Welcome Home, Mistresses

I jabbed at my phone screen, refreshing the Ypedia for the hundredth time. Still no flights from America. Dad would probably miss New Year's again at this rate. The thought twisted in my chest, but I shoved it down and pocketed my phone.

Wind whistled through the empty hallway outside 4-B, making the frills on my maid costume flutter. Yes, maid costume. And underneath that, my costume, because Little Shit still refused to let me take off.

You're probably wondering how we dodged Sports Day but not Bunkasai. Well, the answer walked past in a matching maid outfit, humming an anime opening song.

Kurumi, of course.

She'd practically thrown herself at Fujita-sensei's feet, begging to let us do a maid café for the cultural festival. "Senseiii! We need something fun to look forward to!"

But the real reason was obvious - Kurumi just wanted to see everyone dressed up in maid outfits. Especially Toukawa-san, who'd tried to escape through the window when Kurumi brought out the outfits. I caught her halfway out and dragged her back inside. If I had to suffer through this, so did she.

I glanced at my reflection in the window. The white frills and black fabric made me look like some kind of mutated penguin, especially with Little Shit's stubby tail poking out the back. Gran Gran would probably cry if she saw me now either from disappointment or laughter. I wasn't sure which would be worse.

A squeak from inside my costume, Little Shit probably hungry again. I pulled out a slightly crushed melon bread from my apron pocket.

"This is all your fault too, you know," I told him as he snapped up the bread. "If you weren't so picky about the costume, I wouldn't have to wear both at the same time."

"Ryū-chan! We're ready to start!" Kurumi's voice called from inside the classroom.

I shuffled through the door and nearly choked. The place looked like a unicorn had thrown up all over it. Pink ribbons hung from every surface, glitter dusted the desks, and heart-shaped confetti littered the floor.

My eyes drifted to the corner where Rhino floated in balloon form, now decorated with pink glitter as he bobbed gently against the ceiling. Even he hadn't escaped Kurumi's decorations.

Just get through the day, I told myself. One day of playing dress-up then back to normal. Well, as normal as life could be nowadays.

Sae walked in, adjusting her own maid uniform. "Sign's up out front."

"Yay! Now that Sae's here, let's go make omelets!" Kurumi announced, bouncing toward the door.

I grabbed her arm. "Wait." I caught Toukawa-san's pleading look from across the room. "Toukawa-san and I will handle the cooking."

"But-"

"You can stay here with Sae."

"I mean if you insist..."

I led Toukawa-san through Ikuka's empty halls to the kitchen, my maid costume rustling with each step. The familiar smell of stale air and cleaning supplies hit me as I pushed open the double doors.

"This'll be quick," I said, flicking on the lights. "Made hundreds of these at KaiKool. Just follow my lead."

I reached for the bowls on the shelf and began stacking them in one arm.

"Hey Toukawa-san, could you prep the ingredients? The green onions are in the fridge, and-" I paused, noticing Toukawa-san hadn't moved. She just stood there, hands clasped in front of her apron.

"You can call me Koyuki."

The bowls nearly slipped from my arm. "What?"

"Well, we've known each other long enough, haven't we? It's not like I care either way, but..." She fidgeted with her apron strings.

"Alright then, Koyuki." The name felt natural, like we should've been using it all along. "Let's make some omelets."

Little Shit poked his head out of my costume to watch as I whisked the eggs. The rhythm of chopping, stirring - it was familiar, but it felt different from the day 4-B made pizza. Lighter, kind of. Just me and Koyuki moving in sync, side by side, while the gentle sizzle of butter in the pan filled the kitchen.

***

Koyuki and I loaded the last omelet onto the cart. We'd only made ten. No point cooking more when everyone left at Ikuka could fit into a car. The warm scent of butter and eggs lingered in the air as we wheeled the cart back to 4-B.

"They're perfect!" Kurumi came over as we entered, her eyes sparkling at the neat rows of yellow pillows. "How'd you make them so fluffy?"

"Ask Koyuki. She did most of the work."

"Koyuki? Aww, that's such an adorable name! It suits you perfectly!"

Koyuki stiffened beside me, her ears turning pink. "It's just a name..."

The first bell rang through the empty halls, the echo fading into silence. We waited. And waited. Little Shit dozed off in my costume, his snores vibrating against my back.

Then the door slammed open. Just Fujita-sensei, probably checking if we'd set anything on fire yet.

Another hour crawled by. Kurumi's smile dimmed with each passing minute as she kept peeking through the door. Even Little Shit got bored, and climbed out of my costume to play with the plastic flowers on the tables. He knocked over two vases before I could catch him.

"Maybe we should pack up." I started, but the door creaked open.

Two women in their mid-twenties poked their heads in, looking around curiously.

"We saw the sign outside..."

"Welcome home, mistresses!" Kurumi sprang back to life, practically teleporting to their side.

I pressed my palm onto my face. This was going to be a longer day than I thought.