Birds of a Feather Balk Together
GONDOU ASAMI WAS A THIRD-YEAR IN JUNIOR high now. The stage of life where every topic of conversation with every adult was about which high school’s entrance exam she was preparing for. Consequently, she was spending her day off at Machinaka Library, near Toyohashi Station. She and her friend, both applying to the same school, were supposed to be studying, but instead they found themselves in the café downstairs. Nukumizu Kaju’s mind had been elsewhere.
“Somethin’ with your big bro?”
Kaju’s eyes widened at the bluntness of her question. “Wow, Gon-chan! How did you know?”
Gon-chan replied with a grin and poured some herbal tea from the pot. The herbs used in it were grown on the roof of this very building. It was her latest obsession. “Spill the beans. Tell me what’s gotcha down.”
“It’s just, his club got a new member.” Kaju sucked orange juice through a straw.
“Hey, good for him. You were just tellin’ me how nobody was biting.”
“Right, well, it’s a good thing on its own. But this person is…” The little girl heaved a dramatic sigh. “She is unworthy of him.”
Gon-chan’s hand, reaching for her cup of tea, froze in midair. She had not been ready for the conversation to take this turn. “So they’re dating?”
“Over my dead body!” Kaju shot to her feet, chair and table clattering. Noticing the attention that garnered, she sheepishly sat back down. “I’m not at all against my Oniisama finding the perfect partner. Quite the opposite, in fact.”
“So you’re cool if he dates one of the other lit girls?”
Kaju readily nodded. “I would celebrate it, even. Yakishio-san is bright and beautiful. Komari-san is wise and frugal. Yanami-san has an excellent appetite.”
Gon-chan savored the tea’s aroma for a moment, then tilted her head. “So what’s the big deal, hm?”
“The ‘deal,’ Gon-chan, is…” Kaju gripped her cup tight, “she’s a scab.”
A “scab.” Not the sort of word most people used in daily conversation, unless labor laws happened to be the topic.
Gon-chan sipped. It did wonders for her composure. “She’s stealing your job, is she?”
Kaju nodded exactly once. “My Oniisama doesn’t need more than one Kaju.”
“That a fact?”
“Verifiably.” Kaju cleared her throat. “You wouldn’t buy more than one bed, would you? By that same logic, my presence precludes her own.”
“Nuku-chan, you’ve got the little sister position on lockdown. She’s just his kouhai. What’s got you so threatened?”
Kaju pouted. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture. If she’s on the table, then—”
“Here comes the plane!” The tall one put a scoop of milk pudding into the small one’s mouth. Anything to get them off this topic. “Ain’t that yummy?”
“It is! I wonder what sort of milk they use.”
“Make some for your brother, hm?”
“I will. It’ll make for a good challenge. I’m gonna go buy some of that for myself.”
Gon-chan sighed in relief as Kaju scurried over to the register. If opposites attracted, what did that mean for equals? Still, she had a feeling they could probably get to be good friends, if only they could get over their…well, everything but their differences.
She took a deep whiff of her second cup of tea, wishing the best for the poor stranger.