Week Three, Saturday

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Week Three, Saturday

    Ayano wakes up slowly. For a moment, she forgets about her plan. She just stares at the ceiling, calm.

    The buzzing of her phone gets her up.

    There’s a couple of texts from the group chat, and some from Musume. She checks Musume’s first.

    ‘ Hey girl! Can’t wait to see you today! ’ The first reads. 

    ‘ Don’t forget a swimsuit! The hot tub is open ;D ’ 

    The last one simply reads, ‘ Don’t forget, my address is XXXXX ’. Ayano looks over the address, memorizing it. Then she switches over to the group chat, which is still named Ayano Protection Squad. The name makes Ayano smile.

    Taro: You guys want to meet up today? Hanakō wants to meet all of you guys.

Osano: Yeah, you should come over. It gets boring over here sometimes.

Taro: Ouch.

Osano: Kidding! You know I’m kidding..right?

Ayano laughs at the texts, but it fades away when she has to decline.

Ayano: Sorry, guys. I made plans with someone else today. Maybe another time.

The response is immediate.

Osano: Who’s stealing you away? 

Amao: It’s not that year one that you just rejected, right?

Ayano: No! It’s just a girl from school. I’ll tell you more later, I have to go now. Bye.

And she does. Ayano grabs her swimsuit, a simple black bikini, and shoves it into a bag with a towel. Then she gets dressed, putting on a yellow top and shorts. It’s simple, but cute. Grabbing a piece of toast on her way out, Ayano is ready to face the day.

The walk is too fast, and Ayano sighs as she stands in front of Musume’s house. It’s big, extravagant, and flashy. Everything that Ayano expects from a girl like Musume. She rings the doorbell.

Musume opens the door, a giant smile on her face. “Ayano! Come on in, girl!” She pulls Ayano inside, and Ayano knows it’ll be a struggle to refrain from snapping throughout the day. 

Musume pulls Ayano halfway through the house, straight to her bedroom. It’s huge. A giant TV is mounted on the wall, pop music blaring out of it. The walls are covered in pictures of idol groups, mostly guys. Her desk is a mess, and the surface is buried under her laptop and the never ending pile that seems to be her makeup collection. It’s concerning. Ayano doesn’t comment on it, however.

Instead, she turns to Musume, who is waiting for her to speak. “So, what do you want to do?” Ayano asks politely.

Musume laughs. “Well, we can, like, go in the hot tub, or we can watch some TV, or we can talk about, like, all the stuff that happens at our school.”

Ayano Aishi, the Emotionless Lover  Where stories live. Discover now