After we had finished our coffee, Zola, Sunita, and I took to the town to explore the Farmers' Market. We had a fun time checking out all the wares from the local vendors and Zola even found a cute shawl for her mother, claiming it was never too early to start shopping for Christmas. I waved at Irma as we passed her booth, not wanting to bother her since she seemed busy with her crowd of customers. Eventually, we made our way back to the Hartmann Farms booth, checking in on Casimir to see if he needed any help. Grandpa appeared just then and offered us all a ride back to the farmhouse, saying I should spend the day with my friends instead of working. I protested the decision but was ignored. Zola, Sunita, and I ran into the local grocery to grab some snacks and jumped in the truck to head home. 

     The sun was setting by the time we had settled in, popcorn and sodas at the ready. I had taken a few moments to take my hair out of my ponytail and wash the makeup and dirt off my face. Zola was removing a huge stack of DVDs from her backpack when I walked back into the living room.

     “Ladies, are you ready for our most cherished farmers' market tradition?” Zola announced, holding a DVD aloft. “The After Market MOVIE NIGHT!”

     Sunita and I both gave half-hearted noises of agreement, although I was actually very excited. After the crowds at the market, it was nice to sit and chill with my friends. We all settled on the couch as Zola began her introduction to the movie. 

     “Tonight we watch one of my favorite shows,” she proclaimed. “A classic Japanese animation hailing from the era of the ye olde 1990s.”

     “Way to sell it,” I laughed. Zola was so invested in her media, it was always fun to listen to her. The front door opened and Casimir walked in, finished, it seemed, with all his cleanup from the event. I eyed him as he took off his coat, hanging it on the hook nearby. Zola also saw him and turned in her seat, giving Casimir a wave with her hand.

     “Casimir, you’re joining us, right?” She asked, gesturing at our setup. 

     The young man immediately looked shocked and smiled nervously as he replied, “Oh, me? I don’t want to intrude.”

     “Come on Casper! Grab a soda and have a seat,” Zola insisted, grinning like a maniac. I scowled at her, mumbling under my breath to stop scaring the boy.

     “O-okay,” Casimir replied, clearly unsure if he should actually join. Dutifully he shuffled into the kitchen for his soda and I quickly glance over at Sunita to check how she felt. Sunita wasn’t saying anything but I could tell she was nervous as I could feel her slight panic even from the other end of the couch. Since we all had been hanging out at school a lot recently, Sunita had gotten more used to Casimir being in our inner circle but I hated to push her. When Casimir returned from the kitchen Zola began shuffling us all around, placing Sunita on the large armchair so as to give her space and I felt better until I realized she stuck me in the middle of the couch, next to Casimir. I was grumbling internally as Zola raised her arm in the air, proclaiming movie night had begun.

     “What is this movie called?” Sunita asked, reaching for the brightly colored case. It was pink and decorated with animated characters and Japanese.

     “Umarekawatta Hime!” Zola said, with not even a stutter.

     “I’m sorry, umare-what now?” I spat out, giving up on my pronunciation halfway through the word.

     “What is the story?” Casimir asked.

     “It’s the tale of a young schoolgirl who learns she is the reincarnated princess of another world!” Zola recalled with a happy sigh. “Then she meets a whole team of magical warriors who protect her and she falls in love with a dude, it’s cheesy but good.”

     “Hmm, sounds kinda lame,” I muttered, not so under my breath. Cheesy romance was not really my thing.

     “Expand your movie horizons, Massey!” Zola spat out, waving the DVD at me. “Plus it’s my turn to pick and I know you’ll love it.”

    “Oh my, is it a whole series? So many DVDs,” Sunita commented, lifting another case from the large stack.

     Zola was up and at the DVD player, the first disc in her hand as she chuckled. “We’re marathoning this! Get ready to stay up all night!” Although her enthusiasm was infectious I was almost sure this was not going to be a series I’d enjoy. Once the super sugary theme song began, I settled in, grabbing a pillow to hold as I tried to relax. 

     The next few hours were not so bad, as the animation was okay and the story was easy enough to follow. I just couldn’t get over how perky and naive the main girl was, she seemed to have no motivation in life beyond finding a boyfriend. She also tended to overreact to everything and was always crying or yelling at people. When the love interest appeared I found myself growing sour at how rude he was to the bubbly heroine. Despite his mean behavior she fell for him and even began crying when he got mortally wounded to save her. I realized I was being too critical and tried to just enjoy the fun fight scenes and jokes. I was chuckling to myself when I heard some light snoring to my right. I glanced over to see both Zola and Sunita dead asleep.

     So much for an all-night marathon, I thought. My eyes wandered to the other side of the couch to see Casimir, still awake and actually enjoying himself as he watched the show. I couldn’t help but smile as observed his reactions to the scenes happening on screen. I was actually having more fun watching him than the show itself but was quickly embarrassed when he caught me staring.

     “Guess we are the last two standing,” I whispered, trying not to blush too heavily as Casimir smiled at me.

     “Seems like it,” he agreed with a small nod of his head.

     “Yep… the last two standing…that’s us!” I babbled as he continued to stare at me. My nervousness ramped up and I had to look away, clutching the pillow in my lap a little too tightly. I didn’t know why I was so nervous, it wasn’t like I was truly alone with Casimir. A wave of sleepiness crept over me and I realized then that it had been at least thirty or so hours since I last slept. I let out a large yawn, covering my mouth as I thought to myself. I’ll just finish this episode and go to bed. I knew Zola and Sunita had their own nighttime routines to finish before truly going to sleep and I would also have to get the airbed out for Sunita as well.

     My eyes began to glaze over as I watched the screen. The bubbly pink heroine was wrapped in the arms of the hero, proclaiming her undying love.

     “We can’t… it’s forbidden,” the hero insisted, pulling away.

     “I don’t care!” the heroine yelled, reaching out to hug him from behind. He turned slowly to look at her, a sad expression on his face. It was then that my eyelids grew heavy and slumped over, my head resting on something or someone to the side.

I thought I heard Casimir call my name but I couldn’t respond. I was lost, falling into another dream. I was sitting on a bench outside in the gardens as my head rested on the shoulder of my one true love. My long purple forelocks tumbled down around my face as I snuggled into him, enjoying the scent of his freshly washed tunic. We sat in peace, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the comfort of each other's embrace.