Chapter 5.4
“Hey, Miu-tan?”
“…”
“Miu-tan? Could you mute your video, please?”
“No! Then I can’t hear the music!”
I look up from my biology textbook.
The six of us are all huddled around a table that was not designed to fit six people.
Left of me are Mizuno-kun and then Kawabe-kun.
To my right sit Hina-chan, then Morita Nanami, then Kurokawa Miu.
Kurokawa-san—short, skinny, and loud—lost a literal game of rock-paper-scissors and wound up sitting across from me (no connection, I hope). She currently has her phone set on top of her closed textbook and is using it to watch some kind of dance video.
Out loud.
With no earbuds.
Morita-san—science club president and class rep for a bunch of 1st-years who aren’t me—is having none of it.
“Maybe you could listen to the music later?” she tries. “It’s making it a bit harder for people to study, you know?”
Kurokawa-san looks over at the boys in the room as if she’d forgotten we were here.
Mizuno-kun and me staring through our textbooks. Kawabe-kun looking a bit too happy to be sitting next to her.
She screws up her face.
“They don’t seem to be doing much studying anyways,” she says.
Morita-san seems about to respond, but Hina-chan cuts in instead.
“I have an idea,” Hina-chan says. “How about you quiz me with my flashcards, Miu-tan? It would help me out a ton, and it’d probably be more fun than studying by yourself.”
Kurokawa-san makes a face.
“I dunno…” she says. “That still sounds kinda boring.”
“Well, sometimes we do boring things for people we care about,” Morita-san says. The few times I’ve met her before she’s always seemed a little prim, but now a slight edge is creeping into her voice.
Hina-chan must hear it too because she cuts in again.
“I think what Nana-chan means,” she says, “is that studying isn’t really about how fun it is in the moment. It’s about what you get out of it. Right?”
Hina-chan looks to Morita-san for confirmation, who grimaces for a second and then nods.
“Okay…” Kurokawa-san says. “So what do I get out of helping you with your flashcards?”
“I’ll buy you a can of juice or something,” Hina-chan says.
“Or you could just do it to help your friend out,” Morita-san says, and I see both the other girls tense.
This time Kurokawa-san speaks first.
“That’s rich, coming from the person who canceled our movie morning to study!”
“I didn’t ‘cancel our movie’,” she says. “The theater canceled it because their plumbing broke. Then we came here to study because Hina-chan was kind enough to invite us.”
Not technically her apartment, but whatever.
“Yeah, they canceled that showing, but they were gonna give us free tickets to a later showing! FREE TICKETS, Nana-chan!”
“Technically,” Hina-chan adds, “if you already paid for tickets, then they’re not free.”
“We already paid for the tickets, Nana-chan!”
Morita-san shoots Hina-chan a ‘whose side are you on?’ glare.
“And like I said this morning,” Morita-san says, “you were more than welcome to go without me. Instead, you chose to come here.”
“Well, yeah!” Kurokawa-san scoffs. “I wasn’t gonna go alone. What kind of friendless loser goes to the movies alone? I’d probably get hit on by some weird creeps. Or have to buy my own popcorn.”
Weird options, but whatever.
“You could give my ticket to someone else,” Morita-san offers. “One of the girls from class, maybe? Or… any secret crushes you’ve been hiding?”
Morita-san’s tone lightens at the end, but Kurokawa-san just pouts.
“On a few hours’ notice? Get real.”
Morita-san’s tone un-lightens, and she lets out a frustrated sigh.
“Well, I don’t know what you want from me.”
“What I wanted from you—from both of you—was just to go see this one movie! Instead, you, Nana-chan, basically ditched me at the theater. And Hina-chan ditched me before then to hang out with her stupid boyfriend. No offense, Boyfriend-kun.”
“Wait, how am I not—”
“Okay,” Hina-chan cuts me off, then squeezes my shoulder in what I assume is apology. “Nobody ‘ditched’ anybody.”
Kurokawa-san folds her arms.
“Feels like it,” she grumbles.
“I know,” Hina-chan coos. “And I really am sorry today’s movie plans fell through. Right now, though, can we please find some way for everybody to coexist for, like, the next hour?”
God, a whole fucking hour.
Kurokawa-san and Morita-san both glance down at the phone where a group of idols are doing a synchronized hip-wiggle.
“What if I just… turn it down a little?” Kurokawa-san offers.
“How far down?” Morita-san asks.
“By like…” Kurokawa-san picks up her phone and gives it a few squeezes. The music quiets. “…that much?”
Morita-san looks unconvinced, but Hina-chan cuts in again. Has she always done that?
“How about we try it,” she says, “and if it’s still distracting, we revisit negotiations?”
Kurokawa-san grins.
“I accept these terms.”
Morita-san rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too.
Kurokawa-san sets her phone back down on the table. It’s a little less muffled on a flat surface than it was in her hand, but it should be good enough. I’m usually pretty good at ignoring things if I try hard enough.
“There,” she says. “Peace in our time.”
Right.
Peace.
Now let’s just hope it stays that way.
-----
It does not.
I honestly can’t tell if she’s doing it on purpose or not, but bit by bit the volume on Kurokawa-san’s phone has crept back up. If anything, it might actually be louder than it was before.
