“Honey! Madoka, are you alright?!”

“Eh, y-yeah. I’m okay, Mom.”

“You weren’t answering the phone and I got worried.”

I scratched the back of my head. The sounds of the retro games filtered back into my ears as I strained to hear her.

“S-sorry…I got caught up in playing with friends.”

I could hear something in her voice. She hiccupped. Was mom…crying? My chest tugged.

“Mom, are you okay? Is everything alright.”

“I-I just got so worried that you didn’t pick up and started to panic. I was on my way out the door to look for you.”

“Mom, everything’s okay. I’m just out with Ma-chan like I said I’d be. Remember?”

“Are you sure everything is fine? Want me to come and pick you up? Where are you now, Madoka?”

Mom was sounding strange. I’ve never heard her like this before. Something was certainly wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. So, I decided for the time being it was best to just soothe her worries.

“Mom, I’m okay. I’ll be home by dinner. Right now, Ma-chan and a new girl I met are going out to get lunch. We just had fun at the arcades.”

My lungs filled with air, calming my own heart.

“Everything is just fine.”

I never had to explicitly tell mom everything I was doing before. But to make sure that her mind was at ease too, I did so.

“O-Okay, Madoka.”

I could hear mom adjust her body. It seems she’s sat down. That calmed my nerves. Was mom really about to leave the house to look for me?

“Make sure to answer your phone when I call. Okay? Do you hear me, Madoka?”

My head hanged back briefly before I gave her a nod. Even though she wasn’t there to see it.

“Yes, mom. I got to go.”

“…Okay. Be safe. Bye Madoka.”

She said this but I could hear her faint breathing still on the other side. So, instead of waiting, I decided to hang up as she seemed to have no intention of doing so. I checked my phone once more to look at the calls. They weren’t even minutes apart from the next. My heart sank as though it was digging into my stomach.

“Nakagawa-san, hurry up!”

Conway-san’s growl woke me up and instantly the arcade sounds bled back into my ears.

“O-oh right. I’m on my way.”

I jogged up to Mae and Conway-san as we made our way back to the mall.

“Three teriyaki sticks please.”

“Oh, and three taiyaki cakes, please!”

Conway-san pushed her way in, adding to the order. She’s lucky I got a good allowance from mom earlier this week else she’d be paying for that. After our food was done, we sat on the wall of the mall.

“Can you eat all that, Conchi-san?”

“Stop calling me, Conchi-san!”

Every bit of my teasing counted after she forced me to buy that taiyaki.

“Thanks for the food, Mado-chan.”

Mae tilted her head with an adorable smile. No matter what, Ma-chan sure knew how to be cute when she wanted to be. To think…it’s been two years since we’ve hung out like this. It felt as though we’ve done this just last week.

“Hm, …how do you two know each other again, Watanabe-san?”

Mae bit into her teriyaki. Delicious bliss filled her mouth. With her cheeks full of goodness, I spoke in her place.

“Ma-chan and I met in elementary school. We just happened to go to the same junior high too.”

“Oh, you don’t go to the same high school?”

I shrugged.

“Well, sort of. I enrolled in Jinda Highschool and was accepted. I start tomorrow.”

“Hm, so you’re transferring in?”

Conway-san nodded.

“Are you a 2nd year like Watanabe-san?”

My face felt warm. It was easy for me to understand that I was a tad embarrassed by this subject, but I pressed on.

“No…I’m a 1st year.”

Conway-san looked at me, quizzically.

“So, you’re the same age as me?”

“There were complications and I am joining high school late. I’m 16 right now.”

The shark took a bite of her taiyaki then turned back to me.

“Hmm? So, you’re going to be a year older than the rest of your class? What, did you get held back because you’re stupid?”

I’m not sure if it were Conway-san’s foreign way of speaking or not but she could be quite blunt at times.

“It’s a long story Conway-san, give Madoka time she’ll probably tell you all about it.”

Mae hopped in as my lifeline. Probably feeling my unease on the subject. Telling others that I was in a coma for two years might spring on a lot of questions that even I haven’t answered yet. I’m sure my class will ask the same questions as Conway-san, so I’ll have to be prepared with answers.

The blueberry hummed as she pulled out her phone. I could see her expression light up.

“Oh?!”

“What’s wrong Watanabe-san?”

Mae smiled and tilted her head at us.

“Well, I need to go home earlier than I expected. Mom’s waiting for me to come home. Guess I left the oven on and she wants to scold me, hehe!”

Not sure if that’s anything to be proud about but Mae pulled herself off the wall.

“Hm? So, now you’re leaving Ma-chan?”

Mae nodded.

“It’s a big detour for you to walk me back to the train, Mado-chan.”

Without waiting for my reply, she waved and wistfully took off without another word. Like a whirlwind, she came, and like one she’s gone.

“Hm, well I have a bit of shopping to do before I go home so we can call it here, Nakagawa-san.”

“Sure.”

This might have been a blessing in disguise. I was still worried about mom. So, I stood up and finished my teriyaki. I couldn’t finish the taiyaki as expected though.

“Oh, wait…”

I turned to the shark, still nibbling away at her free meal. But despite her calling me out she's the one who jolts. I’m not sure why she stopped me but now that she has my attention, I looked at her. Her face seemed reddish.

“Ah…I’ve been thinking…”

Conway-san muttered with her head down. I could see her slender body gain air as she puts her free hand on her hip. She pushed out her chest. With the taiyaki to her side, she soldiered up and faced me.

“Back in the…arcade. Ah…”

I found my head tilting to the side as if trying to find a better angle to hear her words better.

“B-because y-you s-s-saved me…”

Conway-san lifted her body off the wall abruptly, causing me to stagger backward.

