Harlington Residence, 12th of September 2015, 1000 hours:
It was all quiet on Saturday morning. Both Alisia and her mother Maria were sleeping in peace when suddenly there was a knock from the front door. Maria woke up, leaving Alisia still on the bed, and headed towards the front door after wearing some slippers.
She then reached towards the door handle and opened it, revealing Miyuki, Anoki, and also Lily. "Oh, hello Lily, as usual, visiting her, yes?" Maria said in a friendly tone before looking at the other two, who were wearing tankery uniforms. "Who might you two be?" Marie looked towards Miyuki and Anoki with a friendly look.
"A-Ah, Konnich- Uhh. I forgot... How to uhh?" Miyuki tried to greet Maria, but due to rarely being greeted by a parent, she got nervous.
"Ah, good morning, Ms. Harlington; we're Alisia's friend from the tankery club. We're here to meet Alisia. My name is Anoki Starhawk, and this is Miyuki Anderson." Anoki said it in a friendly tone, bowing slightly.
"M-Morning..." Miyuki also bowed before she continued. "We're here to visit Alisia because Alisia forgot to come to the school for some cleaning... It's dealt with though; we're visiting since we promised to come and visit her."
"Alisia... Has another friend?" Maria froze for a while; she was unable to believe it. Alisia was making other friends. She then welcomed them in with a wider and happier smile. "Sure! Come in, you three." Marie said it in a more friendly manner and invited the three into the house, leading them towards the living room, which is in between the kitchen and dining table with the fireplace. "Make yourself at home!"
"Her mom looks so different with Alisia." Said Anoki in a low tone, complimenting.
"Yeah, she looks so different. She's pretty too." Miyuki whispered back.
"Please sit down; I'll make something for you three." Marie then headed towards the kitchen, making some sweet, warm honey tea, feeling happy that Alisia had made more friends.
Meanwhile, Miyuki looked around the living room at the pictures in the fireplace. There were dozens and dozens of pictures hanging on the wall. There were many family photos and graduation photos around, and Miyuki noticed the lack of photos with Alisia in them before asking Maria.
"Uh, Ms. Harlington. I noticed Alisia isn't in many of the photos here."
Maria heard and looked back towards Miyuki, "Hmm? Oh, that's because Alisia spent most of her early childhood in Japan. I'll show the other photos of her after this."
Then, Maria came with four cups on a tray, and she placed them down on the table. "Here you go, and wait here." She then went towards the storage room, and while that was happening, Alisia was walking out of her mother's room, limping out with her eyes fluttering up and down. She heard some noises from the living room and headed there to see Miyuki, Anoki, and Lily.
"Eh? What are you two doing here?" Asked Alisia, jolted awake by Anoki's and Miyuki's presence.
"Ehh? Don't you remember?" I asked Miyuki with a confused look.
"Alisia has a faulty memory. She doesn't even remember me from the first day of school, even though we literally met and saw each other for three years straight." Lily stated.
"Lily... Don't." Alisia groaned, slapping her own face with her palm.
"Hehe... Alisia still has that morning hair... Still sleepy, princess?" Miyuki teased.
Alisia remained quiet; she then glared at Miyuki with a look that could kill, offended by the teasing, still tired.
"A-Ahh, sumimasen!" Miyuki bowed down apologetically.
Then, Alisia's mother returned with a box, looking at the commotion and asking, "What happened?"
She then looked down at Alisia, who was still a bit moody. "Jeez, what happened? You were never like this before." She began stroking Alisia's hair, which caused Alisia to all of a sudden flinch and giggle.
"S-Stop..." Alisia's face turned red from the touches on her messy, long, soft, dark brown hair.
Her mother gave a surprised look. "My, I don't remember your hair being this sensitive."
Miyuki approached, "Wow, she's so cute..." She giggled, looking at Alisia and making a face.
Anoki approached, looking at Alisia. "She's so different than the one we saw yesterday."
"Nah, only you two, not me," said Lily.
"Eh? You've seen her like this?" Asked Miyuki.
