Sleepover of Gethsemane

“Alright, now go to sleep, everyone,” Chi-chan says, turning off the light. “And no late-night girl talk. We’ve done plenty of that already.” She climbs into her futon, settling in with the rest of the girls in two lines placed head-to-head. Chi-chan herself lies next to the door, while Momo and Kasumi are on the other side, with their heads only a few centimeters apart. This isn’t quite the placement Kasumi is hoping for, but the thought that she and Momo are, by the most liberal use of the term, “sleeping together” keeps her heart fluttering. A smile is plastered on her face despite the futon’s meager cushioning, and the day’s exhaustion slowly lulls her to sleep.

In minutes, all the girls are slumbering soundly, except for one whose heart races unchecked by the church’s peaceful air. Frustrated, Momo turns on her belly, cupping her hands around her mouth to speak in a voice no one else can hear.

“Kasumi,” Momo whispers, afraid to wake anyone else. “Kasumi.”

“Hmm?” Kasumi answers, waking from her half-asleep state.

“Are you awake?”

“I am now,” Kasumi says through a yawn.

“Sorry…” Momo says, keeping her voice a soft whisper. “I… thought maybe you’d like to catch up… We didn’t really have the chance to tonight, and we haven’t spoken since…” Her voice goes faint, recalling the events of White Day. Likewise, Kasumi’s heart picks up its pace, recalling the events. She’d almost forgotten the whole ordeal, emotions and feelings overwritten by her stakeout of the shrine and trip to Fuji. White Day seems like ancient history despite being mere weeks ago.

“Gotta maneuver carefully,” Kasumi thinks, as if she’s clearing a minefield in a stealth game.

“It’s fine,” Kasumi says, rolling over to lie on her belly. “It’s better we do it here since my phone still has parental locks on everything.”

“I was wondering about that,” Momo says, propping herself up on her elbows. “I figured something happened since you weren’t responding to any of my messages even after you returned.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’ll be lucky if my grounding’s over by summer break.”

“Well, you did cause quite a fiasco,” Momo says, forcing a laugh to create a pause.

“Do I ask her about it?” Momo thinks, wrestling with which of the two topics to talk about. “Chi-chan said she isn’t telling where she went, but maybe if it’s me asking… But then there’s also—”

“You want to know where I disappeared to, don’t you?” Kasumi says, making Momo’s stomach flip.

“Ehh?” Momo stammers, scrambling for how Kasumi sees through her. Silently, Kasumi raises a hand above her head, blocking the streetlight coming in through the window blinds.

“It may be dark, but since you’re so close, I can see your face just well enough to read it,” Kasumi says with a smile. Momo hasn’t even considered it. The same light that illuminates her face ruins her night vision, making Kasumi’s face a dark outline.

“Ahh,” Momo pouts, pushing her face into her pillow. “So embarrassing.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Kasumi reassures, patting Momo’s head. “It also isn’t hard to guess since everyone’s been asking me about it, even though I keep saying I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“Well, that’s them,” Momo says, lifting her head to peer over her pillow. “If I asked, would you tell me?” Kasumi’s hand stops mid-pat. She expects Momo to ask at some point, but not here, not now.

“Well…” Kasumi stammers, pausing for more time to think. Momo can tell just by her voice that Kasumi wants to tell her, but can’t bring herself to for some reason.

“Maybe with one little push,” Momo thinks, lifting her head a bit more.

“Because I might need to know for my own disappearing act.”

“Huh?”

“Shhh!” Momo shushes, pressing a hand over Kasumi’s mouth before her surprised scream can wake everyone. “Don’t be so loud.” The shock washes over Kasumi, and Momo pulls her hand away, letting her speak.

“What do you mean by your disappearing act? What are you planning to do?”

“You mean what have I already done?” Momo says, lips curling into a devious smile. Kasumi looks at Momo, confused, as she curls her arms around her pillow. “Didn’t you find it odd that I brought so much stuff for a single night?” Kasumi looks at Momo’s two huge suitcases off to the side. Just one would be more than enough for a week-long class trip; two for a single night borders on the asinine. “The truth is, I might already be ‘missing’ according to my family.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s just say I might’ve ‘accidentally’ boarded the wrong train on my way back from my trip.”

“No,” Kasumi says, realizing what Momo is saying.

“And instead of coming to get me himself, or sending someone to get me, my grandfather might’ve insisted I ‘learn to take accountability’ or something like that.”

“He didn’t.”

“And now I’m suffering the consequences of my incompetence by ‘spending the night at an internet cafe’ or something like that.”

“Is that really what they think?” Kasumi asks, her face an excited mix of amazement and disbelief.

“Maybe I’ll end up on the wrong train again tomorrow and spend the whole weekend with Dad and Oni-chan. Who knows?”

“I didn’t know you could be so devious,” Kasumi says, excitement humming from her whispers.

“Well, now you know, so that makes you my accomplice,” Momo says, grabbing Kasumi’s wrist. “So you have to back me up, or else I’ll take you down with me.”

“Isn’t confession supposed to remain between the speaker and the priest?” Kasumi asks, grabbing Momo’s wrist.

“This is girl talk, not confession.”

