The Strawberry On Her Shortcake I

I was never good with words, so I can't quite figure out how to word this properly in my head. But there was a time right after my graduation that I thought that I wished that love actually WAS something material. If it was, we could carry it around like a precious stone or possession. And once it was something bothersome, we could stick it in a lost and found. The love could be taken up again and I would be free of our guilt and pain. We could be alone and struggling and then picked up, dusted off, and then made new.

No matter how much I wished this it couldn't be so. My pain and regrets couldn't and wouldn't leave.

"Ahhyn~ How troublesome!" Minori thought, carefully sitting on her folding chair. Why now of all times? With a frustrated smile, she folded her legs, the crinkles in her dress pants ever more present. Her mother had scolded her; trying to sneak out with shorts on. No, those weren't formal enough. For a seminar, a skirt was a must. Unable to find a happy medium with her, Minori found a pair of dressy slacks and scampered out the door.

It was three years after graduation and she was still living at home. She couldn't bring herself to find an apartment. Why would she? She had no one to live with, and even though she wanted to be alone....she didn't know. That force, it kept her there.

The atmosphere in the small room was ever slack and musty, making Minori wonder why she had bothered to wear the pants. It was just a team meeting; that was all! Her mother worried about way too much. She would have to get dressed later, anyway, going to work at Jonny's. Still, she was working there. Hell, she was almost management. But ah well. If it got her closer to her dream, it was worth it. She was already 2nd manager of a local softball team! She smiled widely thinking about it. Wow...it was nice to think about. She was that much closer to achieving her goal.

Her goal was all she had. Still, her goal was happiness.

She closed her eyes and began to hum. Outwardly, she looked so happy and pleased! Why were her insides arguing? Was she truly happy or was she truly sad? Couldn't she decide? She didn't want to think about all of it, because thinking about her inner feelings lead to thinking of Takasu-kun.

Was she right for letting him go without a fight? Didn't she deserve to be spoiled a little bit? Second thoughts were useless, but they were like food to her now. It was what she lived off of. How Minori wished they could all go back to being friends and just that. No complications, no sadness....

"You aren't yourself when you're lost in thought." Came a voice. It made Minori jerk her head back from where it had rested on the chair and look around. Was it...? The room was now filled with people, all looking at her...? Nope. They were surely staring at the tall woman sitting next to her. She had long and flowing blue hair, crimson lips and was dressed to the nines. Blinking, Minori whispered her name.

"Ami-chan."

"Glad you noticed, silly." She laughed, raising a long-sleeve covered arm to rest her hand on her chin. She smiled a wonderful smile, very VERY pretty. Minori had never really paid attention to how gorgeous Ami really was. "Let's talk after your meeting is over." Giving Minori a tempting glance, filled with some emotion she was fully aware of and knew quite well. There was no need for a conversation, or even words, now. Minori just stared ahead and waited for her senpai to go to head of the room and then followed her to begin their discussion.

"Wooooow! That was tiring, hmm? Gotta keep the stamina up, ya know?" Minori asked as the two old friends left the exposition building in which the meeting had been held. Minori now wished she had worn her shorts. The sun beat down on them, almost as if it wanted them to melt for its own pure amusement. How could Ami wear long sleeved clothing in this weather? Minori's legs were sweltering!

"Yeah. It was." Ami answered her bluntly. "I don't know how you keep from smacking some of those people."

"Well....heh heh." If she wanted to smack anyone, it was herself. The entire meeting, she had been spaced out. That certainly wasn't dream-grabbing behavior! Seeing Ami in the tried and true flesh had awakened a few split-second memories, and the after-shock still hurt deep in her heart. Wasn't she supposed to be happy? She had told herself so many times what she wanted and how to get it. This was how you got happiness, wasn't it?

"So, where would you like to talk?" Ami asked, stepping in time to the song Minori had began to hum.

"What is it Amin wants to talk about?" Minori asked, playing dumb.

"I have a feeling you might know." Came her machine gun fast reply. Minori had a smile plastered to her face, but inside she was trying to force her confusion into indifference.

