~~~~Molly~~~~
Bugger me, it’s getting nippy… I got so used to being in a t-shirt and skirt for the majority of the summer, I forgot that this place gets just as cold as home. Less rainy though.
“How do you think you did on Mid-Terms, Molly?” Taro asks from across the table. Mid-Terms only finished a couple days ago. The curriculum here also gets some getting used to. I don’t remember ever having to take exams in October back home.
“I think I did alright. History was the biggest ball-ache but Suzy was a massive help.” I pat the head of the sleeping girl next to me and smile. Taro and Ritsu are canoodling on the other side of the booth in the Shanghai. Kinda wish Miki was here, both to carry Suzu and to make this not look like a double-date.
“You lot don’t really do Halloween do you?” I ask, trying to change the subject mentally.
“Not really, no… We didn’t do anything on the previous years here anyway.” Ritsu says, her expression becoming curious. “Why? Do you want to do something?”
“Obviously I’m not suggesting we go trick or treating in town or around the dorms…” I mutter and the duo laugh. “But I’m thinking a movie night might be fun!” I smile and they nod in agreement.
“That sounds like fun…” Suzu mumbles quietly as she raises her head from the table. Cool, I guess a horror movie marathon it is!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~Akio~~~~
“Thanks, Misaki! I’ll pass these along to Hana when she gets back from the city.” I smile as Misaki hands a couple of photographs to me.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be joined at the hip these days?” She smirks and I turn crimson. I really wish Hana hadn’t confided in Natsume and Naomi. Just because they didn’t put it in the paper doesn’t mean the info wasn’t disseminated amongst the entire student body within a day.
“I’m joking, Red. I thought you were supposed to be the funny one in ‘Hanakio’.”
“Molly got to you too, huh? That name’s spread like wildfire…” I smirk, shaking my head a little. “Hana went to the city with Miki. Sisterly bonding or some such.”
“Fair enough. Flying solo today then?” She asks as we turn towards the dorms.
“Why? Wanna hang out?” I ask and she laughs. “Harsh.”
“No, not the idea, the fact that you’d ask me. Are you that hard up for friends today?” She chuckles and I furrow my brow.
“If I said yes, will you slap me?”
“Probably.” She narrows her eyes with a smirk.
“Then no, I think you’re very interesting.” I say with a wry smile and she punches my arm lightly.
“See? That’s more like you. I’d like to but I have plans…” She blushes slightly.
“Oh-hoooo! Hot date, Kawana?” I grin, nudging her with my elbow.
“Doubt it. Shin is more into video games than what I have to offer.” She groans.
“Spooky? Wow, I’m surprised you even noticed him” I chuckle. Shin’s a nice enough guy but he’s kind of anti-social. I forget he’s even there most of the time.
“He noticed me, actually. He’s sweet but he has no clue how to woo a girl.”
“The guy probably just needs some encouragement. Take it from me, just try bringing him out of his shell a little. If it’s meant to be, it’ll work out.” I offer a reassuring smile that puts her at ease.
“I guess you did write the book on dating the socially awkward.” She chuckles and I laugh a little. I guess I did.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~Miki~~~~
I barely hear my phone go off over the hum of the bus engine and flick open the old workhorse. It’s screen is cracked a little and the battery is on it’s last legs but it works and that’s enough for me.
“Oh! Looks like we’re doing a horror movie marathon next Wednesday.” I say idly and Hana peeks at my phone screen from the seat beside me.
“Really? Who’s idea w-was that?” She asks, looking a little concerned.
“Molly’s. Why? Don’t you like horror movies?” I ask and she casts her gaze downwards.
“I like the idea of us all hanging out but…” She takes a deep breath and looks at me with sad eyes. “I was t-teased a lot because I look like that ghost girl.”
Don’t laugh, Miki. It’s not funny, even if she does look a little like her.
“We’ll skip that movie!” I give the poor girl a goofy grin, throwing my arm around her shoulder. “Maybe Molly has a bunch of Western horror movies… Oh! She can bring Army of Darkness! She’s the one who lent it to me.” I smile.
“Is it scary?”
“Maybe a little but it’s mostly a comedy. She said the first one was a straight-up horror though!”
“Okay, we should ask her when we get back.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~Suzu~~~~
We made our way back to Yamaku once I was finished getting some necessities from the Aura Mart. Me and Molly headed into the girls’ dorm while Taro and Ritsu head to the boys’ dorm.
“Don’t even say it, Molls. You always say it.” I shake my head at her as she opens her mouth. She has this weird fascination about pointing out when people are going off to bang, even when they’re not.