"Yeah. She's pretty weak towards him." Just as Lily was about to say something, Alisia glared at her. Lily then stops and goes quiet. "Yeah, I would rather not say..."
"Jeez, Alisia, what's the matter?" Maria looked down at her, still hugging her. She then looked at Lily and said, "So, Lily, how was Alisia in the club?" She asked.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, but I didn't join. Parents prohibited me." Said Lily.
"Oh, I see..." Alisia's mother then looked down again at Alisia.
"Hey, Lily... Who's the other person Alisia has a soft spot for?" Asked Miyuki.
Just as Lily's about to answer, Alisia glared again, stopping Lily from talking further. Lily just shakes her head.
"Well... Anyways." Maria then let Alisia off and headed towards the box she brought earlier, putting it down on the lower table.
"What is this?" Asked Alisia, with a curious look on her face.
"Hmm? Oh, it's your old photos from the past, which I'm about to show to your friends."
Alisia blushed red and immediately rushed to shut the box. "No!"
"Ehh... Dōshite? Nani ka hazukashī koto demo?" Asked Miyuki.
Alisia went quiet, looking down with a still-red face. "I just don't like showing off old photos!"
"Well, I won't force you..." Her mother then took the box, about to return it to the storage room.
"Well... That was awkward... I want to see what's in your old photos. But I won't force you either. It's your private stuff anyway." Said Anoki in an understanding tone, giving a smile.
"Yeah, you can keep it to yourself! No worries, Alisia," said Miyuki in a friendly tone.
Alisia is conflicted; she doesn't want to reveal her old photos, but on the other side, she also wants to be more open. She thought for a while before then sighing. "Fine, you all can." Said Alisia with a red face.
"Ehh? Seriously?" Said Miyuki.
"Yeah..." Alisia then looked back at her mother, about to enter the storage room. "Mom, can you take the box back, please?" Asked Alisia,
Her mother looked back towards Alisia before nodding, "Well, sure." Then, her mother returned back to the living room, putting the box back on the lower table, then opened it, revealing a dusty collection of albums and photos. Miyuki looked in first, taking one of the photos, revealing Alisia to be very short and wearing a yellow dress and hat. Her hair barely reached her shoulders.
"Wahh! Kawaii!" Miyuki said in an excited tone, looking at one of the photos.
Alisia turned red from embarrassment, covering her face with both her hands. "Stop staring at it for too long!"
"Hehe. Alisia is so cute." Miyuki complimented.
Then Anoki took another picture, revealing another picture of Alisia being somewhat chubby. "Hehe. Alisia looks so chubby here."
"H-Hey!" Alisia turned crimson red. "I don't show it off to make fun of myself!"
Miyuki then looked back toward Lily. "You're not joining?" She asked.
Lily is seated there, laying back, "I've already seen it..."
"Oh, I bet you haven't seen some!" Miyuki said, trying to encourage Lily to come.
Lily sighed and got up from her seat. "Fine..."
Anoki then took another photo; this time, Alisia is seen wearing a khaki long-sleeved shirt with a knee-length skirt with white socks and black shoes, holding hands with a tall blonde-haired girl with blue eyes wearing pretty much the same clothing as her in front of a school.
"Uhh, Ms. Harlington?" I asked Anoki, looking at Maria.
"Yes? Is there anything you want to ask?" Maria asked in a friendly tone.
"Who is this girl right here?" Anoki pointed at the blonde girl inside the picture, with Alisia standing just beside the girl, her height reaching the blonde's hip.
Alisia's mother then took the photo and looked closer, before replying, "Ah, this is her cousin, Margaret. They used to live together when my husband and I were busy with some work."
"Oh! This is the cousin Alisia mentioned before." Miyuki nodded. "Their hair color is different, though."
"Well, we have a massive family branch that married different people across the world. Alisia and her shared the same great great great grandfather, or, in a more simple explanation, similar ancestry." Maria stated.
