The Cost of The Chase

three .

The weekend hit.

____

Giavanni woke up with a start, her hair comparable to that of a lion's mane. She covered her eyes from the bright sunlight that leaked into her room from the windows. Shuffling out of bed with a sneeze, she glanced inside her disorganized closet with a blank look. She reached for something comfortable to wear, but jerked her wrist back when her phone began blaring some loud tune.

"God," She mumbled, a bit of a rasp in her voice. She lumbered to her phone and clumsily picked it up, pressing the green call button and greeting the caller. "What?"

"Good morning to you too, cupcake."

"What did I say about..." She faltered, realizing that her efforts were useless. "Nevermind. Why'd you call?" Giavanni held the phone to her ear and walked back over to the closet to thumb through her clothes.

"Are you doing something today?" Nitori inquired, coughing into her fist.

"You'd better not be sick already."

"I'm not, you germaphobe."

Giavanni huffed, shaking her head slightly. "Not that I know of..?" She trailed off in a question. "Why? Did you want to meet at the cafe?" The girl drawled, rubbing at her right eye languidly.

"Of course." Nitori replied, sounding tired herself as an audible yawn was heard. "Be there at ten-thirty!"

And the call ended.

"Bye to you too." Giavanni uttered mockingly, letting out a half-hearted chuckle and tossing the phone rather haphazardly to the floor.

"This should be fine." She muttered into the empty air, unclipping some shorts, a comfortable t-shirt and a cardigan. Tossing the articles of clothing on and throwing her hair into a messy ponytail, she grabbed her shoes and headed downstairs.

Her eyes narrowed upon her mother cooking breakfast. Noticing her daughter's presence, the woman, Ueno Hiroshi, hummed and turned around. "Giavanni! You came just in time for breakfast." She gushed, putting down the plate she was making and heading for her daughter for an embrace.

"Ah, about that..." Giavanni stepped backwards, glancing at her mom with a half-smile. "I was heading down to the cafe to meet with Nitori." The girl sighed, as this was uncomfortable enough. "I'm sorry."

To her surprise, Giavanni's mother smiled genuinely and let out a chuckle. "I see. Guess I'll be eating for two."

Giavanni's heart panged briefly when she saw her mother's facade, and her eyes lowered to the floor. Her mother continued to smile as patted her child's shoulder reassuringly. "Your grandmother has improved a bit," She stated without warning, causing Giavanni to look up.

"Oh." was the reply. "That's good!" Giavanni piped up, offering her mom a smile. "I hope we can hear some more good news soon."

Hiroshi nodded in agreement, feeling grateful for her daughter's change of attitude. "Yes, let's. Now, you better be about your way now!" She shooed Giavanni near the doorway, chuckling. "Alright, mom. Bye." Giavanni pecked her mother on her forehead, then proceeded to leave the interior of their house.

The tepid air hit her without warning, causing her eyes to shut quickly. This is certainly a contrast from yesterday. She thought, starting her brief walk to "hug coffee"(両替町店), a cozy coffee shop about six minutes from where she lived.

Giavanni fished her phone from her pocket, clicking on various notifications she'd received during the night. A faint smile appeared on her face as she browsed her favorite social media platforms.