Sunako looked expectantly at the kitchen clock. Her friends, due at 3, would be there any minute now. Even though she was a bit nervous, she couldn't wait for them to arrive. She never invited friends over, because she dreaded their judgement. But everything should be okay. Still, it was not the kind of room she liked. She had been truly enthusiastic the day before because, in comparison with her own decoration, it was great, but she had not been able to sleep during the night. Too bright. Too colored. Black remained the best color. The bell rang. She hurried to the door, and welcomed her friends with a cheerful smile.

Her friends beamed back at her, waving. It was not the first time the girls saw each other in casual clothes, but each time, Sunako saw the contrast between her and them. All three of them wore dresses. Sunako felt a bit left out in her pants and sweat-shirt. She had considered wearing a skirt as well, but somehow, it didn't feel right. It did not fit her. She wouldn't have felt herself, so why bother trying to be someone you're not? Her friends were very pretty and cute in these outfits though. They had even put make-up on. Sunako tried not to think of the image she was giving of herself and let them in.

It felt strange to be the host. She had never felt comfortable with those social gatherings. Even when she was not the center of attention. She loved to see her friends at school and talk to them and laugh with them, but when they met out of school, it showed they were more than mere classmates. There was a bond between the four of them. And for Sunako, to have a bond didn't feel right. That's how she felt of course. Her friends would never say such a thing. How could she explain this to them? They always wanted to hang out on weekends and after class, and well, it was nice to belong somewhere. So this time, she would be the one to welcome them, to make them feel they belonged somewhere.

She led her friends directly to her room. The girls seemed happy and chatted gaily. To her greatest surprise, they had a surge of enthusiasm when they saw the decoration. She knew that Nanako was fond of girly skulls, so she was not surprised to see her happy, but her two other friends seemed content as well. Sunako was relieved.

She left them a little moment in order to prepare the lunch. She had decided to make them an English breakfast, mainly with tea and scones. She loved sweet food, as well as her friends. When they met on weekends, they would often buy scones. It was hard to find in Hokkaido, but Sunako knew an old English lady who had decided to open a tea room there. Her scones were to die for. She had begged the old lady to teach her the recipe. The woman had accepted on one condition: Sunako would work sometimes in the shop. The girl loved it there. She even felt like she had made progress in English. She had tried the recipe for the first time. She feared it would not be scone-shaped, but in any case, it would be eatable. Just in case, or because she craved for some chocolate, she had made a chocolate cake too. She put a scone and a slice of cake in each of the plates she had prepared and poured water in the teapot. A tray was ready. She put the plates with the cutlery, the teacups (that she had bought in the shop for the occasion) and the teapot on it. Cautiously, she carried the tray upstairs. She smiled when she heard her friends laugh.

When she opened the door, however, someone that she had not expected and didn't want to see was there, in her room, talking to her friends. The weird guy. Kyoukei, Kyoubei, a name like that.

'Hey, seems like I got in at the right moment. What's good to eat?'

'Get out,' Sunako replied dryly.

'Come on, we were having so much fun, weren't we?' he said, addressing the girls.

'Yeah Sunako, let him stay,' the girls cried in unison, pinching their noses.

They were almost begging her. But this time, she would stick to what she wanted. This guy was not welcome. She would not let him spoil her beautiful afternoon with the girls.

'I told you to get out. Now.'

Kyouhei didn't try to protest. He knew it would be useless. And well, he didn't want to talk to her friends. The way they laughed, when he had not even pronounced a word, was pathetic. If he had known Sunako would not be there, he would have never entered the room.

When Kyouhei left, the girls harassed Sunako with questions.

'Who is this guy?'

'Why do you live together?'

'Are you going steady?'

'Does he like cats?'

Sunako didn't say a thing. She couldn't answer any of these questions. It was obvious that she was not going out with him. She thought about it and just told them that she only liked Takeshi-kun.

'But you didn't confess right?' said Nanako. 'Maybe it's because you are not meant for him.'

Sunako was about to tell her that she didn't confess because that stupid guy had prevented her from doing so, but she didn't want to talk about the reasons behind it. Firstly, she didn't know them, and secondly, she knew it would only confuse her friends more. They would only conclude that she was in love with Kyouhei. Which was a stupid idea.

'Raaaah Sunako. Your problem is that you never know how to seize opportunities. Look at me and Tarou-kun. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be together.'

Again, Sunako didn't reply, but she thought that if there was an argument that wouldn't convince her to act in order to "seize opportunities", well, it was this one. Tarou-kun was Noriko's sempai in the chess club when they were in junior high. She had been in love with him for years, and before he entered high school this year, she had decided to tell him about her feelings. He had accepted them and since then, they were going out. Their first summer was great. They were always together, he took care of her. They even went to the sea. But when he entered high school, he became more and more distant with Noriko. He was always too busy for dates. Sometimes, he would not reply to her messages, and when they got the opportunity to meet, he seemed bored. Noriko would always complain to her friends, but she remained convinced that she lived the greatest of loves. Sunako wouldn't say otherwise. After all, what did she know about love? As far as she knew, Chihiko and Nanako didn't have any experience in love either. Therefore, the three girls would listen to Noriko in silence. They believed she was right. She had a boyfriend, and they didn't. Maybe they didn't have her courage. Sunako felt obliged to remind the girls that she was about to confess the following Monday.

'Yes, you're right. I hope everything is going to be okay,' Chihiko said gently.

Sunako smiled back at her. Chihiko had been her first friend among the three girls. She loved all of her friends, but felt closer to her. She had been the first to know she had a crush on Takeshi-kun.

The girls chatted happily while enjoying their lunch when suddenly, Noriko asked for the time.

'Oh my god, you're right. It's already 3.55,' Nanako exclaimed. 'Sunako, do you mind if we watch Hana-chan no Koi? It's the episode before last.'

Sunako agreed and led the girls to the living room. In truth, she was not so fond of the idea, but she knew her friends were addicted to this drama. So she pretended to like it as well. But still, she couldn't see the point of it. Hana-chan no Koi was the story of a girl, Hana-chan (named after the hanami*, which her mother loved) who had decided to change high schools to follow the boy she loved, who had moved away. But this boy was going out with someone else. Sunako didn't like romantic dramas, and she couldn't stand Hana-chan. She was always whining and was so obsessed with the guy that she didn't even notice that other people cared for her. Another boy liked her, and was always nice to her, but she never even looked his way. Sunako thought she was quite mean.

Sunako watched the episode with her friends and avoided any comment. She was glad that they seemed to enjoy themselves though. The episode ended on a cliffhanger, when the boy Hana-chan loved kissed her, but the one who loved her arrived and separated them.

'Oh gosh, who do you think Hana-chan is going to choose? Oh I hope she ends up with Tetsuo-kun, their kiss was so romantic!' Nanako exclaimed.

The girls talked about the drama for a moment, speculating about the end. For a reason unknown to Sunako, who had dropped the conversation a couple of minutes ago, Chihiko mentioned the truth-and-dare game.

'Oh, I love this game, let's play! It will be so much fun! We can invite your friend, Sunako.'

Sunako wondered which friend Noriko was talking about.

'Well, the good looking man we've met earlier.'

Sunako was about to say it was not a good idea, but it was too late. She heard steps in the stairs and in an instant, Kyouhei was downstairs. Of course, he agreed to Noriko's proposition.

*The hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms ("sakura") or (less often) plum blossoms ("ume"). ( wiki/Hanami)