"Oh, I see. Interesting." Anoki nodded, now interested. Anoki then took some other photos, many of which were of Alisia with the blonde girl. "They look so close. Are they?" she asked.
"Very... Alisia used to live with her family more than ours when we were in Japan, because we rarely went home; sometimes we would be out for a week or a month." Maria explained. "We rarely look after Alisia, so I guess that explains their relationship."
Alisia remained quiet the whole conversation, just watching as the conversation unfolded. She then sat down on the chair, her eyes still half closed, tired.
"Come on, Alisia... It's morning already; wake up." Maria said while shaking her. But Alisia was still half asleep, unable to move. Her mother sighed before she looked at the warm tea she just made earlier. She took one and handed it over to Alisia. "Here... Drink this; you'll feel better.
Alisia looked at the cup before slowly taking it and sipping it, before suddenly spitting it. Her eyes widened. "Ugh! What did you put in this, mom?!" Said Alisia in a disgusted tone, spitting all of the contents inside her mouth back to the cup.
"What?" Maria was confused. Before then, she looked at the tea box she pulled out to make tea earlier, noticing the label, 'Liptons'. Her face turned red from embarrassment. "Oops... Sorry."
Anoki and Miyuki giggled before then laughing, followed by Maria's embarassed laughter. "Oh well, I will change it. Please wait here!" She then got up, took the cups, and returned back to the kitchen to make new tea from the other box.
"Your mother's a bit funny... Isn't she...?" Anoki teased.
"Shut up..." Alisia glared, still in her chair, now awake after drinking the tea from earlier. She's coughing out the lipton inside her mouth.
Then Lily began asking Miyuki. "So, Miyuki, why did you move to Canada?" she asked in a tired tone.
"Hmm? Uhh... It's because, well, my father has a relative in Canada; he and my mother wanted me to be raised in a stress-free environment." Miyuki answered. "Or that's what I know so far."
"Huh? How stressful?" Lily was now more interested, asking more.
Just as Miyuki was about to answer, Alisia replied. "It sucked..."
Lily was slightly surprised; she asked Alisia. "Huh? You were there too."
"Says the one who said I have a faulty memory... Who's the one faulty now?" Alisia said it in an annoyed tone.
"...Sorry." Lily looked down; some blush was seen on her face.
There was silence, and then Maria returned with new cups of tea. "Here, this one is Alisia's favorite."
Then the four took the cups, and Alisia took a sip, now fully awake. "Ahh. That feels nice," said Alisia in a relaxed tone as she sat back on the sofa, enjoying her cup.
"Mhm! This tea feels sweet; I don't feel much sugar here... Ms. Harlington, can I ask something?" Miyuki looked toward Maria.
"Sure, what is it?" I asked Maria while looking at Miyuki with an eye of full attention.
"Why is Alisia so short? I wonder." Asked Miyuki.
Alisia spat her tea, and before then she turned towards Miyuki, giving her a sharp glare in the eye, which caused Miyuki to shiver in fear. She gulped. But then Maria stared at Alisia. "Alisia, don't be that hostile towards your friends, or are you having anger management issues?" Maria said it in a stern tone. Alisia went quiet, breaking eye contact, and just remained seated, looking down. Then Maria looked back at Miyuki and said, "Ah, don't worry too much about her; she won't hit or bite. To answer your question earlier. Well, she was born prematurely."
"Ehh, Naruhodo..." Miyuki nodded after knowing the answer. Before she asked another question, "Can I ask another? Why is Alisia different from you? Different hair color and all."
"Oh, well. Alisia shared more similarities with her father." Maria answered.
The conversation continued, talking about life, family, past lives, and church. Until then, it's dawn, and Miyuki, Anoki, and Lily are about to leave. "Ms. Harlington, may I ask something?" Asked Miyuki,
"Sure, what is it?" Maria leaned in to hear.
"What tea is this? I like it so much." Said Miyuki,
"Yeah, I might ask my mother to get it, so please?" Anoki also asked,
"Well..." Maria halted before she continued. "It was Darjeelings."