The bite
When the group—sans Sayo and Lisa—arrived back to their cabin wrapped in crisp blankets and savoury pajamas, the three girls who had stayed behind were getting ready for bed, it seemed. The lamp next to Himari’s bed was turned off, and the girl was underneath her blanket with a hot pink sleep mask on. She was so still that Arisa thought she was dead, but it seemed obvious that she didn’t want to be disturbed.
There were also echoing sounds of faucets and chatter coming from the side washroom, but it stopped after only a moment. A feminine voice rang out, “I think I heard footsteps…” and Eve—well, Eve with a minty face mask—peered her head around the corner.
A small smile could be seen on her face. If she didn’t have to worry about cracking her face mask, it would have definitely been larger and wider. She did a small skip to the group. “You’re back! You’ve been go so long!”
Kasumi opened her mouth to speak, but Arisa interjected and made a sly comment with a sinister grin instead. “ Really? It only feels like we’ve been gone for a second! Actually, it feels like we almost never even left!”
Eve’s face fell in a mix of confusion and doubt. She pursed her lips together and did a mental calculation. A bit slow, she was. “That is…” She paused for a moment before her face lit in realization. “Sarcasm! It’s sarcasm, right?!”
Kasumi nodded in agreement. “Yep, definitely! I remember learning about this at school! It’s a funky word term, hehe…”
“Nice to know you were paying attention Kasumi-chan,” Kanon mumbled as she began setting out her things. It was harmless sarcasm, but Arisa found it more than humourous, especially from the typically frail Kanon. She thought she might have heard Chisato - who was now setting out her things as well - lightly chuckle too.
Eve made a frown as she surveyed the girls. She asked, “Where is Lisa-san? Did she not return with you all?”
“Nuh-uh,” Kasumi said, shaking her head. “She went off somewhere with Sayo-senpai. They were acting super duper weird about it, blushing and stuff.” She coughed. “Well, that was probably just Sayo-senpai. Lisa was pretty chill as usual!”
Eve clasped her hands together with a small gasp. “Ah! I see! I know what is happening here perfectly! ” There were practically stars in her eyes.
Arisa stared at her dead on. “You do?” Literally, all she knows is that they went off somewhere; there’s no way she could actually know what was going on. It’s really impossible.
Eve didn’t stutter when she replied like it was her birthright. “This is what we call a rendezvous! ”
...
Huh?
Arisa stared at her with confusion and shock mixed on her face. Her mouth was unknowingly agape and she honestly had no words that could surmise what emotion she was feeling at that moment.
Eve was... semi-right? Yeah, she’s on the right track… I think? Does she even know what a rendezvous is? Still, her intuition is almost creepy.
“Ooh!” Kasumi wondered with enthusiasm before she slowed down, “Whatza rain… day… view…?”
“Rendezvous!”
“Yes, that!” Kasumi shouted affirmingly.
In response, Eve quickly fetched a book from her bedside drawer, she had already made herself quite at home in the cabin. She flipped through the pages with a flash before she stopped as quickly as she began. She explained, holding the page up at Kasumi and Arisa, “I have studied many things about Japanese culture so that when I moved here, I would adapt better!”
That makes sense so far… I think. She squinted as she read the small words on the lined pages. Looking back on it, this was from Eve, so that was unlikely.
“I committed this term to memory!” Eve said proudly. She recited, without looking at the page:
“Rendezvous: a meeting planned at a certain time and place, it can also be a secret meeting between lovers.”
Arisa stared at Eve some more with an incredulous glare. How the hell is that related to Japanese culture; do your research! Kasumi, however, seemed amazed, unaware of the velvet insinuation.
“So they’re just meeting up to talk?” Kasumi asked. “I dunno why Sayo was such a stuttering mess when she asked Lisa to go with her somewhere…”
Arisa stared at Kasumi now, to be fair, she was staring at everyone today as words seemed to be failing her more often than not. Are you really that dense? There’s literally no way.