"Oh? I'll be at Jonny's, working! If you want to wait there, I have the night shift. I can get you a huge plate of anything you'd like!" Hopefully this would make her reschedule. Ami was a well known model, and wouldn't want to be seen in a public place, ESPECIALLY at a family restaurant. Not to mention she was a big dieter. But Ami was now walking ahead, already going in the direction of the restaurant.

"Hey there! Welcome to Jonny's! Would you like our dinner special, or how about a drink first?" Minori was always at her peak of happy when she was working. Labor, as she had always said, kept people alive and refreshed. Tonight, though, her hands were a bit more shaky than usual. After work, she just wanted to go run a few laps or hit a ball as hard as she could. Not only was softball her dream, it was a way of release for her. Closing her eyes as she headed to the counter to place the order, she wished she hadn't seen Ami from the corner of her eyes.

She sat at the booth, leaning her head upon her hand; an elbow resting on the top of the table. Only Ami could make this elegant and seem beautiful, her eyes turned upward, snobbishly looking as if she hated being there. She probably DID. There was a magazine or photo book on the top of the booth which her other hand was entertaining by turning the page at regular intervals. Her blue hair was partially tangled in the already flipped pages or flying around her shoulders and bag. The window next to her was open per her request, the owner eager to please the one, the only: Ami Kawashima.

Heaving a small and silent sigh, Minori began to go about her duties as a waitress, dreading the upcoming "talk".

After her shift, she clocked out and handed her door keys to the graveyard shift worker. Pulling on her coat, she was almost out the door when she heard the command of "Sit," come from the back booth. Clenching her fist realized she had been foolish to think that she could just leave. Hadn't she promised that she would charge ahead, grab life by the horns and pull? She had been very hypocritical lately. She turned around, held her head high and Minori walked back to the booth, sitting as commanded.

"That's more like it," Ami smiled with a sickly sweet, upturned grin, coyly tossing her magazine onto the open seat space to her right. Ami had scooted in across from her and stared at her, waiting for her to start talking. Instead, she drew out a long silence, as if wanting Minori to suffer. That she was, dying to get this over worth. She couldn't remember feeling this way since birth.

"So, Amin...what shall we discuss? Inflation, about old age or how we want to spend our summer?" Trying to be the happy and cheerful Minori she normally was was growing increasingly hard. Trying to kill time wasn't working either.

"Neither." She said flatly. Had Ami always acted this way? She never really acted overly....anything, really. But she seemed very monotone. Minori couldn't remember seeing her act this way. "I want to discuss Ryuuji-kun."

That was what she was afraid of.

"What about Takasu-kun?" She smiled again, trying to pass off that she was ignorant to the situation, but she was failing miserably.

Sighing, Ami rubbed her temples. "Minori. Being a dumbass isn't becoming."

Minori really couldn't say much to that. It was true that she was being stupid on purpose, and it wasn't the best way to handle this information. Still, Ami had no need to stick her head into Minori's worm hole. She looked at her lap. "Well, being nosey isn't becoming either," she whispered.

"Hmm..." Ami mumbled. Thinking she had heard her, Minori sat up straight, eyes wide. But Ami was just swirling her hair in her fingers, the ghost of reminiscence in her eyes. "Remember, Minori-chan, when we all went to my beach house? Wasn't that fun?"

Minori could kind of see where this was going, but was mostly clueless. Nodding, she squealed. "Yahohoo! It sure was. Remember my special, extra scary, summer ADVENTURE?" She laughed. That HAD been fun. The five of them had been together, which was kind of rare. Normally they had to deal with other classmates, but those few days it was as if life had stood still in a little world all on its own. Nothing moved, they just stood still. That was what it should've been forever.

"We were all friends then, Minori-chan. Well...somewhat, anyway. But you can't deny it. You wanted it to stay like that forever. We were content with keeping what was in, in." Ami picked up her drink and took a dainty sip. How was she being so nonchalant about breaking down Minori's defenses? She held in a flinch and looked at the table, waiting for Ami to finish what she was saying.

"Until Taiga went and royally screwed us." Ami put down her glass.

"Taiga was supposed to be happy!" Minori suddenly said, putting both hands from her lap to the table top, staring directly at her blue-haired companion. "That's what I wanted more than anything! Nothing was better than seeing them...so happy...together." She remembered indirectly confessing to Ryuuji. But it was too late by that point. Self-loathing was a gift now. Why hadn't she said something sooner? Would the conclusion have been met anyway?

