It was another fair-weathered day near the final days of April. It was so pleasant outside that the teachers had the school windows opened. Every breeze lifted the spirits of the students, causing them to literally perk up from the fresh air. By the time lunch came around, there was a general mood of positivity throughout the school.
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Hitoka turned her chair around to face Himeko's desk. The two girls pulled out their bentos, setting up their lunches for the day. Himeko had been looking forward to lunch all day. She packed a little extra treat for herself. Her uncle made daifuku last night and she was able to pack a couple in her bento.
Himeko glanced up from her bento to see what Hitoka had brought that day.
Right away, Himeko noticed that Hitoka's lunch was different from normal.
Hitoka's mother was a busy businesswoman. She worked a lot of long hours, and as a consequence, Hitoka picked up a lot of the house chores. Himeko could relate since she had to do the same when she lived with her father since he was usually too busy during play season... and outside the season with training... He was generally very busy. Himeko and Hitoka ended up making their own school lunches—and lunches for their parents.
Hitoka's lunch was normally healthy, light, and rarely had meat. Hitoka wasn't opposed to meat in general, but she had a hard time digesting it and so refrained when she could.
That day, however, there was an abundance of rolls and meatballs. It smelled amazing, but the overload of meat was curious.
Himeko gestured to her lunch with her chopsticks. "How come, um, you made all that?"
"Oh, um, I stayed up late watching Midnight Diner," Hitoka answered with a small giggle. She brushed back some of her short blonde hair. "I wanted to replicate something I saw on there, and, well..."
"Ooooh! I've wanted to—to, um, do that sometimes too," Himeko said with a big smile. "The stuff they show on food shows always looks so out of this world good."
"I know, right? Whether it's that, Iron Chef, or—"
"Ghibli," they said at the same time.
"I would give my left foot to try anything from Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle. It looks so much better there than in real life," Himeko said with a longing sigh. She rested her cheek on her right hand, staring out the window.
