Work Text:
I put on my uniform. The Otori family is always stuffy about wearing the correct attire the moment you enter their estate. I learned this the hard way when I almost lost my job a week in, just for wearing my usual stuff, Emu tried to intervene when one of her brothers was scolding me. I do this side job every summer, the pay is enough to last a whole school year.
I hate wearing this every day. It's your usual run-off-the-mill maid attire, just more fitted and snug. It wasn't my working hours yet so I went outside of the comfort room as I grab my pack of Marlboro Ice Blast Mega and a lighter, the name sounds weird but when you go on to try it, it tastes exactly how the name is.
I exit the estate as I observe the exterior. I grabbed a cigarette from the pack, I tried igniting my lighter but it doesn't seem to last for more than a second. It was very windy outside so I tried even harder as I blocked the end of my cigarette with my mere hands. It was also 10 degrees outside, so I was shivering with all of my might.
Eventually, I finally got the cancer stick to ignite. I inhaled from it deeply that I might as well finish the whole thing in one puff. I exhale as dopamine kicks into my brain almost immediately. I have a lot to handle this day as the Otori family is always very timely and fast-paced. I always have to follow their orders on time or else I would get scolded.
I saw a black car pulling over the parking lot. I then saw a purple-haired boy inside the car window as he opens it to go outside. It was Rui.
“Hello, Nene!” He waved over to me as he picked up his pace, I continued to puff away with my cigarette in hand.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked as he hugs me.
“You must be kidding, Nene. It’s National School Decision Day. I came over here just to check on Emu’s application. This day is very important and I felt that knowing Emu’s application through a text would devalue it. So, I decided to come here.”
“What about yours?”
“I got accepted in advanced,” That was expected, I thought. I’ve known Rui Kamishiro for my whole childhood and he’s always been knowledgeable enough to go to any school of his choice. The Kamishiro family is known for how smart they are, being a genius is hereditary for them.
I put out my cigarette as I felt lightheaded for a few seconds. I loved the feeling of nicotine.
“Hey! Didn’t you promise you’d quit by next week?” I got startled by a loud squeaky voice. Then I noticed it was Emu glaring at us through the window, she’s been watching us the entire time. She pointed to my cigarette butt as I tried to hide it.
It was just empty promises. It’s the equivalent of saying to a kid that Santa is real because you’d be too scared to break the kid’s heart. Though I think Emu still believes in Santa, so that is a bad example.
“I’ll quit next week Emu, I swear"
She then returned to her usual grinning face as she signals us to come inside. Her trust in me was very cute. Rui opened the door and he held it for me. I came inside. Rui took off his shoes the moment he came in and I put his shoes on the very tall rack.
“Have you checked the results yet?” Rui asked.
“No! I’ve been waiting for you to come over and it felt like hours! I was so close to opening my laptop.” Emu complained.
They both went inside their rooms I grabbed the chair and sat down. I thought about what I'd do today for the house. Laundry, I thought. I first went to their brother's room and got their dirty clothes. Their room was messy and it felt like a whole treasure hunt trying to find all of their clothes as it was scattered throughout the room. Then I went through Emu's room. It was tinier than her brother's but it still managed to be cleaner and felt more spacious there. Her room, to describe it in the best way possible, is like cotton candy. I could taste the sweetness from her room, it was all bright-colored with pastel colors.
I saw Emu and Rui hanging out by the bed and I got a bit jealous. I used to be closer friends with Rui when we were children and I don't know what happened between us. Maybe the gap between our money finally caught up to our friendship like a deadly disease. I overheard their conversation:
"How about you check the application right now?" Rui asked Emu as her eyes lit up.
"Nene! Come over here!" Emu signaled.
"I'm doing laundry," I say as I present her the dirty clothes I had on my hands.