“You can be a real spoilsport, y’know that?” She frowns, before giggling. Just as we reach the door, a shout from behind us attracts our attention.
“Oh, hey guys! Did you enjoy your date?” I ask with a teasing smile and Hanako blushes, side-stepping a little away from Miki who pulls her closer.
“Damn straight! Though this nerd spent an hour in the bookstore…” She smirks a little at Hanako, who frowns in return.
“Who sp-spent twenty-five minutes trying to d-decide between two identical f-flannel shirts?” She snorts derisively and Miki laughs.
“Thems fightin’ words.”
“Get a room!” Molly chides, leaning against the rail that runs up the ramp to the dorm.
“What about your double-date with Taro and Ritsu? This one give you any trouble, Molls?” Miki asks, gesturing to me. I fold my arms in huff and Molly laughs.
“She’s no trouble.” She smiles warmly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
At Hanako’s request, we head into Molly’s room and dig through her surprisingly extensive DVD library.
“Did you really need all of these for a two-year stay?” I ask incredulously and Molly narrows her eyes.
“Hey, I had a lot of time to kill when I first got here! Before I joined up with you lot, the most exciting thing that happened to me was a rumour about me fancying Misaki.” She chuckles a little as she removes her prosthetics.
“You make it sound like we’re trouble magnets!” I smile and she throws me a look. “Okay, we are but tell me that it isn’t fun?”
“I guess you’re right. Ahhh…” She nods and breathes a sigh of relief as she slots her legs in the space between her bed and bedside table. “Found anything you wanna watch?”
I look back at the veritable library of titles and trace my finger along the spines. She has a lot of sci-fi stuff but also some other genres. Some are in English, obviously brought from home while others are in Japanese and one title in particular springs out at me. I pull it out and look at the cover.
“Holy crap, this looks dated…” I mutter and she leans forward, looking at the very 90’s looking movie.
“Hey! I liked that movie as a kid!” She protests, a slight whine in her voice as she snatches it out of my hand when I offer it to her.
“I thought you didn’t like Bollywood movies?” I ask with a wry smile.
“I like one, okay?”
“What does the title say?” I ask, genuinely curious and she looks nervous.
“{Kuch Kuch Hota Hai}. It means… Something Happens.” She purses her lips a little, probably knowing what my reaction will be.
“You’re shitting me.”
“It loses something in the translation…” She admits.
“You mean an actual meaning?” I raise an eyebrow with a smirk and she tosses the case back to me.
“Just put it back, {kutiyā}.” She giggles. I bet that was an insult of some manner. I laugh as I put the DVD back. I find the one movie I do know here and take Army of Darkness out of it’s place in the line-up.
“Gonna need some help here, Molls. I only know one movie here.” I admit and she hops off her bed and scoots up next to me.
“Okay… Event Horizon… Final Destination… Oh, and Shaun of The Dead!” She easily picks out three titles, all of them with Japanese spines so they must have subtitles at least.
“Not adding Something Happens to the pile? It sounds like a horror movie. Ooooooh, Something Happens!” I put on a mocking ghostly voice and wave my arms, earning me a playful shove.
“Shut up, {tuma gāya}.” She’s probably calling me all manner of unseemly things.
“You have such a beautiful language.” I snark, plucking the titles she suggested out of the line-up and adding them to the pile.
“Suzu.” Molly taps my shoulder and I tilt my head to look at her.
“{Tuma pyārē hō aura āpa rasabharī kī taraha gandha}.” She says in Hindi with a soft smile. Okay, either she’s messing with me or that was actually a nice thing she just said. Roll with it.
“Ummm… Thank you, Molly.” I smile nervously and her smile gets wider as she strokes her right braid.
“{Āpa bhī unakī taraha svāda hai}?” She… asks? That sounded like a question. You’re already rolling, Suzu.
“Yes?” I say cautiously and she bursts into a fit of giggles. Okay she was probably messing with me after all. I playfully shove her with a mock expression of anger.
~~~~Molly~~~~
“What the hell did I just agree to? Did I just sign over my first-born to you, she-devil?” Suzu jabs and it makes me laugh harder.
Not even close…
“I said…” I wheeze, with a huge grin on my face. “I said that I really like that we’re friends and then I asked if you’d hold my hand if I got scared during the movies.” I say and she looks at me warily.
“You’re not messing with me, are you?”
“Not at all.” I smile reassuringly.
“Okay. I like being friends with you too, Molls.” She smiles and I twirl my right braid. “And I’ll hold your hand if you hold mine.”
Gotcha.
.
"I'll never need a weapon as long as I have you" 