You're My National Treasure

A Blessing and A Curse

Yuuko woke up begrudgingly, like she usually did on a school day. She knew that nothing that interesting would happen, at least she didn’t expect anything interesting to happen. It was usually the same events each day, Yuuko would either find her friends walking to the train station, and in that case be on time, or not find her friends, knowing she would be late. Then she would pester Mio or Mai into letting her copy her homework, knowing that she’ll never be motivated enough to do it herself, she’d eat lunch, then go back home or tag along with her friends until the night crept in. Rinse and repeat until something ridiculous happens, then rinse and repeat again.

Yuuko opened the door and stepped out into the streets of Tokisadame. It being a Friday, she was in a marginally better mood, but not by much. Something seemed different about her as of late, like she lost her flow. Maybe it was the thought of the school year ending soon. Maybe it was the fact she didn’t do that great on her entrance exams. Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, the rest of Trio Sucharaka & Co. definitely took notice. The farther she walked down the street, the more she realized that she was probably late for school. Sure enough, she checked her phone once she got to the train station, and she was 3 minutes late to her train.

“Shit,” she thought. “I can say hello to the hallway windows again.” Except, she wasn’t alone. Mai ran over to the train platform, visibly sweating and fidgeting. Yuuko was surprised, Mai was never late for the train. In fact, she could only remember one other time that Mai was late for school, period.

“Yuuko…” Mai hoarsely called.

“You alright, Mai-chan?” Yuuko asked, delivering it in an uncharacteristically sweet tone. She cleared her throat in protest.

“The dogs decided to have their last stand at the front door. I had to threaten to shoot them as a last resort.” Mai answered nonchalantly.

“Ehh?!” Yuuko’s screech of concern echoed through the outdoors. Flocks of crows flew away as the sound traveled. “What is wrong with you?!”

“They were mad that I forgot to walk them yesterday. In my defense, I needed to finish that big project due today.”

A look of horror creeped upon Yuuko’s face. “The… project? Today??”

Mai sighed and patted Yuuko on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine…”

Yuuko knew better. That project was supposed to be worth more than everything else she had ever done at school. Mai had been working on it for weeks… allegedly. Mai wasn't exactly the golden schoolgirl, she too had trouble with motivation sometimes, but would eventually crack under pressure and work very fast. Despite this detriment, teachers always loved Mai's work, she would get all these compliments about she put so much effort in, when in reality she may have just cobbled something together in a quick moment and then pray it would stick. Yuuko couldn't think of a time where this had failed for her,  and if she could find such a moment, it was most likely one of the daily literature or English assignments. Mai knew it was unhealthy, she knew that she should manage her time better, but she always talked about "indulging in her interests" to Yuuko. She never specified what she was doing, often blushing and telling Yuuko that would be something she wouldn't get.

That sentiment, though, that Yuuko "wouldn't get it." It perplexed her. What wouldn't she get? What would be so wrong for her to know? She decided to go for… a light interrogation.

"Hey, Mai…"

"Huh?

"What were you, uh, up to… besides the project? Surely you were trying to put it of, like usual."

"I've been working on it the entire time. I… I don’t know. I wanted to be proud of something. Don't you remember the prompt, Yuuko?"

"Ehh… you're asking the wrong person…"

"It was 'create something that illustrates what you want to do after high school.' I made a few Maitreya statues and a diorama to put them in. I also made a figure of myself standing in the center."

"So… you want to be a wood carver?"

Mai fell silent. She sighed.

"Truthfully, I've always seen myself as something… more. I'm more than a sculptor. I'm a musician, I'm an artist, I'm… a lot. It's a lot to think about."

"Then… why didn't you represent that side of you?"

"I- I…"

The next train arrived, with Mai getting on hurriedly, Yuuko walking behind her. Mai sat down  and Yuuko sat beside her. Since school was starting in only five minutes, there weren't a lot of people on board, mostly occupied with the elderly performing errands.

"So…" Yuuko initiated.

"Ah!" Mai squeaked, not expecting Yuuko to be that interested in her response.

"So, why didn’t you represent the rest of yourself?"

Mai blushed, burying her face into her bag.

"Ah… I understand." Yuuko knew her friend well enough to know when she didn’t want to talk. For Mai, this was both a blessing and a curse, because it meant that she could evade embarrassing topics. But at the same time, she wanted to be able to express herself around Yuuko, because she was the person she trusted most in not making fun of her. Mai began to doze off a little, getting lost in her thoughts.

She thought about the hill near the river, a sight all too common to her conscience now.

"Why… why did I have to say it was a joke… I know that I love her more than anyone else in this world… why did I risk my chances? What if it's never obtainable?!"

Normally, she wouldn't show much external emotion in times like this, but she could fear a lone tear streak across her fabric-sheltered face. She didn't exactly know why she was acting this way now, though… Was it Yuuko's genuine curiosity as to why she wasn't willing to express herself, a known quirk of which Mai was trying to work on? Was it Yuuko's respect for her boundaries? Or was it… the comforting nature of being alone, or at least close to it… with Yuuko… Mai shoved her face deeper into her bag, attempting to hide her emotions which she knew needed to be displayed, but to which she didn't have to courage to bring forth.

The train made a stop, to the horror of Mai. She took deep breaths and looked up, trying to not make eye contact with Yuuko. Yuuko, however, noticed that Mai's face was still tinted a bit red.

"Eh, dug a bit too deep in that bag there, huh?" Yuuko chuckled and hopped off the train, looking back at Mai. Mai soon walked off as well as followed Yuuko. As expected, Yuuko failed to see Mai's blatant display of emotion. A blessing, and a curse…