March 26th
Today I woke up at eleven. Marching to Mom's bedroom, I yelled, "MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP! SCHOOL STARTS AT EIGHT AND I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"
"Today's a snow day," Mom muttered.
"Huh?" I march over to the window and pull open the curtain. Sure enough, a layer of pristine white snow was blanketed on the ground. "IT'S ALMOST APRIL! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?"
So I just stayed inside and read gag comic online.
March 27th
It was still snowing. Kusukusu begged me to go outside so I bundled up and had a couple rounds of snowball fights with her. Then Amu, Ami, Ran, Miki, and Su came and we built an igloo together.
March 28th
Today the school district called and said that our spring break has been scheduled from April 9th-April 18th. We usually have a three-day spring break. I guess it's due to budget cuts.
Then Yaya emailed us all.
HEY EVERYONE! YAYA WANTS TO GO CAMPING FOR SPRING BREAK, WHO WANTS TO COME WITH HER?
I've never been camping before. So I replied:
Is there going to be an adult?
Yaya messaged back almost right away:
NOO! YAYA'S PARENTS SAY IT'S OKAY THOUGH!
...
"What kind of irresponsible people are her parents?"
March 29th
There was still snow on the ground, but since today was Tadase's birthday and we'd all planned a party for him at Kukai's house, I grabbed my coat and dashed over to Kukai's.
"My brothers left to run some errands," he explains as he opens up the door. "Fujisaki and Hinamori are already here."
"Hey, Rima!" Amu says happily. "What'd you get Tadase?"
"Not telling," I say. I had gotten him a gag comic based on a selfish prince.
"Amu-chan forgot to give him anything because she was too busy going on her date at a romantic diner with Ik—"
"Shut up, Miki!"
"Here, you can give him this." I reach into my tote and hand her the book of smoothie recipes. None of them turned out right anyways, and the blender was broken.
"Oh, thanks, Rima!"
Yaya dashes into the room. "Hi everyone!"
"Hey, Yaya. What'd you get Tadase?" Amu asks.
"A cute stuffed doggy!" Yaya holds up a white stuffed poodle.
"I got him a foot massager, so I won't have to do it myself," Nagihiko pipes up.
"But…isn't that sort of…expensive?" Amu asks once the silence gets too long.
"I bought one marked down 90% off the Internet," Nagihiko shrugs.
"Nagi's a cheapskate!" Yaya shrieks, jumping on top of him. For some reason, this common action of Yaya's makes me uncomfortable…or maybe the feeling would be better described as angry…
Don't tell me I'm turning possessive. That would be a nightmare.
Kairi walks in. "King is turning thirteen, correct?" Kairi asks Yaya.
"Don't tell me he didn't actually know that," Nagihiko whispers to Amu and me.
"It's obviously an excuse for him to talk to her," Amu shrugs.
"It's sort of cute…" I mutter.
Amu begins having a coughing/laughing fit (I heard the words "Speak for yourself" and "Takes one to know one" mixed in) and has to go stagger into the kitchen for a drink of water. I glance at Nagihiko. "Uh, what's with her?"
Nagihiko shakes his head. "I have absolutely no clue."
Kukai rushes in. "So everyone is here besides Ikuto and Utau, right?"
"Yes," Kairi answers.
Just then, the doorbell rings. "Ugh, we would've been here earlier if Ikuto hadn't insisted on driving. He drives so fast, everything's a blur."
We look at each other, amazed. If Ikuto's driving is fast to Utau, who drives 105 kilometers per hour when she's not even on the highway, well, I'm never going to sit in a car with Ikuto as the driver.
"Then why would you be late?" Kukai asks.
"Ikuto got fourteen speeding tickets."
"Hey, that's better than my usual eighteen!" Ikuto protests.
"I'm so glad I walked to the restaurant for our date," Amu murmurs.
"You have a fake license, don't you?" Nagihiko says. "'Cause you aren't eighteen yet."
Ikuto nods and takes out a realistic-looking license. "There was a digital media design room in the main Easter building, back when Utau and I still worked for them. We snuck in and created the licenses there. Also made two fake passports and birth certificates."
"The techniques Easter uses for digital media are very advanced," Kairi explains. "They change dark X-egg energy into a form compatible with their computers."
"Anyways, Yaya, I saw your email about the camping trip. My parents say its okay as long as they don't have to pay ("Cheapskates," Utau comments) and if there's an adult. Also, my dad wanted no boys, but my mom overrode his demand," Amu says.
"Yaya hasn't figured out a money plan yet! There won't be any adults, isn't that cool?"
