"We're having a slumber party at my house this weekend," Minoru announced at lunch one day.

You stopped inhaling your lunch long enough to listen. It sounded like she was declaring a new national holiday. And she might as well have been, given Kimiko's reaction.

"Yeees!" Kimiko bellowed, before pounding her fists on the table repeatedly, making everyone's bento boxes shift around the surface. "Slum-ber par-ty! Slum-ber par-ty!"

"Minoru, are you sure that's a good idea?" Oshiro asked with a wince. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she didn't want to go.

"All my ideas are good ideas, Oshiro. Need I remind you who talked you out of piercing your own-"

Oshiro lunged across the table to seal one gigantic palm across Minoru's mouth. "Haha! Shut up. Aina doesn't need to know about that."

You didn't know what Oshiro tried to pierce, but it must have been something pretty embarrassing because this was the first time you'd ever seen her really blush. Kimiko was snickering and even Hinata was hiding a smile behind her hand. Obviously you were the only one not in on the joke. As usual.

You couldn't really be bitter about it. They'd been friends since middle school, after all. You only entered their clique at the beginning of senior year in high school.

Kimiko did her best to help you feel included, though. She slung an arm around your shoulders and pulled you in close to her side. "You'll love our little slumber parties, Aina," she whispered right into your ear, causing you to shiver. "You name it, we've done it! Dance, paint each other's nails, DIY sushi, spin the bottle, cu-"

"That was one time, and we promised not to talk about it!" Hinata cried, already looking tearful. Oshiro reached toward her, pausing with a frown when Hinata flinched back, before slowly reaching out again to pat her back soothingly.

"There, there," Oshiro said, obviously not used to being the group's comforting presence. That was usually Minoru's job.

"It's settled then!" Minoru sighed, clapping her hands together once before looking everyone around the table in the eye. "Everyone, come over to my house by six PM."

...

So you showed up at the foot of Minoru's mansion at exactly six. It was already dark outside.

You'd walked there, which was an impressive feat with your haul. This was your first slumber party with all your new friends. You didn't know what you should bring and what would be provided, so you packed as if you would be camping for the weekend. Sleeping bag and all.

"You're late," Minoru said, opening the door the moment you set foot on the front porch. She was already dressed in her pajamas, a long white nightgown that made her look like a doll meant for display only. She was holding something, half hidden by the door.

"What do you mean?" You asked incredulously. "It's six."

"No, it's six oh-three. We've been waiting for you. And what are you carrying? Are you planning on moving in?" She didn't seem as put off by the idea that you might suddenly decide to live with her without even asking first as you felt someone should be.

"Uh, no."

"Oh..." She sounded almost disappointed. Maybe you were just hearing things, though. She handed you the tall glass of carbonated purple liquid she had been holding. "Drink this, and I'll let you in."

"What's in it?" You asked, looking at the cup with suspicion.

"Sprite, Jolly Ranchers, and purple food coloring," she listed off, holding up a finger for each ingredient.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

You cautiously accepted the drink and took a sip. It looked like something you'd find in a beaker in a mad scientist's laboratory. It didn't taste nefarious, though, if nefarious had a taste. It tasted like candy. And, duh, of course it did, candy was a main ingredient.

The sugar and fizz felt so good going down your throat that soon you found you had finished the entire glass. The long walk to her house must have left you thirsty.

"Good girl," she said, taking the empty glass from you with one hand and stroking your cheek with the other. "Now, follow me. I'll show you where you can set down your stuff."

...

You needed to mix sugar with more sugar and caffeine more often, because this was the best sugar high you had ever experienced. It felt like you'd chugged five energy drinks in a row. Wave after wave of intense euphoria washed over you. It felt like you were floating on a cloud, high above all your worries and cares.

You'd just changed into your pajamas so you were lying on the couch in Minoru's living room, marveling at how the leather was soft as butter beneath you. You were just starting to wonder where the other girls were when Kimiko burst into the room.

"You're here! Come with me," she urged, taking your hand and pulling you along behind her. It sounded like fun! She was a fun girl, your friend Kimiko. You remember being mad at her but don't remember what you were mad about. It must have been nothing. Nothing important, anyway.

