Chapter Eleven: Difficult Girls

"Thanks for coming by!"

"You should come more often!"

"Enjoy the rest of the festival!"

After Haruna had separated from Kanako, she had gone to see her old club, the Girls Snowboarding and Skiing Club. Thanks to what turned out to be a career-ending injury suffered last term, Haruna had had to come to terms with not being able to do the sport she enjoyed so much anymore. With Kanako and club president Izumi Komatsu's help, she had managed to accept the reality of her situation. However, ever since then, she hadn't been back to the club room.

Haruna knew she was welcome there, but just because she had accepted her situation, that didn't mean it was any easier. Going to the club room meant being reminded of all the things she couldn't do anymore, so it was hard for her to actually want to go back. But, with the cultural festival now here, she felt like it was the perfect time to try. After all, the club would surely be doing some sort of presentation (just like the previous year), and if somehow things didn't go well for Haruna while visiting, she could always distract herself with the other festivities.

When she had arrived at the club room, her welcome had been quite energetic, with all of the members present being really excited to see her. They told her how much they had missed her, and they showed her their new trophies too. That part stung a little bit, but Haruna did her best to ignore that feeling. She was hoping to be able to come by more often, so getting used to moments like these was going to be necessary.

After that, they had talked for a bit and the members explained what they were doing for the festival. Apparently, Izumi was planning on mimicking a snowboard run using some ramps. When Haruna visited, it turned out that the reason Izumi wasn't there was because she was out preparing. "Too bad she's not here," Haruna had thought. Despite her feelings about Izumi as a person, Haruna had a lot of respect for her as an athlete, so she had been hoping to see her. "I guess my last chance will be graduation." With Izumi being a third-year, it was nearly time for her to leave Iwanai High. For most students, that would mean entrance exams, but Izumi's prowess as an athlete had guaranteed her a recommendation to any school of her choice. However, she still ended up being plenty busy, and with attendance being optional at this point, it was rare for Haruna to even see her in the halls. Although, considering how involved she still was as a third-year, some of the club members joked that Izumi would never leave.

Not too long after, it was nearly time for the club members to go join Izumi, so Haruna had decided to leave, which resulted in her getting serenaded with goodbyes. As she left, she admittedly felt a little lighter. "It's good that I went to see them," she thought with a smile. Haruna had thought that the experience would end up being awkward and painful, but it ended up feeling like she had never left. Satisfied with her visit, Haruna decided the next thing she would do would be to find Chiyo.

With neither of them having anything to do, Chiyo had gone to see if she could help out Jasmine's class, so Haruna started heading in that direction. However, it didn't take long for her to find the gal she was looking for. "Haru-chiiii…." Chiyo cried. "Huh? What's wrong?" Haruna asked, surprised to see the usually-energetic girl looking so down. "Jas-chin shooed me away…" "That's what you're so depressed about?" Haruna asked, now wishing she hadn't bothered being concerned. "But she was so mean this time! She told me I'd just mess something up somehow! Isn't that totally awful? I mean like, I taught her half the stuff she knows about hair!" Chiyo whined. "Yeah, I'm not really seeing a problem here," Haruna said mercilessly. "Jasmine-chan's always like that with you. Plus, it's her class anyways, so it's not like they really need your help." "Well, I guess you're right, but like, they sure had a lot of people there in line," Chiyo said. "Not to mention she seemed kinda worried about something." "Really?" Haruna asked, curious. Chiyo nodded.

"Like, sure, Jas-chin bein' kinda rough with me is pretty normal," she said. "Phrasing Chiyo," Haruna pointed out, but the gal went on. "But like, she totally seemed bothered. It's pretty weird y'know? Jas-chin never gets like that." "That's true," Haruna said, finding herself becoming a little concerned. "Should we keep an eye on her?" Chiyo suggested. "She'd probably hate that," Haruna said.

