2. Chapter 2 (1/2)

"what about this one?" i asked, holding up yet another napkin. minako hands paused in my hair as she examined the bit of fa

ic i was displaying.

"too lacy," she determined and returned to

aiding. i held up a different scrap and she paused again before declaring, "too plain," and returning to the intricate knots she was tying into my hair. minako's mother had left us with the project of deciding on napkins for the small—though her definition of the word was much different from mine—banquet that was planned for after the wedding. minako was more interested in deciding how my hair should be done on the special day. i held up a medium between lacy and plain and she hardly hesitated before saying, "too ruffled." i sighed. it had taken more than two hours to decide on the exact shade of lilac for the napkins and for the past hour, we had been picking through possible textures. after we choose that, mrs. oshiro still wanted us to look at tablecloths.

"when i get married, i'm going to elope," i said, pushing the basket full of fa

ic scraps away.

"only if you invite me," she answered nonchalantly.

"that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?" minako hummed before pulling particularly hard on a knot. "ow!"

"oops." she didn't sound particularly apologetic. "shina-chan, let's take a

eak from napkins, please."

"yes, please!" i begged. a pair of servants, who likely had been waiting outside and listening for our announcement, entered with a small cart carrying a full tea service. they set everything out for us without our having to ask or direct them, then left quietly. i served myself immediately—really, i should be tremendously overweight—but minako ignored the spread and continued working on my hair while i sipped my tea. i sat quietly, letting her focus. she had her work and i had a great view out the window.

this window opened out into a little garden which was concealed from nearly every other part of the house. because of its invisibility, the gardeners had allowed it to grow less formally than the more impressive rose gardens and hedge mazes spanning the rest of the property. the little, overgrown garden was one of my favorite places around the oshiro estate. minako had shown me the garden one time when we had snuck away from her nanny when i was about five and since that day, we had spent whole days there in what she like to call our secret garden. picnics had been had there secrets told and peace and quiet enjoyed when there was nowhere else to go. a year ago, we had found an abandoned bird nest, feathers still stuck between twigs, egg shell chips left behind and an old, faded red ribbon that minako's mother had lost months before woven through the layers. the gray sky had provided a stunning backdrop and an excellent contrast to the ribbon. the resulting picture was my favorite of any i had ever taken and after having it enlarged, i had had it professionally framed and hung on my bedroom wall. looking into the little garden at the onset of spring, i watched a tiny bird swoop in and out of the

anches of the tree wondered if he had taken over my little, abandoned nest.

"there!" minako announced, pulling me away from the window. "what do you think?" she handed me her phone, having already taken a picture of the back of my head. my hair and been separated into three

aids, then all three had been twisted together and pinned into a spiral on the crown of my head, my color spiraling in and out of the inky black. switching the camera to the front view, i examined the way the delicate twist looked like a crown from this side. minako really was quite good at this.

"it's gorgeous," i told her, "but i don't think your parents will like my color showing in any pictures." i prepared her a cup of tea and passed it to her to serve as a distraction for her grumbling.

"but i love your color," she said, obediently taking a sip. i laughed at her childlike complaint.

"so do i," i agreed, "but we have to let them think we dance to their beat, don't we?"

"it's my wedding," she said petulantly. "besides, it's not like they don't know about it already."

"true, but most people don't know," i reminded her. most people would not approve of my little bit of rebellion. her parents certainly didn't and my parents only tolerated it. "i don't think your parents want it revealed at your wedding. just play along," i added when she opened her mouth to argue again.

"fine," she muttered. she set down her tea cup and went back to picking through the basket of textured fa

ics again, impatiently tossing each scrap to the side without giving any of them much of a look. i looked down to hide my smile from her and my eyes landed on her discarded tea cup. the shadow it created was lengthened by the setting sun and the polished surface of the opposite side cast a reflection on the table. it could have been a good picture if taken from the right angle, but that wasn't what caught my attention. the glint snagged a thought in the back of my head, something i was supposed to do.

"dang it!" i shouted, and minako looked up with interest. "the plate!"

"what plate?"

"do you remember how i told you that honey-senpai gave me a piece of cake to take home? i still have to give them the plate back. i completely forgot."

"well, it's only been a week, right? that's not too bad. in fact, you have another week before it becomes a real problem." her face split into a plotting grin and she pulled her laptop close, quickly tapping away. "but i know how to fix that."

"minako," i said, a warning in my voice, "what are you doing?" she looked up at me with a smile, then went back to tapping away. minako had always been the leader of our inseparable duo growing up, and i the willing follower. i had never minded and usually, i benefitted from her decisions and occasional meddling, no matter how rashly she acted. however, that look in her eye always meant she was planning something i wouldn't approve of.

"i'm getting you another date, of course." i made a mad grab for the laptop, but she pulled it onto her lap and spun away from me. "nu, uh, uh," she sang. "you're not getting out of this. what do you think of this vase?" she turned the screen to face me, but kept the laptop out of my reach, a smirk on her face.

"it's gorgeous, of course," i told her. it would be a crime to lie about such a lovely piece; an antique cut crystal vase that caught the light at every angle. "but don't waste your money."

"i'm not wasting it," she said. "i'm buying a pretty vase that i think will make a lovely centerpiece at my wedding."

"minako," i dragged the last syllable out and slumped back into my seat, raising my face to the ceiling and closing my eyes in a gesture of defeat.

"let me spoil you," she said, "as payment for dealing with my

idezilla ways."

"you are not a

idezilla and i am not helping you for pay," i argued, but she cut off the rest of what i was going to say.

"i know you're not. shinobu." she waited until i turned my face back to her. "what are you going to do otherwise? you can't just hand the plate back to them between classes."

"why not?" when she began a rant about the social niceties of the high, upper-class, the danger of offending people of such high status as the host club gentlemen were, the importance of making strong connections with powerful people, i groaned loudly, having heard it all before. i had spent enough time around the oshiros and their acquaintances to know how picky the wealthy were about manners. personally, i thought it was overdone, but i also knew that

eaking any of their little rules could spell social ruin. "fine, fine, fine!" i cut over her speech and dropped my head to the table. "buy the dang vase." i didn't look up, but i was sure she was grinning victoriously. i silently listened to her type away on her laptop for several minutes, but when she started on about a pretty pair of earrings up for auction, i jumped up and stole her computer. "you're ears aren't even pierced!" i reminded her, running away to dodge her grabbing.

"yours are!" she argued, chasing me. she forced me out into the hallway and we only barely avoided a collision with her mother.

"have you decided on napkins yet, then?" mrs. oshiro asked, arching her

ow at our childishness.

"no, ma'am," we said in unison.

"well, then, i suggest you get back to it." she took the computer out of my hands, turned and walked away leaving us to ruefully return to the basket of fa

ic scraps.