You'll do
by Hidden Tala
She sighed in frustration.
Oh, she should have known. She could never get away with lying. How many times had she lied to her mother only to have it blown up her face?
There was one time in junior high when she got caught sneaking out late at night to meet with a boy her mother didn't like.
"Where do you think you're going, young lady?"
She remembered swallowing a tennis ball sized lump of saliva before facing the Daidouji matriarch. "I was just going to… water the plants, Mother."
She saw the tic on her mother's face and knew the hell she was in for. "Oh really? At this hour? And aren't you a little overdressed for that, Tomoyo-chan?"
Lying to Sonomi Daidouji is a crime that can only be atoned by sweat, tears, and blood. But if she only permitted Tomoyo to date that guy then they wouldn't have this problem now, would they?
She shook her head to banish the thought. Maybe ten years ago he was the bad boy that good girls would have gladly turned bad for. But Omori-kun is the size of a planet right now. And he's still living under the same roof with his mother. Not that she looks only at outward appearances but a man has got have some spine.
So… how in Kami's name is she going to undo this mess?
She leaned on the handrail as she blew on strands of hair that nearly covered her face. If she couldn't think of something soon, she'd be forced to jump off this escalator just so her mother would be more concerned of her well-being rather than her love life (or lack thereof).
She twisted her head to the right when something caught her eye. Is that a new book by Jasper Fforde that lady's holding? Oh, it's a chic lit.
She was about to turn but something told her to stay still.
Maybe, just maybe, the gods want her in one piece this time. Because she could have sworn she saw that one thing that could have put everything to shame.
The first thing he noticed was that predatory gleam in her eyes before he could take in everything about her.
He just got back from London where he was stationed for two years. And now he was back to his home country, waiting for this god-awful carousel to start moving.
"Umm, hi," he said with a little wave when she got off the escalator.
The woman gave him a measuring look, sizing him up. He arched his brow both in amusement and irritation.
"What are you—"
"Fine," she said begrudgingly, scrunching her nose for effect. "You'll do."
