So Surreal - So Real
Chapter Six
"I still can't believe that you actually went through with that blue rinse!" a shrill voice broke the silence that some of the room's occupants found comfortable.
"What do you mean? I like my hair!" a second, deeper and melodic voice responded indignantly.
"but why'd you do it? I don't understand you, Ayumi," the first exclaimed exasperatedly.
"You know those artsy types, Yuka. They have to do something totally 'out there' and unique," a third voice interjected blandly; bordering on sarcastic.
"Shut up, Eri! You're not helping!" Yuka was obviously becoming flustered and ganged up on.
"I wasn't trying to," was the blunt reply.
Kagome sighed and opened her eyes in frustration. She'd been ordered by the trio to rest and take it easy since Yuka had gone and spilled the beans about her 'problem.' Really, the whole ordeal had been tedious and ineffective on her since she knew she wasn't an insomniac. But there was no arguing with 'Stonewall Yuka,' so Kagome had reluctantly been 'resting' up in her little bedroom surrounded by her three best friends… until they decided to perform their impersonation of chattering monkeys, that is…
"Hey, guys," she croaked out half-heartedly.
They kept on arguing. Huffing silently, she set her face in a frown and propped herself up on her elbows. Still, they ignored her existence. She grumpily cleared her throat and prepared for one of her now-famous tongue-lashings.
"HEY! SHUT UP!"
All noise and activity in the room ceased. Nodding in satisfaction, Kagome gave all three withering glares. Sitting up completely, she folded her arms across her chest, never breaking eye contact with any of them.
"If you're going to practically tie me to my bed and force me to catch up on sleep, you'd better be prepared to keep fucking silent," she bit out rather calmly.
All three nodded silently. With a single, slow nod, Kagome settled back down and closed her eyes. The room stayed dead silent and she smirked into her pillow. 'Serves 'em right…'
"Oh," she added, not bothering to look at them. "And you're all coming with me to see Rin's band tonight, too."
And with that, she dropped off to sleep with a smile. Sometimes she really loved her life.
X
Later that night, Kagome dragged her three best friends across town to the small café Common Ground was playing at. She was especially determined to be there ever since she heard about what had happened on Tuesday evening. Rin hadn't come to school on Wednesday and when she called, the phone line had been disconnected. She later learned that Rin's house had been burned down and she'd been staying at Sango Taijiya's house. It'd taken the pleas and threats of Kagome, Sango and Ayame to convince her to go through with the show that evening. It was the least Kagome could do to be there to see her and cheer her on.
"Kagome, do we really have to be here?" Yuka whined as they entered the room with a stage at the far end.
"Yes. We're here to support Rin and her band mates. And I paid for your tickets, too. So shut up."
"But-"
"Just be quiet and enjoy the music, okay? We came here to have fun and listen to some awesome bands; not snivel in the corner."
"I like it, Kagome," Ayumi said softly, gazing around at the slowly growing crowd of teenagers. "Thanks for bringing us."
"Oh, you're welcome!" Kagome said bashfully, flapping a hand at her to dismiss it.
"Yeah," Eri chimed in. "This might be pretty cool. Yuka's just being paranoid."
"Hey!" said girl exclaimed, elbowing her twin sister in the side. "I am not!"
"Yes, you are! There's nothing to be worried about, you big baby! These kids aren't going to jump you or anything! And I highly doubt they'll brake out into satanic rituals in the middle of a song! They're Kagome's friends, for Christ's sake!"
"They're not all my friends," Kagome mumbled, trying to herd them somewhere else where they wouldn't attract so much attention.
"Well, excuse me for being slightly uncomfortable!" Yuka screeched back. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly fit in here!"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Eri yelled right back, matching and raising her decibel level.
"Hey, guys? Could we keep it down? Please?" Kagome tried to placate their argument and calm them down, but it wasn't exactly working.
"Kagome!" Rin's voice came from a few feet away and the girl barreled into her in a huge bear hug. :I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Um, hey, Rin," she muttered distractedly, glancing between the arguing twins and her friend attached to her waist. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing," Rin replied as if there weren't two screaming girls right next to her. "Okay, so listen. We're fourth up tonight; right before the final act. The other bands are pretty good. I gotta go, though. So I'll see you around. We're going out for food afterwards, if you want to come."
"Um, okay. I think I can make it. Is it okay if I bring a few people with me?"
Rin just shrugged. "I don't really care. It's just Taco Bell, or something. Do they have money to pay for their own food?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, cool," Rin grinned and backed away toward the door to backstage. "See you later!"
"Uh-huh. See ya."
And with that, Rin disappeared and Kagome was left with two screaming twins, Ayumi making out with some punk off to the side, and a crowd of angry teens and café workers, all glaring at her.
"Um… hey, what's up?" she asked nervously, backing away slowly.
