Trying To Be Friends

by Windrises

Maon's a sweet but shy girl who attempts to make new friendships with a friendly group of girls.

Note: Tamayura is anime that was made by Junichi Sato and was done by the studio TYO Animations.

Maon Sakurada was a young woman. She was the daughter of a married couple who owned a hotel. While assisting her parents' business, she got to meet lots of employees and customers. However, Maon didn't have a very close relationship, with any of them. She was a shy girl, who often acted awkward and a bit peculiar, when around others. When Maon first met her uncle and aunt, she nervously whistled. The nervous whistling lasted so long, that she managed to whistle an entire song. Her uncle and aunt didn't want to make her feel unloved, so they asked for an encore. Maon shyly agreed and whistled a second song.

Maon had graduated high school, a few months ago. She decided to not attend college, so she would be able to stay at her parents' hotel and help them, with their work. Maon's parents were thankful, for their daughter's love and loyalty. However, they were concerned about her. Maon's only friends were relatives and a few employees. She barely interacted, with people, who didn't go to the hotel. Although Maon was polite and friendly to the hotel guests, her shyness and awkwardness, often led to her doing weird things. Some examples were whistling when a customer asks a question and hiding her face by putting her sweater over her head.

One day, Maon had finished her hotel work, for the day. She went to her room and was expecting to relax, by herself. However, her parents came into the room. Maon was caught off-guard, by her parents' sudden visit, which made her nervously whistle. Maon's parents sat down, while already sensing awkwardness and shyness, from their daughter. Maon tried to stop whistling, so she could give her parents a proper greeting. She said, "Hi, Dad and Mom. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"

Maon's mom answered, "We want to assist you, this time."

Maon had a confused look on her face, while asking, "What do you mean?"

Maon's dad answered, "Maon, I'm going to try to word this situation, in a gentle way, so I don't hurt your feelings. When it comes to communicating, you're not exactly the Queen of Conversation Land. I've met silent-film stars, who had more to stay."

Maon tried to avoid swinging her hips, in a nervous fashion, but she couldn't help it. She paused, before saying, "I don't try to be quiet, but it's an impulse. When somebody asks me something, that I didn't see coming, I usually freeze and don't say anything. In order to make the slightest form of sound, I whistle. It's my way of speaking, without saying any real words."

Maon's mom replied, "It's okay in certain situations. However, there are times where it doesn't make sense for you to whistle."

Maon asked, "When has that happened?"

Maon's mom responded, "When a customer asked what drinks this hotel has, you whistled. When your uncle asked what your favorite film was, you whistled. When you saw a guy, who was wearing a superhero costume, you whistled."

Maon's dad burst into laughter and said, "Maon probably whistled at that superhero guy, because she has a crush on him."

Maon's mom replied, "Honey, we're supposed to support our daughter, not make fun of her."

Maon's dad said, "Anyways, we think it's time, that you make some friends."

Maon looked uneasy, while asking, "How am I supposed to do that? When it comes to meeting new people, I act like a nervous wreck."

Maon's dad burst into laughter and replied, "You sure do. You look like a weirdo, who's forgotten how to speak." The mom gave the dad a disapproving look. The dad nervously gulped before apologizing.

Maon's mom said, "Maon, in order to help you make friends, we'll do our best, to make sure you meet the nicest and sweetest people, that we can find."

Maon's dad replied, "Speaking of that, I've already arranged a situation, where Maon will make some new friends." The dad hadn't told the mom about this, so she had a surprised look on her face, while Maon look concerned, about what trick her dad had up his sleeves. The dad said, "While I was shopping in a dumpster, I bumped into three girls, who are around Maon's age. They seemed eager, to make a new friend, so Maon is going to meet them, tomorrow."

Maon felt scared, about meeting three new friends, on the same day. She had never or heard of these three friends, so she was worried, about what they'd be like. Her dad said lots of nice things about them, but he also mentioned they can be eccentric and goofy. Maon wanted to hope for the best, but she felt uncomfortable and unprepared, to meet the three women.

Maon's dad said, "One of the girls has a family, who owns a café. You'll meet them, outside of the café. You'll have a few cups of tea or whatever cafes sell. You'll share stories, play, and become good friends."

Maon's mom looked at her laughter and said, "I must apologize, Maon. I didn't know, that your father had arranged this. However, you've been needing some friends, so I think tomorrow will be an important and good experience."

Maon replied, "Very well then. I'll go. I'll try to be normal, but considering what I really am, that'll be a true challenge."

Maon's mom put her hand on Maon's shoulder and responded, "If you're implying you're a weirdo, you're stretching the truth. You're a very sweet, charming, hard-working lady. Besides, there's no person, who fits the overly-judgmental standards, of what's considered normal."

Maon shyly replied, "Okay then. Thank you."