"No! I'll do mine for you. This means a lot to me, so you should come here with us!" Emu got out of her bed and she grabbed my left hand. She was so fast that it made me drop the dirty laundry. I loved the feeling of her hand. Her hand was soft and cold. I was ashamed of mine as it reeked of cigarettes. I sat beside Emu as Rui sat on the other side. Emu was in the middle as she crutched her laptop and opened it. Emu is different from the Otori family. She's always been kind to me ever since the start of my job. Sometimes it even feels like she's coddling me from my job when I'm the one who should be taking care of her.
I lay my head on her shoulders as it felt nice. I was tired and the day didn't even start yet. She goes by email.
"The internet is so slow!" She says with impatience in her tone as she rolled her eyes.
"Kamiyama school is in Shibuya right? That’s like miles away from the estate” I say.
“It’s a boarding school Nene” Rui says as he fixes his hair.
“So I won’t get to see Emu that much anymore?” I say, hiding the discontent in my voice. Emu was my favorite in this household, the only person I really liked that had the common decency to respect me here. I’m gonna miss her, I thought.
“Will you miss me Nene?”
They both looked at me, waiting for my reply. I did not answer that question. I sulked in silence as I stared at the laptop. The website page loaded in finally as I was the first one who got a glance at it.
From Kamiyama Boarding School, it read:
“Dear Ms. Otori,
I am delighted to inform you that the Commission of Admissions has admitted you to the Class of……”
That was all I read. That was enough for me. They both turn back at the laptop as their eyes gleamed with excitement. On the other hand, I did not know what to feel. As a worker for the Otori family, I always want the best for everyone I work for. But I will admit, it was painful seeing Emu about to move away from here.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom for a bit….” I added.
“Stay for a bit Nene! I want to celebrate this with you guys!” She grabs a whole cake from her mini fridge.
“You’re really holding me from taking a piss huh?”
“Oh never mind, you should go! But come back, okay?”
I nod as I step outside of the pastel-themed room and head for the restroom. I grab my vape immediately and start hitting it. I always intake nicotine whenever I feel stressed out. I barely vape but it wasn't the time to go outside and have a smoke. I sit on the toilet covers. Then the tears start rushing out. I did not know what to feel, but right now I am sad. It wasn’t the only time I’d cried in this restroom before. But it was the first time that my reasons for crying weren't because someone from the Otori family scolded me for the littlest mistakes I do.
By the time I came back, the whole cake was almost finished, and the dirty laundry was gone.
“I took care of the laundry for you, Nene!” Emu says with her mouth full from the cake.
“You really didn’t have to do that…”
“It’s okay, sit!” Emu pointed to the empty chair. Rui grinned at the email as he was rereading it. He was a very supportive friend. Emu offered me cake. I did not want to eat it, mainly because it seemed like she just wanted to finish it for herself.
“Are you okay Nene? Your eyes look a bit worn out.” She plays around with my eyes as I realized how red they were. She smelled like strawberry cake.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I paused.
“I’m a bad actor, aren’t I?” I say as we were all silent. I said it in hopes of not making this event about myself when we should be celebrating Emu’s acceptance to the school. But now looking back, I accidentally made it all about myself. I walked out of the room.
A week passed by and we seem to forget about it. We did talk sometimes but not to the extent that we used to. I found myself smoking outside again. This time I switched to Marlboro Reds, it took me a few puffs to get used to it. I saw the mailman put mail from the mailbox as I waited 'til the cigarette finished to go get it. I went to the mailbox and grab the singular piece of mail addressed to "Otori, Emu". I went inside her room and greet her.
"Hi Emu, you have mail by the way." I drop it off by her table.
"Wait a minute Nene. Sit!" Emu lay over her soft bed. I was a bit anxious about what she'd do to me. But I followed her orders as I sat down next to her on the bed. Emu sniffed me like a bomb dog. Shit, I thought. I reeked of tobacco leaf. She didn't ask me if I quit, though I still apologized for it. It became customary for me to ask Emu for another week and then I'd quit smoking, but it never worked so it became like a cycle.
She cups my face. "You have nothing to be sorry about Nene...." Her smile was too contagious. Everyone from the Otori family condemned my smoking habit but Emu was the only one to pity me for it. Though that did not stop me from smoking, I did not know what did.