After thinking for a moment longer, Chiyo shrugged. "Well, whatevs. I don't think it's too big a deal, so we can just check on her later I guess." "So what should we do now?" Haruna asked. "Isn't that like, totally obvious?" Chiyo said. "Huh? Why would it be obvious?" Haruna said, feeling annoyed. "We're obviously gonna go check out Kana-chan and Mi-chan in their maid outfits!" Chiyo said excitedly. "Kanako isn't even there though," Haruna pointed out. "She went to meet up with her club, remember?" "Oh, that's right," Chiyo said. "Besides," Haruna went on. "Even if she was there right now, I probably wouldn't go see her."

Chiyo stopped moving. "Eh?" she let out. "Are you serious Haru-chi? It's your chance to see your beloved Kana-chan in a maid outfit!" "You make it sound like I have a thing for maids or something…" Haruna said. "That's not the point!" Chiyo exclaimed. "Don't you want to see Kana-chan lookin' all cute?" "Well, sure, but…" Haruna mumbled. "But what? I really can't see a problem here," Chiyo said, her tone getting stronger.

"I can't…" Haruna said meekly. "Whaddya mean ya can't?" Chiyo said. "Aren't you and Kana-chan on good terms again? You're obviously not avoidin' her anymore since you two were walking together, so what's the problem?" "I just can't okay?!" Haruna shouted, causing several nearby patrons to look over.

Chiyo stared at her, but Haruna remained silent after that. She couldn't bring herself to say the reason out loud. "There's no way I could tell her that it's because of my own guilt," she thought. With how poorly Haruna had been acting toward Kanako recently, Haruna had begun to wonder if she even deserved to be with the girl she liked. By extension, that also applied to not allowing herself to enjoy the sight of her crush looking especially cute. "I know it's stupid to think like this, but I just…"

Guilt and regret tormented her. Questions echoed in her head. For Haruna, who was on the precipice of finally going the direction she truly wanted, all she kept finding herself doing was getting stuck. If it wasn't fear, it was regret, and if it wasn't regret, then surely something else would come along to stop her in her tracks. Pitifully, Haruna wondered if someone would reach out their hand to her, if taking it would finally be enough to pull her out of the spot she was trapped in. "Now I just feel pathetic…" she thought.

"Just come," Chiyo said, though it sounded more like a demand. "No. I already said I can't," Haruna said, stubbornly refusing. "Haru-chi, whatever it is that's makin' you think ya can't, it's probably not as bad as you're making it out to be." "I know that…" Haruna muttered. "If ya know, then why're you being so difficult?" Chiyo said with a huff. "Shut up. Just go enjoy the stupid maid cafe by yourself," Haruna said immaturely. Then she marched away. "Honestly, that girl…" Chiyo mumbled. "Guess I'll go by myself… At least Mi-chan will be there… in a maid outfit… She's gonna look so cute!"

As Chiyo skipped off in one direction, Haruna went the other. "God, I sounded like such a child back there," she thought. "Pathetic and a child… Just how much worse can my self-image get...?" It was nearly enough to make Haruna hide away. "Why can't I just stop getting in my own way?"

Really, the cultural festival was considered the perfect opportunity for many. Whether it was trying to get closer to someone or going even as far as a confession, plenty of romantic developments tended to take place. Of course, being a high school student herself, Haruna knew that as well. "Getting to see Kanako looking cute should be a great thing for me, but…"

But her emotions were all over the place. Feeling regret over her past actions was holding her back, and the guilt accompanying it just made it worse. Hinami had given her some good advice, but in order for it to be effective, Haruna needed to be able to accept her past instead of treating it like a wall in her way.

And yet, knowing that did her very little good. How was she supposed to accept it? It wasn't as if she could just shrug and go "Well, whatever," and act like none of it happened. Then there was the problem that even just thinking about her past dredged up all of the negative emotions that came with it. "I can't just ignore it, but I can't really think about it either…" she thought. "Just what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Perhaps the most accurate way to describe Haruna's current state of mind was simply labeling her as lost. She wanted to move forward and take advantage of the cultural festival like everybody else, but she couldn't. She wanted to accept her past and not regret it like Hinami said, but she couldn't do that either. A step forward, a step back, and round and round in a vicious cycle with seemingly no way out. "I really almost wish someone could just pull me out of this mess," Haruna thought sadly once again.

