Episode 46: A Lucky Touch of Friendship
The next problem in line…
How do I get out of this dire situation…?
Dress code is formal…
And how in the world do I do that…?
" Ugh! " I groaned and then surveyed the mess that I had made on the bed.
Actually, it was not a mess. I had only but a few pieces of clothing in my possession. I was not one who would buy clothing just on a whim. I wore clothes until they became torn and then replace them.
" How am I supposed to dress formally when I don't even own a dress? " I complained to no one in particular.
Just then, Senritsu barged into the room.
I turned to her and almost burst out laughing. She had piles of clothing in her arms and they concealed her face from view since she had such a small frame.
I ran over to give her, a helping hand.
" What are all these for? " I asked her as I took some of the weight off, her.
" There! " she sighed loudly, dumping the rest on the bed, making my mess even bigger.
She wiped her sweaty brow with her handkerchief before proceeding on to answer my question.
" These clothes are on loan. I borrowed them from the boutique for your performance later on. I thought you needed them since you do not have any clothes suitable enough for a formal appearance. "
I placed the other stack on a chair, taking great care not to crease them in any way.
" And where's Kurapica-san? " I asked the woman, glancing past her, at the now slightly ajar door.
" Oh, he's taking care of the payment. "
" Huh? What payment? " I echoed, looking confused.
Senritsu gave me an amused smile.
" Hikari, these clothes are on loan form the shop. Even though we are going to return them, we still have to pay for them since we are using them. "
My eyes widened in pure horror.
" But, why did you do that for? "And what's more, there are even piles of them! " I exclaimed, glancing nervously at the precious clothing. " It's going to be so expensive! "
She chuckled with mirth.
"
Kurapica knew that
you were going to say that. That's the reason why he didn't want
to bring you along with us. "
I pouted.
" So, that's why I had to stay here and wait for the both of you to come back. "
" Besides, he wanted you to appear at your best for the performance tonight, " she added. " That Kurapica is always looking out for you and keeping your best interests at heart. "
I felt the ever-familiar warm surge of fondness for him as a smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
" Yeah… " I agreed, whole-heartedly. " He is. "
" Are you guys done in there?! " Kurapica called out from outside the room.
" Give us another minute more, Kurapica! " Senritsu shouted back.
The woman made her last finishing touch and stood back to survey her handiwork.
I was wearing a white blouse with a red bow tie, loosely hung around the collar and a black pencil skirt just above the knee, the attire was completed with black buckle flats. My hair was pulled back and twisted into a severe bun with a beautiful silver hair pin to secure it, with the courtesy of Senritsu of course.
In fact, the whole colour coordination was picked out by her as well.
" Hmm, just straighten this here… "
She trailed off absently as she fiddled with the crooked bow tie.
Oh, by the way, in order to reach my height(I'm quite short, mind you), the woman had to stand on a stool.
" Yes, you look easy on the eyes, my dear girl, " Senritsu commented.
" In fact, Kurapica is going to drool when he sees you, all dressed up! " she teased me playfully, winking.
" U-Uh…I'm nothing special, Senritsu. I'm a plain Jane, if you know what I mean, " I stammered, although I was dying to know Kurapica's opinion.
It did matter to me, after all.
Senritsu raised an eyebrow and studied my face, sceptically.
" Oh, really? "
I nodded hesitantly.
The woman smiled and without another word, shoved me outside, for Kurapica's approval.
" So, what do you think, Kurapica? " Senritsu asked him, the moment I stumbled through the door.
There was a sharp intake of breath that I heard though I did not dare look up at him. Instead, I kept my eyes averted on the ground.
I wanted very much to see how he reacted but at the same time, did not. Consequently, I decided to choose the latter since I was much of a coward, although I am trying my best to lose that but this is different.
" Kurapica! Don't just stand there gawking! Say something, " Senritsu exclaimed indignantly. " So, how does she look? "
I kept my ears open for his much-anticipated answer but he said nothing.
" Kurapica? " my friend urged him on. " Earlier on, you were just dying to see Hikari-chan… "
Chan…?
Since when des Senritsu call me by that formality…?
" Yeah, I admit that but… " he trailed off.
" But? " Senritsu pressed. " But what? "
The seventeen-year-old sighed.
" Honestly, I have no idea what to say. "
There, he said it. My head drooped further.
Those seven words were enough for me…
And I even thought that seven was supposed to be a lucky number…
Consider it unlucky…
Hmph…!
" Kura - "
Before Senritsu could launch herself into an hour-long lecture about bluntness, he beat her to it.
" But, I brought you this as a lucky friendship charm, " Kurapica announced.
Almost immediately, my head snapped up as he came towards me.
Then very gently, he lifted his hand and slid a purple flower into my hair just behind my left ear.
" It's a lilac… " he began awkwardly, " Thought you might like it since, well, you do love the colour purple… "
Dear sweet Kurapica-san…
He was tongue-tied but he cared enough for me to bring me a lucky charm…
" Thank you, Kurapica-san… " I whispered softly, feeling a lump forming in my throat as I reached out to hug him.
" Good luck, Hikari, " he murmured into my ear. " Make us proud, because I know you can do it and rise far above the rest… "