“Ohh, disobeying Chi-chan too? Somebody’s in need of punishment.” Kasumi tries to pull Momo in, but Momo is ready for it, so Kasumi ends up getting pulled instead. Taking the opportunity in stride, Kasumi swings her legs around, gently trapping Momo under her comforter using her body weight. “It’s futon jail for you, kiddo.”

“No,” Momo whispers, playing along and rolling over onto her back. “I’m not the one you’re looking for; he’s in the garden.”

“Likely story,” Kasumi says, sitting up on Momo’s stomach and crossing her arms. “You don’t leave till I say so, and with your charges, you’re looking at a nice long—WAH!” She’s cut off when Momo takes advantage of her opening.

Momo kicks a leg up to throw Kasumi off her, then flips the comforter around to try to trap Kasumi. The plan would’ve worked if the dim light hadn’t hidden the water bottle Kasumi had next to her futon.

*POP*

The two girls roll right onto it, bursting the cap off. The pair freeze in place, sure their actions woke one of the other girls, or, even worse, Chi-chan. When the room remains quiet, both decide to end the horseplay and get back in their futons, only to make a nasty discovery.

“Ahh, my futon’s all wet,” Kasumi groans, setting her head on a soaking-wet pillow. The pair scrambles for a solution, but there’s nothing to be done. There are no other pillows in the office, and no way to get out without waking Chi-chan up and explaining why they need a new pillow. Kasumi thinks about just sleeping on the other end of the futon without a pillow when Momo offers another solution.

“If you’re alright with it,” Momo says, opening her comforter, “I don’t mind sharing.”

“Are you sure?” Kasumi asks, voice trembling. She thinks she’d be too excited to sleep with their futons side by side. Now, at the prospect of sleeping in the same futon, forget sleep, her heart threatens to bust right from her chest.

“Of course,” Momo says, throwing open the comforter.

“Well… if you insist,” Kasumi says, snuggling into Momo’s futon. Her mind splits in half trying to decide her next move. On one hand, she wants to be as close as possible, snuggling up and wrapping her arms around Momo in a hug as they drift to sleep. On the other hand, she fears getting too close will threaten losing control or having her heart burst.

Kasumi looks to her left, where Momo lies so close she can hear her breathing. “Just a little is fine, right?” Kasumi thinks, her hand slowly drifting closer. Her fingers tremble at the anticipation of finding Momo’s under the futon. She’s close enough to feel the heat radiating from Momo’s body when it happens.

“Kasumi,” Momo says, her voice making Kasumi freeze in place.

“Y—yes?”

“Before we sleep, there’s something I need to say…” Momo shifts her body, rolling onto her side to look at Kasumi directly. “Will you hear me out?”

“Okay,” Kasumi agrees, turning on her side to look at Momo. Her eyes sparkle even in the dim light, like pools of deep water Kasumi could dive into without end. Momo pauses for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts before speaking.

“It’s about White Day.” The words strike Kasumi, their sincerity hitting her to the core.

“Where is she going with this?” Kasumi wonders, her body feeling cold despite the warmth in the futon. “Why bring it up now? Did she feel my hand and get creeped out, or—”

“Your… the… that wasn’t a…” Momo struggles and stammers, as if the words refuse to come. “Your gift… the macarons… they weren’t… you know…”

Kasumi’s mind races into overdrive, thinking of a billion different dialogue options and sorting through them at ten million a second. “What do I say?” she wonders, mouth agape as she struggles for words. “The spell is happening tomorrow, so will it really matter if I lie? Or does she already know and is just trying to catch me in the act?” Kasumi struggles for an answer, pulling the comforter over her mouth as she whispers her answer.

“It was just a normal return gift. I didn’t have any romantic intentions, sorry if it came out that way.” Kasumi’s eyes remain calm and collected, but behind the comforter, it’s a different story. Her nails dig into her palms, threatening to cut into her palms, and her jaw squeezes hard enough to crack a tooth. Her every muscle tenses up to the point she fears Momo will feel it through the futon and comforter. But Momo makes no hint of noticing; instead, she releases a sigh of relief and smiles.

“That’s good. Sorry for misunderstanding,” Momo says, lying back down on her back. “I know it’s silly, but I was worried about that the whole trip. I thought you’d disappeared because you felt rejected or something.”

“That’d be silly,” Kasumi says, rolling on her back to mirror Momo. “Who’d actually want to disappear?” Momo’s whole body tenses at Kasumi’s words. Kasumi feels it and prepares for a foot to kick her out of the futon, but only words come.

“I’ve wanted to disappear,” Momo squeaks, voice too low for even Kasumi to hear.

“Huh?” Kasumi says.

“Nothing,” Momo says, rolling to face away from Kasumi.

“I can’t tell her. Not now,” Momo thinks, snuggling deeper into the comforter. “Maybe later, after some time has passed. If I tell her she’s the reason I stop wanting to disappear, that she’s the answer to my prayer of purpose, it’d just confuse us both.”

While Momo wrestles with her thoughts, Kasumi’s mind runs hollow. She tells the lie to protect Momo, but now Momo seems more hurt.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kasumi thinks, turning her back to Momo. “Things will be settled tomorrow after the ritual, and we can—”

“Hello?” Kasumi’s thoughts are cut short by Momo’s greeting. She peeks over and sees Momo answer her phone, her face growing grim and pale.