Continuing to wander the halls, she eventually realized she had circled back to her own hallway. Within that same hall was Jasmine's classroom, so Haruna decided she might as well see what this "breakfast salon" was supposed to be. "If nothing else, it'll be a good distraction," she thought. But just as Haruna was about to enter, she realized she couldn't. "Is this the line Chiyo was talking about…?"

Sure enough, there was a line stretching out of the classroom and going down the hall. Haruna had noticed people standing around, but she hadn't guessed it was for Jasmine's room. "Is it really that popular?" she wondered. Not even knowing what a "breakfast salon" was didn't help Haruna make any guesses, but perhaps that was why everybody else was lined up. Getting the chance to try something you've never tried before was something plenty of people took advantage of at festivals.

As Haruna stood off to the side thinking, she saw a girl step out of the entryway. "Is there anybody in line who just wants food?" she called. "We have two open spots!" In response, two people raised their hands, so they were taken inside. "For those of you waiting on the salon part, it'll be a bit longer, so please wait patiently!"

"Seriously, what is going on in there?" Haruna wondered. Trying to take a peek inside, she peered around the door frame. In the room, she saw several chairs set up with mirrors in front of them. Seated in each chair was a customer, and behind them were students of the class. Currently, it was two girls and one guy as customers, and behind each of them were matched genders. "It really looks like a salon in here…" Haruna thought, somewhat amazed. The way the walls had been covered gave the appearance of them having been painted just for the occasion, and the big bulb lights surrounding each mirror gave the atmosphere a glitzy feel.

Just as Haruna was about to pull away, a voice called out to her. "Oh, Haru-chi!" Jasmine said. "Come in here for a sec." "Huh? But the line…" Haruna said, but Jasmine just waved off her concern. "That doesn't matter. I'm not callin' you in here as a customer anyways." "What?" Still confused, Haruna slipped by the people outside and made her way into the classroom/salon.

"So why am I in here?" she asked. "We're like, really runnin' behind. Honestly, we're swamped. None of us thought we'd be this popular," Jasmine said. "We still have two seats open, but because of scheduling and the food side of things, we don't have enough people to run the salon part. Could ya help us out?" "Ehhh?" Haruna let out. "Jasmine-chan, come on. You know I'm terrible at stuff like this." "It's not like it's hard," she said. "Look, the guys do the guys, and the girls do the girls. All we're really doin' is styling and make-up anyways, since none of us are actually licensed to cut hair or anything." "That doesn't make it any easier for me though…" Haruna pointed out. "I don't know anything about this stuff! How am I supposed to help?" "You've seen me and Chiyo do this plenty of times, you'll be fine," Jasmine insisted.

Looking around, Haruna wondered if she'd really be fine. "They all seem like they know what they're doing…" she muttered as she watch the others work. "That's because I gave them a crash course," Jasmine said. "We're not doing anything fancy here. It's all simple stuff, see?" When Haruna looked closer, she could tell that was the case. The guys seemed to be mostly messing around and having a good time, and the girls were just doing the basic stuff they already knew.

"Wait a minute," Haruna said, realizing something. "If you needed help so badly, then why'd you shoo Chiyo away?" "Oh, that," Jasmine said. "If I let her in here, who knows what she'd do. She's definitely good at this kind of stuff, but I feel like she'd end up doin' something weird, y'know? Like giving some poor girl a beehive hairdo." "That's a good point," Haruna agreed. "So anyways, you gonna help?" Jasmine asked. "I'll…" Haruna said weakly "...do my best." "That's the spirit."

So for the next hour, Haruna proceeded to help Jasmine's class. She prefaced every customer interaction by saying she had no experience, so she could only do really easy stuff, but most of them didn't seem to mind. As she did each customer, Jasmine watched when she wasn't working. "Honestly, I was a little worried, but it seems to be going well enough," she thought. "And now that a couple of other people have come in, things are starting to move along well."

To give an overview, the breakfast salon operated in two parts. Starting at the entryway, customers were given a choice. They could either get a small makeover, or they could go straight to the restaurant side. If they chose the first option, then they were seated at one of the chairs and would be attended to. If they chose the second option, then they were taken along a path away from the chairs and to the gap in the divider that had been set up in the room. From there, the set-up was much like a typical restaurant, with multiple tables set up and waiters and waitresses serving them. In the back was the cooking area, which was in full view for the patrons to see. This was where Mayu and Itsuki would be working once it was time for their shifts.

