Máscara Sonreindo

Chapter Three: Dias Antes de Baile

Days Before Dance

Within the darkened room on the second floor, Misao rose from bed with the urge to stretch. Morning had arrived, just like her alarm told her. "Nyoron! Nyoron! Nyoron!" it screamed, literally rattling across the desk next to her bed. A hand came down on the button on top of the Neko Alarm Clock, stopping the irritating wails. As routine Misao stretched her arms and let out a peaceful moan. School was only an hour away. Her awakening feet patted the carpet until they felt two soft socks in a pile. She grabbed onto them with her toes and slipped her feet into it.

"Nyah!" she said, scratching her head to satisfy a surprise itch. Flakes began to swirl and twist before her as she stopped. "Dandruff again?"

She turned to her dresser and picked up her towel and shampoo. "This should take care of it." Exiting the room, she was greeted by a dimly lit hallway that failed to take her to the bathroom. It was instincts that sent the dazed girl through the dark. She opened the bathroom door and flicked the switch. "Nyah!" she yelped again, shielding her eyes from the blinding light. "I hate this! What is it? A billion watts?!"

Misao lowered her shield, slowly embracing the light as her pupils shifted from slit to circles. The bags under her eyes were fading, now all that was left was to wash up and brush the nest of brown hair atop her head. She quietly slipped out of her blue, long-sleeved pajamas, letting them fall to the floor. As much as she hated to admit, she enjoy that brief moment of pure nakedness in the morning, like the chains of a prisoner were released. She sat down onto the small stool and began to fill the bowl with water.

As she waited she brushed her teeth, watching out for her special tooth which required more time than the others. With the final brush she gave it a lick, feeling the clean and smooth touch it had. "Nice and shiny," Misao smiled.

After bathing the brunette quickly dressed and ran downstairs to grab whatever she was in the mood for. Today would be toast. "I'm so American," she chuckled, poking the bread with a fork as it popped out. Jelly was the only logical topping for her and with the thick layer Misao added the presence of any bread vanished. A single bite splattered jelly across the table and on her plate. She turned to see how quickly time had passed on the clock. She gobbled down her toast and ran to her room.

A light book bag tapped her back as she tossed it over her shoulder. "See ya later mom!" she called out. Her recently awakened mother weakly waved. "Have a good day at school honey." It was obvious where her golden eyes came from.

Misao closed the front door and stepped down each step with enthusiasm. The irritable morning spirit had long disappeared. To ruin her mood was a churning stomach that made her regret not having a bigger breakfast. "I guess I'll get whatever the school is serving…" she muttered, holding her aching belly. "Though I should probably wake up earlier….forget it." Misao was never one to slack off on her sleep time. School however was a different issue.

Sunny skies lit the students' faces, giving a breath of life into their young bodies. Girls would walk into the courtyard with preplanned chats and their friends close aside with open ears. Boys would leap on each other, grabbing shoulders and laughing over everything. Isolated from the regular commotions was the orange-topped girl under the tree.

Ayano peacefully stood with her bag in both hands, alone. Misao entered the school grounds, catching sight of Ayano and waving. "Hey! Good morning," she greeted. The shade of the tree consumed her as she came closer to Ayano.

"Good morning Misao," Ayano smiled. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yep, went straight to bed," Misao answered. "How about you? Get any sleep after that alright movie?"

Suddenly a growl arose from the girls. Ayano turned to look at Misao who miserably held her stomach. "Sorry, I had a light breakfast. I'm always so late to leave my house I can hardly eat anything good until lunch."

"Here then," Ayano said, handing Misao a small box from her bag.

"What's this?"

"I knew you had track practice today so I made this for you."

"Wow…I thought it was tomorrow…I nearly forgot," Misao said, astonished by her friend's excellent memory. She opened the box and marveled at the beautiful treats inside.

"Some of it's breakfast and some of it's lunch," Ayano said, happy to see the smile of marvel on her friend's face.

"You even made….meatballs!" Misao cheered. "Thank you! This is great!"

"Just making sure you're ready for the practice today," Ayano said. "There's still a few minutes left until class starts. You better eat what you can now."

Misao nodded. Ayano sat onto the soft grass under the tree along with Misao, watching her enjoy the meal. She could hear every joyous chew and swallow-an unusual trait of Misao- but found it endlessly enjoyable. Scrambled eggs and hot rice blended together with each bite. Misao could hardly recall the last time she had such a good meal.

"You really can cook. How long did this take?"

"Oh, just about twenty minutes."

"Whoa…you use up twenty minutes of your morning just for me?"