“Not quite!” Eve said. “They could be… Hm, how do I put this into digestible terms for you ...”
Don’t you dare say it.
“Indulging!” Eve shouted as if a light-bulb lit up over her head. “They could be indulging in a fiery- “
“Shhhh!” Arisa hushed, waving her hands around. Eve stared back at her for a moment, and Arisa tilted her head towards Kanon and Chisato, who were already tucked in bed, trying to sleep.
The model’s face lit up. “Ah! Sorry! I will be more quiet!”
“Just be more careful…” Arisa said. “And honestly, “fiery” is the best word you could have come up with?!”
“I saw a samurai in a movie use that word to describe his love to his passionate-”
“Shush!” Arisa interrupted, shouting at a mere half-whisper. “Even if there was something going on between them, it’s none of our business!”
Looking back on it, it didn’t take me that long to figure it out, but again I’m pretty smart. Eve though - she figures it all out in a matter of minutes?!
Still.
She doesn’t know that she’s right yet, and she won’t. I’m not going to do that to ‘them’. As for as they know, I don't know, and it will stay that way.
The idea of something happening between Lisa and Sayo didn’t really bother Arisa - two girls or not, it was just a relationship - interestingly though, the thought of two people so opposite in many ways coming together in just as many more… It was intriguing, like watching a chemical reaction experiment unfold in real time, and again , Arisa certainly wasn’t going to potentially out someone like that.
She may have had a sharp tongue, and an even sharper wit, but she had morals. Gold star for Arisa!
But, they were soon reminded that they weren’t the only ones in the room, not to mention the only ones awake.
Suddenly, like a ghost, Yukina stepped out of the side-washroom and walked delicately to her bed. She made no eye contact with anyone, and she didn’t say a word. She simply pulled her bed sheets open and laid in, leaving the three to stare at her like they just saw a spirit.
They hadn’t revealed anything accidentally, had they?
Eve whispered, asking the obvious, “Do you think she heard us?”
“I dunno, just- just try and be more careful from now on…” Arisa replied quietly too.
“She’s, like, best friends with Lisa-san, right?” Kasumi asked. To this, Arisa and Eve nodded, and to that, Kasumi tacked on, “ Oh no .”
“Well, even if she heard us, it’s not like she would automatically go and tell Lisa-san… right?” Eve wondered as she placed her book back in her bedside drawer.
“Regardless of if she heard us or not,” Arisa stated, “it’s not even been confirmed that Lisa-san and Sayo-senpai are off… together, so it’s just a rumour for all we know.” For all they know . “Jeez, it’s too late for all this gossip.” With a yawn, she ended up crawling under her bed sheets and shimmying herself in deep within the covers, turning away from the two girls. “Let’s talk about what our senpais may or may not be doing tomorrow , ‘kay? It’s been a long day.”
Kasumi and Eve stared at her despondently before pouting. They both said nothing, and instead rushed off to the bathroom to do who knows what; Arisa heard an echo of Eve say something about a mud mask, but that was all. Whatever they did, it wasn’t loud because Arisa slept without a stir. She’d have to thank Kasumi tomorrow for staying quiet, namely for her sake. Now, only nothing was on her mind, nothing until she woke again.
-
“So Sayo, is going on a walk through the forest in the middle of night a regular thing you do with everyone you date?” Lisa asked. They had been walking for a fair while and Lisa was beginning to wish she wore running shoes instead of her less than practical leather boots.
Sayo was tugging Lisa along by her hand. She didn’t look back to her when she responded. “This is my first time doing this sort of thing with…” She paused for a moment, “my girlfriend.”
Lisa sighed over-dramatically. She chuckled a bit as she almost tripped over a tree root. “Be careful! It’s really dark!”
“Of course, Imai-san.”
