The Ballad of Miku and Teto

Chapter 8: Pink and Purple Bread

  I stare down at my phone. I barely use it, since all my friends are here, at the house where not much happens. Since I'm looking on the bright side, I should actually do something with my life! It's better than sitting here to just waste away. Literally.

  "Hello? How are you?" I practice my greeting as I dial the number. "Hey, it's Teto. You know, Kasane Teto?" No answer yet. "The one with the curls?"

  "Hello?" I almost jump when Defoko picks up.

  "Kasane Teto, it's hello!" Dang it!

  "What?"

  I take a deep breath."Hanami? Teto?"

  "What?"

  "Who else do you know whose name is Teto?!"

  "Oh!" Defoko sure is loud on the phone. I distance it from my ear as she speaks."It's Drillhead!"

  "Ugh..... Yes, it is."

  "Pinky!! Drillhead's on the phone!"

  She's so loud! "Pinky!!!!" After that, Defoko stays quiet, and I can only hear her breathing. That hushed, whispery breathing she's known for. 

  Then there's thmp sounds, and I hear Momo's voice."Hello?"

  "Hey." Wish I didn't sound like I owned rent.

  "Oh. Hey." And I wish SHE didn't sound like we just had a fight.

 "Well....."

  "Well?"

  I take another deep breath before forming a question in my head."Do you want to, like, hang out and stuff?"

  "Stuff?"

  "Yeah. Stuff."

  "Okay. Stuff."

  "Stuff."

 There's an awkward silence, and for what feels like several hours, I wait for a response. She said yes, so....

  "We can hang here."

  "Yes, here."

  "Here," she repeats it with emphasis. "Then we can talk... And stuff."

  "Stuff?"

  "Yeah. Stuff."

  "Okay...."

  "How about later this afternoon?"

  "Sure. I'll bring.... Something. Maybe. Probably."

  "O-kay. See you then."

  "Stuff you later!" Wait-what? She hangs up as I begin to mumble confusedly.

  I set down the phone, my head throbbing. That phone call was way too complicated. I'm hungry. There any food?

  I snoop around the kitchen, my stomach growling. Most girls sound cute when their tummies do that, but I sound more like a chainsaw revving.

  "Who's making all that noise?" Rin walks in, her eyes like squeezed parentheses and her arms up in the air. "I'm hungry, too!"

  "I was hungry first, so you'll have to wait!"

  Rin pauses, her eyes open and narrowed on me. There's a treacherous gleam in her eyes, and my eyes narrow as well. In a fast-paced motion, I turn my head towards the fridge, my curls bouncing in my face as I rush to it.

  Rin hops recklessly on the table and rolls over it, her large ribbon moving slightly on the top of her head. I open the fridge, my other hand occupied pushing her face away from its contents.

"Mine!" I hiss as I reach for Luka's yogurt in the back.

  "No!!!" Rin hisses. "You don't even need it!" She peeks over my shoulder and gropes my chest."I need it the most out of everyone here!"

  "What the hell?!" We turn simultaneously to see Miku staring at us, her face twisted with disgust.

  "My yogurt!" Luka runs just like a Japanese school girl. Her chest pillows flop up and down as she daintily runs toward us. You wouldn't know how old she was since she's such a kid inside. But outside....

  "Show off." Rin pouts as the pink-haired woman comes in between us, breathless.

   "You tried to steal my food!" Luka waves a finger at us."Naughty, naughty!"

  I close the fridge as Luka hugs her yogurt."I'm hungry."

  "Don't just steal from people!"

  Miku scoffs as she walks away."What else is new?"

Luka ignores her and continues the lecture."Don't ever interfere with a lady's nutrition! "

  Rin takes a sharp index finger and pokes one of Luka's breasts."You don't need any more nutrition! "

  Luka squeals, her face getting red."Rin! So young, so young."

  "Don't act like you're any older." I chuckle, walking over to the table. It smells like Rin, of course.

  "If you want to eat, eat some if Teto's bread!"

  Luka opens the freezer, her huge tuna taking up most of the space. Squished in the back is my now jacked-up bread. It's cold and hard like a block of ice.

  "What the hell is this?!" I slap it on the table as I talk. 

  "Freshness!" Luka smiles like an idiot.

  "Maybe Meiko can-" Rin begins, but I shut her down before she can continue. I drop by Gumi's room and throw it onto her desk."New drumstick. Congratulations. "

  "Eh?"

  I'm practically starving by the time I reach Momo and Defoko's place. It's more modern than our house, just like a Loid's place should be. I press the doorbell, and I blush at the singing voices it makes. A mix of Momo's, Defoko's, and.... Mine.

  They still.... Kept it.

  "Hello?" Defoko answers the door, her voice the complete opposite of what it was over the phone.

  "Hey."

  "Drillhead." She opens the door to me, and waling inside is like walking down Memory Street. Or was that Memory Route? Memory Avenue perhaps?

  "You came!" I see a surprised Momo, dressed in a green and white sundress.

  "Yep." I nervously make curling motions in my already curled hair, and it dawns on me just how much I think about hair.

  "Would you like a drink?" Defoko kindly asks.

  "Yes, please."

    

  At first I thought that this would be really awkward, but I'm actually having fun. We went up to their room, and I felt a pang in my heart as I saw the bed that used to be mine. Everything is neatly set down, but it looks like stuffed animals and folded blankets have taken up residence there.

  "Uta doesn't know how to work like I do!"Momo laughs, her face turning as pink as her hair, just like she always uses to do whenever she was laughing hard. " That's why she needs me to make her bed!"

  We laugh only because it's ridiculous. Momo always found uncleanliness funny, unlike Miku who throws a fit.

  "After pillow fights, you always pluck up the feathers while you're getting hit, Pinky!" Defoko giggles, her voice as cute as a tiny rabbit's.

  I feel like I've finally caught up with something I've been missing. Sure, hanging out with Rin and the girls is fun, but things end up getting catty or something. But here... It's so fun! Life here is like a never-ending ballad.

  "I always remember how much you cleaned, Pinky!" I laugh, almost regretting calling her that nickname until she smiles at me with a friendly, mischievous grin.

  "Only you would go all out in everything you do, Drillhead!"

  Yes, a ballad composed of Momo, Defoko, and Teto. Uta, Pinky, and Drillhead.