"Sakurako. SAKURAKO."
"Blergh…"
Hanako, my little sister, was at the side of my bed, gently shaking me out of my slumber.
"Sakurako. You're going to be late for school."
My half-closed eyes lazily drifted from Hanako's face to my alarm clock. I almost jumped out of bed upon seeing how late it was.
"HOLY MOLY. WHERE'S MY UNIFORM."
Hanako watched me as I raced around the room, gathering my things.
"Sakurako, don't you set an alarm in the morning?" she asked.
"Ehhh… I do. But I always hit snooze on it. Himawari usually comes over to…"
I stopped myself mid-sentence as I remembered the fight we had. After school yesterday I went to her house to try and apologize again. But no one answered the door. I was so miserable last night it was hard to fall asleep.
"Oh. I see."
Out of nowhere, Hanako walked up to me and hugged me as I was putting my hair clips in.
"Hanako?" I said, surprised at the display of affection.
She looked up at me with wide, child-like eyes.
"When you see her today, tell her how much she means to you."
My eyes were starting to water. My solemn and seriously smart little sister was right. I just needed to talk to her.
I wrapped my arms around Hanako, squeezing her tight.
"Thank you, Hanako."
As we walked down the stairs together, I caught a whiff of something delicious: toast, jam, and sausages.
"Ooh, is that for us, Hanako?" I asked, salivating slightly.
"YOU'RE ALREADY LATE, GO TO SCHOOL." she shouted angrily, pushing me out the door.