"Kagome, are you all right?"

"Yeah, you seem kind of gloomy. Has something happened?"

Kagome raised her head from where it rested on the bench and stared gloomily at Eri and Yuka who stood looming over her, like some kind of palm trees. Ayumi however sat next to Kagome, staring at her with worried eyes.

"I'm all right… just got in a fight with my mom…" she mumbled before letting her forehead slam back at the hard plywood.

"Come on Kagome; it can't have been that bad," Eri said while lightly patting her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah," Yuki inflicted. "I mean, we all get mad at our mothers for being silly over little stuff as clothing and boys. Which reminds me," she loomed near Kagome's ear before she whispered loud enough for the four of them to hear, "how are things going with Hojo?"

"Hmm is whu go'en wi ho?" the girl murmured.

"With Hojo of course! Come on, we all know how he has been after you since what – kindergarten?" Yuki huffed.

Kagome glared at their gossip-hungry faces. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I aren't going anywhere with him since I haven't ever thought of him that way."

Her three friends gasped in unison. "You can't be serious! Hojo is´, like, the only guy in school whose worth looking at and you say you haven't?" Eri gaped, her mouth hanging wide open.

Gently Kagome reached over and plucked her mouth closed. "Yeah. All I'm looking at is either movies, food or-"

"Dogs," the other's sighed.

The raven-haired girl grinned. "Exactly."

"This fight with your mom, don't tell me it was about some dog again?"

"..maybe?"

"Kagome…" Ayumi sighed, putting her chin in her left hand leaning against the table.

"I know… it's just, since Souta and gramps died mom have been so busy. I'm always alone at home, and when she is there she's either looked up in her room or in the kitchen paying bills or something…"

She glared at her bench and scratched at a notch. "I just want someone that is waiting for me at home…"

You could almost touch the silence that surrounded the girls. The heavy atmosphere as they thought about that dreadful day two quarters of Kagome's family had been lost forever. And it was just at that moment a certain boy decided to talk to the depressed girl.

"Hi, Kagome. Um, are you doing anything on Friday?" Hojo asked, his eyes twinkling as a child staring at a giant lollipop. "Want to go catch a movie or something?"

More silence broke out before a crash rang through the room. Kagome, with her head still throbbing from her head-first-fall groaned. "Kami, kill me too…"