But before too long, Lisa found themselves slowing down as they arrived at a clearing in the forest. She heard Sayo mumble, “I think we’re far away enough…”
“Hey, Sayo,” Lisa asked, “this isn’t some sort of murder plan, right? Taking me out in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night where nobody can see us...” She raised a hand to her head, pretending she was fainting, “ Oh~ How dare my heart get taken advantage of!”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sayo said, surprisingly serious. “I just…” She stared at the green leaves adorning the edges of the dirt, “I really didn’t want to risk anyone finding us together, not right now. So that’s why I took us out this far.”
Lisa smiled. “That’s totally understandable Sayo. Whatever you’re comfortable with, I’m comfortable with.”
To that, Sayo smiled. She smiled with one of those looks of pure adoration that almost knocked Lisa down where she stood. “I appreciate that more than I could ever say. Thank you, Imai-san.”
Lisa tilted her head before commenting. “You can call me by my first name if you wanna… I call you Sayo all the time, and we’re kind of an item, so…” She noticed Sayo’s expression still for a moment, so she quickly recovered. “But if you don’t want to, it’s completely fine! Like I said, whatever you’re comfortable with!”
Sayo spoke with hesitance. “It’s okay…” She mumbled the last part in a quiet, high-pitched voice as if it was a question, “Lisa …?”
Lisa squealed. “Oh my gosh, you said it! You really said it!” She muttered to herself, “I almost didn’t think you would.”
Sayo looked at her with a new timid side. “I suppose I did really say it, Lisa.” Lisa loved the way her name rolled off her tongue.
“Say it again for me.”
Sayo deadpanned at her, unsure. She spoke with slight hesitation, “Lisa…?”
“Mhm, yep, one hundred percent…” Lisa said, nodding her head.
“What are you so sure of?”
Lisa shot finger guns at Sayo. She winked and stuck her tongue out playfully. “That my name sounds ten times better when you say it with your super cute voice~.”
Lisa wanted to have fun with this.
Sayo tensed with a flustered expression. “All- All I did was say your name like anyone else would, I did nothing to receive such praise,” Sayo said. Still, it was easy to see by her rapid blush that she really enjoyed such praise.
“You’re adorable, y’know?” Lisa clasped her hands around a frozen Sayo’s. “And you’ve changed so much too!” She made sure to specify: “You’ve changed so much in a good way, a really good way. It’s just amazing!”
“A really good way?” Sayo asked quietly. She looked insecure. Lisa leaned her head closer to Sayo’s, closer to what made her head spin.
“You’ve opened up so so so much, don’t you know?” Lisa began speaking, gradually going soft, reminiscing. “You seem warmer. And although our relationship is still pretty new, you’ve been more physical with me, more touchy… You've been more gentle with Ako and Rinko too, and…” She paused for a moment. She giggled a bit. “And you talked to Yukina like you were equals, which I barely have the guts to do sometimes. Like, you knew what you said mattered and that you should stand up for yourself. And…”
“And?”
Forehead to forehead. “I just… think you’re kind of amazing.”
“Kind of amazing?” Sayo repeated with soft laughter.
“Absolutely Amazing.” Lisa corrected. They were eye to eye, face to face, almost mouth to mouth. Warm. It wasn’t the summer heat. It was her breath. Sayo’s breathing baited between silence and the whiff of the crickets chirping hymns she’d never know. It was hypnotizing.
Sayo’s eyes were emeralds. They were jewels of earth and sparkled as if Sayo stole every star in the sky above them. They were warm, lucid pools of everything Lisa wanted to be a part of at that very moment, churning and constantly moving.
They were pools.
So Lisa dipped in.
-
When Lisa snuck back into her cabin it was probably early morning, she couldn’t tell. She creaked the rusty door open, carefully stepped over everyone’s shoes, and rolled into a vacant bed.
Lisa could barely make out Yukina sleeping through the darkness, and she had a lot that she wanted to say.
