Window shopping; noun; the act of perusing items at retail stores without intent to purchase. So not actually “shopping” at all. Kind of a misnomer, no? Blissfully (perhaps even willfully) ignorant of this linguistic crime, the girls were deep in a dress-up frenzy.
“Komari-chan, try this on. You’d be so cute.”
“I agree, Senpai!”
“Whuh?!” she croaked. Correction: Two were in a frenzy. One was the victim. They very nearly got her into the changing room before she slipped away. “I-I have clothes! D-don’t need more!”
By her logic, nudists were the only people allowed to buy clothes.
It was actually kinda fun watching them do their thing from a safe distance. Maybe I could start attending club meetings remotely. That was the dream.
Yanami dipped out of the confrontation with Komari and weaseled up next to me. “Enjoying yourself?”
“More than I thought I would, actually. Was it smart to abandon Komari?”
“She’ll be fine. Shiratama-chan knows her way around people. She’s not too bad.”
The girl in question held a piece of clothing up to Komari. Then another. Then another. Someone had found a new hobby. Surprisingly, they made a pretty good pair, if you ignored the light that had left Komari’s eyes.
“Had me fooled,” I said. “I thought you didn’t like her.”
“Do I look like the kinda girl who would bully my kouhai?”
I chose not to answer. “She, uh, complimented your shirt. Guess you two have more common ground than you thought.”
Yanami shrugged. “Flattery. It’s part of the social contract. You could learn a thing or two. Go on. Your turn.”
“What, like, compliment your outfit?”
She nodded, then did a twirl. Her light brown, frilly blouse…thing sure was, uh, on her body. And her pants were white and, like, baggy and stuff. Or was that a skirt?
“It’s got…colors,” I said.
“Oh god, it’s that bad?”
Sure was. I studied her closer. “It looks good and all, but why are the sleeves just a little too short?”
“They’re called three-quarter sleeves, thank you very much.”
Just three? Why not four? Who was the keeper of the final quarter?
“Uh-huh. Right. Looks chilly is all I’m saying.”
Yanami let out a sigh. With it went the last of her hope in me. “Dude, you can forget all about looking good if you care about the weather. Fashion doesn’t give a crap if it’s cold. That’s what all the hotties say, and they’re right. Take notes.”
“Uh, right. Yes, ma’am.” I wrote that down under “Yanami-isms” in my mental file cabinet. A wise person once said if you’re putting something down, better to put it up. Makes spring cleaning a breeze.
Komari and Shiratama-san started to move, so we followed. “You remembered to invite Yakishio, right?”
“They’ve got a meet coming up, so she said she’s busy. Why?”
“Just wondering. We’re all friends. Speaking of, you haven’t eaten much today.”
Yanami’s expression clouded over. “About that. You’re never gonna believe this.”
No way. Had a doctor finally woken her up? Was it terminal? I braced myself as she faced me with a grim expression. “I think I’m eating too much. The fact that you even asked me that question proves it.”
“Is this a bit? Am I supposed to say the punchline?”
“Save it. It’s just, we’re second-years now, y’know? I’ve gotta act more grown-up. For all the kids who look up to me.” Wow. That was a big step for her. Now for those alleged kids to materialize. She looked at me like she’d read my mind. “I’ve only had tea today. You’ve seriously gotta give me some credit. I can be feminine.”
So that concoction of sugar and calories was “tea” to her. She was right. I wasn’t giving her enough credit. Just not regarding her femininity.
“Wh-what’re you two lollygagging for?” Komari, having escaped Shiratama-san’s grasp, scuttled over.
“Just talking about high fashion and what it means to be a woman,” I said. “Done looking at clothes?”
She shook her head at me. What could it mean?
Shiratama-san appeared next. “Are clothes not your thing, Komari-senpai? If there’s somewhere else you’d rather go, you can tell me.”
“Er, I-I, um…” She croaked and sputtered, then floundered for her phone. She was running on fumes.
“You mentioned somewhere, didn’t you?” I asked mercifully.
“Y-yeah! B-bookstore!” She pulled out a gift card. One of the five thousand yen ones.
“Oh, we got a high roller here.”
Komari nodded giddily and held up two fingers. “Th-the time has come. I’m gonna buy t-two whole volumes.”
Not even gonna spend it all? How frugal. Good news for her future husband. She began leading the way, only to encounter a group of teens and promptly hide behind me. Some things never changed. Which was oddly comforting.
I made for the escalator.