June 12th, 2024

"Gah! It's so boring," Satoko complained from where on her stomach with her cheek propped against one fist, kicking her feet lazily in the air as she watched Rika swirl in front of their mirror, inspecting the uniform that Kimiyoshi-ojisan had sent along.

"It's refined," Rika argued. "It's made from a special luxury fabric."

"Bo-ring." Satoko made sure to draw the syllables out long and sharp, and then her nose wrinkled. "It's so… monotone! And we aren't allowed to do anything to make it fancier?"

Rika blinked at her, letting the pleated folds of the skirt slip from between her fingers as it swished back into place around her knees.

"Fancier?" A twinkle of slyness came into those wine-dark eyes. "What kind of fancier are you thinking of, my dear Satoko?"

Satoko preened, but only momentarily; she had a fashion education to deliver.

"Well, for starters, do something about that big blob of grey!" she scoffed. "The tie's red, so maybe some darker red lining for the inside of the blazer?"

Satoko waved her free hand aimlessly, closing her eyes.

"Whatever dumb fancy name for navy-red there is, that color –so it'll match the skirt, tonally. And then, for that matter, either switch the skirt to be red or the tie to be blue! Blue skirt, red tie?! Yuck!"

"The uniforms are traditional, so I don't think they can change them so easily," Rika argued gently, although she was smiling.

"It doesn't blend together, is all I'm saying," Satoko grumbled in return, pouting at her best friend. "And we have to wear it every day."

"We had to wear school clothes every day so far," Rika said, and the twinkle in her eye was definitely teasing.

"We got to pick them, and we looked good," Satoko replied haughtily, lifting her nose in the air.

Rika laughed like a tinkling windchime, and something in Satoko's heart unwrapped, eased.

When they came to St. Lucia's a few weeks later, it was squished together shoulder-to-shoulder on the train, peering eagerly out of the windows and talking a mile a minute, interspersing discussions of what the school would be like with journey-games, like spotting landmarks or making up stories about the things they saw.

Rika started to fuss with her hair as they got off the train and walked down the sidewalk, trying to make sure every single strand lay smooth. Satoko just laughed and grabbed her hand, tugging her onwards through the spiraling cascade of petals falling like confetti from the trees.

"Who cares what you look like?" Satoko asked, dragging her suitcase rapidly along behind her in her other hand. "We all look the same anyway!"

"That's not true and you know it, Satokoooo!" Rika wailed as they jogged along, although her own eyes were crinkling with delight and her mouth tilted up in a helpless, giddy smile. She shook her head, lashing her long hair at Satoko, and the falling blossoms that had landed on it flew off, dashing harmlessly against Satoko's face and neck. "Ha! Take that!"

"Ah, nooo!"

Laughing, they ran kept running the sunny avenue towards the distant gate, hearts full of joy and the world full of color.

Not once did their hands let go of each other.

11.33 AM, USA Central Time