"C-can I sleep on your shoulder...?"
The way her half-lidded eyes gaze at me is so ... tempting. Before I know it my big mouth is shooting off words that will inevitably piss her off.
"Shut it, Ritsu!"
Yet again, my shoulder acts as a shock absorber to another vicious blow.
Damn it. Even in my dreams, Mio punches like a dude.
I yawn and rub my shoulder. The blow felt so real! The skin around it is slightly bruised.
Something pokes me in the sore spot; an umbrella. Oh. So that's why - anyway, this lady in front of me is starting to get on my nerves. I swear, if that umbrella touches my skin one more time...
Ah, what's the use. Mio would probably hit me over the head for making a scene. Besides, our stop is only three stations away. Time for us to move closer to the door. I turn to Mio.
"Hey, we're about to-"
No response. Is she still upset about - wait.
Mio's head is hanging at an odd angle. I'm pretty sure her neck's not broken. Is she...asleep?
I lean in to get a closer look. Sure enough, those sharp grey eyes of hers were shut tight. Oh, and there's a little drool on the corner of her mouth. Haha. If I had my camera with me... it would be funn- useless.
My hands are cold. I... I've never seen her this close before.
I pinched myself. It hurt like hell. I could have sat there watching her all the way to Kyoto.
But then the stupid umbrella hag wakes her up. I swear I'll stuff that umbrella up that bitc -
"Ritsu, are we almost there yet?" Mio rubs her eyes and looks around the train before facing me.
"Ten minutes away, I think."
"Oh. Okay." She stretched some more, but her eyes were stuck on the door, like some caged puppy. Heh. Sometimes I forget that Mio's not as mature as she'd like us to think.
It was stupid, dragging her out here without a plan, but I just had this feeling that if I didn't make that call, somebody else would. Anyway - right now, none of that matters.
Why? Because Mio's right here beside me, that's why. It almost feels evil, keeping her all to myself like this.
I just hope she doesn't realize that we aren't actually late for anything.
X plus y is a linear equation, which means that 64 is the best answer. Next... the formula for obtaining the heat capacity of a grain of rice is...
"-ka.."
What? Ka? That's definitely not the answer. Hm. I'll pass on this one. The following question looks easier.
"-doka..."
If memory serves me right, doka is not even a word... Or an acronym for anything relevant to the Imperial history of Japan.
"Nodoka!"
I look up from the paper and blink hard in an attempt to clear the numbers floating around my field of vision. From the other side of the table, Yui is staring at me like the answer to the universe was written on my face. Satisfied that she had my attention, Yui smiled and pushed a basket of cookies towards me. A couple of books fell off the table as a result of her enthusiasm. Strangely, only the math books were conveniently pushed aside.
"I think it's time for a snack." It's probably the fifth time she has asked that question. Oh well. I suppose we've done enough to deserve a little break.
"Alright."
"Hey Nodoka, you look weird today. Are you sick?"
"Nope. I'm perfectly fine."
"Are you sure? Ui said the flu season is about to start. You're not an idiot, so you should take care of yourself!"
"I'll try. You too, Yui."
"What? I'm invincible! I-" She sneezes. Well, at least there's still hope for her yet.
"Five more minutes, then we'll get started on some calculus."
"What? You're a slave driver..."
"Fine, ten minutes. Including the bathroom break."
Yui pouts and dive tackles the large black bag beside her bed. As soon as she opened it, I knew that our study session was as good as done.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Don't worry. Gitah always gives me great ideas!"
Yui's in her own little world right now. If I left, she probably wouldn't notice. Maybe Ui needs some help with dinner. Looks like I'll be sleeping over anyway.
"Where are you going?" Oh dear. She noticed.
"I'm going to help Ui with dinner."
"But I thought you wanted a Gitah lesson!"
I...honestly don't know what to say at this point.
I have to say, Mio has great taste in restaurants. Since when did omelets cost 800 yen a piece? Dear god, my wallet... But I can't complain. We haven't talked like this in days. I was beginning to think that the only things she could say were idiot or practice or something like that.
