"Maki!"
Maki heard the sound of Nozomi throwing the jeans onto the floor, chasing after her. Without thinking, Maki ran into the nearest crowd. Why do I have the worst luck today?
Maki ran until she was sure that her both of her legs were numb, and only then did she stop. Panting, she walked into a busy mall and into the bathroom
Maki stepped into a stall and locked the door. Wait, why did I come here? Nozomi can corner me! As if on cue, Maki heard somebody entering the bathroom. The woman seemed to be in a phone conversation.
"What...I don't believe you."
There was a short pause, in which Maki buried her face in her palms. The person's voice was familiar enough.
"Seriously? Maki's actually back?"
Another pause.
"You...you lost her in the crowd? Nevermind, we need to tell everyone to look for her!"
Maki heard the sound of a stall door opening and closing and sighed in relief. She unlocked her stall door and quickly exited the bathroom.
Nozomi, and then Eli? Why do I have such bad luck today? And now everyone will know that I'm back...
Maki walked briskly with no clear destination in mind. Maybe I should buy new clothes and change so that Nozomi won't find me easily. Maki spotted a clothing shop nearby and entered. The shop's name was "Pastel Daffodils" and the clothing was mostly themed around cutesy pastel clothing. Not exactly Maki's style, but she didn't have a choice did she?
Hastily, Maki grabbed a white hoodie, a simple pink dress, and a purple scarf. She changed, paid, and left immediately, pulling the hood of her hoodie up to cover her hair, her old clothes in a shopping bag.
Maki walked as fast as she can to a train station, and took the fastest train back home.
"Maki? How did it go?"
Maki walked into the kitchen, where her mother was reading a book, a mug of earl grey tea beside her. "Are those new clothes?"
Maki nodded.
"Nice, but it doesn't really seem like your style."
Maki glanced to the floor. "I felt like a style change, that's all."
"Alright."
"I'm going to bed."
Maki walked up the steps of her stairs and opened the door into her bedroom. "Wow, it looks exactly the same."
Maki turned on the water in her bathtub and dropped in a rose scented bath bomb. She relished in the scent, and carefully slid into the water.
Today has been a rather...eventful day. Maki landed in Japan, moved back into her home, and somehow, managed to alert all of her friends that she was back. Poor Maki. She must be traumatized.
Or is she?
Maki sat in the bathtub for what seemed like hours. I bet everyone knows by now...
She buried her face in her palms and did not get out of the water until her fingers were wrinkled. "Great, I must have aged of stress." Maki stood up and wrapped a warm towel around herself. She drained the water and put on her pajamas.
The night light was turned off, and Maki drifted into a restless sleep...