A Sky Full of Stars

| 7 || It's Tomomi Ogawa |

//

The car doors slammed shut in front of the rundown rental. They both sighed in frustration but Rina wasn't willing to let go.

"For the last time, Rina, I'm not friends with a stripper. We're friends and she just happens to work at a strip club."

"That's not my point. She's got nothing but cup noodles and sour milk. And bail? When you have barely enough for yourself? The money's for you to graduate and go somewhere not to babysit her," Rina argued. "And what is she doing with hers? Her work money-"

"She's not a baby and you're not my mother," Mami countered angrily.

"And she's also not the only one who understands!" Rina stepped back when dark, suddenly pit-less eyes pierced her.

"I only told you because I never thought you'd use it against me."

"I'm not usingit against you, Mami. I just... want to help. I can't afford to help with your tuition but I can at least prevent you from wasting anymore," Rina pleaded.

"You don't understand. No one else but she does, okay? I don't want you to understand," Mami said darkly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and ran her fingers through her fading orange hair, "I wouldn't ask anyone, you or her, to pay for my tuition."

"You've already been withdrawn!"

Mami clenched her hands and growled, "Shut up. Who the do you think told you? I have two days to get back in."

"Yeah, and you need to pay even more. You can't get that money with your job in two days, Mami. 24 hours of your job would not even cover it." 

"I know that."

Rina open then closed her mouth and went back in her car to start the engine. She gave her friend and ex one last glance and slowly drove away. Mami stood there by herself, arms crossed and head down but it didn't matter because up or down it was all dark. She brought her head up to look forward and saw Tomomi there with a tired smile. The redhead assured Mami that she had just come through the back door and pretended to wonder if that was Rina driving away. She asked the girl what was wrong but Mami merely shook her head and walked in through front door. Now Tomomi was out there alone after hearing everything.

//

Rina walked alongside her ex's friend with prominent distance between the two of them. Tomomi didn't seem to care as she kept walking towards the cleaners with a bag of clothes and a slow stride. Rina definitely did not expect to be with the girl and it reminded her painfully of the argument with Mami last week. They stopped in front of the building and the redhead entered first, looking around for a free machine while sneaking a peek at what some of the others were doing. She copied them, separating the colours and the whites but then thought it was useless and put them all back into a pile again and was about to throw it in the machine when Rina stopped her.

"You're going to stain all the whites if you wash them together," Rina pointed out.

She ended up doing most of the work after figuring out Tomomi had little to no experience doing laundry, or creating a bank account, and now Mami's basically cooking her food. This was exactly what Rina was talking about. The girl was a child and she couldn't understand why Mami was so intent on staying with her.

"Thanks for helping me with the bank thing. Those people could've looked less suspicious though, it's not like I had anything to steal with," Tomomi said while rolling her eyes.

"What is that for anyways?" Rina sighed.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought it was time to get one, that's all," Tomomi lied. "Got my wallet stolen."

They watched the clothes go round inside the wash, Rina crossing her legs and Tomomi biting her nails.

"Mami finally got a sponsor," Tomomi mentioned. "She was so happy she actually cried." She smiled remembering how Mami had pounced on her with a tight hug, whispering over and over again about how she got an email from someone willing to sponsor her.

Rina laughed softly, "Yeah, she phoned me while she was still with you."

"Say, how much does college cost?"

Rina looked at Tomomi slightly surprised, "It depends. Are you trying to get into one, now?" The red head shrugged her shoulders, which slightly irritated the other girl.

"Future, maybe, I don't know. Just asking," she said casually. 

"Well, the courses Mami are taking are slightly more expensive. But she got a loan from the bank and now she's paying them back monthly, that's how hers work anyways. Probably best for you, too," Rina suggested.

"Wow, you know a lot. And why's Mami's more expensive?"

"Yeah, I did some research because I was worried," Rina said. "It's because of the programs she chose. Since she wants to become an architect in the future. 

Tomomi nodded slowly with her eyebrows up. She didn't know how many things had to happen and Mami had never talked much about it either. Her eyes grew dark when she realized how much potential money was needed to keep Mami in school. The washing machine's rumbling stopped so she took out the colours and stuffed them back in the bag. She threw the whites in there and shut the latch. She turned the knob to where she remembered Rina had and opened her wallet. There was absolutely nothing there. She fidgeted with her fingers and looked back at Rina with a curious smile.

//

"Hey! Hi, slow down a bit, will you?" Tomomi called out to the people behind the counter.

"It's closing time. You shouldn't even be here," a bank accountant said and an unmistakable judging look swept over her dark makeup and thrown on jumper. "Go home, we don't randomly loan anyone money."

Tomomi gritted her teeth and tried her hardest to breathe normally, counting the seconds to stay just calm enough. She pulled the hood down from her head and tried again.

"I'm not here to get any money. I'm here for some college sponsorship. You know, that whole thing."

Just as the guy was about to refuse and deem her inarticulate, another man stepped. "I can help you," the older man said tiredly. It was a guy in his mid-forties, who had helped her the first time she came in and desperately emptied her wallet in front of everyone. He cleared his throat and looked Tomomi hard in the eyes.

"Look, I pulled some strings for you last time but this isn't how things work around here."

"I know, I know. but look I got a bank account this time and I really need to get this in. Tomorrow will be over the deadline," Tomomi swallowed her dignity and stood firm on her feet. If she was going to ever in her life ask for help, then at least she wasn't going to stand there to be treated like a pup.

"What are your intentions? What is the relationship between you two?" He turned his computer on and began clacking at the keyboard with two or three fingers.

"We're friends. I'm sponsoring her for college."

"Does she know you're her sponsor?"

"No." He looked up at with an unreadable look and she stared bravely back at him. "I get my money legally, okay? Can you just- c'mon, I need this," she insisted, pulling at her sleeves anxiously and tiptoeing to take a peak at his screen. He turned the monitor away from her pointedly and clicked through several more files. The man did not doubt that the girl had any other intention, the determined look in her eyes was enough evidence. And that tiny, just barely noticeable twinkle at the depths of her irises reminded him of his daughter, who had spluttered like a firework, leaving too quickly and too regretfully. He asked only one more question, for her full name. She hesitated slightly before answering with,

 "It's Tomomi Ogawa."

//