Chapter Twenty-Three
Luka
"Gumi, the beach? Really?" I ask, holding my cell phone up closer to my lips as my eyebrows curve up in hesitation.
"Yeah!" she says enthusiastically through the speakers. "Look, it's free, right? Oh, and the guys will just pay for the food and stuff and maybe some towels and stuff like that," she goes on.
"Gumi, I doubt that everybody even packed swimsuits," I point out, leaning back. "I mean, I packed one, but…"
"You packed one! I packed one! I already called Miku and Rin and they both have one too!" Gumi practically shouts through the phone.
"Even Rin? Gumi, I'm still just kind of…" I pause, searching for the right words. Still just kind of…
"Please?" Gumi whines. I close my eyes and sigh.
"Fine. We'll go on Thursday to celebrate," I say.
"Thursday?" Gumi repeats. "Her birthday is on Friday, Luka," she mumbles.
"I know that, but my fashion show…" I remind her, "I won't be able to make it in the afternoon. There's a lot of work that goes into that, you know!"
"Fine," she complains, "You're so selfish. Maybe you should just… you know what?" she growls. I hold my breath in shock, waiting for her to finish. "Just make it okay?" she splutters.
"I will," I hush her rudely. I pull the phone away from my ear and hang up abruptly.
Maybe she's right. Maybe I really am selfish and this fashion show is the only thing that matters to me. Maybe I don't care enough about other people's feelings. Maybe I should step out of that stupid shell and get to know people a little bit better. You know what? A great way to start would be to get to know my fellow models. Sure, they seem a bit weird, but well… I've gotten used to Rin, Miku and Gumi after all these years. This will be perfectly fine…
Right?
"Luka Megurine!" calls a voice from behind. Just a suddenly as the shout, I feel a pair of hands squeezing the life out of my stomach. I wriggle out of the choking embrace to see the curly-pink-haired model hopping from one foot to the other. "Hi! Thanks for inviting me over!" she grins.
"Oh, hi Teto," I say, holding the door open. I twist my face up into a welcoming smile, yet really… this girl scares me. "Come on in," I say. Kaito and Len left to go to the grocery store, and Rin is… I actually haven't seen her in the past hour. Oh well, as long as she's not bothered by the… my… friends.
"Your house is so nice!" she cries, spinning in circles. Suddenly, she stops with her eyes wide. She begins running her fingers down the sides of the curtains. "When will the others get here?" she asks, taking a deep breath to smell them.
"Soon," I answer. "Hopefully," I add under my breath. I snap up to attention as I hear a knock on the door. What is up with these girls and punctuality? "Hello?" I open up the door. Standing there is the curvaceous girl with cat ears in her hair… Gah! I forgot her name! "Sorry, what's your name again?" I ask with a smile. Without even glancing at me, she slowly walks in without saying a word. She trips on the stairs on the way in, but catches her balance as if nothing had happened.
"That's Seeu Kim," Teto sings, "She doesn't ever say anything. Ever."
"Oh," I reply. The door swings open again to reveal Galaco wearing the same outfit from yesterday. "Hi there," I smile as she walks into the door with her hands on her hips. She tilts her head, her crown inexplicably not falling off.
"Where's Miki?" she asks.
"Oh, Miki's not here yet," I answer. Suddenly, the thought comes back to me. Where have I seen this Miki girl before? On TV? No… I know she's somewhat famous… I think...
"No, I'm here," says hear a young, jovial voice from behind as the door shuts behind me. "Hi Luka, hi guys," she smiles. She has such a nice smile. "You have a nice house, Luka," she adds, walking in gracefully.
"I said the same thing!" Teto shouts, running up to give Miki a huge hug. I watch in shock as Miki's face turns bright red as she runs out of air. "We're twins!"
"You know that's just something people say to be polite, right?" Galaco says, her hands on her hips crossly. Rude much? "Of course, this isn't anything compared to my space-inspired mansion back where I live," she says, sticking her nose up in the air. So we've got a hyper maniac, a clumsy mute, a stuck-up braggart, and… Miki.
"Miki, I swear I've seen you before," I say, tilting my head as my eyes narrow in confusion.
"Oh, well, believe it or not, I used to go to school with you!" she grins, stepping a bit closer to me. That's it! "You know, with Piko Utatane, a-and… and Hatsune Miku," she says. Suddenly, her eyes narrow at Miku's name. "Oh, I really did not like her," she mumbles, shoving her hands in her pockets. "I guess everything ended up okay, since Piko and I both moved here!"
"Oh, really? You and Piko Utatane are still good friends?" I ask, suddenly interested.
"Totally!" she grins, placing her hands on her heart. Her face falls. "But… not anymore. I mean, we're still friends, but…" she trails off, stumbling over her words.
"But what?" I ask.
"Well, we were dating, but suddenly, he just stopped liking me as a girlfriend, and well, we broke up," she says, looking down forlornly.
