A New Day
Haru watched the Cat Bureau fade into the distance, Muta and Toto's bickering clearly heard by the teenage school girl. She laughed lightly, now knowing that it was just an old game the two played, and turned towards the door that would lead inside the school. She twisted the knob, surprised that the door wouldn't budge.
'That's strange. The door's always open when school is.' A sudden realization hit her, and she burst out laughing. Today was Saturday, and she had completely forgotten, due to the chaos of the Cat Kingdom. The brunette strolled to the side of the building, where she knew a drain pipe was. If she had thought about trying this yesterday, she would have been too scared to move.
But now that she knew what real fear was, she put the handle of her school bag between her teeth and gracefully scaled down the side of the building. She jumped off a few feet away from the ground, solidly landing on her feet. Now taking the bag to one hand, she dreamily strolled the sidewalk leading to home.
'I wonder how Mom will take me disappearing for a night.' She had taken her cat-speaking abilities in stride, so maybe Haru could trust her with what happened. Her mind went back to Baron. How would he feel about her spreading around the fact that there was a walking talking doll flying around Tokyo? People would probably accuse her of watching Pinnochio too many times, and maybe send her off to a 'restful' clinic. She was already getting strange stares from wearing school clothes on a Saturday. She laughed again, for once not caring in the least what they thought. It was no longer her problem.
She suddenly looked to her left, and saw a hair salon. She raised one hand to her brown locks, still cool from the intense fall she had gone through. She checked her bag, delighted that she had remembered to bring her wallet. Hiromi had been the one to suggest years ago that she would look more mature if she pulled her hair back, but the brunette felt different than the girl who had hidden behind her own clumsiness. She walked confidently into the salon.
When she came back out, her hair was cropped short, no one able to mistake her with a little girl now. If anything, people would now have difficulty telling the differences between her and her mother. Haru felt better immediately, already feeling the change the cut made for her. She started walking down the sidewalk again.
"Haru?"
She turned, and smiled politely. A familiar teenage boy had come out of the video game store a few doors down from the salon, and was staring at her disbelievingly.
"Hello, Machida. How's your day?" He blinked, further stunned that she had spoken a complete sentence to him without stuttering or blushing.
"Uh, it's fine. Why are you in school clothes?"
She looked at them and laughed.
"It would take way too long to explain, and you wouldn't believe me anyway. I'll see you Monday, okay?" She waved cheerfully and went on her way. Machida continued to stare, not recognizing this new Haru, who glowed with self-confidence. Her new haircut suited her wonderfully, and made her seem more mature somehow. What happened to the other girl, the one that couldn't look anyone in the eye?
"Haru," he whispered.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
When the teenage girl arrived home with a large paper bag, the cat tails were swaying gently in the breeze, welcoming her home. She was halfway through the cat tails when she suddenly remembered that she was allergic. But her allergies weren't activating. She laughed again, realizing that the Cat Kingdom had left its mark on her after all. As much as she now liked the new grass on her lawn, it wouldn't do to leave them and make her home look like it was abandoned. She would cut them down after speaking to her mother.
She opened the door, expecting to see her mother angrily pacing the front room or passed out on the couch. Maybe she was with the police. Haru made her way to the kitchen and set the paper bag on the counter before noticing the paper pinned to the fridge. She took it down to read it.
Sweetheart,
I know I said I'd take today off, but after you left for school, I remembered that today was the day I needed to leave for that quilter's convention I've told you about a million times. I left some food in the fridge, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd tackle the nasty cat tail problem outside. I should be back late tomorrow night, and you had better be in bed by the time I get home, young lady.
Love,
Mom
Haru laughed at the stroke of good luck. She wouldn't have to say a thing to her mother, as long as she hadn't tried to call since leaving. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. She made herself a thick ham and cheese sandwich while looking at the brown bag she had been carrying with her book bag. There would be time to play with the fresh tea ingredients later. She could still taste Baron's unique blend on her tongue, giving her an idea of what she wanted to blend together first.
As she took the first bite from her sandwich, her phone went off. She grabbed it while swallowing.
"Hello."
"Haru, why didn't you answer the phone last night? I was getting worried." Thank heaven it was Hiromi speaking and not her mother.
"Oh, I was hanging out with some new friends, nothing to worry about." It was amazing that she could say that with a straight face.
"Ah. I wanted to know if you still wanted to see that new adventure/romance movie that came out today."
Haru bit back another laugh, having just lived something like that.
"Mom needs me to cut down the cat tails today; how about tomorrow morning so we can beat the crowds?" A long pause followed. "Hiromi, are you still there?"
"Yes, but are you? How do I know that you won't sleep in and miss it?"
Her response spilled out before she could stop it.
"Just trust me." Her body flooded with warmth, relishing the sound of those words, even if it was by her voice and not his. Her friend waited a few seconds before answering.
"Well, okay. But you better be there, 'cause I don't want to wait an hour for you to just wake up."
Haru laughed.
"I don't think that will be a problem anymore. Meet me at the Cross Roads at eight, okay?"
"Okay."
Haru hung up the phone and ate her sandwich, still thinking about a certain cat doll. Would he miss her? She missed him already.