In a bizarre twist, somehow this had become what Jasmine's class had decided to do, and the gal herself had (kind of) been put in charge. Back when her class had been trying to decide on what to do, Jasmine had been sitting in her seat in the back, staring out the window. "I'm starving," she had thought that morning. "I really should eat breakfast more regularly." While she was busy thinking about her hunger, her fellow classmates had been giving suggestions. However, none of them were good ideas, so the class was still stuck at square one.

Meanwhile, Jasmine, bored with the whole thing, had started twirling her hair. "I should get this redone," she had thought. "Maybe I'll do that this weekend. I'll go to the salon, then get something to eat." Then she sighed. "If only I could just do both of them at once. That'd be so much more convenient." Then, accidentally out loud, she said the following: "A breakfast salon… That'd be kinda cool."

"A breakfast salon? What's that?"

"Did... Hiraoka-san just suggest something? I thought she didn't care."

"It sounds interesting though. Could you tell us more?"

As it turned out, at that exact moment Jasmine had said what she said, the classroom had been quiet. Seeing that she was suddenly being addressed, she looked around in confusion for a moment before realizing what had happened. "Shit. Did I just say that out loud?" she thought.

In every year prior, Jasmine had taken little interest in the cultural festival. Part of that was because she'd always have a new boyfriend for the event, so she preferred to just walk around with the guy instead of bothering with whatever her class was doing. The other part in regards to her disinterest was because she had always viewed them as a hassle. Jasmine knew a lot of the girls in her class weren't her biggest fans. It was a situation similar to Chiyo's, except it was almost worse. Jasmine was known for dating a lot of guys. Several of her ex's were even in her class. And of course, when it came to some of those guys, there had been girls interested in them. Seeing Jasmine date them and then break up not much later after they started was infuriating to them.

Considering her standing in the class, Jasmine just figured it was easier to not be involved. It wasn't like she was all that interested anyways, so it was no big loss to her to not participate. And yet, somehow she had now gotten involved. That presented it's own problems. From what she could remember, the person who made the winning suggestion tended to be the one put in charge. Now, there Jasmine was, on the verge of that very position.

"Ah, um, no, I was just like, mumbling to myself," Jasmine had said, trying to pass it off as random muttering, but her classmates weren't going to let such a unique idea slip past them. "C'mon, tell us more. It sounds like it'd really be something different," one boy had said. "Better than doing something that everybody does," a girl added. Panicking a bit, Jasmine had looked across the room at Mayu and Itsuki, giving a look that said, "Help me out here!" The tomboy only gave a big smile and a thumbs up, while Mayu gave Jasmine a smile that conveyed her saying, "What am I supposed to do about this?"

With all eyes on her and no way out, Jasmine gave up. "Haaah… Fine, whatever. If such a thing as a breakfast salon existed, I think it'd be something like this." And so, the gal proceeded to make up a plan on the spot. By the time she was finished explaining, the majority of the class was on-board. "Alright, so Hiraoka-san will be in charge!" one girl declared. "No," Jasmine said immediately. "I'll help keep things organized, but there's no way in hell I'm runnin' this show. Isn't that what the class rep is for?"

Uneasy looks were exchanged, but the others eventually agreed. "Yeah, we probably shouldn't force everything onto Hiraoka-san," one girl said. "But thanks for the great idea!" "This'll be fun!" another girl added. Then the class had proceeded to work out the logistics, and by the end of the day, it had been decided that Jasmine's class would be doing a breakfast salon, with the gal herself still assisting plenty.

*****

Of course, not everybody had been happy about that decision. It had been about a week into cultural festival preparations, and for the most part, things were running smoothly. Some of the guys in the class had been concerned about what kind of role they could play, but it was worked out so that some of them worked in the restaurant side while others helped style male customers.

