Well I had some time to write this one and I really need to find some guidance to motivation
Chapter 8With the conversation passing the first hour, Eripon followed Risa to the shop to get the dimensions for her uniform. The younger of the two walked like a snail with the sun setting only giving a little light to walk through the alley. The bean looked back and hurried to turn on her shop lights to calm her fears down.
She entered the shop and saw the stool in the middle of the room with all the furniture cleared out to the side as Risa grabbed her tape measure.
“Stand on it.” She barked as she untangled the fairly used plastic.
Risa kneel down on the floor and measured her right ankle’s circumference, and then quickly wrote it down on her clipboard. Without notice, she wrapped it around her mid-thigh and Eripon let out a short giggle catching the bean’s attention.
“Are you okay?” She asked with her pencil in her mouth and squinting to find the closest measurement point.
Eripon flashed an OK sign and Risa stood up to get her midsection. Eripon showed her reservations about lifting her shirt but quickly threw them away as she lifted enough for the bean to get her measurement. She could feel her breath on her bare skin and the case of nerves got her to shiver for a quick second. However, she was far from normal and closed her eyes to gain back her composure not noticing she was on the chair, she wobbled for a bit, and her body pushed the chair from under her.
A person walking by heard the crash and opened the door to see the girl on top of the uniform maker with their lips inches apart. The look of shock on Risa’s face said everything and the walker bowed her head before closing the door behind her.
“Mou, you’re heavy.” Risa turned the girl off her and dusted off.
Eripon was dazed from the accident as she looked up at the ceiling and she smelled something coming from her lips. She ran her finger over her top lip and sniffed it for a moment. Her mind started going at a quick pace as the panic was becoming obvious on her face and turned her over and bowed while she was on the ground.
“Get up.” Risa lifted her from the ground and dusted off the girl as she kept her head down.
Eripon lifted her head as she started to tear up and Risa quickly embraced her as a mother would and released her grip. Eripon stood up straight to finish up the measurements and Risa escorted her to the street so she could return with Risa getting to the tail end of the conversation.
Ai glanced over at her partner and noticed the bruise on her cheek. She poked the bean’s cheek with her partner giving a wince. Sayu quickly went to the back to get a cold pack from the freezer and instantly put it on the bruised area. Risa held it to her cheek as she pondered over the girl’s reaction.
Eripon jogged back home feeling her lips every step of the way. The weird feeling was cramping her midsection and stopped a block before her house to catch her breath. Her mind replayed the whole scene and she couldn’t believe that she had kissed her. However, her heart was pumping quicker with every thought of the bean and even trying to shake it off made her anxious to apologize for kissing her. Eripon got her energy back to push to her house and arrived with her maids setting up the table for dinner.
She headed up to the bathroom and locked herself inside to shield everyone away from her as her thoughts were being scattered on the floor. On one hand, her feelings toward Fuku-chan were strong and by working side by side, she has a strong bond between them. Then, the new found crush in Risa was giving her a weird feeling in her stomach but her bipolar personality was problematic towards her.
Her thoughts consumed most of the time in the bathroom as she laid down looking up at the ceiling. Every issue was aiming toward how she can break through the wall with Fuku-chan while ridding of the feelings toward Risa. Once she heard the knocking, she opened the door to Riho with her eyes aiming towards her and her hands shaking at her side. Then, Zukki wrapped her arms around the other maid to prevent any damage she would do to the older girl.
“Eripon, are you okay?” Riho irritated by the two girls around her.
“Don’t get mad at her because I placed the utensils in the wrong place.” Zukki said cutely causing an annoyance to her partner.
“Don’t worry; I was just thinking about stuff. I’ll eat while you guys prepare my bath.” The two maids nodded as she headed back downstairs for her meal.
She took a seat in front of the hot food and picked apart the fish skillfully avoiding the bones. Her chopsticks moved at a constant pace until the meal was all in her stomach. She felt her phone vibrating and it was another text from Fuku-chan talking about her boredom, which entertained the girl, and returned a text about doing something on her own and suggested cleaning her room.
Her reply made her giggle and she headed up to the bathroom for her bath, it was a pleasure to have people help you with your every need but the emptiness was still unfilled within her mind. As she sat in the tub, her mind started to swirl about what she could do to help around the house. Her maids seemed well prepared for anything that she has requested in the past but what if she could learn or talk to them at an even level.
The maids looked at the time and wondered if Erina was okay in the bath and Riho popped her head into the bathroom seeing her head tilted up at the ceiling. She crept in closer to find her eyes blinking fast before the clear water scared her away.
“Riho… may I speak to you and Zukki after my bath?” The maid nodded as she excused herself before she had any more exposure to her own demise.
Ten minutes later, Eripon was dressed for bed and invited the maids to have a seat. It seemed unusual for anyone to be casual in this setting especially when they would get berated for a poor performance but Eripon’s calm demeanor indicated a different type of conversation.
“I was wondering if you could help me with something.” The two maids nodded simultaneously.
“I know that I may be out of my mind when I decided to work but I like somebody.” Zukki scooted her chair in closer as Riho kept her distance.
“Who is it? Is it a boy? Maybe it could be someone mysterious?” Zukki was going tangent as Riho closed her mouth from behind.
“Let her speak, Zukki before I get my cider drink and not talk to you.” The other maid pouted as Eripon continued on with her thoughts.
“It was the waitress who gave me a pastry when I decided to stay in the rain. I didn’t want to bother anyone but she was nice enough to get me some food. I feel weird when I am around her but today I kissed someone else.” Zukki gasped at the remark while Riho smirked.
“You kissed a boy.” Zukki gasped again as Riho shook her head.
“No… a woman. She was the one to give me the job with father’s permission but I feel that she is mean to me but that what makes her attractive.” Riho nodded as she excused her from the room and came back later with a small bottle of cider in her hand.
“Riho-chan! You are so mean to get cider while the master is talking.” Zukki exclaimed as Riho poured her drink into the cup.
Riho took a sip and placed the cup onto the table. She walked up to the master with her hands on her face and moved in closer with her lips before stopping a millimeter in front of them.
“You need to realize that Fuku-chan has more in common than you know. The woman may not know your intentions but forget about her. Zukki knows that I rarely show my true emotions except for my bottle of cider in which she teases me continuously but you know where your heart lies and stick to that.” Her explanation made sense and she acknowledged that is how she should approach it and wrote down an order for a case of cider which made the maid happy.
“One more thing before you leave, can you teach me how to do some chores?” Both nodded and Zukki left the room while Riho stayed behind.
“How did you know her name?”
“Your phone is always ringing in the morning. I think she stays up late to just text you her thoughts or she is sleep texting.” Riho grinned as she skipped out of the room and Eripon lay her head on the pillow to sleep.