X
Somehow, she managed to calm down Eri and Yuka, pry Ayumi and 'Mark' apart, and keep them from getting thrown out. That in itself was a miracle and she had no idea how she did it. But she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. And Common Ground was completely awesome! They'd never sounded better and she was so proud of Rin. So all in all, the night wasn't so bad. And she did come out in one piece; so far.
"So, what'd you guys think?" Kagome asked while the last band of the night was packing up its equipment and leaving the stage.
"I'm glad I came," Yuka confessed sheepishly.
Eri stuck out her tongue tauntingly. Yuka just shoved her away in annoyance. Kagome stifled a grin behind her hand, averting her gaze. Ayumi was too busy sucking face with 'Mark' to care.
"Well, it's not like I gave you guys much of a choice after your monkey impression earlier," Kagome muttered with a smile.
"Monkeys? Who was acting like monkeys?" Rin asked, walking up behind them, her arms slung over Sango and Ayame's shoulders.
"Just those three," Kagome said with a laugh, flicking her wrist in the direction of her three friends.
"Oh. Hey, guys, what's up?" Rin said blankly. "I didn't see you earlier. Did you come with Kagome?"
Eri and Yuka just nodded. Kagome knew that her best friends and Rin ran in different circles and didn't really get along. But that night, she didn't really care; nothing could bring her down tonight.
"Are they coming with us?" Ayame asked blandly, not even glancing at the small group.
"If that's okay," Kagome said with a hesitant smile. "If not, we can just go home. You guys were great, by the way."
"Thank you!" Rin grinned, leaning back on her heels.
Sango smiled softly, too. "Yeah, it's okay. You can all come along. We're not going anywhere special."
"Cool! Hey, guys, wanna go out for food?" Kagome asked brightly, glancing back at her friends.
"Sure," Eri and Yuka said softly, scuffing their feet on the floor.
"Can Mark come too?" Ayumi asked, breaking away from the lanky punk long enough to ask.
"Uh… okay," Sango said in surprise. No one had really noticed the bluish-black-haired teen until then.
"Cool," she said before returning back to her heavy make-out session with 'Mark.'
Everyone just stared at her for a moment, laughing uneasily. The pair seemed immersed in their own little world in which none of them existed in, so they decided to start heading out. The couple could follow after.
"So, where do we want to go?" Rin asked, skipping ahead of everyone else, swinging her arms.
"Well someone's in a good mood!" Kagome commented with a laugh.
"Hello-o?" Rin rapped on her forehead with her knuckles. "Where were you while I had the best performance of my life tonight?"
"Ahem!" Sango and Ayame interjected with annoyed expressions, hands on hips.
"With my lovely band mates, of course!" Rin added quickly.
"Thank you," they said haughtily, linking arms and striding past her.
The small troupe of people just laughed at the sight as Rin scrambled to catch up and join them. Kagome just smiled softly. Rin was acting more of herself tonight than she had the whole week. Performing really was good for her. She seemed to just let go. Speaking of which… She cast a sideways glance at her friends.
"Um… hey, guys; I have to speak with you about something," she whispered softly after making sure no one was listening in.
"If it's about Rin and her house, we already know," Eri said before she could continue. "It was all over the news, Kagome. How could we not know?"
"Okay, well could you please not mention it? She's been having a hard time this week and tonight's a happy night. I mean; look at her-" they all glanced in the girl's direction. "She shouldn't have to deal with it tonight."
"We know," Yuka assured. "And don't worry; we won't say anything."
Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks so much you guys. It means a lot."
The twins just smiled and they continued on their merry way. Kagome knew that everything would be all right if only for that night right at that moment. Now if only she could say the same thing for the next couple of weeks…
X
"Bye, Kagome!" Eri and Yuka called from their doorstep later that night as she drove off, waving out the window.
Ayumi had gotten a ride home with Mark so Kagome only had to drop off the twins. It'd been a good night. They'd eventually ended up at some greasy spoon diner and had just hung out for a while. Kagome had borrowed her mother's car for transportation services and was glad now at almost eleven thirty for the faster means of getting home. Even though it'd been fun, it'd still been a long night and she really did need to get some sleep.
X
"Thank you, that'll be seven-fifty."
It'd been a long day. Working behind a cash register all day with only a short break for lunch could be very tiring. Especially when said cash register was broken and the bakery was full of customers. But it was for her mother and Kagome really didn't mind so much.
"Kagome!" her mother called from the back room, sticking her head around the door.
"Yeah?" she called back distractedly, scribbling down orders on a notepad hurriedly.
"I need you to run to the warehouse downtown and get me more flour! And strawberries and cherries and plums and… Granny Smith apples!"
"Um… Okay. I'll pick 'em up when this shift's over."
"No! I need them now!"
"But-" Kagome paused in her scribbling and stared at the doorway. "Who's going to watch the shop?"
"I don't care! Just go!"
Darting a glance at the line of people, Kagome started to panic. She wasn't Wonder Woman. She couldn't do everything at once – heck, she could barely do two things at once! What did her mom want her to do? Just leave and expect people to go on their merry way until she got back? Like that was really going to happen.