Overall, Jasmine was surprised, to say the least. After inadvertently dragging herself into the cultural festival, she had expected to be met with a lot of annoyance and hate. After all, there were plenty of people in her class that didn't like her, for one reason or another. For some, it was the constant dating. For others, it was heartbreak. For a select few, they were simply boiling with jealousy over Jasmine's good looks. Really, as soon as the gal had taken the lead, she had been sure that everything was going to go downhill for her.

And yet, there hadn't been anything. At first she had expected sabotage, but then realized that was a stupid idea. The people in her class were still in her class. If they tried to ruin anything, they'd only be hurting themselves. Jasmine's thoughts had then shifted to being directed insulted, but none of that had been happening either. "Then again, hardly anyone ever really did that to me before anyways," she thought.

With the utter lack of bitterness that Jasmine had expected to come, she found herself starting to enjoy the preparations. Having to work with her fellow classmates meant she could actually start to get along with them. While Jasmine was mostly indifferent to how people saw her, she admitted it was nice to have people not viewing her as some sort of pariah. "Maybe this'll be fun after all," she had thought.

Then, one day after class, Jasmine realized she forgot something. "Damn it, now I have to go back," she thought. "What a pain." Turning around just before reaching the front doors, she had begun making her way back to the classroom. It was then that she heard voices talking.

"Can you believe we have to do Hiraoka-san's idea?"

"You've said that like, 20 times since we started. Just let it go already."

"No way! Why should we have to do that bitch's idea, huh? It's so stupid!"

"You're just mad because she stole the guy you liked last year."

"She didn't just steal him, she ruined him! We tried going out, and he told me straight to my face after sex that it just wasn't the same as it was with Hiraoka-san!"

"Yeah, that is pretty brutal."

"I hate her! I hate her so much! All she ever does it mess around with guys and then toss them aside! It makes me sick!"

"I wonder if she's gotten any diseases down there. That'd be pretty good karma, don't you think?"

"Ha! Yeah, then maybe she'd learn her lesson!"

All the while, Jasmine stood behind the door, leaning up against it. Her face turned to the ground, she let out a dry laugh. "Haha… Yeah… Of course they're saying stuff like that when I'm not around…" It wasn't really anything new to Jasmine. She had heard other girls talking about her before, much like how they were now. However, this time was different. This time, Jasmine had actually started to care.

She was starting to have fun with her classmates. She had good friends. Thanks to a couple of those friends' love lives, she had stopped constantly dating one boy after the next. In fact, she hadn't been in a relationship at all since first term. But of course, none of that matter to those girls badmouthing her. To them, Jasmine Hiraoka would always be the villain.

She thought she didn't really care, but somehow, those words still stung. With the changes in her life, Jasmine hadn't realized it until now, but she had become more vulnerable. It was much harder for her to shrug it off now than it had been before. Realizing that, Jasmine wanted nothing more than to just shut herself off again. But, before she could do anything drastic, she heard another voice that surprised her entirely.

"U-Um, excuse me!" a girl said loudly. "Huh? Uh, you're… Kawaguchi-san, right?" one of the girls said. "What do you want?" "I didn't even notice that she was still here," another girl whispered. "I'd…" Mayu continued. "I'd really like it if you didn't badmouth my friend!" "Friend? Hiraoka-san's your friend?" the first girl said, somewhat bewildered. "Actually now that she said it, I think I've seen those two together quite a bit recently," another girl pointed out.

"So what?" the first girl said, moving toward Mayu. "You're gonna defend that bitch?" "She's not the kind of person you're saying she is," Mayu said. "I know she's been in a lot of relationships, but that's changed! Have you even seen Jasmine-chan with another boy since the first term?" "You know… I think she's right," another girl said. "Yeah, she's been single for a while now," the third girl added.

"Ugh! Who cares about that?!" the first girl exclaimed. Marching right up to Mayu, she pointed at her. "How she is now doesn't erase what she's done! And if you're gonna stand there and act like she's some good girl now, then maybe I oughta show you just how messed up she is!" "Huh? W-Wait, what are you doing? Get away!" Mayu shouted.

The first girl's hand reached out quickly for Mayu's wrist, but as she did, two other swift motions happened. The first was Mayu suddenly being pulled away. The second was the first girl's hand being slapped back. After taking a second to process what had happened, the first girl took a couple of steps back. "H-Hiraoka-san?"

