! SHEESH!" Yomi yelled at her fellow drivers, honking vengefully, and she tore back down the road. The commotion frazzled Chiyo even more, but not enough to not be grateful for it sparing her from that awkward line of conversation. She had a few ideas as to how that sentence was about to end, and none of them made Chiyo any happier.
The rest of the drive to the hotel went without any sort of other incident. The two chatted more about their lives in college, their new experiences and friends, their frustrations and their triumphs and just whatever else came to mind in the remaining forty-or-so-minute drive. Chiyo made extra care to avoid bringing up anything that could upset Yomi to that extent again, and Yomi took extra care to make sure an adequate of her attention was spent on not crashing. The conversation was pleasant, and Chiyo was still overjoyed to speak with her friend again, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling the rest of the trip that now the conversation felt more...strained.
It felt strained... like Yomi was distracted by something. And not just distracted by driving; this felt like a totally different type distraction. The way she talked, her tone and demeanor, it gave Chiyo the sense that Yomi had something turning in the back of her head. Something she was trying to keep down, but was clearly keeping a good part of her thoughts occupied throughout trying to keep up a normal conversation.
"Is...is she still processing the swear thing?" Chiyo wondered. If she was, Chiyo's mood would have to move past 'miffed' and firmly into 'disgruntled'. She was a teen now, and well over halfway into that category to boot! She could understand being surprised initially, but as time went on the immutable sense that Yomi was still mulling it over wore on Chiyo more and more. It really wasn't a big deal! She's just a teen who said a swear! Nothing weird! Did Yomi still, after all this time, really just see her as a little kid?
...On the other hand, Chiyo realized this could very likely just all be in her head. She knew didn't really have proof as to what Yomi was thinking about, if Yomi was pondering anything in particular at all. Was she reading too much into things here? Thinking about it further, Chiyo regretfully realized: could she just be projecting her own insecurities onto her friend? Her friend she hadn't seen in so long, and had worked so hard to be able to see again? The thought of her entertaining such bitter ideas ate at her core. It filled her with a guilt that surely would have alone been enough to bring her to tears just a couple of years ago.
...But on the OTHER hand, was it really fair to herself to assume that her feelings here were totally invalid? Chiyo liked to consider herself a woman of science and reason before all else, but she couldn't deny her gut feeling here. Distrusting her friend like this felt rotten to Chiyo, but she could trust herself enough to believe that she wasn't just being petty feeling like this, right? She reflected on what could be considered evidence. She could take Yomi's initial reaction as proof of how Yomi saw Chiyo's swearing, and could make an educated guess as to how Yomi's unfinished sentence would end…
Chiyo rubbed her eyes and sighed. Her brain was making this way bigger of an issue than it needed to, she could realize that much for sure, and she was running on way too little energy to deal with this in her state.
"Geez, you do sound beat," Yomi said. "Hang in there just a bit more, Chiyo-chan, we should be there in just...a…" Yomi's sentence faded into the aether as she pulled up to the hotel of Chiyo's parents' choice. It was a towering building, pristine and glittering, and were those pillars real gold? They couldn't be, right? 'Cause that would be, like, a lot of gold.
Yomi collected herself. "I-is this the place?" she asked, trying her best not to sound intimidated.
"Huh? Ah, yep!" Chiyo said, perking up. She opened the car door- the other side, this time, just to be safe, as Yomi popped open the trunk. "My parents picked it out for me! I've read a bunch of good things in reviews, so I'm excited to see what it's really like!"
Yomi nodded, not taking her eyes off the building. "Yeah, it seems...nice…" she said in a light trance. Hearing the trunk swing open, Yomi snapped awake, rolled down the window and stuck her head out. "Need any help with your bag, Chiyo-chan?"
"I'm fine!" Chiyo chirped in reply, lifting her suitcase and only shaking a slight bit in the knees as she did so. She was tired enough that on another day she may have taken up her friend's offer, but right now she felt a very "Gotta Prove That I'm Capable" type of mood. "All right then," Yomi shrugged.
Chiyo trudged her way to the driver side to bid her friend farewell for the night. "Thank you so, so much for driving me, Ms. Yomi! You did very well in not traumatizing me this time!"
Yomi laughed. "You're welcome, Chiyo-chan, I'm glad to hear I'm not THAT bad. See you tomorrow, then!"
Chiyo nodded. "See you tomorrow!~"
"Enjoy your hotel!" Yomi said, not being able to resist taking one last glance at the impressive building. "...Actually...say, Chiyo-chan?"
"Huh? What is it, Ms. Yomi?"
"You know how I said I'd be willing to let you stay with me?"
"What? I mean, yeah, I do…?"
"Well then… would you be willing to return the favor?"
The two shared another few weighty seconds of awkward silence, dispersed now by Yomi's guffaw. "Pfft, I'm just kidding you, Chiyo-chan! Hahaha!"
"Oh! Hehe, good one Ms. Yomi!" Chiyo laughed, half-believing her friend.
"Ah, so, uh…" Yomi stammered, hoping she'd effectively saved face. "...Seeya, Chiyo-chan."
Yomi rolled up the window, and began driving her way away. "Goodbye, Ms. Yomi!" Chiyo shouted while waving farewell, not entirely sure if Yomi could hear or even see her now, but doing it nonetheless. She continued waving until Yomi was well out of sight, then started her way into the hotel lobby.