Week Six, Friday
Ayano feels her eyes trying to shut as she pulls herself out of bed. She stumbles when she stands up, and holds onto her dresser so that she doesn’t fall. Sighing, Ayano slowly manages to let go, and gets ready for the day. It takes just as long as yesterday.
Ayano doesn’t even stop for food once she looks presentable. Instead, she grabs her phone and bag, then steps out of the house.
All of her friends are waiting for her, again, and Ayano just smiles at them before locking her house up.
“Yan?” Aso moves to take one of her hands. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“A bit more.” Ayano yawns. “I woke up at...three? I couldn’t go back to sleep.” And she couldn’t, or maybe just didn’t want to. But who would, if closing their eyes meant seeing a boy trying to kill your friend for ‘ love ’. Ayano couldn’t handle seeing that twice in one night, so she stared at the ceiling until her alarm went off.
“Are you having nightmares, Ayano?” Oko asks, and Ayano sighs.
She nods, too tired to pretend anymore. “Yeah.”
Everyone is upset by the news, and Ayano feels a little bit warm at the sight of their compassion. The fact that they care so much makes her feel better, glad that she’ll have such amazing friends to help her through this.
So maybe Ayano is a bit sentimental? She cares about her friends, and is going to exploit her ability to care as much as she can, now that they’ve given her the chance to do so.
Kokona knocks Ayano out of her thoughts. “Hey, Yan?”
Ayano turns her head to look at Kokona. “What is it?”
“Want to have a sleepover tonight? At my house. We can grab some clothes from your place after drama, then go to mine.”
The offer is tempting, and Ayano agrees quickly. Perhaps having a friend around will ward off another nightmare.
Kokona beams. “Great! My father will be happy to meet you! He’s been wanting to for a while now.”
Ayano chuckles at that. “I’m happy to hear that.”
For the rest of the walk, Ayano, Kokona, Kizano, and Riku talk about tonight’s play rehearsal.
When Ayano gets to school, she heads straight to the Student Council room. For once, she’s not distracted by new events, and is able to start her third pile at long last. The pile starts with the current year three students, and Ayano smiles when she finds Kokona’s papers. She’s proud to see that Kokona hasn’t had any issues or fights throughout her time in Akademi. The same goes for Taro and Uekiya, and that doesn’t surprise Ayano at all.
When the warning bell rings, Ayano heads to her class. Despite her eyes searching for any problems, Ayano feels slightly calmer than yesterday. She knows that Otohiko is gone, and only nerves tell her otherwise.
Mrs. Fuka allows the class to have a free study day, working on whatever subject they feel that they’re the worst in. She smiles and talks about the new school that she’s going to work at, and how she starts on Monday. Ayano hopes that their new teacher will be a good one, and that they won’t try to be too friendly or too strict.
When the lunch bell rings, Osano happily pulls her up to the roof, shoving a bento into her hands as soon as they get to their spot. Ayano thanks him and sits, quickly surrounded by her friends and their conversations. It’s nice, and lunch flies by without Ayano realizing it.
The afternoon goes the same as the morning, and Osano and Kizano arrange their seats around Ayano’s desk.
At first, the trio study, asking each other questions when they’re stumped, but in the last hour, they all sit around and talk.
“So,” Osano starts, leaning on the desk. “Are you guys all ready for the play?”
“Of course we are!” Kizano says proudly. “My Drama Club is always ready by performance night, no matter what! Is the Cooking Club ready for tomorrow?”
Osano smiles. “We’ve been allowed entrance tomorrow morning, so we’re going to spend most of tomorrow baking before the show. We have like ten different desserts planned, so we have practically everyone showing up to bake again.” He shoots a playful glare in Ayano’s direction. “It would be everyone , but somebody decided to join Drama Club as well.”
Ayano laughs. “In my defense, I joined Drama Club first. And Kokona is doing the same, so not all of the blame is on me!”
Osano sighs. “Just keep making excuses, Aya.”
Osano manages to keep a straight face for five seconds, but Ayano’s giggling breaks him. Soon, all three are laughing. Nobody shushes them, because the whole class is filled with conversation at the moment.
The three continue to banter until the bell rings, signaling the end of class. Ayano quickly cleans off the chalkboard, and as soon as cleaning time is over, she and Kizano are practically racing off to the gym, eager for their last practice. They’re fast enough that it takes a solid minute for Aso to catch up.
“And I thought I was the athlete in this friend group,” Aso says as he catches up, making Ayano laugh again.
When they arrive at the gym, everyone is talking animatedly. Kokona and Riku are in one corner, going through a scene, and the other three club members are talking about lighting and prop set up for the opening scenes.
As soon as Kizano clears his throat, the Drama Club kids rush to their places, excited to begin. Kizano chuckles at the sight, and ten minutes later, they start their final play rehearsal.
Hours pass by, and soon enough they’re done. As they practice their bows, Ayano looks around, happy to see how far the group has come for the play. When they all stand back up, everyone breaks the silence, talking excitedly. Kizano herds them out of the gym, locking it up behind him, then takes Ayano’s hand.
When they arrive at the gate, Kokona joins the five boys in walking Ayano home. When they get to her place, Kokona quickly picks out an outfit for Ayano, saying that, “No matter if it’s your first play or fiftieth, you always have to look amazing when you step off of the stage!”
The walk to Kokona’s place is quick, and Ayano meets Mr. Haruka. He’s happy to meet her, and greets her pleasantly. Ayano wonders if he knows that Ayano is the reason he’s debt free. She doesn’t care to ask.
Instead, she just greets Mr. Haruka in return, eats dinner with him and Kokona, and is promptly dragged off by Kokona to her room.
It’s...very purple. That’s all Ayano can seem to think about it. The walls, the bedding, there’s even a purple rug on the floor.
Ayano should have expected it, to be quite honest. So she just smiles at the sight.
The girls talk for a few hours before falling asleep.
Ayano doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night, sleeping soundly throughout the whole night.
1202 words.