Chapter Text
Mari wakes up the next morning at 6 o’clock, still sick and still lonely. It would’ve been fine if she had at least seen her father yesterday, but she didn’t see him when she had breakfast.
Oh wait, she stops to realize, I didn’t have breakfast yesterday. Or lunch. Or dinner. No wonder she’s so hungry today.
When Mari arrives at the dining room, she sees her parent’s already seated, looking at her with a concerned look. “Mari,” her mother starts, “are you okay?”
“No, I’m sick,” Mari replies, sitting down next to them. A maid, seeing her arrive, goes to the kitchen and informs the chefs to begin cooking her breakfast. “And hungry.”
“Of course you’d be hungry. You didn’t eat anything yesterday. The maids said that you didn’t ask for any room service either. You only drank one glass of water.” Her father continues, “I understand that you want to work hard for your school, but please try to be careful.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I guess I just...forgot. I like working in the new room, thanks for that.” Mari laughs, her feelings partially genuine. With nothing else to talk about, the Ohara family falls into a comfortable silence. Her food arrives, and Mari digs in eagerly. Her parents don’t question when she asks for seconds and thirds, making up for her forgotten lunch and dinner.
“Are you going to school?” Her father asks, which Mari responds with a nod.
“Have to make sure everything’s ready for club day tomorrow.” She explains. “It’s dumb. If I don’t get any privileges until Friday, why do I have to work today?”
“It’s good to get used to your job early,” Her father says, “so when you officially start working tomorrow, you’ll be able to shine even brighter.”
“I guess that’s true.” Finishing her third plate, Mari stands up. “I’m going to take a bath. Excuse me.”
Mari returns to her bedroom, before realizing that she forgot to ask about her uniform. She runs back to the main lobby.
“Good morning, Miss.” The receptionist greets when she sees Mari running towards her. “Do you need something?”
“Has my uniform arrived?” Mari asks, panting; running from her room to the lobby is exhausting.
“We haven’t received any packages for you.” She answers simply.
“Thank you.” Too tired to run back, Mari just walks back to her room, annoyed. She still has a fever, which makes her even more tired. Like she’s going to collapse any minute now.
Inside her room, Mari gets ready for the day. She takes her old uniform but tosses the ribbon; she’ll just get the third-year one later. Since she’s already bathed last night, she opts for a quick shower this morning, letting the water warm her up.
This sucks. Mari sighs loudly. Being sick isn’t how she’d like to spend her second day back home, but apparently, the world hates her. Although she can’t blame everything on nature.
Stupid. If only she waited for the rain to let up, or at least asked for someone to drive her to Uranohoshi, or at least brought an umbrella or a raincoat with her.
Maybe the reason she wants everything to stay the same is that she herself hasn’t changed. A year in America, and what does she have to show for it? A shiny new certificate, but still the same old Mari just with more English scattered in. Still reckless, still irresponsible, and still nothing without her money.
She leans against the bathroom wall, trying to get over the bout of sickness going through her head.
You haven’t changed a bit.
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Mari immediately puts on her old uniform when she walks out of the shower. She doesn’t think she has anything planned today, but just in case she grabs a pen and stuffs it inside of her pocket. Lastly, she takes an influenza mask from her desk. It wouldn’t look good if she got someone else sick today.
Once she has everything, she informs the maid stationed near her room that she’ll be going to school. When she gets a nod in return, Mari finally heads out of the hotel, waving to any of the hotel staff she sees. She’d greet them as well if only her throat wasn’t so sore.
When she finally steps out, the clean air of Uchiura fills her lungs, making her feel a bit better. She didn’t get to enjoy it yesterday thanks to being in a hurry as well as the rain, but now she finally realizes how much she misses this.
Along the walk to school, Mari takes her time, spotting every last detail of the area. The seagulls flying gently over the sea, fishermen returning to shore, and shops opening in preparation for a busy day. Only the latter is a common sight in the bustling cities of America.
Her eyes wander to the beach, with its sparkling sand and calm waves. She remembers someone telling her about the importance of the sea when she was still a little kid and crying her eyes out. The sea is always here, and it never judges. If you have something to say, the sea will listen to you. Her early morning thoughts drift back to her mind.
It sounded like a load of crap back then, but she’s desperate enough. Mari turns and walks towards the ocean, hearing the crunching of the sand underneath her feet as she stops at the end of the dry area, the waves only barely touching the tips of her shoes.
Please let me change, she thinks to herself. Please let me change, she repeats the words again and again like some sort of chant. “Please let me change.” She mumbles underneath her breath. The sea will hopefully hear that last wish.
Mari’s not sure if she should toss a coin into the ocean like some kind of wishing well, but maybe polluting the sea isn’t the best way to get her wish granted.
Satisfied for now, Mari begins walking to school again. Mari doesn’t notice as she gets closer and closer to Uranohoshi, too focused on her thoughts to really pay attention to her surroundings anymore. However, a voice is all it took for Mari to return to the real world.
“Mari.”
She stops in her tracks. Mari focuses on the figures in front of her. Despite being shadowed by the large building behind them, she knows them. She audibly gasps.
“You’re late,” Dia says in a scolding tone, but she’s smiling just a bit. “We’ve been waiting.”
Mari doesn’t say anything for a moment. She tries to hold back tears of joy, but when she sees Kanan and Dia’s eyes sparkling as well, she doesn’t hold anything back. “W-well, of course. I told you I’d be back.” She replies, wiping her eyes as discreetly as she can. Which is to say, not at all. None of them mind.
“Come on.” Kanan walks into the school complex, holding the gate open for both of her friends. “If you have time, let’s all chat a bit.”
“I’ve got time.” Mari follows them, the three walking side-by-side as they walk to the student council room.
To fill in the silence, Kanan begins talking. “So, uhh, nothing really changed here.” She laughs awkwardly. “Unless maybe...us.”
I wish that were true for me. Self-deprecation isn’t something Mari usually does, but it’s even scarier when she’s with her friends. She hides everything with a grin, not that they’d be able to see thanks to her mask. “Of course! You’re Miss Student Council President now. You’ve changed a lot, Kanan!”
“Hey, I’ve changed too, you know!” Dia turns to face Mari. Mari’s eyes immediately go to the dark circles underneath Dia’s own, but it doesn’t look like something worth mentioning. Mari reaches over and ruffles Dia’s perfectly-maintained hair, eliciting a whine from the younger girl.
“I’m sure you have!”
The trio finally reaches the student council room. With her key, Kanan unlocks to the door and pushes it open, allowing them entry. Kanan grabs something from her table, and with both hands presents it to Mari.
In her hands is a brand-new uniform, still folded and with a long, green fabric on top of it. “I got you a new uniform,” Kanan explains. “As kind of a...welcome back gift. I noticed that you’re still wearing the old one. So how do I say this....” Kanan seems to be at a loss for words, while Dia is doing everything she can to not laugh at her awkwardness. “...welcome back, Mari.”
Mari can’t help but giggle, carefully taking the gift from Kanan’s hands like it’s a valuable treasure.
“I’m back.”