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23: Spammers and Sleepovers

"Teto, get those gardening gloves off, your friends are here!" Teto's mom yelled at her daughter, who was crouched down by the tulips in her front yard. "It's always oven mitts or gardening gloves..."

Miku and I exchanged glances, standing at Teto's doorstep. I tugged at my backpack's straps as Teto dusted herself off and walked up to us.

"You two are early," Teto said, throwing her gardening gloves to one side before walking in with us. "It's only half past six."

"We want to eat all your food before Neru and Luka show up," Miku grinned evilly.

"You do that, and you'll be ten pounds heavier than Len by morning," I snickered. Miku elbowed me in the gut and I winced.

"I'm one of those people who don't gain weight that easily," she scoffed. Teto yanked her pigtails and she squeaked in alarm.

"Are we doing that photo thing with Luka?" Teto asked.

"No, we called that off, remember?" Miku grimaced as the redhead made mention of Neru and Piko's dirty dealings.

"Right..." Teto nodded slowly. "Oh, you guys! I just baked some brownies and banana bread before heading out to the garden. You want some?"

I glanced at Miku. "I guess we might as well pass the time eating while we wait for Luka and Neru," I said.

"Great!" Teto led us up a flight of gleaming wooden stairs. "You guys have seen my room. Surely you remember, hmm?"

"Of course," Miku said. "The girl with the room that ought to fit four kids."

"It's great for groups of friends," the redhead giggled. "I collected all the pillows in the house, along with some blankets. We've got sleeping bags in a closet, down the hall. I haven't brought those out yet."

"There's still hours and hours before we even think of getting some shuteye, kid," I threw an arm around Teto's shoulders and dragging her along with me as we headed into her room.

"Right, we have to do all the fun stuff first," Miku said. "And of course, we've got to confiscate Neru's cell phone."

"Did you guys bring your phones?"

"Of course," Miku said. Teto opened her bedroom door and we walked in.

It really was a room that could fit four kids. More, actually, if somebody really tried. There was easily enough space in Teto's large bedroom for five or six grown people to sleep. That was why we usually had sleepovers and parties at her home. Her oven fresh baking and usually lenient mother were bonuses.

"This better not be a text-a-thon," Teto said, shuffling in circles across the carpet as Miku and I tossed our bags to the floor.

"All they'll talk about is Kaito," Miku said.

"They're crazier about him than I am!" Teto said. "But...I don't know..."

"Do you still like him?" I asked, sitting down on the carpet.

"Kinda," Teto pressed a finger to her lips as she thought about my question. "But, I mean...he's got someone. All this time, I thought he didn't. That was kind of naïve of me, huh? How could a boy like him ever be single?"

"It was a pretty well kept secret, though," Miku said. "I was talking to Rin a few days back..."

"You do that a lot nowadays, don't you?" Teto giggled. "Considering how you're all cute and romantic with her brother."

Miku blushed but continued. "Rin said she didn't mind if anyone knew. It was Len who suggested that she keep quiet about the relationship."

"Neru still likes him a lot," Teto said. "You remember the deal she was making, with Piko."