Part I
Chapter 20
"Oh, really? They're taking another trip out there?"
Yukari didn't look at her, her eyes still on the show that she was watching. "Yeah. I got invited again, too."
"Wow, that's really nice of her to do!" Minamo leaned over, trying to look at her friend's face. "Did she call you up about it?"
The woman grinned mischievously. "Uh...sort of..."
"Sort of? What do you mean?"
"Never mind, never mind! The details aren't important! All that matters is that the little punk still has a beach house, and that I'm gonna' go to it again!" Yukari grinned widely. "So, you in, too?"
"Sure, of course!" She chuckled. "Kind of hard to take a pass on the beach. Geez, we really do have a nice bunch of students this round, don't we?"
"Yeah, whatever." She yawned. "Anyways, good thing yer' comin', 'cause I didn't wanna' chaperon 'em all by myself, ya' know?"
Minamo sighed. "Umm, that's what I pretty much did last time by myself, since you always seemed to be off doing your own thing..."
Yukari waved her comments away with a hand. "I just know how ta' have a better time than you do, that's all."
"You can do that because you...oh, never mind." She shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "So, when do they plan to go?"
"Next week on Monday! That work?"
"Right off the bat, huh? Well, yeah, I don't have any club practices then, so I'm in." Minamo tilted her head, beginning to look a bit annoyed. "By the way, Yukari..."
"What?"
She pointed a hand straight at her. "Please sit down like a normal human being. You're not a kid anymore..."
Yukari chuckled, the awkward position that she was in making her appear quite comical as she relaxed on her friend's couch, her body lying upside down upon it as her hair brushed the carpet. "But there's nothin' good on the tube...this way it looks kinda' interestin' at least."
Minamo walked away, going over to her breakfast table, and then began to sort through some unopened mail that was strewn across it. "Just don't throw up in here when you start to get nauseous. Anyways..." She took a quick glance at her watch. "We'll head out in a few, ok? They only have a few free hours, so we don't want to be late."
Yukari's feet moved playfully through the air, her legs suspended above her. "Aye aye, capn'!"
She smiled at the hint of anticipation that had been in her friend's words, the feeling starting to get to her as well.
Well...it's going to be really fun to see you all again. It's been awhile since the last time...
With a few torn, empty envelopes in hand, Minamo headed into her kitchen, tossing them inside a small trash can while spotting the tiniest bead of sweat run down her arm as she did.
Damn...I need to buy an A/C someday. Oh well. There's more than one way to cool down.
Minamo sighed, bringing out two glasses from a cupboard and then set them down on a counter. From her fridge she fetched some chilled lemonade, her usual remedy for dealing with the fierce heat that always came at this time of year.
Can't believe that Spring is already over. She filled the cups to the brim, heading back to the main room of her apartment afterward as she carried them out. Such a busy year. I didn't even notice it fly by.
Yukari looked over at her as she entered. "Oh, hell yeah! Lemonade!"
"...only if you sit up right. You're going to spill it the way you are now."
The woman flipped herself over immediately, making a mess of her hair as she did. "Serve me, wench!"
She grunted with irritation as she handed a glass over to Yukari, watching her gulp it down as she took a few sips from her own drink, the cool liquid giving her body some relief from the increasing temperature of her apartment. Summer had once again had arrived in all of its blazing glory, the past few months having gone by in a whirlwind of activity, both women having seen the end of another school year, the beginning of a new one, and now, the blessing of a vacation that had granted them a well-deserved rest from it all.
Minamo stepped over to the side of the couch, flipping on a little vertical fan, and then went and sat down next to Yukari. "So...it seems like you're in a good mood today."
"I always am! I'm frickin' sunshine itself."
"Yeah, right..." She giggled. "You really are pumped to see those guys, huh?"
Her friend laughed. "Yeah, guess I am. Kinda' always reminds me of the old days whenever we get together now...just shootin' the shit and hangin' out like back then."
Minamo smiled, her fellow teacher's particular brand of enthusiasm always so fun for her to witness. Within the hour, both she and Yukari would be heading out to a restaurant in the city, hooking up with some old high school friends of theirs for a long overdue session of catching up. The last time that they had done so had been in the previous year, everyone's schedules usually so out of sync with each other as to allow more frequent reunions, but today, all of that had come into perfect alignment, at least for a few brief hours.
And while Minamo had been the one to organize the gathering, it was Yukari who had become the most excited about it, the woman always loving to joke and laugh around with their old gang. Even now, as their conversation began to orient itself around the upcoming meeting, the thrill in her voice was increasing with every word that she spoke. Over the next few minutes they talked a little about each of the few individuals that were coming, going over their histories, what they were up to nowadays, how they had changed from high school and college, all of it being conducted with good cheer and hearty laughs.
But as their discussion on the state of their friends continued, Yukari's face suddenly became cemented with anger, after Minamo had mentioned the names of the last few women who were attending.
"...wait. They're coming too?"
She looked at Yukari strangely, that buoyant, mirthful attitude of hers having abruptly vanished, an intense fire in both it and her words now. "Yeah...w-what's wrong with th-?"