"And why didn't you like Hatsune Miku?" I ask, slightly offended.
"Well, she was always so… perfect all the time. I don't know. I guess it's a pretty stupid reason. But back then, I think Piko had a crush on her," she whispers with a giggle. "But, you know, I liked him even back then," she admits.
"Oh," I say, drawing in a deep breath. "You'll probably hate me for saying this," I laugh nervously, "But Miku's just down the street from here right now. Oh, and we're pretty much best friends," I finish, nodding my head. Her eyes widen as her jaw drops. "But come on Miki, she's really nice now, and I don't think she ever meant to do anything bad to you, so just really get to know her this time," I smile.
"She hasn't seen Piko yet here, has she?" Miki asks worriedly, taking a sharp breath.
"Well, actually, they were just eating breakfast over here," I tell her.
"Oh," Miki mumbles, "So that's why he… Oh my god," she suddenly says.
"What?" Galaco pipes in. "You're jealous, aren't you? Why would you be jealous of this Miku girl? What does she have that I don't?" she demands.
"N-Nothing," Miki quickly says, smoothing down her ahoge and fixing the collar of her navy blue blazer. I watch in secret humor as her ahoge pops right back up. I guess both Piko and Miki can't get rid of that. At least Piko has scissors.
"I'm sooo hungry," Teto whines, rocking from side to side. "Do you have food, Luka?" she asks.
"Oh, yes," I say, "But there's probably not that much right now, my um, brothers just went to the grocery store," I say. Okay, maybe that wasn't the most truthful thing that has ever come out of my mouth. That was more like… a half-lie!
"Great! I can't wait to meet your brothers!" Teto says, hopping from left to right again, her curly drill-tails bouncing up and down. She swings open the refrigerator. To her dismay, only a bit of breakfast food and a carton of almond milk remain. "Aw, man," she says, slamming it.
"Sorry, ignore her," Galaco says, rolling her eyes and fixing her golden jeweled crown. Okay, this Galaco girl is really starting to get on my nerves. "I mean, I'm hungry as well," she says pointedly, checking her long galaxy print nails, "But oh well. No good food is no good food. What, are you guys on vacation here or something?" she asks. What if we weren't?
"Yes, actually," I say, "And we just got here yesterday."
"Oh, tough. Well, that explains it Teto," she finishes, flipping her blonde and brunette split hair. I notice her multicolored pink, blue, yellow, and brunette bangs that fall over her forehead, bouncing under her crown.
"Well," I say, after a strange silence. I glance at the clock. It's been a surprising ten minutes and I still haven't heard a word from Seeu. "Do any of you guys know what you're wearing for the show?" I ask, glancing at Seeu.
"Nope, not yet, I think we're getting that stuff tomorrow," Miki says unsurely.
"Actually, it's tonight. I heard that the style is supposed to be sophisticated. I think that'll be interesting," Galaco says.
"Oh," Miki whispers, tying her arms behind her back. "Hey, Luka, did you know that you're pretty much on the same street as Piko?" she asks me.
"Yeah," I answer. Where is she going with this?
"I seriously need to talk to him before…" she falters, swallowing deeply.
"Before what?" I ask with a sharp eyebrow raise.
"Before something really bad happens, okay? It's an apology," she adds, her cherry red eyes tearing from my gaze. She lets out a sigh.
"Where do I come in?" I ask suspiciously.
"I need you to come over there with me to back me up, okay?" she asks.
"We're talking about the same Piko Utatane, right?" I ask. "Miki, I honestly don't think you need backup on this. He seems like he's really understanding," I remind her, "You'll be fine."
"But…" she starts. I watch as she takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Okay, Luka. Thank you so much," she says, "I'm probably going to go right now, okay?" She runs and puts her boots on and dashes out the door. How strange. Suddenly, she stops and turns around and smiles. "Luka, Miku's really lucky to have a friend like you!" she calls, waving. I watch in silent confusion as she races down the driveway.
Luka, Miku's really lucky to have a friend like you. Maybe I'm not selfish… Maybe this is already helping… Maybe the other models aren't actually that bad. Maybe I am a good friend to Miku… and Rin… and Gumi… Oh, Gumi.
Gumi's not going to believe this.
So, Miku's birthday is tomorrow! (Yes, I know, I skipped three days, but who cares? I feel like with 22 chapters we should be at that point!) They're going to the beach... Oh, the beach... *sigh* *Cackles like Gumi* *All the random fans reading this join in*
Eating: Nothing
Drinking: Nothing
Doing: Counting the minutes until I was supposed to wake up (9:00)
Homework: Hahah! None! :)
Listening to: Come on, everyone in my house is still asleep. I'm not that cruel! (forget that cackle, 'kay?)
Quote time: "So we've got a hyper maniac, a clumsy mute, a stuck-up braggart, and… Miki." - Luka