courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

04

What the heck should I wear?? I have no clothes...

After getting back home, we had a quick lunch and then went to our rooms to get ready since we had less than an hour to freshen up before the coaches arrived to take us to Tokyo.

After taking a shower, I spent a good 20 minutes staring at the wardrobe, waiting for some inspiration. I heard a knock. "It's me," said a soft female voice, and Reira walked in.

She was wearing a black knitted top with a nude top underneath, high-waisted green cargo pants with a black belt. She had left her hair down and straight, and was wearing a large sports watch given to her by her sponsor. As soon as she entered the room, I caught a delicate scent of honey. "Remind me to try your shampoo, it smells so good and makes your hair so soft and shiny."

She chuckled, sitting down on the desk chair. "Yours also smells like flowers. Are you still choosing what to wear? We only have 10 minutes..." She looked at me with her cheek resting on her arm, which she had propped up on the back of the chair.

"Yeah... every time, I never know what to wear. It feels like I have no clothes." I pouted as I pushed aside the hanging clothes.

"You always say that, but the truth is you're overflowing with clothes because you never stop buying new ones." Since she was sitting behind me, I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was shaking her head in a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Try wearing that long black skirt you bought last week when we went out together."

"Right! I totally forgot about that skirt! What would I do without you, Reira-senpai?"
I turned towards her to blow her a kiss, grabbed the skirt, a white top, and a gray sweater, and rushed to the bathroom to change.

I heard her laugh softly. "For such a small thing?"

A little later, I came out of the bathroom and struck a pose in front of her. "How do I look?"
She gave me two thumbs up in approval.

I grabbed a black purse and the sunglasses I usually wear as a headband and opened the door to the room. "Okay, now we can go."

We joined the others who were already downstairs waiting, seated on the sofas.

"Chō always makes us wait forever," Ayumu said as he saw us coming.

"I bet you just got here too! And besides, Reira just came down now as well, so why do you always blame me?" I looked at him with furrowed brows.

"Because I know you, and I know that Reira got ready in 10 minutes, unlike you. Plus, I've been here for an hour," he said, getting up from the sofa.

"Oh, how much nonsense do you spout in a day, Ayumu-senpai?" I playfully pushed him.

The others laughed. "He got here barely two minutes before you did."

"And whose side are you on?" Ayumu glared at them. We put on our shoes and headed out.

I took the seat at the back of the van to be alone, ready to take a nap since the journey would be long. Sitting in front of me was Ayumu, who turned around to look at me. "Chō, don't fall asleep again or you'll be even more tired later."
I scowled at him. "That's not true."

He sat back down. "As you wish; I warned you."

I stuck my tongue out at him, knowing he couldn't see me, and got comfortable with my headphones on.

After 20 minutes of listening to music, I picked up my phone because I couldn't fall asleep. I checked social media to see what was happening in my friends' lives.
I liked the selfie Reira had posted.