"And we don't need to be?" Ami questioned, crossing her legs and cocking an eyebrow. She folded her arms across her chest.

"No...It's not that. I just don't..." She was exposed now. Ami had done it. Her locks had been cut, she was free to rifle through. "They would've loved each other anyway."

Ami sighed, relaxing again. "I guess you're right. I just think we needed a chance. We didn't get what was owed. They were selfish, conceited."

This perplexed Minori. "How are they conceited?"

"By thinking that we would sit by and just let things play out. They took our one chance at what we wanted and crushed it; left us smiling bitterly at the floor...kind of like you are. Chin up." Minori fixed her position. "They walked away smiling and we're curled up on the ground. That's why I got over Takasu-kun so easily. Any man who could do that to a woman can't be with me."

"But!" Minori cried, bringing back her hands and standing up. "We can't blame them for love! It blinds, it makes you ignore all else! With the circumstances...it was needed!"

"Minori. Sit down." And she did. There was no stopping Ami. She was on a roll.

"Minori-chan. Both of our opinions have valid points. We can sit here and do whatever we want for as long as we want, that's life. I haven't even gotten to my big point yet. Minori-chan. You need to move on."

"H-how." Minori was looking at the floor yet again, hands clenched tightly in her lap. "How can I get over what makes my heart hurt so much? HOW?" She was now aware of the few heads swiveling around towards her. Whipping her own in their directions, she clenched her teeth and looked back to Ami. "What did you do? How did you cope? I know...your love wasn't as great as my own."

Ami interrupted. "I'll forgive that insult as temporary insanity."

"DON'T YOU LAUGH ME OFF. I LOVED HIM. I LOVED HIM!" She was a full wreck now. "I...I was supposed to be strong, for her." Minori held her head in her hands and cried. Neither of them gauged how long, but after she was done, they were both quite tired. Ami blinked as Minori wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve.

"Get a new love." The statement was very blunt and made Minori laugh questionably.

"Heh heh...W-what?"

"Get a new love. I got one, so can you." Staring straight ahead, Ami's gaze melted Minori.

"R-REALLY?!" She shouted a little louder than she wanted to. "Who??"

Ami folded her hands again and rested her elbows on the table top. Setting her head on top of her overlapping hands, she closed her eyes. "They're very strong, but very secretive. They have this weird charm that makes them...what's the word? Irresistible. Yeah." She opened her eyes again and gave Minori a side-long glance. "I wonder if this love will be as painful as the last."

Minori looked at Ami. "I hope not and give you best wishes, Amin." Ami was her friend. A good friend. Almost her best friend. Even though she had almost demolished her, Ami was still Ami. Minori loved her for it.

"Can I say one more thing? Before I send out my SOS?" Ami asked.

"Y-Yes." Still shaken, Minori wasn't ready to brace for another impact.

"I always thought it would be funny if maybe we, the two left broken after the dust settled...could make something they couldn't. Wouldn't that be ironic?"

Minori lowered her brows. "I don't know what you mean, Amin."

"You're cute when you're serious is what I mean." Ami laughed and relaxed again. "Say, Minori-chan? Can I get something sweet before you lock up? Then I'll leave, full and happy."

"Y-Yeah!" Now she swept what had just happened under the rug, but kept a piece on her sleeve. A new love...it sounded like a good idea. "Let me go get that for you, Mistress Amin!" She bounded away, her strength rising as she rushed to the kitchen.

The two women sat at their booth, laughing about a story Ami was telling, the strawberry shortcake almost gone from their plates.

"Say, Amin?"

"Yeah?"

"What does SOS mean, again? I thought I knew once, but I can't remember...it's been a while." She laughed.

"Hmmm....I think it means The Strawberry on the Shortcake." Amin smiled a secret smile. "Kinda like your red hair." She stuck a strawberry to her fork and tapped Minori's nose with it. Minori squealed and they both laughed. They had put things in the lost and found and they were shuffling around for the next great treasure, just like the strawberry on the half-eaten cake. Their laughter filled the closed restaurant and time stood still again.

~FIN~