"About, last week..." She mentioned last week, I thought. I thought we were over last week. I did not want to think of last week ever again. "I'm very sorry Nene!" She blurted out as I saw a pool of tears building up from her pupils. I was immediately confused.
"Um... What're you apologizing for?" I asked
"I mean for all of the things! I'm sorry that my brothers treat you like crap. I'm sorry that I keep persuading you into quitting cigarettes. But the most I'm sorry about is that I was supposed to be moving away. You mean so much to me and I don't want to leave you behind."
"Was supposed to?" I repeated
"Yeah... I'm not going if you aren't with me" She says. I wanted to lie and say it wasn't because of that, but there was no way of explaining why I walked out of the room last time, for no reason at all.
I really did not know what to do with all of this burden. I know Rui wouldn't be so happy if Emu didn't want to enroll in the school too. It's like a cascading effect, I thought. I did not know how to solve it. I didn't think I'd fit in the school either way. The requirements for the prestigious school are basically:
* Can't be seen with a drink or cancer stick in-hand
* Must be in a silver spoon family
* No same-sex relations
* Uniform must be tidy
* No hand-holding or kissing on campus
* And some other customary in-campus rules
* No housekeepers in dorms or on campus, and students must be self-sufficient
The rules dictated the student's life. They did not want to stain the school's reputation one bit.
"I'm just a maid Emu, I'm pretty sure this is just how I'll always be. But for you, you have a bright future ahead of you. Why stunt it because of me?"
She hummed "I don't know", she goes closer and put her head on my chest. She then leaned against me, so far that I landed on the bed. I was taken by surprise, my pupils go all over the place making me look nervous. She looks up at me and grins. I didn't know how she could be so happy at a time like this. She was literally on the verge of losing a spot in a prestigious high school.
Her lips suddenly land on mine. I was taken more aback by surprise.
"Emu did you just kiss your maid?"
"I managed to hide my feelings over the years but I just couldn't hold it! I'm a bad actor, like you Nene"
We laughed. I knew Emu always had something for me over the years and it wouldn't be so far-fetched that I started feeling the same way. She has been helping my family be financially stable considering how much she pays me to be her housekeeper. Someone pops the door open as I immediately got off Emu. I believe Emu being seen with her maid making out is bad. And especially being seen with one of her family would be the end of me. It was Rui. I looked over at Emu for a second as she was frowning.
"I got your text. What's that important thing you want me to talk about?" Rui tilted his head.
"I'm not coming to Kamiyama"
"What?" Rui comes over to us immediately as he observes Emu. Emu asked Rui what he was doing.
"I'm checking to see if you have a fever"
"I don't have a fever!" Emu babbled. She explained her reasons for not enrolling but it just came off unfair for her. I couldn't believe she was doing all of this just for buying some more time with me.
"I could pull some strings and get Nene in for the school? My family knows the dean of the school. Plus my family is the main source for funding the school, they would not be happy that we suddenly pull out funding"
"That's great!" Emu screamed though the idea has not even come to fruition yet. I wasn't certain of the idea yet. The school has always maintained its "elitist" reputation, it's how it's maintained its name across Shibuya. And I would be the one to ruin it all. But maybe some nepotism won't hurt, I thought.
I put on my uniform. The Otori family is always stuffy about wearing the correct attire the moment you enter their estate. I learned this the hard way when I almost lost my job a week in, just for wearing my usual stuff, Emu tried to intervene when one of her brothers was scolding me. I do this side job every summer, the pay is enough to last a whole school year.
I hate wearing this every day. It's your usual run-off-the-mill maid attire, just more fitted and snug. It wasn't my working hours yet so I went outside of the comfort room as I grab my pack of Marlboro Ice Blast Mega and a lighter, the name sounds weird but when you go on to try it, it tastes exactly how the name is.
I exit the estate as I observe the exterior. I grabbed a cigarette from the pack, I tried igniting my lighter but it doesn't seem to last for more than a second. It was very windy outside so I tried even harder as I blocked the end of my cigarette with my mere hands. It was also 10 degrees outside, so I was shivering with all of my might.