Jasmine had had enough. After hearing Mayu panic, she had rushed in, only to find Mayu on the verge of being attacked. She had grabbed Mayu's arm and pulled her in close, keeping one arm wrapped around the smaller girl. With her other hand, she had smacked the first girl's hand, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to touch Mayu.

"Y'know," Jasmine said with a heavy glare on her face. "Ya shouldn't go around touching things that aren't yours." The first girl could only grit her teeth in response. "Whatever you slut. You're not worth the time anyways." With that, the trio of girls went to leave, but before they could, Jasmine stopped them at the door. "Hey, I think I actually remember that guy you were talkin' about." With a smug look on her face, Jasmine turned her head to look at them. "Yeah, that night was legendary. We went at it for hours. I'm sure after that, the only thing that filled that boy's head was me."

"Y-You-!" the first girl began to shriek, but before she could, her friends stopped her from shouting and started dragging her off, giving Jasmine mean glares as they left. Once they were gone, Jasmine let out a sigh. "That was exhausting," she said. "Um, J-Jasmine-chan?" Mayu said. "Could you… let me go now?" Currently, Mayu's head was pressed against Jasmine's breasts, with her whole body being held close. "Why?" Jasmine said with a teasing smile. "It's not like there's a problem, is there?" "W-Well, no, I suppose not, but this position, i-it's um…" Mayu sputtered. "It's what?" Jasmine said, tilting her head and pretending to play innocent. "I-It's embarrassing!" Mayu yelled. Finally letting go, Jasmine let out a little laugh. "Y'know, your face when you yell looks like a rabbit with its mouth open." "Stop comparing me to rabbits!" Mayu pouted.

After a moment had passed, Mayu looked at Jasmine. "Did you… hear what they said?" "...Yeah," Jasmine said, looking away. "It was awful," Mayu said. "It hurt me to hear them talking about you like that. I just… had to say something…" Jasmine stared at Mayu, surprised. "Really?" "Yes. You're my friend Jasmine-chan. Of course it would hurt me."

Hearing it put that way caused Jasmine to turn around out of embarrassment. She could feel her cheeks getting hot, and as she was the one who normally did the teasing, she knew there was no way she could let Mayu see her face. "Not that Mayu-chi is really the teasing type, but still…" Jasmine thought.

"Jasmine-chan? What's wrong?" Mayu asked. "Nothing," the gal said back, finally turning back around. "So, why were you still here anyways? Don't you have club?" "Not today," Mayu answered. "Oh, then...Do ya wanna walk together?" Jasmine asked. In response, Mayu gave a light nod. "That would be nice."

After grabbing the thing Jasmine had forgotten, the two of them made there way down the hall, continuing to talk about what had happened. "Hey, Mayu-chi," Jasmine said. Mayu looked up at her. "Thanks… for defending me." "Of course," Mayu said with a smile. "Although, I do have a question." "If it's about my past love life, I'd rather not answer it," Jasmine said. "It's not that," Mayu said with a shake of her head. "I was just wondering… what did you mean by, 'you shouldn't touch things that aren't yours?'"

For a moment, Jasmine froze, but she quickly recovered. "I-I just meant what I always say. Y'know, how you're like a small animal. Kinda like a pet." At that, Mayu's cheeks puffed out. "I'm not a pet!" she cried. "Honestly, I wish you'd stop teasing me like that." "I can't help it," Jasmine said with a laugh. "You're just too cute."

Now it was Mayu's turn to stop. "C-Cute...?" she sputtered out as she stood still. "Mayu-chi?" Jasmine said. "What's up?" With red streaking across her nose and cheeks, Mayu quickly shook her head, sending her braids whipping back and forth. "No, i-it's nothing," she said as she rejoined Jasmine's side. "If you say so," Jasmine said with a knowing smile. "Hey, by the way, where's Itsuki?"

Mayu's expression changed when she heard the name of her childhood friend. "She's pushing herself, like always," she said quietly. "Is that a problem? It's not like she doesn't have the energy," Jasmine said. "That's exactly the problem," Mayu said. "Because last year…"

*****

After that day, things had progressed smoothly for Jasmine's class. They were able to get everything they needed, and Jasmine actually enjoyed herself more than she thought she would in the process. As for the three girls from before, they continued to glare at Jasmine constantly, but they kept their distance and didn't cause any further problems.