The two of you snuck around like spies, walking on tiptoes and sticking to shadows. Eventually, she led you out the front door and onto the lawn. Minoru probably wouldn't like you on the grass, but she wasn't here right now, was she?

"What are we doing?" You asked in a stage-whisper. You were having trouble controlling your volume and not simply shouting for joy.

"Shhh, just wait for it," she instructed you, digging her bare toes into the soil like a seedling trying to take root.

Just when your anticipation had hit the roof, the sprinklers turned on and Kimiko let out a little shriek of excitement. She dropped your hand and started spinning like a top, head back and arms outstretched.

You laughed at her childish antics before joining in. The cool water felt amazing against your feverishly hot skin. It felt like your muscles were singing. Your skin tingled like your whole body was submerged in the fizzy purple drink Minoru gave you.

Your fun was cut short when you tripped over one of the sprinklers and fell down into the damp grass. It clung to you like a lover, a hundred tiny tendrils holding on to you so you didn't leave. You fell on your ankle funny, but you didn't feel any pain so everything must be fine.

Kimiko leapt through the spray of water and scooped you up. You two swung each other in circles so fast your cheeks flapped in the wind.

You took the opportunity to admire her. She was a gorgeous girl, like a teenage idol. Most teenagers, including yourself, were like awkward second-evolution Pokemon. Not your friends, though. They were pretty, smart, funny, strong... Better than you in every way.

But they love me, you think as another wave of optimism washed over you. They're my friends and they love me.

You unlinked one of your hands to stroke her cheek, and suddenly the two of you broke apart and fell to the ground.

You didn't sit up right away for fear of vomiting from dizziness. Instead, you just laid on your back and stared up at the sky. It was too light in the city to see any stars, but the moon looked particularly lovely tonight. Although the moon looked lovely every night.

Kimiko crawled over to you, looking like a lioness on all fours. She nudged your legs apart with her knees and laid in the cradle of your hips, her head on your chest. Normally you would protest, but you didn't have the energy to do so. Instead you just laid there, spread out and panting in the grass.

After a little while, she tilted her head up sweetly. She was too low to be able to kiss your cheek, so instead she just mouthed vaguely at the corner of your jaw. You giggled, ticklish. Encouraged by your response, she leaned further up and nipped your earlobe before licking your ear.

"Gross!" You yelled, even though the sensation of her tongue in your ear made you shiver. In revulsion, of course. You weren't a pervert. You weren't.

"You love it. You love me," she said. Then she sank her teeth into the meat of your shoulder, bit you as if you were a ripe peach. You gasped, waited for the pain but only felt an unrelenting pressure. She sat up partially, still hovering over your prone form. Her lips were blood red. "Say it."

"What?"

"Say you love me."

You gave her a dopey smile and threw your arms around her. "I love you," you told her.

She stared down at you for a long time, her eyes as dark as the night sky above you, before finally sighing. "I want to stay like this forever, but we should probably go back inside. Mommy's gonna be mad I robbed the cradle."

As if on cue, the porch light of Minoru's mansion flicked on.

...

Minoru was waiting for you both on the porch with two white, fluffy towels.

"Aina, your ankle!" She exclaimed. You looked down at your feet to see you had a gash on the side of one of your ankles. Blood was pouring out of it like a waterfall.

"Oops," you whispered. You thought the trail of footprints you left behind you was from water but it was blood. You must have cut yourself on one of the sprinklers. You didn't even feel it, though. Surely you would've felt such a bad wound.

"Poor baby... This is why you should stay inside, where it's safe and I can watch over you." She was talking to you but actively glaring at Kimiko.

The troublesome girl shrugged sheepishly and said, "Sorry, Mommy..."

Minoru shook her head in exasperation before swaddling you both tightly in the towels she'd brought out and leading you back inside, into the kitchen. She probably didn't want you on her hardwood floors, as drenched as you were.

There she sat you and Kimko down at the island and pressed purple drinks into your hands before saying, "Drink up. I'll go find you some dry clothes," and leaving.