Eventually, I finally got the cancer stick to ignite. I inhaled from it deeply that I might as well finish the whole thing in one puff. I exhale as dopamine kicks into my brain almost immediately. I have a lot to handle this day as the Otori family is always very timely and fast-paced. I always have to follow their orders promptly or else I would get scolded.
I saw a black car pulling over the parking lot. I then saw a purple-haired boy inside the car window as he opens it to go outside. It was Rui.
“Hello, Nene!” He waved over to me as he picked up his pace, I continued to puff away with my cigarette in hand.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked as he hugs me.
“You must be kidding, Nene. It’s National School Decision Day. I came over here just to check on Emu’s application. This day is very important and I felt that knowing Emu’s application through a text would devalue it. So, I decided to come here.”
“What about yours?”
“I got accepted in advanced,” That was expected, I thought. I’ve known Rui Kamishiro for my whole childhood and he’s always been knowledgeable enough to go to any school of his choice. The Kamishiro family is known for how smart they are, being a genius is literally hereditary for them.
I put out my cigarette as I felt lightheaded for a few seconds. I loved the feeling of nicotine.
“Hey! Didn’t you promise you’d quit by next week?” I got startled by a loud squeaky voice. Then I noticed it was Emu glaring at us through the window, she’s been watching us the entire time. She pointed to my cigarette butt as I tried to hide it.
It was just empty promises. It’s the equivalent of saying to a kid that Santa is real because you’d be too scared to break the kid’s heart. Though I think Emu still believes in Santa, so that is a bad example.
“I’ll quit next week Emu, I swear"
She then returned to her usual grinning face as she signals us to come inside. Her trust in me was very cute. Rui opened the door and he held it for me. I came inside. Rui took off his shoes the moment he came in and I put his shoes on the very tall rack.
“Have you checked the results yet?” Rui asked.
“No! I’ve been waiting for you to come over and it felt like hours! I was so close to opening my laptop.” Emu complained.
They both went inside their rooms I grabbed the chair and sat down. I thought about what I'd do today for the house. Laundry, I thought. I first went to their brother's room and got their dirty clothes. Their room was messy and it felt like a whole treasure hunt trying to find all of their clothes as it was scattered throughout the room. Then I went through Emu's room. It was tinier than her brother's but it still managed to be cleaner and felt more spacious there. Her room, to describe it in the best way possible, is like cotton candy. I could literally taste the sweetness from her room, it was all bright-colored with pastel colors.
I saw Emu and Rui hanging out by the bed and I got a bit jealous. I used to be closer friends with Rui when we were children and I don't know what happened between us. Maybe the gap between our money finally caught up to our friendship like a deadly disease. I overheard their conversation:
"How about you check the application right now?" Rui asked Emu as her eyes lit up.
"Nene! Come over here!" Emu signaled.
"I'm doing laundry," I say as I present her the dirty clothes I had on my hands.
"No! I'll do mine for you. This really means a lot to me, so you should come here with us!" Emu got out of her bed and she grabbed my left hand. She was so fast that it made me drop the dirty laundry. I loved the feeling of her hand. Her hand was soft and cold. I was ashamed of mine as it reeked of cigarettes. I sat beside Emu as Rui sat on the other side. Emu was in the middle as she crutched her laptop and opened it. Emu is different from the Otori family. She's always been kind to me ever since the start of my job. Sometimes it even feels like she's coddling me from my job when I'm the one who should be taking care of her.
I lay my head on her shoulders as it felt nice. I was tired and the day didn't even start yet. She goes by email.
"The internet is so slow!" She says with impatience in her tone as she rolled her eyes.
"Kamiyama school is in Shibuya right? That’s like miles away from the estate” I say.
“It’s a boarding school Nene” Rui says as he fixes his hair.
“So I won’t get to see Emu that much anymore?” I say, hiding the discontent in my voice. Emu was my favorite in this household, the only person I really liked that had the common decency to respect me here. I’m gonna miss her, I thought.