After talking to their daughter, Maon's parents went into the hallway. The mom looked at the dad and asked, "What will happen, if Maon doesn't fit in?"

The dad burst into laugher and said saying, "She'll be a socially-awkward person and cause a bunch of hilarious chaos."

The mom angrily stared at her husband and said, "If you keep saying things like that, you're going to get grounded and you know how embarrassing it is, for an adult to be grounded by another adult."

The dad sighed and replied, "Fair enough."

The next day, Maon had a normal morning, at first. She got out of bed, cleaned the hotel's hallway, and ate her breakfast. Afterwards, she went into her closet and got on a pink sweater, a blue skirt, and green shoes. She went into the mirror and nervously smiled.

Maon went into the lobby, where her parents were, and said, "I'm going to be going. Do I look okay?"

Maon's mom answered, "Of course you do. Very cute outfit."

Maon's dad said, "You don't look too weird."

Maon walked out of the hotel and started heading towards the café. The café was only a few blocks away, which she was thankful for. She wanted to avoid being in a nervous mood, so she started whistling. Her whistling calmed her and made her feel normal, even thought it surprised a few people, who were walking by.

A few minutes later, Maon was near the café. She saw three young women, who were standing by the café. They were the girls, that her dad wanted Maon to befriend. The three girls were Fuu Sawatari, Kaoru Hanawa, and Norie Okazaki. Maon kept whistling, while walking up to them.

Kaoru nudged Fuu and Norie and said, "That's the girl, that the garbage-collection weirdo wants us to befriend."

Fuu said, "I'm excited to meet her, I am."

Norie said, "Considering how her dad acts, we should be afraid."

Fuu replied, "That's not necessarily true, Norie. There's a lot of people, who don't act like their relatives."

Kaoru responded, "That's for sure. My older sister's a lot goofier and is much worse at driving, than I am."

Maon faced them. She was whistling, while shaking her hips. She tried to avoid the hip-shaking, but it was an impulse, that was hard to fight off. It looked like Maon was doing a dance.

Norie said, "A dance performance is an interesting greeting."

Fuu said, "I'm surprised, I am."

Maon took a long pause, before saying, "Hi, ladies. I'm Maon Sakurada. It's nice to meet you."

Fuu shook Maon's hand, while saying, "I'm delighted to meet you, I am."

Maon asked, "Why do you add unnecessary words, to the ends of sentences?"

Kaoru explained, "It's a trait her dad used to do."

Fuu said, "I don't mean to do it, but I keep doing it, I do."

Kaoru looked at Maon said, "It's nice to meet you, Maon. I'm Kaoru and these are my best friends, Fuu and Norie."

Norie said, "For the record, I'm the better friend."

Kaoru whispered to Maon, "Norie's a cool girl, despite having a bit of a ego."

Fuu looked at Maon and asked, "Do you want to try some tea, from my family's café?" Maon whistled. Fuu had a confused look on her face, while saying, "I don't understand that answer."

Kaoru replied, "Her dad explained to us, that she has a habit of whistling, instead of speaking."

Fuu responded, "Oh, I forgot he told us, I did."

Maon and the others went into the café. Maon could feel her hips moving, from nervousness. She managed to get her hips, to stop moving. She did a bit of whistling, but she tried to avoid doing an overabundance of whistling. She and the others sat at a table. Maon tried to remain still, but she accidentally moved her arms around. She also titled her head, a number of times. The others were a bit surprised, by Maon's random movements.

Tamae Sawatari, Fuu's mom, came by, with four cups of tea. She put the tea on the table and said, "I hope you girls enjoy it." She looked at Maon and said, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Sakurada. My daughter and her friends are wonderful people, so you don't need to worry."

Maon replied, "Thank you." She grabbed the cup of tea and started drinking it.

Fuu asked, "What do you think of the tea, Maon?"

Maon lightly smiled and answered, "It's not my cup of tea."

Fuu replied, "Oh, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it."

Maon looked a bit guilty, while saying, "If anybody should be apologizing, it's me. I was trying to make a joke, but I didn't make it clear, that I was kidding. I don't have the good sense of humor, that my dad has."

Fuu replied, "It's okay. I also fail at comedy, I do."

Kaoru wanted to change the subject, in order to make things less uncomfortable. She looked at Maon, while asking, "What are your hobbies?"

Maon answered, "Uh, I like memorizing the colors of windowsills, drawing pictures of batteries, reading books from 1939, collecting toy cat-ears, and several other things." Fuu, Kaoru, and Norie were weirded-out, by what Maon had said.

Fuu asked, "What do you want to do, for a career?"

Maon answered, "Well, at the current time, my focus is on helping my parents' hotel. However, in a few years, I might pursue a different career, like being a sports team's water girl, a vending-machine supplier, a recyclable-bucket designer, or something else."