I’m sorry for fighting with you. In front of everyone that time before. I should’ve handled it better. It was immature of me.
Despite this, she knew that Yukina had apologizing to do from her end too; despite this, she knew that they’d both eventually admit their wrongs and make amends. They’ve been inseparable forever, best friends since they were toddlers. This wouldn’t stunt them for too long.
As she rolled into bed, she wished she changed into her pajamas before she left with Sayo, now she’d have to sleep in her regular clothes.
Still, there was a heaviness in her mind, and she found her eyes growing heavy in the moonlight. She dotted her tongue over her bottom lip. It was sore.
She smiled as her mind went blank.
-
When eating breakfast at the mess hall the next morning, Arisa opened her notebook and quickly jotted down:
Hanasakigawa & Haneoka Retreat: Day 2
A new day called for a new entry.
But she almost made a huge scribble when Kasumi knocked into her back, a tray of food in hand. Arisa turned around with a reprimand on the edge of her tongue but Kasumi shoved a spoonful of egg into her mouth instead.
“Mrphf!” Arisa sputtered out. She began to yell more unintelligible, half-hearted insults before she began to give more attention to the taste of the fluffy food in her mouth. This is actually… good. Really good.
Arisa swallowed. “I’m not even going to begin on how you almost made me mess up while I was writing - pen is permanent, you know!”
“But the egg was good?” Kasumi asked, not commenting on her potential error.
“I-“ Arisa started before pausing, “Yes, it was good.” Kasumi stared at her silently, a small nod to keep talking. Arisa asked, “Who made it?”
“A certain beautiful, sparkling, intelligent brunette!” Kasumi’s eyes sparkled with an emotion Arisa couldn’t quite decipher.
“Lisa-san made it?”
“No, you silly!” Kasumi shouted with a frown, creasing her forehead. “I made it.”
“Is that so?” Arisa asked skeptically. She questioned, “When have I ever even saw you turn on a stove?”
“You haven’t! I do it whenever you’re not at my house, obviously!” Kasumi replied like the answer was perfectly timed. “Besides, even though Lisa-san was in the kitchen with me doesn’t automatically mean that she had a part in making it! This was a complete Toyama operation, through and through!”
Arisa spoke under her breath, listing off thoughts out loud, “I know that she had volunteered to help with cooking the big meals at camp - student council lets me know these things - and Lisa’s a really good chef, too...” Arisa looked Kasumi up and down. “But you? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Is it really out of character of me to cook?”
“Yes,” Arisa responded without missing a beat.
“C’mon, I really needed the extra volunteer hours...” Kasumi whined. She pleaded, “That kind of stuff looks good on college applications, right?”
“I guess,” Arisa replied, barely soothing her. “But since when have you ever worried about what you’ll do after high school? The only time I’ve ever seen you remotely negative was when Saaya forgot to bring extra melon bread for you that day at lunch...”
Kasumi toyed with her remaining egg with her fork. “It’s just that I always see second and third years being serious about their future; they want to have a solid living and stuff, y’know?”
Arisa was quiet. It was strange for Kasumi to actually act mature for her age, especially when it came to school. Could she have been underestimating her? “I’m following, I think,” she said.
“Well, I just wanted to make sure I start helping around earlier than later, see?” Kasumi grinned. “It’s not super deep, and I know I’m not normally super serious about this kind of thing, but it feels good to be responsible for once!”
“EH?!” Arisa shouted as she shook her friend back and forth, “Where did the old Kasumi go?! The old Kasumi never got serious about her future like this!” She paused before she muttered with a sly smile, “I’m joking, by the way.”
“I know it’s weird, hehe~.” Kasumi giggled. “But we all have to take responsibility at one point, yeah?”
“Jeeeeeeeez, it’s not even noon and here you are, talking about responsibility.” Arisa yawned. “Anyways, you could teach me whatever you did to that egg sometime, yeah?”
“Ooh, Arisa’s never asked to learn something from me before!”