While continuing to watch Haruna, another customer came in and it became Jasmine's turn to work. "What kind of style do you want?" she asked. "Um, I'm not sure. Something that'll get a boy's attention maybe?" Taking that information, Jasmine began to get to work. "Plannin' on confessing to someone?" she asked. "H-How did you know?!" the girl in her chair exclaimed. Jasmine could only laugh. "Hate to break it to ya, but it's like, pretty obvious," Jasmine said. "I-Is it? Oh geez, I hope I haven't screwed up already..." the girl said. "Don't worry about a thing," Jasmine said confidently. "Not to brag, but I'm like, pretty good at this. And trust me, no boy can resist a pretty girl. This makeover of yours will blow him away." "You really think so?" the girl asked. "Yup. Now hold still. This part's a little tricky," Jasmine said as she moved to put make-up on the girl's eyes.

When she finished, the girl was satisfied and thanked Jasmine for her work. "Y'know, this is pretty fun," Jasmine thought as the girl walked away. "Maybe I could do this for a living." Filing that thought away for the future, she began to work with the next customer.

By the time her next break came around, Jasmine had found herself to be a little worried about Haruna. It had been a bit since she had really heard the girl. "Is she doing alright?" the gal wondered, but as it turned out, her fears were for naught. True to her word, Haruna was still only doing basic and simple things, but she seemed to be doing a good enough job at them. In fact, Jasmine thought that she might've improved a little in the time she had been working.

"Hey Haru-chi, once you're done, come over here," Jasmine said. A few minutes later, Haruna finished with her customer and met Jasmine near the small designated break away. "It looks like things have calmed down now, so you can probably go if ya want," Jasmine said. "Yeah, I think I might. The smell of all the hairspray is starting to give me a headache," Haruna said. "We've got the windows cracked open and some fans going, but it looks like that can only do so much," Jasmine said with a shrug. "Thanks for the help though." "No problem. It's not like I was doing anything anyways," Haruna said.

As she talked to Jasmine, Haruna looked at her closely. "Chiyo said she seemed bothered by something, but maybe it was just because of the long line earlier," she thought. It was always hard for Haruna to tell exactly what Jasmine was thinking. As it turned out though, the gal had just remembered something.

"Actually, that reminds me," Jasmine said. "I would've thought you'd be spending your day at Kana-chan's maid cafe." "Ah…" Haruna let out, causing her to completely forget about any potential problems that Jasmine was having. "Well, I… it's just complicated, I guess." "What's complicated about maids?" Jasmine said in a doubtful tone. Her words seemed to imply more than she said though. It was almost as if she was asking, "Is it really that complicated, or are you just making it complicated?"

Not wanting to answer that, Haruna gave a vague, "I don't know," and then proceeded to leave. A part of Jasmine wanted to ask her more, but she couldn't leave her post for a while longer. "I guess Haru-chi will just have to figure things out for herself this time," she thought.

As she went back to work, Itsuki finally showed up and went to join the kitchen staff. Not much later, Mayu did the same, allowing two people to be relieved. That was all well and good, but as Jasmine watched Itsuki, she found herself becoming worried. "She really doesn't look steady," the gal thought. The girl now manning the station seemed to be swaying a bit, but whenever anybody talked to her, she responded the same way she always did. Energetic and with a smile. "...Maybe I'm just seeing things." Jasmine thought.

*****

It was getting close to the end of day one of the Iwanai Municipal High School cultural festival, and Itsuki Yukimura was making her way to the track club room. "I hope they… weren't too busy without me," she said. Although, if anybody had been near enough to hear her, they would've been rather concerned. The girl's voice almost sounded ragged, and her feet were shuffling more than they should've.

"Almost there," she told herself. Even Itsuki could no longer deny her situation. She knew that she had gone too far. Again. "Just a little… further…" she muttered, but as she did, she stumbled. Before she knew it, the world around her was going black.

End of Chapter Eleven.