Good morning

IV

The blonde girl I talked to in that staircase was now in front of me yet again.

The amber glow of golden hour in late spring made her eyes seem all the more colourful. They looked like the sky, vibrant as they were.

Her piercings fell from her ears and dangled above her shoulders. The lip gloss she wore was thick and sticky looking. 'I never realized how pretty she was'. The dark sunlight shining through the window seemed to tell me that.

"Are you here for someone? Sendo maybe!" Miku asked.

"Hochun..."

"Huh?"

"I'm here for Hochun." She spoke.

Her pronunciation of my name has gotten better...

"Hi Jessie." I waved.

She waved back and smiled slightly. Her left eye was still slightly darker than the other. I furrowed my brows when I saw how she tried to cover it with makeup.

"You two friends or something?" Miku asked.

"Just classmates. We spoke the other day under the staircase but um..."

"That was it." I finished her sentence for her.

She nodded and looked down.

"I see! Jessie what is it?"

"Mhm..."

"You should walk home with us! We'll buy you a meat bun, 'kay?" Miku's smile appeals to everyone, but today it seemed extra effective.

"Uh sure, if you really don't mind."

"Chinen? Mieru?" Miku looked over at us.

"I'm not opposed." Chinen giggled.

"Me neither."

"Great!"

"Hey um, I know this might be a girl thing but can I come too? I heard something about meat buns, and now I can't stop thinking about them." Sendo chuckled.

"Wow really? Yay that means we have five people total!"

"The more the merrier."

Sendo packed his papers into a file holder and stuffed them in his bag.

We headed out to the store with everyone.

While waiting at a table for Miku and Chinen to finish paying me, Sendo, and Jessie all sat together.

"Your... Your papers." I said.

"Huh?" Sendo looked confused.

"You're not running off to get them somewhere?" I pointed to his bag.

"They don't need to be delivered right away like last time." He chuckled and scratched the nape of his neck.

"Ah I see."

"Mieru do you have cash on you? The machine isn't working!" Miku called me from the register.

"Yeah!" I called back before standing up and walking over with my wallet in hand.

"Thanks man, I'll pay you back when I get my paycheck."

"Nah don't worry about it."

Back at the table Sendo and Jessie were all alone.

"Suwamura's your name, right?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah, call me Sendo though."

"Why?"

"Eh- what do ya mean 'why'?"

"No one else here except Kokichi calls you by your first name. And we've only just met. So why me?"