Hina-chan has been sitting with her back to me while Morita-san helps with her flashcards, but now she turns her head to look over at Kurokawa-san.
“Miu-tan?”
No answer.
“Miu-taaan?”
“Hm?” She doesn’t look up.
“The volume?”
“Yeah…”
Neither her gaze nor the volume buttons move.
“…Miu-tan?”
No answer again.
Hina-chan’s shoulders rise and fall as she lets out a long breath, turning back to Morita-san.
I still can’t see Hina-chan’s face during the silent conversation that follows. What I definitely do see is Morita-san doing that weird eye-point thing at Kurokawa-san and Hina-chan nodding in affirmation.
Game on, I guess.
Hina-chan starts them off.
“So,” she says in a breezy tone, “I still haven’t seen Love Among The Herons yet—if we survive finals, you wanna see it with me, Nana-chan?”
Now Kurokawa-san’s head snaps up.
“Huh?But that’s the one we were just—”
“Yeah, definitely!” Morita-san cuts her off. Her face is all smiles now. “Maybe next weekend?”
“Works for me!” Hina-chan smiles back. “Now, about this calculus pro—”
“Hey!” Kurokawa-san squeaks out in betrayal. “So you really are ditching me!”
The oh-so-totally-surprised Hina-chan blinks.
“No, we’re not,” she says through a smile that’s all fucking sunshine and innocence. “We’re still right here.”
“Yeah, but you’re still going to my movie,” Kurokawa-san pouts.
“Oh, did you wanna come along?” Morita-san asks oh-so-casually.
“Well, not if you guys are gonna be mean about it!”
“Okay, no more being mean,” Hina-chan says. “We promise.”
“Well… okay, then,” Kurokawa-san mumbles.
“So… you did want to come?” Morita-san tries again.
Kurokawa-san glares.
“Yes,” she forces out. “I want to go to the movie.”
“Okay!” Morita-san says brightly, then makes the fakest ‘oh, I totally just thought of something!’ face I’ve ever seen. An actress she is not.
“Oh, but wait a minute,” she says through fake worry. “We’re going as a reward for passing our finals. So I’m not sure we can let just anybody come along.”
“It’s true,” Hina-chan chimes in. “I think it might be a group only for people who have passed their finals.”
“Makes sense to me,” Morita-san says. “Wouldn’t be much of a reward otherwise.”
They both nod sagely.
Kurokawa-san looks between the two of them.
“I hate you both,” she mutters, and Hina-chan and Morita-san burst out laughing. “Haaaaate.”
Morita-san’s still smiling when she picks the flashcards back up.
“So… study time?”
Kurokawa-san deflates.
“Uuuggggghhhhh but studying is boooorinnnnggggg.”
“Suit yourself,” Morita-san says with a shrug. “If you think you don’t need to study, then I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
Kurokawa-san re-inflates.
“It’s okay, Nana-chan. Not everyone can be a super-genius like me.”
Morita-san snorts.
“Or have someone to cover for them if they mess up.”
It takes barely half a second for Morita-san’s eyes to widen. She can tell that she’s gone too far.
Mizuno-kun glances up nervously while Kawabe-kun has found something on the ceiling to be enthralled with.
Kurokawa-san’s jaw sets.
“Could you leave my sister out of this, please?”
Morita-san nods.
“Of course,” she says in a tone of genuine remorse. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Kurokawa-san’s scowl deepens for a second as she seems to ponder the apology, then she lets out a sigh.
“It’s okay, I guess,” she mumbles. “Oh, but you guys aren’t allowed to go to the movie without me, okay?!”
“Tell you what,” Hina-chan says. “Study for the rest of the session—actually study—and we promise we won’t go without you. That work for you, Nana-chan?”
Morita-san gives a brief ‘boo compromise’ grimace, but quickly relents.
Is Hina-chan psychic? At this point I feel like she might be psychic.
Kurokawa-san softens.
“Fiiiiine,” she whines. “We can study.”
Hina-chan and Morita-san give a collective cheer, and before I know it they’re both on their feet wrapping Kurokawa-san in something that’s half hug, half vice grip, and half flanking maneuver.
Kurokawa-san, for her part, is having none of it.
“Ew, ew, ew, getoff,” she laughs, and both her captors give their goodbyes—Hina-chan a final squeeze and Morita-san a kiss on the cheek—before letting themselves be pushed away.
“So… study time?” Morita-san says as she settles back into her seat.
“Yes!” Kurokawa-san chirps like a dog whistle. “We shall redouble our efforts—no, retriple our efforts!”
Then I think she tries to jump up and do like a fist-pump or something, but we’re all packed in so close all she does is kinda bounce a little and elbow Kawabe-kun in the side.
Morita-san smiles.
Hina-chan smiles.
Kawabe-kun rubs his side, looking in pain, annoyed, and maybe a little turned on, which I’m definitely not thinking about for longer than I have to.
People start repositioning their various books and electronics, and…
Yeah.
No.
I think I need a minute after… whatever the fuck all that was.
I push myself up from the table, and Hina-chan tracks my movement.
“I’m gonna go check the mail,” I tell her. Everyone. No one in particular.
“Now?” Hina-chan asks hesitantly. I apparently popped her friend bubble, and she sounds more like she did when it was just the two of us earlier.
“Now,” I repeat and leave the room.