The Streets Of Japan

Is She Drunk?

 I saw them the second I walked through the door to the sushi bar. Nima and Kaho sat at one of the few tables the restaurant had. Not wanting any confrontation, I try to be discreet when I place my order but being a blonde haired girl in Japan makes that more challenging.

"Carmen?" I hear Nima call. "Hey," she waves from her seat when I look over at them.

To put things nicely, Kaho does not look as happy to see me. Her lips are in a tight line and her eyes never meet mine. She just concentrates on the food in front of her. Nima on the other hand gestures me over.

"Great," I mutter quietly to myself as I put a fake smile on my face, grab my food, and walk over.

Don't get me wrong, I like Nima. She's sweet and we seemed to get along well at the arcade. It's Kaho I'm worried about, and after what happened between me and Reo, I'm even more scared of her. 

"Hi," I greet as I approach where they're sitting. 

"Here." Nima pulls out the chair next to her. "Come eat with us." 

"Oh I wouldn't want to intrude," I say in an attempt to politely decline but she wasn't having it. 

"You're not, I insist."

I flash her a small, polite smile as I take the seat and place my tray down in front of me. The next few moments are awkward as we silently eat. Occasionally I can sense Kaho looking at me, studying my every move and taking in every detail of my appearance. 

"So," I start. "What's up? Anything new?" 

"Nope, we were just having a girl's day and stopped for lunch," Nima fills me in. 

"Oh, that sounds nice," I state.

"You?" 

"I was just going to head back to the apartment and chill. Take advantage of having the place to myself for a bit." 

Nima shoots me a confused look. "Yourself?"

I didn't really want to get into the fine details, so I briefly fill the two girls in on Hitoshi's situation and how I'll be living alone for the next few days. 

"Oh my god, I am so sorry to hear that!" Nima exclaims. "We were planning on going to a party at Saki's tonight if you want to come?"

We both turn as Kaho drops her chopsticks. I can see her friend shoot her a warning glance in my peripheral vision causing Kaho to apologize and blame it on the fact that she's clumsy. 

"You should definitely come, the whole gang's going to be there." She's trying really hard to sell this party idea to me. I need to think of an excuse and fast.

"I don't really have any party clothes," I lie. 

Without hesitation she says "You can just borrow something of mine. We're around the same size." Her eyes scan me up and down as she mentally confirms her statement. 

I didn't want to have to do this, but she's left me with no choice. 

"Is it alright if I tag along, Kaho?" I question fully knowing that she'll say no.

She looks up at me for the first time since I sat down and shrugs. "Yeah, I don't care."

Damn it.

"Great, it's settled then!" she squeals. "Now hurry up and eat so we can get ready."

...

Fortunately, Nima's place wasn't that far from the restaurant. The tension between me and Kaho was strong and if Nima didn't keep talking, there would've been some intense silence. We walked the colorful streets of Tokyo until we got to the light blue apartment complex in the center of the city.