Rima watched Nagihiko leave, then turned and faced her room. The baby-sitter would probably be here soon, no use waiting in bed for her. Rima got changed into a pink tank top and a matching skirt. Under the skirt she slipped on some socks and walked downstairs.

Mom was sitting at one end of the couch with a magazine, skimming over the pages with a disapproving scowl. Dad was sitting at the other end of the couch staring at the wall and looking just as unhappy. Rima sat between them with her hands on her knees. The living room was silent except for the ticking clock and sound of pages ruffling as Mom went through her magazine.

Finally Dad checked his watch and stood up. He began pacing around the room and tension started to build. It was obvious Mom just wanted her husband to sit down and wait patiently. While It was obvious Father was tired of being patient and the baby-sitter being late didn't leave a great impression.

The air seemed to change from water into honey it got so thick. Finally a knock came at the door. Dad grabbed his coat and briefcase and threw the door open. A girl with long blonde hair tied up in two pig-tails stood there. She had vibrant purple eyes and thin oval glasses. When Dad opened the door she put on a professional smile and held out her hand.

"Hello Mr. Mashiro, I'm-" Dad pushed his way past her and climbed into his car. The baby-sitter looked from him back to us with a confused look. Mother set down her magazine and got up with a huff.

"Hello, you must be here to baby-sit." Mother said shaking the girl's hand.

"Um, yes. I'm Utau Tsukiyomi." She said.

"Forgive my husband for being in a bit of a rush. I'll just show you around real quick."

Rima stared at Utau with a serious expression, it was a defense mechanism. When Rima got nervous she would stiffen up and put on a straight face. Even if Rima had been getting better with people it dawned on her she might not be able to do this.

What would she and the teenager standing before her talk about? Would she be the cell-phone type she and Nagihiko had hoped for? Or would she actually take care of Rima? Would she and Rima even get along?

"Well, this is my daughter Rima." Mom said gesturing toward Rima. "Say hello Rima."

Rima stood up awkwardly and let out a meek: "Hello."

"I have to go so this will be quick. Upstairs, other then Rima's room there won't be much up there for you to do. There's a bathroom down here as well as up there and Rima isn't allowed in our room. There's a coat closet and the kitchen, you can cook anything in there. Rima still needs breakfast. Anything else you need to know you can ask Rima. I should be going and thank you for coming."

Mom shook Utau's hand again and she was out the door. Rima and Utau stared at each other.

"What do you want to eat?" Utau asked.

Rima stared at her and then walked into the kitchen. Utau followed her.

"Can you make pancakes?" Rima asked as she climbed onto the counter top. She stood on the counter and opened the cabinet.

"Um, yeah." Utau said. She watched as Rima dug around for the pancakes. "Do you need help?"

"No. We just have a little mix left, but I hid it from Mom and Dad along time ago. They haven't found it so I don't think you would be able to." Rima said reaching deeper into the cabinet.

"How do you know they haven't found it?" Utau asked.

"Because I hid it seven months ago and since then we haven't had pancakes." Rima said emerging with a pancake box. She hopped down and handed it over to Utau.

"They haven't made you pancakes in seven months?" Utau asked. Utau had never come to expect pancakes from her parents but Rima seemed like a kid who woke up to pancakes every morning.

"A year or two actually." Rima said as she sat at the table. She sat there quietly for a minute and then spoke again. "Now that I think about it I haven't had a home cooked meal in a while. It's mostly cereal or t.v. dinners or just some heated soup from a can."

Utau had pulled out a bowl and turned on the stove. When Rima finished talking Utau looked over at her.

"Could I ask why?"

Rima looked up at her sadly. "If I can ask you a question." Utau nodded. Rima went over the dining room table and sat.

"Well," Rima began. "My parents...fight a lot. It's always work, work, work. They almost forgot my birthday a few months ago. Sometimes they yell at me really loudly. It gets scary." Rima couldn't stop the words from spilling out. She didn't want to tell these things to Utau, she didn't know how Utau would react but she just had to tell someone.

"I see." Utau said. Rima didn't know it but Utau was already very fond of her. Utau was just beginning to see a little bit of herself in Rima.

"Why did you take this job?" Rima asked. "You're a pretty teenager who looks like she would rather be with friends or...a boyfriend."

Utau smiled lightly as she stirred the pancake mix. "I don't really have friends...of any kind. I also really need some money and I'm not all that great at anything else." Utau chuckled. "Nothing I could make money off of anyway."

"Why do you need money?"

"Selfish reasons I guess. I need it for me. I want to move into an apartment, but first I need to save." Utau moved away from the pancake mix and heated up the stove.

"You're only 16. Why do you need an apartment?" Rima just couldn't wrap her head around that.

"Well, the sooner I can help myself, the sooner I can help others." Utau poured some of the mix onto the pan. It sizzled as Utau set down the bowl. She turned to me and smiled. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry too much about me, it's all good. Now, there has to be something else you want to talk about." Utau sat across the table from Rima. "Right?"

Rima bit her lip. "I have this friend who comes over a lot. He might come over later, is that okay?"

Utau stood up and flipped a pancake. "I guess so."

"Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" Rima asked. "I mean, he comes over a lot but they don't know and-" Rima had no idea why she was telling this to Utau. She could be jeopardizing her friendship with Nagihiko.

"Why don't your parents know?"

"Because if they did, they wouldn't let him come over any more." If Utau said that she would tell, Rima thought she would cry.

"Why is it so important that he comes over?" Utau put another pancake on the stove.

"Because without him I would still be sad." Rima said, her voice cracking. Utau stopped and kept her eyes on Rima.

"When Mom and Dad started fighting," Rima sniffled. "they started being mean, they would ignore me during fights. I was always crying and I started getting panic attacks. Then he started visiting me. It was easier to stomach the fights, I cried less and smiled more, and the panic attacks went away. Everything got better. So please Utau can he come over?" Rima begged.

Utau looked into Rima's sad eyes. Rima just wanted some comfort, that was all. Utau was proud of her for finding it.

"He can come over." Utau said. "I won't tell but I'd like to meet him."

Rima smiled and nodded. Then she jumped on Utau. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Utau hugged Rima and smiled. This job was more fun then she ever imagined.