Adrift in a Dream Pt. 2

After finishing up in the washroom, I made my way back into the living room. Alice was still sitting on the beanbag, looking up from her book to glare at me. Her eyes weren't glowing, which meant she wasn't reading my mind, but I still had to tread carefully—lest I incur the wrath of a literal goddess.

"You're back, Aikami!" Chloe beamed. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Oh. Yeah. Let's see it."

She handed me an onigiri. It looked incredibly well-made, maybe even better than the ones from my usual spot. Just as I was about to take a bite, I noticed Chloe staring at me intently, eyes full of anticipation.

"Um…"

"Ah! Sorry!" she blurted. "I just wanted to see if you liked it."

"R-right."

I took a bite, expecting it to taste like any other onigiri I'd had before, only to be met with a surprising crunch. Lowering it, I studied its contents and found a golden brown shell covering tender white meat.

"Whoa. This is really good," I said. "But… is this fried chicken? I don't remember having chicken in the fridge."

"You didn't, so I went out to buy some," Chloe replied. "Actually, you didn't have a lot of ingredients at all, so I bought those too."

"...How much did you end up buying?"

"Hmm… Let's see. I don't think it was that much."

She walked over to the first cupboard and swung it open. My jaw practically hit the floor.

It was filled—packed—with jars upon jars of random seasonings.

"That one's salt and pepper, that one's onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, crushed red pepper, bay leaves, oregano..."

She went on and on while I stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

Seriously… First the clothes, and now this. Just how much money do these girls even have?

"I… don't know if I'll ever use these," I muttered. "I barely know how to cook anything other than ramen and rice."

"It's okay, Aikami! If anything, I'll be the one cooking most of the time. This was just a precaution. Last time I was here, you didn't have anything. Thought I'd stock up. I'm an excellent cook, by the way! Just ask my sisters."

"Wait… L-last time...?"

"Oh. You didn't know? We've broken into your apartment before. You just never noticed."

"...How many times are we talking about?"

"Uh… It's been, what? A month since we started researching you? I'd say… four or five times?"

Yeah, no. I'm not even surprised anymore. Anything's possible at this point. That's what I'm telling myself. That's what I'm prepared for...

Yeah… but this isn't normal! Nothing is normal anymore!

"Ah! Chloe! Chloe!" Lana suddenly shouted. "Come quick! I think something's about to happen!"

"Oh! I'm coming!"

Chloe bolted out of the kitchen and leaped onto the couch next to Lana. Both of them sat there, eyes glued to the TV with eager anticipation.

It just so happened that the movie playing was the same one we talked about the day we went to the mall.

"Wait, what day is it today?" I asked.

"It's Monday," Alice replied.

"...Don't we have class today?"

"We do. In about… fifteen minutes?"

"What?! Already?! I gotta get ready!"

I dashed into my room, threw on the first thing I could find, and sprinted back out—only to find the girls hadn't moved an inch.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. "Class is in twelve minutes. At this rate, you won't even have time to get ready."

They all turned to look at me as if I was some kind of alien. The irony wasn't lost on me, considering they were probably the closest things to aliens I'd ever see.

"I suppose we should get up now, girls," Alice sighed, finally standing. "Especially since Aikami is so~ insistent that we'll be late."

"What do you mean?" I frowned. "Even if we leave now, we're still gonna be a couple of minutes late. There goes my perfect attendance…"

"Hah. Is that what you're most worried about?" Alice smirked. "Oh, Aikami, Aikami. Much to your unknowing, your naivety is showing. Watch and learn how we goddesses do things around here."

Alice grabbed the bottom corner of her shirt and gave it a slight tug to the left. In an instant, a flash of light engulfed her, and when it faded, she was wearing an entirely new outfit—the exact same one she tried on for me at the mall. Even her hair was styled the same way.

"Well? How do I look?" she asked, giving me a graceful twirl.

"You... look good."

"Heh. Thank you." She turned to the others. "Hey. Come on. If you girls keep sitting around, we might actually be late."

"Ugh... Fine," Lana groaned.

She stood up and did the same thing Alice did. After a brief flash, her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she was in a fresh outfit. Chloe followed suit right after.

"Alright," Alice said, extending her palm toward me. "Take my hand, Aikami."

"Your hand? Like this—?!"

As soon as my fingers touched hers, a blinding blue light flooded my vision.

The next second, we were no longer in my apartment. Instead, we now stood in an empty lab room. It was the same exact one that Alice dragged me into after my dramatic hallway performance a while ago.

"Teleportation," I sighed. "I had completely forgotten."

"Indeed," she smiled. "How are you feeling? Wobbly? Off-balance?"

"Not really. Maybe a bit fatigued from waking up only twenty minutes ago. Other than that, I think I'm fine."

"...Really?"

"Something wrong?"

"No. Just surprising, is all."

Before I could ask what she meant, a sudden gust of cold air rushed past me. With a stumble, Lana and Chloe appeared out of thin air, shivering and... covered in snow?

"Ah! See?" Lana grinned, shaking off frost. "I knew we'd end up in the right place if I just thought about Alice."

"Where were you?" I asked. "And why is there snow?"

"Glad you asked!" She threw an arm around Chloe. "It's because someone—not naming names, but definitely Chloe—decided to take charge of the teleportation. Instead of the campus, Chloe sent us to the peak of Mount Fuji. It was Chloe, by the way. Did I mention it was Chloe?"

"S-stop it, Lana!" Chloe chided. "I really don't know how we ended up on Mount Fuji!"

"Oho, quite believable, dear sister~ considering Mount Fuji is literally your favorite place in the whole freaking world!"

"It is not!"

"La-la-la! Can't hear you!"

As their bickering carried on, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

Alice, quick as ever, picked up on it. She bumped my arm and smirked.

"I present to you, the esteemed Family of the Fates," she scoffed. "Alright, quit it, you two. It's time we head to class, lest Aikami risk losing his... ahem, perfect attendance."

"...Whatever."

We made our way out into the hallway together. Thankfully, it was empty since classes were about to start. However, that relief was short-lived.

The moment we stepped into the lecture hall, all eyes turned to us.

Despite knowing them for a month now, never once had we entered together. Sure, it could've just been a coincidence that we all showed up at the same time. But let's be honest—what's more entertaining? A coincidence? Or an exaggerated rumor?

By now, the rumors had already become commonplace. Even I could tell these girls were playing favorites, and they couldn't have made it more obvious if they tried.

As I made my way to my seat, whispers filled the room—some too hushed to make out, others exactly what I expected.

"Why did they come in together?"

"What's his relationship with them?"

And, of course, the classic, "What's so good about this guy?"

Nothing, man. Absolutely nothing.