"It's this one, right here." Kaorin pointed out to her tomboyish friend. Chihiro and Kagura followed their friend as she approached the front door, knocking on it just before opening it. "You can just leave your shoes there." She told Kagura. "Kaorin? Is that you?" Her mother yelled from the kitchen while Kaorin's guests took their shoes off. "Yes, Mom, we're all here." Kaorin replied.
"Come into the kitchen, dinner's ready!"
"You two go into the kitchen." Kaorin told her friends. "Kagura, I can take your bag into my room." She extended her arms outward towards Kagura. "Oh, sure." She said, handing Kaorin a large duffle bag. As it hit her hands, her arms began to shake a little, then her legs. Kaorin struggled to hold it up because of how heavy it was. She turned around and tried to carry it into her room. "Do you need any help?" Kagura asked, motioning to help her. "No no, that's ok." Kaorin replied, turning around to let out a weak smile. "What's in this thing?" She thought to herself, trying to make it to her room without dropping it. Kagura and Chihiro made their way into the kitchen, where they were greeted by Kaorin's mother. "You must be Kagura." The woman said, taking a pause from placing chopsticks on the table. "Yeah, that's me!" Kagura bowed. "Thank you for letting me spend the night, I know it's really short notice."
"Oh that's no problem!" Kaorin's mother assured the tomboy. "Please, have a seat, both of you."
As the two girls sat down at the table, there was an audible THUD from the across the house that caught all of their attentions. "Kaorin? Are you ok?" Her mom shouted out from the kitchen. "I'm ok!" The girl shouted back. Kaorin entered the room swiftly afterwards, just as her mother carried over a big bowl of food over to the table. She sat down in her normal seat, with Chihiro string across from her and Kagura on her right. Her mother sat down to the left of her and put her hands together to say grace. Chihiro and Kaorin both made the Sign of the Cross and bowed their heads together. Kagura was confused and felt out of place, so she just bowed her head and closed her eyes. The three looked up after their prayer was finished. "Kagura?" Kaorin asked. The short shaggy haired girl looked up. "Are you ok?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. I just didn't know what you guys were doing is all." She sheepishly replied.
"We were just saying grace." Chihiro cheerfully explained. "What's that?" Kagura inquired.
"It's how we give thanks for our food." Kaorin added as she began serving herself. "It's kind of like saying "Itadakimasu!", but more formally."
"Oh, I see." Kagura answered. "So, wait, how come you just don't say that?"
"It's because we're Christian." Kaorin's mother answered. "Which reminds me, you two have to be in bed early, we have church tomorrow."
"Oh yes, I totally forgot." Kaorin turned to her friend Kagura. "Hey, Kagura, do you want to come with us to church tomorrow?"
"Yeah, you should totally come!" Chihiro added.
"Hmm." Kagura thought for a moment. "Sure! It sounds like it'll be fun!"
"That's great! That gives us more time to hang out!" Kaorin excitedly replied.
"So Kagura," Kaorin's mother began to ask as they were all eating dinner, "how did you two meet? Kaorin hasn't mentioned you before." She used her chopsticks to make an imaginary line between Kaorin and the tomboy. "Hm?" Kagura mumbled with a mouthful food in her mouth. She quickly swallowed and answered the women. "Oh, we're both in Class 3."
"I see I see. That makes sense."
"Who else from our class do you know?" Kagura inquired.
"Hmm, let me see." Kaorin's mother took a moment to think. "Well, Kaorin mentioned a very smart grade school student, and the Osakan transfer student. I think she also mentioned a girl named Tomi?"
"It's Tomo, mom." Kaorin politely corrected her mom.
"Mom?" Chihiro teased. Kaorin went red very fast.
"Yes, I called her that because she's my mom." Kaorin refuted. Chihiro giggled to herself.
"Oh, Chihiro, don't tease her." Kaorin's mother told the other guest. Kagura looked over and saw that Kaorin had gone bright red. She was looking down and eating quietly out of her bowl.
"What's she teasing her about?" Kagura asked the woman. The mother looked over at her daughter. "Is it ok if I tell her, sweetie?"
Kaorin looked up at Kagura for a moment, who stared back not knowing what to think. The girl turned back over to her mother and nodded her head, before looking back down at her bowl. "Well, you see," Kaorin's mom began before Kaorin herself cut her off.
"I call my mom "Mommy" instead of mom."
She looked up from her bowl and made direct eye contact with Chihiro. There was silence for a moment.
"That's cool." Said Kagura, who then resumed eating her meal. Kaorin breathed a sigh of relief and went back to eating aswell. Eager to start another conversation, Kaorin's mom tried to think of another classmate that Kaorin had mentioned.
"Oh!" She remembered. "Kaorin had a sleepover with another girl, recently. Her name was Sakaki, right?"
Kaorin went a shade of raspberry.
"Yes, that was her name." Kaorin said. Kagura's eyes lit up after hearing this.
"Hey, I know Sakaki!" She excitedly claimed.
"Do you?" Her mother asked.
"Yeah! Me and her are practically best friends. We walk home together from school most days. There's actually this one cat that we almost always pass by..."
Kagura began to relay story after story about the adventures and walks she had been on with Sakaki. Kaorin listened patiently with a smile on her face, because she was happy that her friend had been lifted out of her slump.