"AND YOUR PARENTS ARE OKAY WITH THAT?" we all shout in unison.
"Yeah, Yaya told them Ikuto was eighteen! Only after she had told her parents did she check with Amu and figure out that Ikuto was still seventeen!"
"Oh…well…I'll use the same method with my parents," Kukai shrugs.
"Our parents couldn't possibly care less where we went," Utau says.
"I'll just tell them Ikuto's an adult, I guess," I say. Okay, okay, I know, that's really manipulative and deceitful, but I've never been camping before and I really want to go. Plus the last time I went on a vacation was in first grade.
"…Fine," Amu says reluctantly. "I'll do it."
"A samurai does not lie," Kairi states firmly.
"Come on, Kairi, it'll be so much more fun with you there!" Amu begs.
"How about if…we get your sister to come along with us? Then none of us will have to lie," Nagihiko suggests.
"Yeah, that'd work out better than Ikuto pretending to be eighteen," Kukai agrees. He glances at the clock. "Shoot, it's already two! My brothers will be back at three, and trust me, the party will run much more smoothly if they aren't here. Last time Tadase came, they thought he was a girl and asked me to introduce them to 'my girlfriend' and said that she was hot! I'm serious, they're psycho!" He picks up the phone and dials Tadase.
"Hello, Hotori residence?" A woman answers.
"Hey, this is Kukai Souma, Tadase's servan—friend, could I speak to him please?"
"Sure! Tadase-kun, phone call!" There's the sound of footsteps.
"Souma-kun?" Tadase answers hesitantly.
"The one and the same! Hey, do you want to come over? I think you left your coat at my house last time," Kukai says cheerfully.
"…But I'm wearing my coat right now…" Tadase replies.
Nagihiko, Utau, and I all facepalm ourselves. "Is that the best you can do?" I hiss at Kukai. Kukai motions me to stay silent.
"Uh, yeah. Actually, I needed help with the architectural design we're supposed to do for art; I'm having trouble with the measurements. I just used the coat as an excuse to make me sound less stupid," Kukai says.
"I'm not great with math, why don't you ask Sanjo-kun?"
"No, he, uh, had to go grocery shopping for his sister."
"Okay then, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to help you. I'll be over at your house in ten minutes."
"Sure, thanks, Hotori!" Kukai hangs up. "Quick, everyone, hide!"
Nagihiko chooses to hide behind the couch. Amu, Utau, and Kairi disappear off to who knows where. Ikuto leaps onto the roof. Yaya crouches behind a potted plant, which obviously doesn't hide her very well. I bite my lip, choosing a spot. Finally, I just dive behind the couch along with Nagihiko.
"You chose to hide here because of me," Nagihiko teases. I feel my cheeks begin to burn.
"N-no, it's just that there weren't any other hiding places left!" I protest.
"Haha, your cheeks are red. You look like a rose."
I stare at him strangely. "Usually people describe it as a tomato or a brick, not a rose."
Nagihiko shrugs. "My similes need work. But a rose fits you better…more elegant, more beautiful…at least more than a tomato or brick."
I feel my cheeks rise in temperature by about three degrees, which is something I don't need. "Y-you're talking about yourself! At least, when you were dancing…on stage, you were fabulous…elegant and beautiful." It's weird calling a boy beautiful, but that's what he was.
"Well, no, it's not that, I'm…" Nagihiko looks down. "Actually, never mind."
We awkwardly sit next to each other until Tadase arrives. My eyes don't ever slide over to Nagihiko's direction, but I'm thinking about him. He called me beautiful…and elegant…was it possible that he'd been trying to…trying to…flirt with me? Or maybe he was joking…yeah, of course that was it. He'd been joking.
The doorbell rings, and Kukai rushes over to it. "Hey, Tadase! Basically, I was wondering how you measured the circumference of a circle…yeah, I need it for the base of my Roman-style columns…" He leads Tadase to the living room, where we're all hiding.
We jump out of our various places and shout "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Kiseki points accusingly at Kukai and Kairi. "Souma-kun said Sanjo-kun was out shopping for his sister! You two dared lie to your king!"
"We can finally eat the cake Nagi baked!" Yaya yells, making a beeline for the kitchen.
"W-wait, Yaya, we have to put the candles on and let Tadase blow them out first…" Amu says. But by the time the rest of us arrive in the kitchen, Yaya's chin is covered in cream and chocolate sauce and half of the 18-inch sheet cake is gone.
"That's got to be some kind of record," I mutter.
