Chapter Twenty-Six
As soon as the last bell rang, I hopped out of my seat, fumbled with my bag, and ran out of the Faculty Meeting Room. "Madoka, wait!" Gumi called. I pretended to not hear her, and dashed straight to my locker, not caring about anyone that I bumped into on my way there.
Today was Thursday afternoon. This means one more afternoon to be able to practice. We were all going to Miku's house to try on our costumes, which she couldn't seem to describe after countless texts during Science, in which I tried to pull information out of her but miserably failed.
"Madoka! Do you want to carpool with me?" Miku calls, waving her arm excitedly as her teal pigtails sway around her. I smile in return, walking up to her through the crowded hallway of students.
"Sure, do you live far?" I ask.
"No, I'm just down the street from your house, remember?" she says.
"Oh, right," I nod, adjusting my pink uniform shirt bow. I put the last of my books in my locker as we head outside. Spring is starting to rise again, completing the yearly cycle. The whole seasonal change is happening surprisingly early, earning the melodic songs of the bluebirds and the sparrows to come back to us. As we walk, Miku and I hardly step on any snow, as it has all melted, allowing the colorful blades of emerald grass to provide a soft carpet for our feet.
"My car is this way," she says pointing to a shiny, black Toyota Corolla in the nearest parking lot. "We'll have to wait for my older brother Mikuo, though," she sighs, leaning against it.
"It's okay, here I am," says a suave voice from behind. I turn around to see a teal-haired boyish version of Miku walking to the front seat. He is wearing fitted black pants, black army boots, and a grey shirt with a teal tie. As he opens the door, he smoothly slides into the front seat. Miku and I enter the back. "I'm Mikuo, Miku's brother," he says, looking at me through his rear-view mirror and starting the car all in one swift motion.
He pulls out of the parking lot and heads down the street. "Hey, Mikuo can you turn on the radio?" Miku asks. Mikuo reaches and switches on the radio, Miku waiting eagerly next to me. Suddenly, a groovy song comes on. I instantly recognize Miku's voice singing through the speakers.
"Miku, is this your song?" I ask. Miku nods, smiling, and bouncing to the beat. It's not very long before I join in as the chorus breaks in.
My whole heart and my entire body are mirages in my memories
True love has begun flowing out of my fingertips
If we look up and smile, we'll have the magic to regain smiling faces
With a knock on our heart and a marvelous trick
We can be reborn freely tomorrow
Miku starts singing along to her own song. Even though I hardly know the words, I sing along as well, failing miserably. Mikuo laughs at my attempts, rolling down the window to allow the springtime air to flood in. In no time, we're all bouncing up and down in our seats and making peace signs out of the car roof window as the music plays stridently in our ears.
We pull up into a long, wide driveway. A long way back past the driveway's path, I lean forward to see a house, no, more like a mansion in front of us. The mansion is modern and beautiful, with a cream, concrete exterior and polished floor-to-ceiling windows. There's a wide variety of vegetation surrounding it. I feel like I'm standing in a garden as I exit the parked car with Miku by my side. Mikuo then continues driving into one of her six garages.
"Miku, your house is huge!" I gasp, looking around at my surroundings. We continue walking up the path.
"Thanks, lots of people say that. I guess I'm just really lucky that my family has a lot of money," she says, fidgeting with her skirt.
"Hey Miku! Hi Madoka!" says a cheery voice from behind. We both turn around to see Gumi running up to us happily.
"Hey, Gumi! Welcome!" Miku calls back with a smile that matches Gumi's. Gumi smiles around.
"Wow! This one is even bigger than your other one," Gumi marvels. I let out a laugh, and cover my mouth. Hopefully it didn't come across as rude. For some reason, when Gumi said that, a strange thought came across my mind. When seeing her house, someone might think Miku was a snobby rich kid, but she was actually really nice. I think back to her song on the radio. So that's what she meant when she said her parents will really rich.
"Oh, we sold the other one," admits Miku, snapping me back to life.
"Why? It was so gorgeous with the waterfall in the backyard, and how the tiger lilies always bloomed in the spring… Oh, I miss that house," Gumi sighs. "Please tell me you kept the other mansion," she drifts off, green eyes wide.
"Yes, we kept that one," Miku sighs, shaking her head.
"You have another mansion?" I ask Miku in disbelief.
"Totally!" Gumi cuts in, "She's got six… now," Gumi adds, throwing Miku a blaming look.
"Sorry, it's not my fault my parents needed money," Miku says quietly, shuffling her feet against the cobblestone path that lays between the roses and daisies that line the path way. Palm trees finish off the look, standing proudly around the entrance.