"Why the fuck did you invite them?"
Minamo recoiled back in sheer surprise, Yukari having leapt off the couch without warning, the remaining contents of her drink spilling out as she clutched on to it, a murderous glaze over her eyes now. "W-"
"Those fuckin' idiots! Of all the fuckin' people in the world, you invite them!"
Her eyes widened immensely, her friend roaring furiously into her face."Wh-why are you so mad...?"
The woman's hand on her glass visibly tightened. "Because they ain't my fuckin' friends! Call 'em and tell them they can't come! Right now!"
She raised her voice to be as assertive as she could make it to be, too startled to keep it fully steady. "Don't...don't be silly, I can't just te-"
"Now! Call them now!"
"Calm down! Wh-"
The shattering of glass exploded across the air.
Minamo looked over to her side in total disbelief, gawking at the broken shards that now lay at the baseboard of a wall, the shattered remnants of the cup that Yukari had just flung viciously against it.
"Why are you only tellin' me this now? I hate those stupid fuckin' assholes!"
She couldn't answer back, Minamo at an absolute loss for words as to what had just happened, of who she was now dealing with. The woman in front of her was a completely different person from the one that she had just been talking to happily a minute ago, Yukari now filled with a type of rage that she had never seen her possess before, her friend snorting madly like a wild, berserk boar.
Yukari came closer, leaning over her as her voice gained even more sheer force. "You always do shit like this! You never tell me anything about what we're doin', 'cause you think I'm an idiot, don't you? Fuckin' admit it!"
"Stop yel-..." Minamo shrank back into the couch, feeling cornered in it as the woman's fury pinned her down. "I...what are you talk-"
"Don't lie to me! You always think I'm just a stupid fuckin' idiot, just like those shitheads do!"
"Yukari, please tell me what's going o-"
"You don't care anyways! You don't fuckin' understand anything with that stupid head of yo-"
"What are y-"
"If you don't call them right now..."
"Just tell me what's wron-"
"...then I'm gonn-"
"Stop it."
Yukari immediately froze in her actions, Minamo's words having come out so soft and quietly, its yielding tone somehow having penetrated through the woman's wall of rage, of whom had now become aware of how she had just violently grabbed her friend by the collar of her shirt.
The nebulous babbling of the television went on around them, not a word being uttered by either woman.
Slowly, Yukari let go of her, staggering back a few steps as the frenzy in her eyes emptied out, the escaping anger making her look as if her entire persona was deflating, her expression and demeanor looking so tired now, so haggard.
For a few moments they just stared at one another, the both of them absolultely dumbfounded as to what had just happened, of the volatile scene that had erupted from the most simplest of chats.
"I..." Yukari's face reverted back to normal, as if her genuine self had just returned to her, her heavy breaths settling down as she looked over to the shattered fruits of her anger, her voice despondent and empty now. "I'm...sorry. I didn't mean...I'll go...I'll go clean it up."
Minamo watched her as she walked over to the mess against the wall, the woman just looking down absently at it.
...what...what in the world just happened?
Yukari sat down on the floor, and then began to individually pick up the jagged pieces of glass with her bare hands, placing them into a pile.
Her focus finally returned to her. "Y-Yukari...don't just touch them like that...you'll cut yourself." She managed to stand, placing her drink down, and then cautiously moved past Yukari towards a utility closest. From it she pulled a small dustpan and hand-broom, walking back to her friend and then knelt by her. "Here...let me do it...
"I did it, so I'll clean it."
She looked at her friend, a mountain of concern building up inside of her now, Yukari's voice and behavior so foreign of her regular mannerisms, like her vitality had just been stolen away. "Yukari..." She started to sweep some of the pieces into the dustpan, the tingling sounds of glass mixing in with the background noise of the television. "Let me do it. You're going to hurt yourself."
"It's my fault..."
"It's ok. Just move."
Yukari paused, seemingly thinking a decision over, and then sat aside obediently.
Minamo took over her spot on the carpet, brushing the shards together, wanting to say something, anything, to relieve the tension that was permeating her apartment now, but couldn't fathom as to where to even begin.
"Minamo."
She looked over at the woman, her friend appearing like a whipped puppy. "Yes...?"
"I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry. I'm just stupid. I didn't wa-"
"It's ok...don't worry about any of it, Yukari." She put on the kindest smile that she could muster. "I'm just glad that you didn't cut a finger here."
The woman remained looking downtrodden, not speaking at all until Minamo finished clearing the mess. "You should go and meet 'em still. I don't think I should."
She sighed. "...hey, if you don't want to go for some reason, then I won't either, alright? We'll go somewhere else and eat, ok? Just you and me."
The woman shook her head. "No, you sh-"
"It's ok. Don't worry. I'll let the others know that we can't make it. They'll be fine without us."
"But, Minamo..."
"Listen. Let's go out to somewhere that you like, ok? Because we need to talk." She set the broom down, moving over to sit next to her friend and began to pat her back gently, putting the full of her arm around her shoulders for a little hug. "I think...I think there're a few things that you need to explain to me..."