Just then, Ayumi walked in swinging her arms and whistling a soft tune. Jumping at her, Kagome grabbed her arm and hauled her behind the counter.
"Ayumi! You gotta help me!" she cried, ducking behind the counter and pulling the startled girl out of sight with her.
"Uh, hi to you too, Kagome…"
"I need you to stay here and watch the shop for me while I go run an important errand! It'll only take a few minutes at most!"
Ayumi studied her face for a moment skeptically. "Do I get free pastries?"
Kagome almost fell over. Here she was freaking out and her friend was asking for free pastries! This was unbelievable!
"Sure! I don't care! Just please do this for me!"
Ayumi just nodded calmly. "Okay. Do I get to work the cash register?"
"It's, um, kinda broken," Kagome said sheepishly.
"Oh well," Ayumi just shrugged. "I'll be okay, just go and do whatever it is you have to do. But I want details when you get back."
Kagome had gotten up and started to walk away after Ayumi had agreed. Her statement stopped her in her tracks, though, and she wheeled around.
"What? Why would you want details? On what?"
"Where you're going, who you're meeting, what you're going to do – what else would I mean?"
"Whom I'm meeting?" she said slowly, trying to figure out what exactly she meant. Then it hit her. "Oh! No! I'm not meeting anyone! Mom needs fruit and stuff. That's all."
"Right," Ayumi nodded, obviously unconvinced. "Just tell me everything when you get back."
"No, you don't understand-"
"Just go, Kagome!"
Ayumi pushed her out the door forcefully. Kagome turned back around to argue some more but was only greeted by a slamming door. She watched helplessly as Ayumi rolled up her sleeves and dove head first into the crowd of customers. Sighing, she shook her head and started heading in the direction of the warehouse. She'd set Ayumi straight later when she got back and wasn't so flustered and drained.
X
As she was standing in line, waiting to purchase her items, Kagome's eyes drifted to the rack of magazines. Flashy captions and pictures stared back at her captivatingly. But only one really stood out at her: Brand New Breed Scheduled To Release New Album This Month In Home Town Bash! Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the inching line. She'd heard way too much of that band over the years, especially since Yuka and Eri were so obsessed with them. Now they were having a huge party later that month at the swankiest club in the city and her mom was catering. The added stress was killing not only her mother, but Kagome as well. She'd had no time to study for finals next week at this rate.
Just then, the line lurched forward and she was shaken from her thoughts when a body bumped into her from behind. She was pushed forward into her cart, causing it to jerk to the side, sending candy and gum clattering to the floor. Her stomach dug into the handlebars and she groaned softly in pain.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" a familiar voice cried from behind her as hands quickly righted her.
"Oh, no, it's alright. I'm okay; I wasn't paying attention to the line."
"No, no! It was all my fault!"
The frantic young man was almost having a panic attack right in front of her. Then Kagome got a good look at his face. 'Oh, that's why.'
"Look, Houjou, it's fine – really," she said exasperatedly.
His head snapped up at that and he stared at her for a moment before breaking into a huge smile.
"Higurashi! Wow, I haven't seen you in a while!" he gushed; quickly forgetting that he'd just rammed her into her cart in the middle of the supermarket.
"Um… yeah. Not since sixth grade."
Kagome was really becoming uneasy now. There was a reason why she hadn't talked to him since the end of elementary school and she'd just remembered it. Houjou had developed a huge crush on her over the years and he would never leave her alone. She'd been so happy and relieved when he'd moved to Oregon at the beginning of the summer. And now he was back and he'd probably never figure out that she didn't return her affections… 'God, I hope he's turned gay…'
"So, um, how've you been?" she cut his ceaseless babble off, pushing her cart forward with the line.
"Oh, I've been okay," he said offhandedly.
Kagome just nodded, pushing her cart forward with the line. Glancing ahead to see how long she had until she could escape him. There was an old woman with a cart full of canned foods and prune juice, a middle-aged mother with an overflowing cart and three screaming kids, and some guy arguing with the cashier over the price of chips or something. This could take a while…
"Um, hey, Higurashi?" Houjou asked timidly, tapping her shoulder shyly.
Kagome looked over her shoulder at him and her face dropped. She knew that expression on his face; she'd had nightmares about it. This did not bode well for her…
"If, um, if you're not busy later this weekend, I was, um, wondering if you'd like to go to the movies with me."
Kagome almost fainted right then and there. She'd officially entered hell and met the devil. And his name just happened to be Houjou. 'Not again… Does someone up there really hate me that much?'
"Higurashi? Um, the line's moving. Higurashi? Hey, you okay?"
'God, kill me now! Save me the trouble of dealing with this guy another minute!'
Um, so yeah, I just realized that the last version of this chapter was completely wrong. I was in a hurry and had to leave for vacation on Monday and didn't upload the correct chapter. So this is the right one. I'm in the middle of working on the seventh chapter, so I'll type it up when I get home next Monday. Sorry for the mix up!'Till next time! - Hope Swings