"Why did your parents need money?" I ask, looking at her, with a sharp eyebrow raised. Miku's face turns red.
"To pay for the new private jet," she mumbles, sinking even lower. I swear, I have to hold myself back from face-palming.
"Yeah! She's getting a new private jet!" Gumi cheers. "She's going to fly to America to prepare for a concert there," she says, hopping excitedly. I would have fallen out of my seat… if I were sitting in one, that is.
"Concert?" I ask, eyes full of shock (and maybe a hint of jealously).
"Yeah," Miku says, "But let's not talk about that. I don't like to sound like a snobby rich kid," she says. You took the words right out of my mouth, Miku.
As if on cue, Yuma and Len come laughing down the path. Yuma is wearing his usual signature beanie, a dark stormy grey hoodie and black skinny jeans. From his mouth pokes out the stick from a Dum-Dum pop. Len walks next to him, notably shorter than him (that's probably only because Yuma is abnormally tall). He is wearing a rolled-up white shirt with a black sweater vest over it, fitted khakis, and a plaid yellow tie. His blonde hair is tied up lazily into my favorite ponytail. In his hand, he carries a pack of Skittles candy. I seriously don't understand how these preppy kids have the time to change their clothes when they get home.
"Sorry if we're late," Yuma says with a laugh directed toward Len, "We stopped at the candy store," he explains. That explains the lollipop and the Skittles.
"Do you have our outfits now?" asks Len once he approaches Miku. Miku nods.
"Here, why don't you guys come on in," Miku suggests, holding the grand glass door open. Inside of the mansion is even more impressive. From the twenty-foot ceiling hangs a glass chandelier. I swear, there're diamonds up there too. Under my feet is a polished mahogany wooden floor that goes with the pure white walls perfectly. The furniture is square and modern, almost as if it's warning me not to touch it.
"Here, let's go upstairs to my room," Miku says, "I need to get the outfits."
As soon as we all follow her speechlessly to her room, Miku moves across the beads which serve as a door. Looking around, I don't see a bed or closet, but instead, a simple glass writing desk, a golden keyboard, a microphone, and some other music equipment. She walks further into her room, and opens a white French door into a closet. As soon as we follow her further into the closet, I realize it's exactly the opposite.
The other room past what I thought was her bedroom was actually her real bedroom. I can't help but widen my eyes. It's probably the size of my entire house. "They have to be in here somewhere," Miku says, already digging into a dresser. "Nope, they must be in my closet. Sorry guys," she apologizes.
We follow Miku into her closet, which is about the equal size of her room. "Miku, your closet is huge!" gushes Gumi, running around and grabbing pairs of high heels and stuffing them into her grasp. "Can I have a bag for all this?" she asks. Miku chuckles.
"Gumi-chan, my closet is not for sale," Miku says. Len and Yuma exchange a glance, a drop of sweat forming on both of their foreheads.
"Girls," they both say at the same time, shaking their head.
"Jeez, boys, you say that like being jealous of a fellow girl's closet is a bad thing," Gumi says, crossing her arms over her collection of Miku's trendy clothes. She then skips over to a glass rotation table, dropping a pearl necklace and a sapphire ring on the way there.
"Here it is!" she smiles, picking up a stylish leather bag and furiously stuffing clothes into it.
"Remind me to take inventory before she leaves," Miku jokes to me. I raise my eyebrows pointedly. I had never been crazy over clothes, and found the situation to be a bit… odd. "Gumi, please put that down. However, I am willing to lend you a dress for the dance," Miku says, taking a pair of cherry red heels out of Gumi's tight grasp. Gumi's eyes light up like the sapphires on the ring she had dropped. She then nods rapidly, shoving things back on shelves.
"Guys, I found our outfits," Miku says, digging into a nearby shelf. Len and Yuma sigh of relief, not wanting to spend any more time in her perfume-scented closet. I almost want to do the same. Gumi pouts, her hands on a pair of leggings.
Miku tosses each person a black bag with their names on them. Fancy. She sighs, hesitating. "There are a ton of bathrooms and other closed rooms around here. Everyone, find somewhere to change," Miku says, once everyone has been thrown a black bag.
I can't wait to see my outfit! I almost reach into the bag to peek at what could be inside, but Miku interrupts me. "And no peeking until you've got your outfit on, Madoka!" she laughs, eyeing me distrustfully. Len looks at me with a challenging glance. I roll them, my sight landing on Gumi, who is too busy sneaking a leather bracelet into her skirt pocket. I shift my eyes over to Yuma, who is chuckling at the whole scene.
"Girls," Yuma and Len both say at the same time, shaking their heads.