“Will you miss me Nene?”
They both looked at me, waiting for my reply. I did not answer that question. I sulked in silence as I stared at the laptop. The website page loaded in finally as I was the first one who got a glance at it.
From Kamiyama Boarding School, it read:
“Dear Ms. Otori,
I am delighted to inform you that the Commission of Admissions has admitted you to the Class of……”
That was all I read. That was enough for me. They both turn back at the laptop as their eyes gleamed with excitement. On the other hand, I did not know what to feel. As a worker for the Otori family, I always want the best for everyone I work for. But I will admit, it was painful seeing Emu about to move away from here.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom for a bit….” I added.
“Stay for a bit Nene! I want to celebrate this with you guys!” She grabs a whole cake from her mini fridge.
“You’re really holding me from taking a piss huh?”
“Oh never mind, you should go! But come back, okay?”
I nod as I step outside of the pastel-themed room and head for the restroom. I grab my vape immediately and start hitting it. I always intake nicotine whenever I feel stressed out. I barely vape but it wasn't the time to go outside and have a smoke. I sit on the toilet covers. Then the tears start rushing out. I did not know what to feel, but right now I am sad. It wasn’t the only time I’d cried in this restroom before. But it was the first time that my reasons for crying weren't because someone from the Otori family scolded me for the littlest mistakes I do.
By the time I came back, the whole cake was almost finished, and the dirty laundry was gone.
“I took care of the laundry for you, Nene!” Emu says with her mouth full from the cake.
“You really didn’t have to do that…”
“It’s okay, sit!” Emu pointed to the empty chair. Rui grinned at the email as he was rereading it. He was a very supportive friend. Emu offered me cake. I did not want to eat it, mainly because it seemed like she just wanted to finish it for herself.
“Are you okay Nene? Your eyes look a bit worn out.” She plays around with my eyes as I realized how red they were. She smelled like strawberry cake.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I paused.
“I’m a bad actor, aren’t I?” I say as we were all silent. I said it in hopes of not making this event about myself when we should be celebrating Emu’s acceptance to the school. But now looking back, I accidentally made it all about myself. I walked out of the room.
A week passed by and we seem to forget about it. We did talk sometimes but not to the extent that we used to. I found myself smoking outside again. This time I switched to Marlboro Reds, it took me a few puffs to get used to it. I saw the mailman put mail from the mailbox as I waited 'til the cigarette finished to go get it. I went to the mailbox and grab the singular piece of mail addressed to "Otori, Emu". I went inside her room and greet her.
"Hi Emu, you have mail by the way." I drop it off by her table.
"Wait a minute Nene. Sit!" Emu laid over her soft bed. I was a bit anxious about what she'd do to me. But I followed her orders as I sat down next to her on the bed. Emu sniffed me like a bomb dog. Shit, I thought. I reeked of tobacco leaf. She didn't ask me if I quit, though I still apologized for it. It became customary for me to ask Emu for another week and then I'd quit smoking, but it never worked so it became like a cycle.
She cups my face. "You have nothing to be sorry about Nene...." Her smile was too contagious. Everyone from the Otori family condemned my smoking habit but Emu was the only one to pity me for it. Though that did not stop me from smoking, I did not know what did.
"About, last week..." She mentioned last week, I thought. I thought we were over last week. I did not want to think of last week ever again. "I'm very sorry Nene!" She blurted out as I saw a pool of tears building up from her pupils. I was immediately confused.
"Um... What're you apologizing for?" I asked
"I mean for all of the things! I'm sorry that my brothers treat you like crap. I'm sorry that I keep persuading you into quitting cigarettes. But the most I'm sorry about is that I was supposed to be moving away. You mean so much to me and I don't want to leave you behind."
"Was supposed to?" I repeated
"Yeah... I'm not going if you aren't with me" She says. I wanted to lie and say it wasn't because of that, but there was no way of explaining why I walked out of the room last time, for no reason at all.