“I deem you, Nakagawa-san as the p-prettier of…. the two of you.”

Her face was beet red now. I thought about holding an actual beet vegetable to her face to see if she'd camouflage it. I couldn’t understand where this sudden proclamation was coming from. My jaw opened slightly.

Conway-san's eyes popped open and I could feel the irritation blurring from her.

“Won’t you thank me, Nakagawa-san?!”

“Prettier of the two?”

It took me a moment before it all came crashing down into my head.

“Ohh, you mean that nonsensical game Ma-chan and I always play?”

“Huh?”

“That’s just a running gag from when we were in like elementary school or whatnot. We always mess with each other about “who is the prettiest, the coolest or, whatever.”

I chuckled, holding my stomach.

“Ma-chan once said I was worth 300 yen. Then I said she was worth 400 yen. That went on for like…ever.”

But does that mean that Conway-san thinks I’m the prettier of us two? Now that I thought about it, it was a tad embarrassing. But the shark didn’t take my gag lightly and her face contoured.

“You are so…stupid Nakagawa-san! You and that blue-haired fool!”

The violent girl screamed, turning the heads of the people around us. Without another word, she marched away leaving me alone. She still had the taiyaki in hand all the while. She’s quite the violent girl and a blast to mess with for sure. I thought to myself with a smile on my face. I took that as my cue to leave and walked back home.

________________________________________

I entered the home and to my surprise, I was called out.

“Welcome back, Madoka-san.”

Hana-san sat in front of the tv. On the screen was one of that popular anime that was in the machine earlier in the day.

“I’m home.”

Sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper in hand was Koda-san. She looked up at me when I entered.

“Sup?”

Casually, she grinned waving her free hand at me.

“Where’s mom?”

Still eager from the earlier conversation I had with her, she was at the forefront of my mind.

“She’s taking a rest.”

Koda-san sipped the tea near her before continuing.

“She’s had a tiring day so please give her a kiss on the head and let her sleep...”

She smiled at me before turning back to the papers. I don’t understand why but something about the way she said that made my skin crawl. Like everything she said wasn’t as sincere as she made it out to be. But before thinking too far into it, I chose to ignore my feelings and looked in my pocket for something…

“Here.”

“Hm?”

I pulled out the cheap lemon scent perfume and tossed it to her. She caught it with her free hand. It’s most likely for a child but knowing that she likes lemon she’s the only one I could think of with this taste.

Koda-san tilted her head questionably, for good reason. Looking at the dark box and bottle one couldn’t tell what it was unless they read the label.

“Lemon Essence?”

A light smile captured her face.

“Did you buy this for Lil’ Ol’ Me? That’s cute.”

“I-I didn’t buy it. I won it by mistake and you’re the only one I could think of who’d like this sort of thing.”

Now saying that aloud made me a bit queasy. I’m basically saying…I thought about you when I saw this.

Koda-san put her paper down and stood up. She opened the box revealing a deep blue bottle. With a grin, she put it up in the air. With two light sprays, she walked through the mist and twirled around. Her short hair waved back and forth, elegantly. Despite being in a tank top, sweats on, with hardly any make-up she kept her vibrant young appearance. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was like a model dancing about a studio.

“So, how do I look?”

“Don’t you mean: ‘How do I smell?’”

“Yeah, that.”

“Like cheap perfume.”

Koda-san stopped and leaned over to me. Her face was so close to mine that moving anymore our cheeks would hit one another. She whispered in my ear…

“I’ll only wear it for you. ♥”

Her breath trickled against my earlobe causing me to shiver.

“Shut up.”

Visibly creeped out, I huffed and made my way to mom’s room. Gently I open the door and found her lying in bed. Her breathing was soft. I walked over and leaned my head down, petting her smooth hair.

“I’m home, mom.”

I said in whispers. After brushing her hair, I gave her a peck on the forehead.

As I watched her, I reminisced about the time before my coma. At that time, it wouldn’t be strange for me to cuddle up next to her and sleep. When dad died, we fell into a situation where we had a one-bedroom apartment, barely making ends meet. Mom and I shared a room and I wouldn’t go to bed unless she was with me. We were…inseparable.

She would put her arms around my stomach, and I would squeeze her silky hair. Some nights she would cry herself to sleep, still thinking about dad or if she had a rough day at the insurance company. All I could do was comfort her and imagine the day when I could make a bunch of money…to save her from that life. How I worked hard to get that scholarship…Like that alone would save us.

My mind filtered back into reality. Alone she lied in the bed as I pet her soft hair.

“How…naïve was I?”

Now Koda-san was the one who comforts her, right? I couldn’t shake the feeling that mom might have been stolen from me while I was away. Shaking my head of those ridiculous thoughts, I checked my phone.

I wonder if mom was being a bit more overprotective of me? It was my first time going back out in a while. Unlike the time I left the house with Koda-san…I was alone. Thinking like that…Am I the reason she had such a stressful day? No, I can’t think like that else I’ll become depressed.

I tucked her in and made my way out. The rest of the night was uneventful. We didn’t eat dinner together, we all just kind of went our own ways. Mom stayed in bed and I didn’t want to wake her. I couldn’t find the will to make a meal for the others without mom being at the table either. But nights like this aren’t too bad. I had more time to think to myself as I listened to cheery idol music in bed.

My mind drifted off as the sun disappeared gently, bringing about the warm September night. Careless thoughts of how October was just around the corner filtered into my mind. Tomorrow was going to be my first day of school. So, I shut off my iPod and turned in early. Still thinking about holding my mom tight, I squeezed my pillow. My body eventually relaxed as I faded off to sleep.