You went to take a sip when Oshiro swooped in out of nowhere and took your cup away. "Oh no you don't!" She crowed, doing the same to Kimiko. "I'm cutting you off."

"You are the antithesis of fun," Kimiko whined, trying her best to swipe her drink back, but Oshiro simply held it out of reach like the bully she was.

"You love me and you know it."

"I dooo!" She crooned, pausing her pursuit of her drink to wrap her arms around Oshiro's waist and press her cheek to her chest. "Do you love me too?"

"You shouldn't have to be told, but yes. I love you too."

"So, can I have my drink back?"

"Not on your life. Sit your skinny ass down."

Kimiko huffed but shimmied onto the stool across from you again. She made silly faces at you to make you laugh, but you were too fixated on Oshiro. She poured your drinks down the drain before rinsing out your cups.

You watched in confusion as she appeared to mix the exact same drink she'd just gotten rid of. Sprite, Jolly Ranchers, and purple food coloring....

"How is this any different than what I had before?" You asked.

"It's the same minus the drugs," Oshiro deadpanned, raising one arched brow at you. "Damn, princess, you really are dense."

Rude, you thought, sulkily sipping your drink. That explains my chemical optimism, then. The drink tasted the same. Of course the bitter taste of the drugs would be masked, though. There was enough sugar in it to kill a horse.

Minoru returned at that moment with clothes in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. She set both down on the island before digging a couple of items out of the pile of cloth and advancing on Kimiko. "Arms up," she instructed, and Kimiko obeyed without question.

You watched in astonishment as Minoru stripped Kimiko down to her bra and panties before dressing her up in the new pajamas as if she were a doll. It was embarrassing just to watch. You wanted to look away, but it was like a train wreck.

Then Minoru turned to you and tried to do the same. "Arms up," she said.

"Oh hell no. I can dress myself, thank you very much," you answered, sliding off your seat and walking up to grab the clothes from her.

"Aina, it'll go faster if you just let me help you." She used her height to her advantage and held the clothes out of your reach.

But Oshiro was even taller than Minoru and she snatched them out of her grip before throwing them at you. "She doesn't want your help," she snapped. "Just tend to Hinata and Kimiko while she gets dressed in the bathroom. Then you can play nurse."

Minoru glared at Oshiro, but you peeked out from behind her imposing silhouette and mouthed, "Thank you." Then you scurried away to the bathroom while they were still busy staring each other down.

...

Once you were done getting dressed, you wandered into the living room where all the other girls were. You could tell because it was the loudest room in the house.

Hinata was laying sideways across an overstuffed recliner, her head propped up on one arm and her legs slung over the other. Kimiko sat criss-cross-applesauce on the floor in front of the sofa as if it was strictly for decoration and she'd be yelled at for sitting on it.

Both of them were too fixated on the television screen, where some anime was playing, to look in your direction when you walked in the room.

Oshiro watched them from the other doorway with the same enthralled gaze they directed at the flat-screen TV.

"I don't know why you like animes that make you cry, Hinata," Kimiko declared around a mouthful of popcorn so buttery you could see its sheen on her fingers and lips.

"It's a sign of good writing. It means the writer made me feel something."

"Whatever you say. I'm not complaining. I just love bright colors when I'm high."

Apparently you did, too. You spent a good ten minutes standing in the doorway, swaying to the rumba beats of your heart in your chest, hypnotized by the television screen.

You liked the yellow-haired character the most. Yellow made you feel like dandelions were growing out of your throat and into your mouth... But, like, in a good way. It felt like happiness was bubbling inside of you, rising from your toes and popping in your mouth.

Minoru pulled you from your trance by resting one gentle hand on your shoulder. "Sit down and let me look at your ankle." She led you over to the couch and sat you down before kneeling at your feet.

You didn't think it was really necessary. It had stopped bleeding. Still, Minoru liked playing nurse, taking care of you, so you let her. You didn't have the energy to fight her anymore.

