You hem and haw for a moment. The ghost mask is really good, but you also kind of like the hennya. Finally though, you pluck the ghost mask off the shelf and hold it up next to your head with a laugh.
"Think this'll make for a spooky tour guide, huh? I just need the right costume for the rest of it." The response is good. Osamu gives you a thumbs up and a wide, cheesy grin. Erika nods in her own more muted show of approval.
"It's really good, Hanako-chan. You'll look really scary. I love it!" You tuck the mask under your arm and head towards the front of the shop. Costume pieces are individual expenses (though you can justify a few things for the club now and then) and Miyako and Hikari scurry up to the rest of you a few moments later. They have a whole shopping basked--a long black wig, make up palettes, fake blood, even some of those cheesy fake cob webs and plastic spiders. And is that a fake skull you see in there? Sheesh. You smile at them.
"Looks like you had a successful mission, hm?" Miyako nods.
"Yeah! I think we found everything we need for now."
"Good--let's pay for this and grab lunch. I'm starving..." You glance at your phone--it's closing in on one o'clock already. Have you really been at this for a couple hours. After a brief wait with all of the costume bits and bobs paid for, the group of you troop back out into the summer sunlight from the cramped costume store. You're surrounded by friendly chatter as you head back towards the station--Miyako is insisting that there's a cafe along the way that's simply amazing--and you smile, letting yourself bask in the presence of your friends. As you walk, you feel a slight bump and Erika's shoulder nudges against yours. On accident, clearly. You glance at her and smile, but don't say anything.
The cafe is a bright, cheery place with comfy booths and large windows that let in lots of the summer sunlight. It's typical fare in the Western style and soon you're poking at a prawn salad while the rest of the club keeps talking around you. You're a little overwhelmed, but you feel a sense of pride and a job well-done. You managed to get everyone here, keep them on task, and accomplish what you set out to do without going over the club budget. You're not paying a lot of attention and instead focus on devouring your food. You do pick up on conversation after a moment.
"--yeah, I was talking to my friend in the baseball club and he thinks that one of the guys might be, like... a queer." Osamu is talking and you feel your blood freeze in your veins. You pause to stare, food halfway to your mouth. "But he's not sure." You feel a sense of panic and the whole cafe seems to shrink down until it's just the five of you crowded into your booth. You swallow, not sure if you should say anything. If you say something, what if that attracts attention? Is this it? Is this how your club ends? In scandal? You don't have to, though, because Hikari speaks up first.
"So what if he is? He's not hurting anyone!" Her voice is sharp and cuts through your anxiety like a knife. You glance at her, wide-eyed, and then Miyako pipes up.
"Yeah, it's not like he's doing anything wrong," the fox girl adds. Crap. Craaaap. Should you say something? You should. You're the president.
"I mean, I didn't say anything was wrong with it--" Osamu stutters, trying to backpedal, or atleast defend himself against the two-pronged attack.
"I don't think it's a problem," you're surprised to hear your own voice added to the conversation. It's not your usual voice that you're used to when you're anxious and trying to find words. It's your club president voice, the one that organizes meetings and gives budgets and directs design.
"Besides, he's not in our club so it's none of our business. We shouldn't pry into other people's private lives." That was you. You said that. How? Maybe because of your position, you feel a need, no... a responsibility to try and nip that kind of thinking in the proverbial bud.
"Hanako is right," Erika adds in a breezy voice. You can feel the tension underneath it though. "And I don't think we should use that word when we talk about people, Osamu." Osamu looks suitably chagrined, his cheeks turning a little red as every girl at the table seems to gang up on him at once. He lowers his head and mumbles an apology.
"Sorry, I didn't think about it like that. You. Um. You're right. I shouldn't pry into other people's private lives..." He sighs and leans back in his seat, trying to look more composed than he feels (something you know all about). "I didn't mean to make anyone upset."
Hikari gives a little smile.
"S'okay. Now you know for next time. I just... don't like telling rumors about people and acting like who they love is a huge deal." Osamu doesn't say anything, he just nods. You're not sure what that means exactly, but you're not that owrried. In a minute or two the conversation starts to buzz again and Miyako and Osamu quickly start a friendly argument about an anime that drags on through the rest of lunch until Hikari stands.
"I need to get to the station here," she says. "I told my mom I'd be back..." Miyako blinks, then nods.
"I'll go with you. I gotta get going myself," she says as Osamu stands himself and smiles at the rest of the group.
"Nice seeing all of you. Sorry again if I was kind of a bonehead. Gonna walk with the girls to the station." You nod, glancing at the time again. A little past two--you've been sitting here talking and laughing over empty coffees for at least fifteen minutes now.