I really did not know what to do with all of this burden. I know Rui wouldn't be so happy if Emu didn't want to enroll in the school too. It's like a cascading effect, I thought. I did not know how to solve it. I didn't think I'd fit in the school either way. The requirements for the prestigious school are basically:
* Can't be seen with a drink or cancer stick in-hand
* Must be in a silver spoon family
* No same-sex relations
* Uniform must be tidy
* No hand-holding or kissing on campus
* And some other customary in-campus rules
* No housekeepers in dorms or on campus, so students must be self-sufficient
The rules basically dictated the student's life. They did not want to stain the school's reputation one bit.
"I'm just a maid Emu, I'm pretty sure this is just how I'll always be. But for you, you have a bright future ahead of you. Why stunt it because of me?"
She hummed "I don't know", she goes closer and put her head on my chest. She then leaned against me, so far that I landed on the bed. I was taken by surprise, my pupils go all over the place making me look nervous. She looks up at me and grins. I didn't know how she could be so happy at a time like this. She was literally on the verge of losing a spot in a prestigious high school.
Her lips suddenly land on mine. I was taken more aback by surprise.
"Emu did you just kiss your maid?"
"I managed to hide my feelings over the years but I just couldn't hold it! I'm a bad actor, like you Nene"
We laughed. I knew Emu always had something for me over the years and it wouldn't be so far-fetched that I started feeling the same way. She has been helping my family be financially stable considering how much she pays me to be her housekeeper. Someone pops the door open as I immediately got off Emu. I believe Emu being seen with her maid making out is bad. And especially being seen with one of her family would definitely be the end of me. It was Rui. I looked over at Emu for a second as she was frowning.
"I got your text. What's that important thing you want me to talk about?" Rui tilted his head.
"I'm not coming to Kamiyama"
"What?" Rui comes over to us immediately as he observes Emu. Emu asked Rui what he was doing.
"I'm checking to see if you have a fever"
"I don't have a fever!" Emu babbled. She explained her reasons for not enrolling but it just came off unfair for her. I couldn't believe she was doing all of this just for buying some more time with me.
"I could pull some strings and get Nene in for the school? My family knows the dean of the school. Plus my family is the main source for funding the school, they would not be happy that we suddenly pull out funding"
"That's great!" Emu screamed though the idea has not even come to fruition yet. I wasn't certain of the idea yet. The school have always had this its "elitist" reputation, it's how it's maintained its name across Shibuya. And I would be the one to ruin it all. But maybe some nepotism won't hurt, I thought. Rui smiled as he pat Emu's shoulders.
"You know, I didn't expect you to do all of this for Nene. You really are a thoughtful friend, Emu" Rui mentioned as Emu nods to his words. "Friend", I repeated Rui's words on my mind. I didn't want to be just a friend for Emu, and I think she also feels the same way. Emu got out of the bed and pulled out a piece of lollipop from her desk. Emu had a thing for sweets, and I emphasize that very much. Ever since middle school, I've always seen her with a sweet once a day. It's surprising how she hasn't gained lot from her eating regime.
After Rui left, we were all alone again. I looked over at the pink-haired. Her hair color looked so sweet I could chew it off like it was gum, but she wouldn't like that. I didn't have so many things to do for the day. I attempted to leave her room but she stopped me. "Nene! Please stay for a little bit more...'" She spoke a little bit softer the more she got into the sentence. It was night time so I assumed she wanted to have a sleepover. I usually sleep in the living room and usually, that is enough for me since their couch is very comfy, but her bed is incomparable to the couch.
We talked and talked and she bragged over how cool the school was. Though we were not even sure yet if the plan would work, I listened to her closely as that might be my school too. I did not care one bit about the school experience, I just wanted to be with her for the whole high school. Emu looked and observed the thing in my pocket. It was a weird shape and it was definitely not a pack of cigarettes, my phone, or my wallet which is what I usually only carried. It was my vape, I usually hit it once in a while when I'm just too tired to light a cigarette.