She cooed to you throughout the whole process. "Does this hurt, sweetness?" as she rubbed an alcohol-soaked cotton ball into the edges of your wound. "I hope this doesn't scar too badly," as she applied the butterfly sutures. "Almost done," as she padded and wrapped your entire ankle in gauze before slipping on an ankle brace for good measure.

Then she put away the first aid kit and took out a nail kit without a word.

You watched in fascination as she trimmed, filed, and buffed your fingernails and toenails to a shine. She seemed to be enjoying herself, humming faintly as she worked. It was kind of nice, having someone wait on you hand and foot. Literally. Although it also made you feel a little like a doll.

Once she was done, she pulled out a glossy nail polish in your favorite color and started applying it to your nails. You didn't think you ever told her your favorite color, though. Huh. Must be a lucky guess. Or maybe your memory was bad. That was probably it.

After each coat of paint, she put your nails under a weird alien light. She noticed you looking at her and reached up to rest a hand over your eyes. "Don't look directly into the light, sweetness," she scolded.

She seemed satisfied after god knows how many coats. "You know I love you, right?" She purred, smiling up at you from your feet. You smiled back and nodded. No one else would treat you this nice.

"Who wants sushi?" Oshiro called from the kitchen before appearing in the doorway again. You didn't know when she had left, probably went to get out the sushi fixings, but she was back now.

"I want sushi!" You crowed excitedly, getting up off the couch and jumping up and down. You were filled to the brim with genuine youthful energy.

The others weren't as enthusiastic. They probably experienced enough slumber parties that DIY sushi had lost its magic. That, or they were too high to do anything other than watch television. Either way, they didn't give her more than a backward glance.

She looked at you and nodded in the direction of the kitchen before striding away.

"Aina," Minoru said before you could follow her. "Be careful with Oshiro. And let her do all the knifework. I don't want you getting hurt." Then she sidled up behind Hinata and started braiding her hair. Hinata glowed under her attention, but it made Kimiko scowl before her concentration settled on the TV again.

You snorted on your way to the kitchen. Now that Oshiro had given up trying to run you off from the group, you were probably safer with her than you were with Minoru.

The kitchen island was overflowing with sushi tools and fillings. You couldn't name all of the things on the table, but you recognized them from those fancy sushi restaurants that made the food in front of you. You didn't realize you were drooling until you felt something dribble down your chin.

Oshiro let out a snort of laughter before gesturing you over to the island. You walked over until you were situated in front of the whole smorgasbord. Oshiro was at your back, so close you could feel the warmth radiating from her. That was the only thing keeping you from saying fuck the art of sushi and grabbing fistfuls of sushi fillings to stuff in your mouth.

"Okay, princess...What kind of sushi do you want to make?"

"Uhhh..." You didn't know a lot of sushi off the top of your head. If only you had a menu in front of you... That kind of defeated the purpose of DIY sushi, though. Like ordering a basic sandwich from Subway.

"Nigiri sushi is fish on top of rice," she offered helpfully. "Maki sushi is usually rolled."

"Maki sushi!" You wanted a sushi roll.

"Okay, so first we grab our nori. Our nori has a rough side and a shiny side." She reached over and grabbed a rectangular sheet of seaweed, turning it over in her hands. Both sides looked pretty shiny to you.

"How do you know which is which?"

"Well, you see, the shiny side is shiny."

You let out a sarcastic laugh. "They're both pretty shiny, Oshiro."

She sighed through her nose before continuing, "It's just for presentation purposes. Just put the shiniest side down on the bamboo mat." The bamboo mat was wrapped in plastic, likely to keep the rice from sticking in the grooves.

"Next we dip our hands in here, which is water with just a little bit of vinegar. It's important to keep our hands moist," she said, dipping her hands in a nearby pot. You made a face at the word moist. Luckily she couldn't see it, or she surely would have teased you mercilessly.

"Then we grab some rice from the hangiri. The hangiri keeps rice warm or body temperature." Oshiro grabbed about a handful of rice and balled it up into something resembling a baseball. You made another face. You hoped she washed her hands before this demonstration.

You thought it important to speak up here before things went any further. "You're just using your hands?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"What about the rice paddle?"