"Then Mugi told me she didn't know how to open it!"
"Really? Maybe rich people don't need such things."
"... Hey Mio, what would you do if you found a briefcase full of cash?"
"Leave it there, of course."
"Y-you're just saying that."
"It's not mine, so why take it?"
"Fine. Let's say some guy hands you a briefcase full of hundred dollar bills. Oh, and if you don't spend it he'll shoot you."
"He's going to s-shoot...?" Mio's turning pale. I'm guessing the ketchup on her plate is starting to look a lot like something else entirely.
"Uh...well... Forget about that. The waffles are pretty good! Here, have some."
Amazingly, she doesn't hit me. I guess the chocolate syrup brought her out of that funk. After a couple of bites she wipes her mouth and looks at me thoughtfully. I know it's pretty cheap of me, but I'm hoping that she's not going to ask for a second helping.
"Five tickets to London." It took me a while to realize that she was answering my hypothetical question.
"London? What, you want to be a yankee or something?"
"They're British, Ritsu. Just because they speak English doesn't make them American."
"Whatever. It's a promise then? HTT to London!"
I grab the spoons and perform an impromptu Keith Moon inspired drum solo on the empty plates.
She laughs. It's contagious; we probably look like sugar-crazed lunatics.
At least until the bill arrives.
Hm. Where to now?
"You put that there. Now press harder. Good!"
After a one-sided argument, Yui managed to hook her nine pound guitar around my shoulder. She's trying to teach me how to play a few simple chords. I guess she deserves some credit; holding down steel wires while your fingers are contorted in some strange shape is not easy.
"Like this?"
"Yep. Now play it!"
I strum the guitar. It gives off a warm sound; the wood vibrates softly. So this is what an A sounds like. Funny how chords only stop at G. Why don't they go up to Z or something?
Yui glares at my fingers. Maybe I placed them wrong.
"That's not fair. Your fingers are pretty long, aren't they?"
"Hm? Well, not really."
"Mio's got long fingers too." There's a dull ache on the back of my head again. What in the world does she have to do with my fingers?
"She plays a bass, right?" Yui seems surprised that I know what her friend's instrument is. Considering that I'm the president of the Akiyama fan club, there are probably some things about Mio that I know more than she does. Which, quite frankly, alarms me.
"Elizabass! But Gitah's way better. It has more strings, you know?"
"Yeah, it does." I hand Gitah back to its rightful owner and watch a fairly melodramatic reunion between Yui and her beloved instrument.
Two years ago and she would have done the same thing to a pint of vanilla ice cream. Yui... she's grown a lot, hasn't she?
The thought fills me with pride. And a strange wistfulness.
Azusa, Mio, Tsumugi, and Ritsu; I guess I owe a lot to those girls. Maybe they've done more for Yui than I ever could, now that I'm preoccupied with the student council.
"Finished."
"What?"
"Here. Page fifty-one to sixty, right?" The previously blank papers are filled with various mathematical expressions.
After checking and re-checking each solution, I have come to the conclusion that Yui is an insult to the Japanese education system - even I couldn't solve equations this fast! How the hell did she fail in the first place?
Yui's a genius. At least until I see the answer key sticking out of her pocket.
No wait, that's not it.
I'm the one turning into an idiot. That concussion has done a number on my IQ, for sure.
I don't believe this.
This god-forsaken town actually has a festival. People are running around wearing kimonos and shit, while yakisoba and takoyaki stalls fill the streets with the irresistible scent of freshly fried food.
"Ritsu, you didn't tell me we were going to a festival!"
Well that's because I didn't know we were going to run into one! Not that I'm complaining. Looks like my gamble paid off.
"Let's have some fun."
I didn't wait for her to agree. Latching on to her wrist for the second time today, we dive into the crowd. Time to make some good memories - the kind that gets stuck in your head for the rest of your life.
Actually, I'm having one right now.