Mayumi's Side: Part One

“Seven-fifty… I should head to the station soon…”

Mayumi set her phone down. She’d been sitting at her living room table working on homework for almost an hour. Midterms weren’t coming up soon, or even a test, but she knew it was important to keep ahead.

Her phone buzzed and lit up—vibrating on the wooden table.

Yui: Kiki and I are getting on the train now. We’ll be at the station soon!
↳Reply: Alright, see you soon.

Mayumi tapped on the screen a few times and opened the weather app.

Saturday, 7:52 PM: 7°C

With a sigh she thought out loud, “Why is it so cold… Isn’t it almost summer?” Mayumi moved from the living room table to the front door.

After putting on her shoes, she grabbed a coat off the rack and wrapped herself in it. It was puffy and black, one that looked quite large on her. Mayumi took the first step out of her apartment and was met with a wave of frigid air—then slammed into by a moving green object.

She stumbled backwards and fell onto the hallway’s floor.

“I’m so sorry! That was such bad timing! Are you alright!?” The green object said.

Mayumi took a moment to gain her bearings and realized the object was a lady in a green coat. The woman stumbled backwards but caught herself on the railing and quickly rushed over to Mayumi.

“I’m fine…” Mayumi looked up—standing over her was a beautiful girl with her hand extended outward.

“...Thank you.” Mayumi’s mouth was left open, she sounded almost entranced. After getting pulled to her feet she added on. “I should’ve been more careful, I’m sorry for not watching out.”

“Oh please, you were just leaving your apartment, how would’ve you known?” The green coat girl let go of her hand and did a small bow. “I’m Ariyama Shouko, it’s nice to meet you! And again sorry for running into you.”

“Please do not worry about it… I’m Arata Mayumi. It's nice to meet you too.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, where’re you going? It’s getting pretty dark and it's freezing.” Shouko asked with a shiver.

“I’m going to the station to pick up a friend. You don’t have to worry, it only takes a few minutes.”

“Hm~ alright, just be careful. It can be really dangerous out there, especially for a girl like you.”

“Like me?”

“You’re like, extremely cute! You’re the type of girl that weirdos like to… haha— nevermind I’m sorry, that was dark. All I’m saying is be careful out there. And if you need anything I’ll be right next door.”

“A-alright— next door?” Mayumi’s eyes widened and her mouth was left slightly open again.

“Oh, don’t worry, don’t worry. We won’t be very loud.” She punctuated her sentence with a friendly smile.

“W-won’t be… to loud… r-right. Uhm… I’ve got to go now, it’s been nice meeting you Ariyama.” Mayumi quickly bowed and turned away.

“You too! Bye-bye!” Shouko waved at Mayumi who was now headed down towards the elevator.

When Mayumi reached the elevator, it opened before she could even press a button. A man wearing a messy suit stood in the middle of the elevator.

“Ah, excuse me,” He said.

Without a word Mayumi stepped aside and he walked out.

Mayumi stepped in and the elevator doors slid shut. “What’s going on in this apartment building?”

Kashiwa station was bustling. As the arrival time for the train crept closer, an increasing number of people filed onto the platform.

Mayumi stood silently on it, bundled up in her coat. She crossed her arms and brought them close to her chest. A deep breath followed by an exhale produced a visible cloud of air.

The click-clack of the wheels sliding on the rails grew louder. Headlights appeared in the darkness of the tunnel as the train rounded a small bend into the station. It came to a smooth stop squarely in front of the platform. The car doors opened and people began flooding out, a lot of them coming home from a long day at work. Some coming back from a day out with friends and family, with others exhausted from running tedious errands all day.

Through the sea of blank stares one face permeated through it with a bright smile, “Yumi!” Yui called out while trying to navigate the crowd.

“Hey, don’t yell so loudly in a public place…” Saki appeared next to Yui and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Good evening Yumi.” Yui said in a lower volume.

Mayumi responded with a faint smile and a small wave.

“I’m really excited to see your apartment, it’s so cool you were given your own pace instead of a dorm,” Saki said.

Mayumi said a few words in agreement and greeted Yui.

During that interaction Yui looked very impatient, like she was about to explode. After another second she finally gave in to her restless energy and grabbed Saki’s hand. “Let’s not waste anymore time! Come on!” Without missing a beat, she pulled Saki along towards the station entrance.

“Hey! Hey!” Saki cried out as she was dragged through the crowd.

Mayumi sighed with a faint smile and set off after the two.

After departing from the station, and a short walk through the city, the girls were now in the hallway of Mayumi’s apartment.

“What’s that yelling? Do you two hear that?” Saki asked.

A muffled chant echoed from the direction of Katusmi’s door.

“Yumi? Do you know what that noise is?”

“It’s just my neighbors, you don’t really have to worry about it.” Mayumi rubbed her right temple, she personally was worried about.

“Are you sure? We could file a noise complaint with the police or the landlord.” Saki raised an eyebrow while looking in the direction of Katsumi’s door.

“No!” Mayumi snapped.

This sudden burst of energy caught both of the girls by surprise.

“Uhm, Yumi, Is something wrong? I’m sorry but I feel like it’s not like you to be so… passionate about something…”

“I—”

Both of the girls stared at her with concerned faces.

With a quiet tone she said, “I just don’t want to be known as that kind of… neighbor… I guess.”

“Oh, I suppose that's fair.” Saki’s expression lightened.

As they approached Yui furrowed her eyebrows. “Hey, isn’t that Murakami’s apartment?”

“Haa!? Katsumi Murakami!? He’s your neighbor?” Saki blurted out.

“Yes… he is,” Mayumi responded in a small voice.

“What’s going on over there… Is he having a party or something?” Saki sounded disgusted.

I can’t tell them I saw a strange woman enter his apartment earlier… that would raise too many questions. “No… I’m pretty sure it’s an extended family gathering.” Mayumi was lying through her teeth.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” Mayumi curtly replied.

They’re so many voices… What’s going on over there? Are they actually having a family reunion and that woman was just his sister?

“How long do you think they’re going to keep being this loud?” Saki asked, taking Mayumi out of her thoughts. “It’s getting kinda annoying.”

Yui nodded in agreement with Saki.

After a moment of silence there was a hard thump against the wall followed by a slew of swear words.

The three girls winced at the impact. Shortly after though Yui’s face lit up, as if she suddenly got an idea.

“Hey, how about we just go out for dinner? Then by the time we’re back they’ll probably have quieted down.”