"Okay," you say. You're about to say something else, then Erika chimes in.
"We'll be along in a bit. I want to sit a little longer." Osamu nods.
"See you Monday, then." The three head out of the shop after a few moments more and it's just you and Erika in the booth. She sighs and flops over a little, letting her head rest against your shoulder. You envy her apparent energy sometimes, it makes her so much more expressive and excited than you are sometimes. You're just dramatic when the mood strikes you. The feel of her against your shoulder is warm and you reach over to gently hold her hand beneath the table.
"...Well I survived," you say, laughing.
"You did good, Hanako. You're a good president. And good job speaking up to Osamu. He's... he's a guy. You know how it is." You're not sure you do know how it is, but you nod anyway. You're enjoying having a little more private time and hoping that you can stick around a little longer before you inevitably have to head for home. Erika squeezes your hand.
"He'll learn," she continues. "He just needs time. And a little pressure." You snort at that.
"Well. Let's not think about that," you murmur. "...Are you going on the Live Out Loud camping trip?" Erika looks up at you and shakes her head and you feel your heart drop into your stomach. Oh.
"No, I would never be able to get my parents to sign off on it. Buuut on the other hand, if I happened to camp on my own at the same campground at the same dates doing my own thing, they can't really get mad at me, can they?" She winks at you and you smile, feeling a little relief.
"Well, maybe I'll see you then," You add with a wink. Honestly, you'd like to sit here forever but you're pretty sure any longer and the wait staff are going to go crazy, so you finally get to your feet and the pair of you head for the station, not quite hand in hand. Close enough to bump into each other, though. Which is made awkward by the rolls of cloth and other things you're carrying, but you manage. Finally, at the station you have to go your separate ways and your heart feels light and fuzzy as you wave goodbye to Erika on the station platform.
Today was a good day. You got a lot done. You're, dare you say, happy? The walk from the station to home seems to take longer than usual, if only partially because you're hauling so much stuff with you. You nudge the door open when you get home.
"I'm home!" You kick your shoes off and struggle towards the stairs so you can drop your things in your room.
"Welcome home!" Your mother's voice You pass by the living room where you spot your mom. She's sitting there, focused on a book in her lap. She glances up at you and smiles.
"Hey, Hanako. When you get that stuff put away can you come downstairs? I need to ask you something. You're not in trouble!" Mom is smiling but that still makes you nervous. You nod in reply, then hurriedly ascend the stairs, your heart seeming to pound a little faster the higher you get. You slip into your room and drop your stuff, then hurry back downstairs, curiosity and anxiety warring inside of you. You plop down onto the couch next to your mom, who closes her book.
"Where's Dad?"
"He went out to pick up some groceries. How was your shopping trip?"
"Ah. It was fine, you know? We got some good stuff. And a cool mask."
"Lovely! I'll have to see it later," Mom smiles. You kind of wish she wasn't wasting time on pleasantries and would just get to what she wants to talk about.
"Anyway, ah..." Her ears flick, flatten a little for a brief moment. "It's about that camp you're going to be doing work for over the break, actually." Danger! DANGER! Alarm bells ring in your head and you try to not appear too panicky. This could be bad. Really bad.
"...Is someone making you go? You don't have to do it if you don't want to, you know that right?" You blink. She thinks someone is forcing you to go...? That's weird. You give a shake of your head.
"Ah, no... I'm going because they asked, but not one is making me go, Mom. That's silly."
"You're probably right, Hanako,"Mom says with a little laugh that sounds more nervous than you expected. "I just... worry. I don't want you to get recruited or something like that. If anyone does anything to make you uncomfortable, you can call me and I'll come get you, okay?" Your blood seems to ice over again. Does... Does mom really think that you'd need her to come get you like you were some kid at a sleep over? Or that--that the people at Live Out Loud would try and recruit you? Well. They kinda did but not the way mom is thinking!
"Mom, no one is going to recruit me. It's not like a school club or something!" You reply with a shrill indignance that you're not sure you realized you could posses. Mom sighs and gives you a Look.
"I trust your judgement, Hanako. I just worry about these kinds of people, that's all." These kinds of people. You heart feels like someone has rammed an icicle through it and you kind of wish you could curl up and die.
"Is someone you know in this, ah, organization?"
Oh. Crap.
[ ] No. Tell Mom you don't know anybody there. That's crazy talk!
[ ] Tell Mom that your friend Jesse is in Live Out Loud and that's how you know of it.
[ ] Sure! Tell Mom that your friend Erika used to be a member. Kind of.
[ ] Yes. You can't say who though, because you were told in confidence.
