In Every Life || Yoko Tanaka & Divina

Divina's Not Stupid

The assembly was...interesting...to say the least. The teachers had set up games and called on raised hands in the crowds to participate. It was a competition between all the classes—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. The freshman had to sit on mats on the floor in front of the main bleachers where the sophomores and juniors got to sit. The seniors got their own bleachers that had been set up against the wall, adjacent to the main bleachers.

The games were fun to watch but Dulce couldn't imagine participating. Some of the games were really weird and others were more common. Ajax and Kent participated though, and they won a relay stacking race where they had to run back and forth and stack blocks on top of each other to make the tallest tower in the fastest time. Each game also tied into either a school rule or a school motto. Like the relay stacking race was about teamwork.

At the end of the assembly, the seniors were announced the winners and were allowed to leave first. Ajax and Kent led Dulce to their dorm so they could listen to BoyWithUke and get high. She didn't notice Yoko watching them walk away.

But Yoko's staring was interrupted by someone nudging their shoulder with her own. "So what's the deal with you and her?" Divina asked.

Yoko shook her head and began walking to the quad. "No deal."

"I'm not stupid, Yoko. You keep staring at her and you act weird around her. You guys clearly have a past even if she doesn't remember it." At Yoko's silence she pestered. "Was she a bitch or something? If she's a bad person we can stop hanging out with her. Did she do something to you?"

"No, she—" Yoko sighed and said the next part softly. "She's a great person."

"Then what's the deal between you two?" Yoko was quiet so Divina grabbed her hand and forced her to stop walking. "Please, Yoko. I can't help if I don't know what's wrong."

"I don't need help." Yoko looked to the side and whispered, "She does."

Divina's brows furrowed together. "What's that mean?"

Yoko shook her head. "Nothing. Just—" she paused to collect her words— "do me a favor?"

"Anything." Divina stroked the back of Yoko's hand with her thumb.

"Find out when her birthday is."

Out of everything Yoko could've asked for, Divina was not expecting that. "Sure?"

"Thank you." Yoko kissed her cheek. "You're too good for me." She let go of her hand and walked away, fully believing her words. Divina was too good for her. And so was Gemma for that matter.

Divina watched her girlfriend walk away confused. She didn't understand Yoko's behavior, but hopefully Dulce can give her a hint. She'll need to talk to her once she comes back from hanging out with Ajax and Kent. She turned and walked to the girls dorm to wait it out since Yoko clearly wanted to be alone.

Meanwhile, Dulce, Kent, and Ajax reached the boys dorm. They headed up to their room and got themselves situated. They turned on the new album and Ajax broke out the weed. They took turns doing hits until they were all higher than Mount Everest. Dulce was laying like a starfish on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. She felt...tired.

"You know what I could go for?" Kent asked when an AD came on. Ajax hummed in question. "Tartare sauce."

"You're tartare sauce," Dulce replied on instinct thanks to her sister as her eyes began to close.

Kent gasped. "Am I?"

"Are we all tartare sauce?" Ajax asked.

The conversation continued but Dulce's eyes closed and the sound became distant as she fell asleep. But this dream was different than the ones she's been getting recently. Instead of a vivid moment playing out, it was quick vivid flashes.