CG 26: Seio Christmas Concert (Tobi & Kou)
DECEMBER twenty-third arrived in the blink of an eye.
“You’re still here? I thought you said you were going to the Christmas concert at Kon’s school today?” Mom asked, tilting her head at me when I came downstairs to eat lunch after playing Aine all morning.
“I’m still going. I was going to take the train and leave earlier, but I took Kon up on her offer to have Mr. Nonaga drive me there.”
The concert hall was open to the public at two, but I didn’t have to rush getting ready now that I was going by car. It’s not like I was going to see the opera or a full orchestra, so I figured I could just wear any old dress or whatever I could fish out of the closet.
Hanaka perked up at the dining table. “You’re going to a Christmas concert? Is it for a date?”
“D-Do you have a d-d-date, Mashiro?!” Dad whipped his gaze from the rugby match he was watching on the living room TV.
Straining a smile, I shook my head. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s not a date. I’m going alone this time.”
Kon had confirmed with me multiple times if one ticket was enough, but I couldn’t find anyone to invite. Rei had club activities, Eri and Tomo had dates, and the single Sawa and Mako had plans with their families. Hanaka tended to be busy around this time of year, so I decided not to bring it up with her. Plus, it was starting to get embarrassing going everywhere with my parents like I couldn’t do anything on my own.
A part of me thought it’d be great if I could go with Tomoi, but I instantly gave up on the idea. It was one thing if Hanaka and Shinji were going too, but it was obvious he’d turn me down if he knew it was going to be just me. He was the type to make a firm distinction between these things.
“Aw, really? Kou isn’t going to escort you there?” Hanaka sounded disappointed.
“He can’t. Kou’s one of the performers today. And even if he wasn’t, he doesn’t have the time for me now.”
“Why not?” Hanaka pressed.
I gave her a simple explanation about Kou’s fanclub. Yukiko and Riko were both gorgeous. They weren’t on the same level as Kon and Midori, but they weren’t girls I could compete with. Or rather—I didn’t want to deal with them. I’ll ignore them the next time they try to start something, I swore to myself. I couldn’t stand the thought of Kou spotting me taking on his army of spoiled, rich girls and him holding it over my head afterwards.
Before she even finished hearing me out, Hanaka sprung to her feet. “How can you say that?! It’s obvious you’re the cutest, Mashiro!”
How can you say that, Hanaka?! My big sister’s blind doting is still going strong!
“It’s not an issue of appearances. I don’t want to get into a spat with Kou’s fans, hence why I planned on going without making a scene—”
“Finish your food! I’m going to use my magic skills to turn you into a princess!” Hanaka avowed, not listening to a word I said.
Listen to me first!
Mom seemed to misunderstand my sigh, because even she chimed in with, “Hanaka’s right. Mashiro’s the cutest of them all. Use your magic on your sister, Hanaka!”
What is this, a scene from Cinderella?! Whatever. They can do what they want.
Still though, my mom and sister are scary blind when it comes to me. The Family Love Filter is absurdly powerful! I concluded profoundly.
Now that I think about it, I feel like this is similar to why Sou thinks I’m cute and amazing. He views me as a replacement for his mother Risa. Maybe his affection is just another form of the Family Love Filter… How did I end up with a thirteen-year-old son at my age?! This sucks.
Hurried along by Hanaka, I ate the rest of my omelet rice. She dragged me upstairs as soon as I finished. Her room was remarkably cleaner now than the pigsty it was during high school.
“Whoa! It’s super clean in here!” I blurted.
“Hehe, I guess it is. I don’t want Shin to think of me as a messy person. Besides, I’ll be joining the workforce after next year. The least I can do is keep my own room tidy,” Hanaka admitted bashfully as she opened her closet.
“What should we go with?” she hummed while throwing outfit after outfit onto her bed. Once she finished unloading what seemed to be her entire wardrobe, she held each piece up to me and groaned stuff like “The color isn’t right” and “Hm, something cuter would be better.”
No one could stop her once she entered dress up mode. It took twenty minutes before I was finally dressed in a black mini fit and flare skirt with an off-shoulder knit top that bared half my shoulders. A baby pearl necklace adorned my exposed neckline. I was trying to pull on tights when Hanaka yelled at me to stop.
“Oh no you don’t! Stop right there, missy! You have beautiful legs, Mashiro. Don’t hide them under tights! You can stay warm with a pair of knee-high boots instead.”
“Ick. I don’t wanna. This skirt is too short! You can see my underwear!”
“Don’t worry. It just looks like you can see your underwear, but you can’t!”
How much of a tease is Hanaka trying to make me?!
I wanted to reject her suggestion with every fiber of my being, but Hanaka didn’t give me any time to protest before tugging me in front of the bathroom sink. She meticulously blew out my hair that’d been tied back in a ponytail and cleanly braided it. She curled the short straggler hairs with a curling iron and spread them around my face. Then she clipped a black velour ribbon barrette to the side of my head and looked me over with great delight.
“This should do it!”
Hanaka brushed some loose powder on my face, painted my lips with lip gloss, and marched me in front of the full-length mirror.
Huh… Oh my gosh!
Before the mirror stood a mature version of myself. I looked nothing like a middle schooler. When I first saw the clothes, I thought they were too gaudy for me, but once I had them on, they looked so much cuter. Appearances could be completely changed just by taking the time to do my hair and makeup.
“What do you think? It’s cute, right?”
“Yeah! It’s the makeover of a lifetime! Thanks sis!” I glomped Hanaka before glancing at the clock. It was almost time to go.
I hurried upstairs, pulled on my favorite white short coat, and zipped up my knee-high boots. The doorbell rang just as I grabbed my felt bag with the fur trim.
“Oh, that’s probably Mr. Nonaga. I’m heading out now!” I called out to my family.
Being dressed up really had a way of making me feel excited to go out. I likely wouldn’t have been enjoying myself so much if I’d just tossed on any old dress.
I rushed out of the house, feeling like I was walking on clouds.