"What's this?" Emu picked up my pocket without my permission as I hesitated for a second.
"You had a vape this whole time Nene? Why couldn't you just use this over the dangerous sticks?" She looked upset. Maybe she did not expect that I could afford this device over cigarettes. But now that she knows about this fact she's mad over the fact that I'd prefer the more harmful one. I told her I prefer fire instead of vapor. Truth is, I could not actually afford it, the pods were so much more expensive than the pack of cigarettes.
"I don't think that's a valid reason" She crossed her arms. "I can fund your vaping habit if it meant you would quit the bad, bad sticks Nene!" "I'm sorry Nene, I don't think I should accept that" I couldn't believe the words in my mouth. But I was tired of being coddled all the time. I did not want someone to pay for my nicotine habits because they were already helping me get into a prestigious school. I believe that's enough already.
"You know, you always try to reject my help. I care for you Nene, I've always had. We've been friends for years now, and I can't believe you don't already know that!"
It took me a while to think about it. There was a few seconds of silence. I did not say anything. Instead, I nodded, and that was enough for her to be happy again. She landed her hands on mine as we both lay on the bed together. She fell asleep very fast. I would say it was about under 5 minutes, but I had no perception of time since my phone was not with me at the time. I started to close my eyes but I did not want to let go of the moment.
Before long, we found ourselves in the bed again. I did not remember my dream, I never do. It was morning and we both looked like trash. Emu's hair was frizzy and her eye bags were prominent. I did not know how that happened overnight considering she was as cute as a sleeping fox while she was asleep. Despite that, she still had a very adorable face. I pulled myself out of the comfy bed as it took a little bit of mental restraint to do so. I look for a clock as it read: 12:00 PM. We were asleep for that long? I thought. I headed back to Emu's room to nudge her awake.
"Did you know how cute you were while you were asleep?" I sit by her on the bed. I say it loudly in hopes of waking her up from the voice. It was one of the only times I raised my voice as it took an actual burden to do so.
"Stop... give me a few more minutes of rest." She mumbles as she pushes away my face.
"It's noon Emu, wake up."
"Fine!" She huffs as she got out of bed very angrily.
"What do you want for breakfast?' I pause, "Sorry, I meant lunch". I then realized I forgot to make breakfast for the rest of the family. I would definitely get shitted on for that from them. But right now all I'm worrying about is the pink-hair's food.
"I want pancakes! Make it bear-shaped Emu!" She got herself together and finally stopped the grumpy morning mood. The one thing she didn't coddle me for is for her food. She's very picky about the certain foods she wants. I try to tell her it was already lunch but she shook her head in disapproval. I went to prepare the pancake mix powder and the bear-shaped mold. I waited patiently. I saw Emu turn her phone on as she screamed. She screamed so loud that I could believe everyone from the suburban neighborhood heard her high-pitched voice.
"Emu! What is it?" I left the pancakes cooking to head over to the pink hair.
"We're getting in!"
I nudge over to her to look at her phone. There was a text from Rui that read: "Hey Emu, they accepted your proposal! They don't have a problem with Nene getting in as long as she was referred by a prestigious family. If Nene's there, could you congratulate her for me?". No way, I thought. I couldn't believe they accepted me for a second. It took me a few minutes but I recognized myself as a Kamiyama student. I loved the idea. Maybe I would have a better future after all.
She put down her phone as we both held hands. I stared at her pink eyes as it was foggy from being watery. She managed to hold in her tears though. Her lips rested on mine again. We kissed for so long that I forget to breathe.
"What's all the noise? Why do I smell something burning too? Emu if this is from one of Rui's experiments again I will be so disappointed." Her brother mumbled as he walked down the stairs. He pauses to look at us as I did not have any time to pull back before he walked in.
Her brother paused and looked at us with disbelief. He looked at the burning food, then back at me. This is going to be the end of me, I thought.
edit; just realized months later that this was formatted so badly and the fact that some text repeats itself, i apologize i was in an episode and was obsessed with nicotine at the time, might remove it from my profile soon