Kaoru replied, "Well, um, props for not thinking about careers, that would be too ambitious or risky."

Maon responded, "I like things to be safe, rather than reckless."

Norie replied, "No offense, but I'm the opposite. In a few years, I want to be a professional cook or a motorcycle-stunt girl."

Maon nervously asked, "Motorcycle stunts?"

Norie had a goofy smile on her face, while saying, "I'd crash into something things and get more injuries, than you could ever imagine."

Kaoru folded her arms and replied, "Norie, that's not something you should be gleeful about."

Norie wanted to change things up, so she grabbed a radio and turned it on. She said, "Our first meeting shouldn't just be drinking tea. We should be dancing."

Kaoru replied, "We shouldn't be having a dance party, inside of the café."

Fuu suggested, "We could dance outside."

Fuu, Kaoru, and Norie started heading out of the café. Maon paused, before following them. She nervously whistled, while going outside. She looked around and saw Fuu, Kaoru, and Norie dancing around. Maon tried to fit in, by doing her own dance. However, her dance moves were flakey and off-putting. A lot of people gave her weird-looks, during her eccentric dance.

While dancing around, Maon accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. Fuu and Kaoru ran up to her and helped her get up. Norie turned off the radio and said, "I'm sorry, Maon. My idea wasn't very good."

Maon looked guilty, while responding, "It's my fault. I'm not good, at dancing. In fact, I'm terrible."

Fuu shook her head and replied, "Your dancing was unique, it was. It was quite surprising, but surprises can be a good thing." Fuu wanted to do something, that Maon would enjoy. She got out her camera and smiled, while saying, "I know what we can do."

Maon asked, "What?"

Fuu answered, "You can take a picture, using my camera."

Kaoru looked at Maon and explained, "Fuu's dad gave her a very nice camera. The pictures it takes are far more eloquent and beautiful, than a cellphone."

Fuu handed the phone to Maon and said, "Try to take a picture of Kaoru and Norie. It'll be easy."

Maon nervously gulped and replied, "Okay." Maon hadn't used a camera, since she was a little kid. Because of that, she doubted she could take good pictures. She snapped a picture of Kaoru and Norie. She was hoping the picture turned out well, but after looking at the picture, she noticed only Kaoru and Norie's hair was in the picture. She put her hand over her face, while saying, "I'm a total failure, when it comes to taking a picture."

Fuu wanted to make Maon feel better, so she replied, "That's not true." She stood in front of Maon and said, "Take a picture of me. It'll be super easy." Maon snapped a picture of Fuu. However, only Fuu's shoes and a bit of her legs were in the picture. Fuu said, "It's not that bad of a picture, it's not."

Maon replied, "That's a sweet sentiment, but that sentiment is also stretching the truth. I should get going. I've done enough awkward antics. I shouldn't put you guys through anymore of my weirdness. It was nice meeting you. I'm truly sorry, that I wasn't worth meeting." Maon started heading back to the hotel.

After Maon went into the lobby, her parents walked up to her. Maon's mom asked, "How did things go?"

Maon had a mopey look on her face, while saying, "I acted like such a weirdo, that I know they'd be better off, to not be friends with me."

Maon's dad burst into the laughter and said, "You probably acted like the biggest weirdo that they've ever seen."

Maon's mom angrily stared at her husband and replied, "You're grounded."

Maon went into her room and sat around, while regretting the way she acted, when she was around Fuu, Kaoru, and Norie. She truly wished she had acted more normal and proper, in order to win their respect.

Ten minutes later, Maon's mom came into Maon's room, to let her know she had some visitors. Fuu, Kaoru, and Norie came into her room. Maon had a surprised look on her face, while asking, "What are you guys doing here? I was an awkward weirdo, wasn't I?"

Fuu said, "No you weren't." She paused and said, "Well, it's hard to deny you acted a bit peculiar, but we didn't mind that."

Maon replied, "I was probably a chore, to deal with."

Kaoru responded, "No you weren't. It was nice, to learn about you. You seem off-putting, to some people, but we think you're something special."

Norie leaned to Maon and said, "When we first met Fuu, she was the Queen of Awkward Land. Some people are really shy and act strange, when trying to meet friends."

Kaoru looked at Maon, while saying, "We know you have difficulties when it comes to socializing. That's why we want to befriend you and be there for you."

Fuu said, "We all think you're a cool woman, we do."

Maon was shocked, but incredibly flattered. She said, "Thank you. You're all very welcoming, sweet people."

Kaoru replied, "We want to hang out with you in a few days. Does that sound good?" Maon nodded.

Fuu said, "We look forward, to getting to know you better."

Maon shyly asked, "Would it be too awkward if I gave you guys a hug?" They shook their heads. Maon hugged her new friends. Fuu took a picture of their hug. There was a lot of tamayura, in the picture and there was a lot of happiness in Maon's heart.