Before Arisa could respond with a snarky comeback, a voice chirped from behind them. “Ooh, Kasumi! Can I try some?” A finger was pointed at Kasumi’s plate. “I saw you cooking it up before and I never got the chance to try it~.”
“Ooh, of course! Take a seat across from Arisa!” Kasumi said motioning to the other side of the table.
When she travelled around to the other side and took her seat, her manicured fingers spiked some egg on to a fork before putting it in her mouth. She made sure to be careful to not mess up her cherry lip-gloss. Lisa had to maintain her appearance after all.
“Mmm! This is really good, Kasumi!” Lisa complimented with a smile. “I never knew you could cook!”
Kasumi giggled sadly. “Well, that’s pretty much one of the only things I can cook well…”
Lisa frowned for a moment before poking Kasumi’s cheek. “C’mon, don’t be like that! You’ll only improve through practice!”
“I guess so…” Kasumi said. Her expression lifted. “Arisa wanted to learn how to make it too!”
Arisa sputtered as a blush rose on her face. “I- No, I didn’t-“ She buried her face in her hands. “Let’s just change the subject, okay?”
“You’re always so quick to get embarrassed, Arisa~,” Lisa purred before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and breathed out a ‘phew’. “Still, I’ve gotta admit, I didn’t expect it to be so hot…” She fanned the hem of her shirt. “The heat attracts so many bugs…”
“I know, right!” Kasumi added in agreement. “My little sis made sure I brought a ton of bug spray~.”
“You have a younger sister?” Lisa asked, interested enough.
“Yep! And I...” Kasumi trailed off as her eyes scanned Lisa’s skin. “Wooaahhh~ You got bit really bad, didn’t you?”
Lisa started looking over her arms. “By a bug? Where?”
“Nuh-uh, not there,” Kasumi said as she shook her head. She pointed, “That big one on your neck, right beside your Lisa’s apple!”
Arisa admonished, “It’s just called an Adam’s apple, it doesn’t have a unique name for each person…” Her eyes still went to where Kasumi was pointing. “Wait a minute…”
“I don’t remember getting…” Lisa said as she felt along her neck. Unsatisfied, she pulled out a small makeup mirror and looked at her reflection. Her face was concentrated for a moment before widening in shock, and then embarrassment.
Arisa stared at Lisa dead on, and she received a dead stare right back. In a moment’s notice, Lisa tried to play it off with a giggle. “Awww, I shouldn’t have been slacking off with the bug spray~. Thanks for letting me know, Kasumi!”
Kasumi shook her head with a hollow aura of superiority. “Never ever forget bug spray, rookie mistake.”
Arisa stayed silent, hoping that her lack of a contribution to the discussion would rush the conversation along. It seemed that Lisa had no plans on pleading any sort of lie to Arisa. Seemingly so, the three of them sat there silently, and everyone but Kasumi could feel the staleness between them. With a small cough, Lisa began, “Anyways, I think I should really get going...!”
Thank god.
“Aw.” Kasumi made a whining noise, frowning. “We’ll see you at the bonfire tonight then, right?”
“Of course!” Lisa said, smiling normally again. She turned to leave, but said one last thing. She kept a warm smile the whole time, which almost made her sound intimidating. “Hey, Arisa? Let’s keep this between us, yeah?”
“I’ll never tell a soul.”
Honestly, she’d forget about it if she could.
“Great!” Lisa then left with a wave, leaving the two girls alone once again.
Arisa went back to finishing off her food before Kasumi poked her shoulder. She whispered, “Psshhhh, Arisa…” Arisa turned her gaze to her while chewing on her breakfast. She raised her eyebrows to signal a ‘what?’
Kasumi asked, “What did Lisa-san mean when she asked you to keep something between the two of you?”
Arisa swallowed. “Nothing you need to know.”
“Aw, come on! Just tell me!”
“Not til the day I die.”