Misery Loves Company

Chapter 7

Stepping into Kittea boba shop, I am hit with the familiar sweet scent of sugary milky drinks and baked confectionaries. The walls are decorated with small succulents in glass jars, and the counter is lined with cute cat figurines.

Sitting in the back are Betty and Lace, who already have their drinks. As Takashi and I head toward them, Lace waves at us. Betty looks surprised at me.

"What are you and Takashi doing here?" Betty asks.

"Oh so you know Takashi."

"Know him? 'Course I do. He plays viola too."

"Really?!"

I look at Takashi, and he nods. "I'm in the orchestra club with Beatrice. Though she's much better than me. I'm a beginner. What a coincidence that you're friends with her."

Betty gives me a side hug. "'Friends' is selling it a little short. Yumi, Lacey, and me are more like sisters from another mister. Our bond is written..." Betty pans her hand above her head, "in the stars."

Lace steps in front of her, blocking Betty's embarrassing display from Takashi's view. "Hi, I'm Lace. I'm sorry you've already had the unpleasant experience of having to put up with my dear fr—acquaintance Betty. I'm sure you're wishing you'd have chosen violin instead. I apologize on behalf of her."

Betty tries to make an angry face but can't contain the laughter in her voice. "Oh c'mon Lacey, I'll have you know that I do in fact take orchestra seriously! I'm the section leader right now, so all the other violists are relying on me. I can't let them down."

Wow, I had no idea Betty and Takashi were in the same club and played the same instrument. That's weird. Betty and I talk all the time, but she's never once mentioned Takashi. I think about last quarter, when Betty, Lace, Takashi, and I were in the same P.E. class. What are the chances that Betty never pointed out that Takashi was a viola player too?

I guess that just means Betty and Takashi aren't that close to each other. Not that it matters if they are...

Before we continue our conversation, Takashi and I go to the counter to order some drinks first. Takashi requests an Earl Grey milk tea with pearls, and I order a strawberry milk tea for myself. But as I order, a sign on the counter catches my eye.

"Oh they've got a waffle crepe special. The chocolate one looks really good."

I dig into my purse. "Oh shoot, I'm 100 yen short."

"I have 100 yen." Takashi pulls out his wallet.

"Oh no but I'm supposed to be treating you!"

Takashi shakes his head. "It's just 100 yen, if you still feel bad then just give me a bite."

I accept the dollar from him and order the chocolate waffle crepe. After a short wait, we get our orders and sit down.

"Oh hey what's up?" Betty greets.

"Hrrmph... urmph!"

I try to say hi, but my mouth is already full with fluffy waffle.

"Good grief, Yumi, not even the presence of a cute guy is gonna get between you and food, is it? Anyway, Takashi, you finally decided to hang out with me and my friends for once! After orchestra practice, you always hang out with your guy friends. You know there's a whole 'nother gender, right?"

Takashi says, "Oh come on Betty, cut me some slack. I'm not used to hanging out with girls. I transferred from an all-boy's school, remember?"

"That's no excuse! If you only hang out with guys, you'll never know how to treat a woman right. You'll become one of those hyper-masculine toxic jocks."

Takashi ponders, "Hmm, that's true, I don't want to be a toxic jock."

Lace speaks up. "What's wrong with hanging out only with people of the same gender as you, as long as you're having a good time?"

I step in. "I agree with Lace."

Betty looks at me with concerned puppy eyes. "Yumi please don't give me any more gray hairs. I can't afford to see you die unmarried. But at the rate you're going...oh! The times I've seen you talking to boys is like I was watching a goddamn job interview."

Erk. Harsh. Definitely living up to one of the many nicknames Lace gave her: Blunt Betty. Or was it Brutally Honest Betty? I've known Betty for a long time and she really doesn't know how to sugarcoat things. But she's absolutely right.

Lace asks, "Speaking of which, how did you and Takashi meet? And why did you come here together?"

I groan. "About that..."

I explain to Betty and Lace what happened during cleaning duty about how Takashi saved me from falling and what happened with Sakura.

"The audacity!" Betty slams her fist on the table. The noise startles the people around us and they stop their conversations, leading to awkward silence. "Oops, sorry, sorry, my bad."

"But I can't with this girl. How dare she try to blame you! Next time I see her she's gonna get a piece of my mind. No one gets away with messing with my friend! Ugh I'm so mad right now." Betty chews aggressively on her straw.

"Calm down Betty, please! It's whatever."

"No, it's not whatever, Yumi!" Betty lets out a frustrated yelp. Her face grows red and tears start falling down her face. "Y-Yumi, you could have, could have died!"

Betty leaps on me and gives me a bear hug.

"Betty relax, I'm okay, I'm okay, don't cry!" I stroke Betty's hair as she bawls into my shirt. "The fall wasn't that high anyway, right Takashi?"

"About four meters I'd say. Not too high but still pretty high, enough to potentially have caused serious injury."

Betty wails harder. C'mon Takashi, I'm trying to make Betty feel less worse, help me out here! I try to use my so-called "expressive" eyes to communicate this to Takashi. He looks confused for a few seconds, then he seems to realize what I'm trying to tell him. "Uh, I mean, the more I think about it actually it was probably only two or three meters. Yumiko didn't go up that high when the ladder slipped."

Betty looks up from my shirt, which is wet with her tears. "Really?"

Takashi nods. "Really."

Betty sniffs and gets off me. "Y'know, you're really such a bad actor." Betty stares into my eyes with conviction. "Don't worry Yumi, I'll protect you from Sakura. I'll make sure that fat bully never hurts you again."

"Betty! Oh I've said it so many times you don't have to be so protective. I don't think Sakura's going to beat me up or anything."

Betty growls, "Sakura's gonna beat you up, you say? Not if I get to her first! Why, I bet it would feel so good to slap that jiggly face of hers, like—BAM!" Betty reenacts the movement, nearly connecting with Lace's face. Lace returns the favor by pinching Betty's ear.

"Owowowow sorry sorry I won't do it again I promise!" Betty's plea is answered and Lace mercifully relinquishes her vice grip. "But man, Takashi, what a hero. You really saved the day. Yumi, did you thank this mans properly?"

"I did! I treated him to his drink." I don't mention how I almost forgot to thank Takashi, and how he even helped pay for my waffle crepe. Shit I forgot to give him a bite like I said I would.

"Good. You really have a bad habit of forgetting such things." Betty sits back. "Only thing Takashi could have done better was if he'd have punched Sakura for me."

Takashi raises his arms and shrugs his shoulders. "Just like in viola, I have much to learn from you. By the way," Takashi digs through his backpack, and the instant I see what he pulls out of it, my blood runs cold. "Here is the manga that one of you wanted."