PART 19 - AYAKA - JUNE 28TH
"Ayaka! You made it!" Yossi exclaimed as she opened her front door. I stepped inside and stared incredulously at the chaos inside. What I could see was mostly empty except for a duffel bag near the door, but her bedroom door was open and random things kept being thrown out of the door and near a box living room. I could hear squealing and indistinct yelling. An item finally landed in the box and I heard triumphant shouting; I think I heard Mai yell 'In your face, Korenaga!'... I caught a glimpse of Miki searching meticulously through the kitchen, dancing a little and humming "Boogie Train '03" to herself.
"Yocchan," I started cautiously. Suddenly I heard a scream from the bedroom and Ishikawa came running into the living room holding a small gold statue in her hand.
"I KNEW IT!" Rika exclaimed, thrusting the item at Yossi accusingly. Yossi started laughing. Rika smacked my friend on the arm. "You said you lost it!"
"I did lose it! I lost it somewhere in that closet," Yossi replied defensively.
"What IS that?" I asked.
"Oh, it's from Hello! Morning. Rika and I co-won an award for funniest member," Yossi explained.
"See, it's not fair that you keep it," Rika replied. "It's half mine and - "
"Half yours? Please, it's like 10% yours. Without me, it was just you being painfully narcissistic."
"You're so mean to me!" Rika mock-whined.
"And that's why I keep the trophy," Yossi mock-whined back, snatching the statue from Rika and placing it casually on top of her head. Rika and I both stared, waiting for it to fall down. Yossi crossed her arms and grinned.
"Is your head flat or something?" Rika asked.
"No, I'm just that good," Yossi smirked.
"Hey, Yocchan," Miki called, walking towards us. "You still had some ice cream in the back of the freezer," she continued, smiling sweetly. She held up the found ice cream cone and slowly licked it, staring so blatantly at Yocchan that I almost started blushing for her.
The statue promptly fell off of Yossi's head. Miki turned to me and Rika and smirked.
"And I'm just THAT good," she said as Yossi silently leaned down and picked the figure up off of the floor.
Suddenly, chatter coming from the bedroom stopped, startling the four of us. Yossi's eyes narrowed suspiciously as the silence.
"Maaai?" she called.
"....yes?"
"What's going on in there?" This was followed by the muffled sounds of frantic whispering.
"Nothing!" Mai finally replied. Yossi raised an eyebrow and stalked over to her soon-to-be former bedroom.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" I could hear her yell as she walked inside. I turned to Rika and Miki.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"They're packing the last of her crap up. You know that second closet in Yocchan's bedroom?" Miki replied. I nodded. "Have you ever seen what's in there?"
"I just always assumed it was full of porn," I deadpanned. Rika laughed.
"No, that's in a box under her bed," Miki replied. "She keeps all the freebies she's gotten over the years in there. It's absolutely insane."
"Why are we here, though?"
"We're apparently helping Yossi move as part of Gatas training," Rika replied, rolling her eyes a little.
"But I'm not in Gatas," I protested.
"AND CLEAN IT UP!" Yossi bellowed, stalking back into the living room and slamming her bedroom door behind her. Miki glanced over at me and shrugged before continuing to eat her ice cream.
"Yocchan?" I ventured.
"Hmm?"
"Why am I here? I'm not part of Gatas and I don't remember offering to help you move."
"But you're my best friiiend!" Yossi whined. "Don't you want to help me move? You loooove me, remember?" I groaned at her puppy dog expression.
"Then where's Matsuura?" I asked, gesturing at Miki.
"She's still annoyed that I got mad at her for forgetting she remembered my birthday this year," Miki laughed. I blinked.
"Forgetting she remembered your birthday," I repeated slowly, hoping it would make sense the second time around. Yossi grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
"Yeah, people think the three of us are strange? We've got NOTHING on those two. You have no idea," she muttered.
"What was that?" Miki called.
"Nothing!" Yossi replied with a charming grin. Miki raised an eyebrow and popped the last of the ice cream cone into her mouth. Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" Mai exclaimed, lugging behind her what appeared to be some sort of giant yellow flotation device. Konno followed her, laughing uncontrollably. Miki and I gaped at it in wonder, but Rika started cracking up.
"You KEPT that!?" she squealed between giggles.
"Of course!" Yossi said defensively, snatching the item from Mai and draping it around her like a beauty pageant sash.
"Why does have Kei's name on it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Miki grabbed my arm in a panic and pointed at the floor.
"Forget that! What the hell is that freaky looking brown thing!?" she exclaimed.
"It's my Yasuda Kei cell phone strap!" Yossi replied, as though it should be obvious.
"It's from Utaban," Konno offered.
"OH GEEZ!" We all turned to see a red-faced Korenaga rush out of the bedroom and wordlessly thrust a box at Yossi.
"See?" Miki said helpfully. "She keeps that in a box under her bed."
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