"Mother," she called as she stepped inside her house. She took her shoes off as fast as she could.
"What is it dear," her mother asked as she met her daughter in the living room.
"You're not going to believe what just happened!" Atsuko said as she dropped her back pack on the floor, "It was amazing!"
"What is it dear? Did something happen at school?" her mother asked, not sure what to expect.
"He kissed me Mother, he kissed me. But not the cheek kiss like I do, a real kiss!" Atsuko said as she hugged her.
"That's wonderful dear, but who kissed you?" she said as she hugged her daughter back.
"Raiven did! He's the only boy I've ever liked, in a more than friends way, and the only boy I hang out with!" Atsuko replied. She was just so excited. She could trust her mother with things like that, she was her best friend, "He also asked me to be his girlfriend!"
"That's so nice dear! Does this mean we need to have a talk? You are growing up," her mother said, looking at her with a glare.
"No Mother, we do not need to have a talk, we learned all about those things in school," Atsuko told her, a little embarrassed.
"Well, I don't think it'd hurt to talk about it, we can discuss it while I start on your dress, how does that sound?" her mother told her as she walked into the kitchen.
Atsuko stood in the living room, waiting for her mother to return with the sewing materials. She waited a moment before her mother entered the living room again, "That would be fine if we talked about it now, but please don't embarrass me."
"Oh, well if it's embarrassing, then you don't need to be doing some of the things your body may be telling you," her mother said as she placed the cloth and sewing materials in a pile on a chair. She went to the closet and pulled out the sewing machine from the back of the closet.
"My body is telling me nothing, it's ok Mother, I know how to behave like a girl my age," Atsuko told her as she took the cloth off of the chair and began to unfold it.
She just loved the material. She loved how it felt, the softness of it. She just admired it and traced with her finger the nearest butterfly. She couldn't wait for the parade, it was the greatest thing to have ever happened to her. Every year there was a float that the school designed for the Cherry Blossom Parade, and once the parade is over the floats are judged. Sarayashiki Jr. High had won for the last three years in a row, and Atsuko was not about to let her school lose this year. She was so excited.
"I would hope you knew how to behave, but incase you don't, we're still going to talk," her mother said as she set down the sewing machine, "Now, this is going to take a while, so hold still and listen up."