"We-well…I usually cook too much since I have to cook for my family. Today is just special," Ayano lied.

"I better do good at practice then!" Misao happily replied, finishing the last bit of rice-covered eggs. She checked her watch after closing the box. "Come on, it's almost time for class to start! We'll be late!" Ayano stared in surprise as Misao stuck her hand out while standing above her. Ayano hesitated to grab it but allowed herself the simple pleasure of Misao's touch. "There you go," Misao said as she assisted Ayano to her feet. Her arm was uncannily strong for such a slender teenager but Ayano only found it to be another attractive point towards her companion. It would seem that everyday Ayano found new reasons to enjoy Misao, loving each trait and flaw, each noise and look she made. Misao never ceased to amaze her even when doing nothing.

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Students roamed the halls as lunchtime shortly started. Misao took her usual seat at her desk with Ayano sitting across from her. The bento box prepared this morning still held its delicious contents despite Misao's deepening urge to eat them in class. She quickly opened the box and immediately helped herself to the meatballs inside, popping them into her mouth one by one. Ayano took this opportune moment to watch her friend enjoy each one with extreme enthusiasm. Misao was well-aware of this unusual activity and it wasn't the first time she caught her friend doing it. Even during class anyone could easily see Ayano staring at her. Combined with Misao's lingering suspicion about the weird touches from the movies, she began to worry that something was seriously wrong. But she ignored it. "Ayano seems content…"

"Misao…." Ayano quietly said.

"Hmm? Yeah?"

"About those salsa class lessons…would it be too late to join?"

"Well, actually…you can still join but it's too late to learn the basics. I guess…I could teach you."

"I don't' want to be a bother…I know you have so much to do like sports, studies and Spanish…"

"It's not a bother. Just come over to my house tomorrow. We can start then. And besides, I wouldn't have been able to have good food if it weren't for you. My dad keeps feeding me all this diet and health food."

Ayano was glad everything was turning out well. She managed to find a way to spend more time with Misao. If she played her cards right it could involve more physical contact between the two.

"I just hope I can learn well and not aggravate you," Ayano innocently said, hoping she wouldn't be an annoyance.

"Don't worry. I'll teach you hard until you know it by heart," Misao said, eating the last meatball in the box. "I'm one of the classes' top students. But you know…why do you want to learn salsa so bad?"

Ayano was caught. She had to make a lie quick before Misao began to suspect more than she already did. "Well….I really wanted to learn how to dance since I was little but never really got around to it."

"Oh, okay. You just don't seem like the type to learn something like salsa," Misao explained. To her Ayano held an eternally calm demeanor which seemed to never break down. Sometimes it would be too calm.

Lazy eyes and the squeaky voice that differentiated Misao from other students had hid away the hard worker inside of her. Ayano couldn't help but see it as a hybrid of effort and free spiritedness. How could one girl do so much yet seem so relaxed? Misao was truly a wonder. "Maybe…she has a mask of her own…" Ayano thought to herself. Gazing at Misao, she felt as if now there was more depth than before to the cat-like teenager.

"Salsa….school…track. I wonder why she does all these things."

In Misao's head, she watched as Ayano quietly ate her own food, acting like the world held no obstacle for her. "What makes this girl so nice and gentle? Does she even get angry? This eel is good…" Misao chomped on the slippery piece of food, chewing on it until it became nothing but crumbs. "Why does she always cook for me too? There's something a little off about Ayano."

She didn't want to think ill of her friend but doubts rose with every odd behavior. Ayano appeared to be hiding something and despite Misao's creativity and imagination she found it difficult to figure out what it was. The truth was she never met anyone like Ayano before nor has Ayano met anyone like Misao.

In secret, Misao held her own hidden truths, ones she refused to tell anyone. With Ayano being the closest friend she's ever had she wished she was able to tell her, to let it all out. It was burdensome to hide away her true self under the mask she created, the false image of a cool, collected teenager who knew exactly what she wanted. Misao kept, what she believed to be, terrible secrets from the world. She found herself sensitive and easily hurt if anyone were to know and to avoid her pain she did something she knew she would regret.

Will their masks ever crack and if so…would they like the true spirit underneath?

Author: Sorry for the slightly late update. I spoil you guys too much anyway. You know I'm busy. I have to type the sequel to my Lucky Star trilogy today and draw some art for my deviantart account: Konamistar. Combine this with rare chances to sleep and studying for college you get my point. If there are any comments or helpful advice for my writing please let me know. With this chapter I tried making more shorter sentences for simpler actions and reduced the "she" and "her" parts as much as I could.