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Pitter Patter. Pitter Patter.
They say that the sound of rainwater hitting glass is soothing, but Arisa had ignored it for the past hour. She was too busy getting ready for bed, undoing her pigtails. It had been an ordinary day—from hearing Kasumi yapping in class in the morning to hearing Kasumi yapping in the basement after school. The only thing that was different was the gloomy weather. It had been cloudy throughout the day and the first drops of rain fell right after band practice.
As she took out a hairpin, her eyes shifted towards the window. It was dark. Nothing but the deep midnight and the raindrops dotted on the glass to see. The rain was getting louder, easily contradicting the definition of ‘calming.’ She shook her head. Guess it was going to be heavy rainfall that night.
Arisa looked at her alarm clock: 10:00 PM. It was a good time to sleep (if she could sleep with the commotion outside). After all, school was going to start bright and early tomorrow.
Finally done with setting aside her hair-ties, Arisa turned off her lamp and slid under her covers. She sunk into the mattress and without a second wasted, closed her eyes. In the comfort of her bed, the sleepiness she built over the day was starting to overcome her, drowning out the downpour.
PANG!
Arisa jolted awake to the sudden sound of thunder, the tiredness she was giving into snatched away at the speed of light. The pitter-patter of the thick rainfall continued to attack the window. Realizing that she was simply spooked by nature’s rage, Arisa took a deep breath to ease her alertness, her eyebrows knit together in frustration. Ugh, great. Lightning and thunder, a terrible combination. Storms were the worst to sleep through.
She shifted her position, casting a glance to the window. A swift flash of light lit up the outside. Arisa sighed, bracing herself for the following roar of thunder. She could never enjoy a nice quiet break. From Kasumi’s constant chatter to a moody storm, when will she be able to rest in peace?
Her eyes shut once again. Eager to fall asleep, she attempted to pay no attention to the weather. If she were to sleep late thanks to this, she would bring another storm tomorrow, no doubt. It took about five minutes, Arisa estimated, before her body relaxed and her thoughts began to blur.
RING RING RING!
For the second time, Arisa awoke to an unexpected sound. What was that? Her cellphone? At this time? With an incredibly annoyed grunt, she propped herself onto the bed and glared at the illuminated screen. She must’ve forgotten to silence it.
She squinted at the screen, her vision adjusting to the blinding light. It looked like someone was calling her. Anger bubbled in her stomach. She just wanted to fall asleep. Who in the hell was calling her now? She quickly read the time: 10:14 PM.
Arisa picked up her phone and read the caller ID.
Kasumi Toyama.
Speak of the devil. Arisa Ichigaya was never going to be blessed with a break. With a swift tap of a button, she brought the phone to her ear.
"Yah, Kasumi Toyama, why are you calling me now?!" Arisa greeted aggressively, putting an emphasis on the time in case her friend didn’t realize the absurd situation.
Before Kasumi could properly respond, another loud bang of thunder hit, eliciting a soft terrified yell from the phone.
"A-Arisa! It's so loud, the thunder." she finally replied, fear weaving into her tone.
Arisa didn’t pick it up as the pent-up frustration clouded her mind. Way to go to state the obvious. "I know, but I can't do anything about it!" She whispered harshly.
"I know that!" the caller whined.
"Kasumi, it's 10:00 and we should be sleeping. If you know I can't do anything about it, then why did you bother calling?"
PANG!
The thunder struck again, bringing out an instant whimper from the other side of the phone. Arisa furrowed her brows, confused. It sounded so child-like; as if Kasumi was on the verge of tears with her hands desperately pressed against her ears.
The realization made Arisa's features soften. Kasumi was terrified of the thunder. In need of some comfort and protection, she phoned her closest friend. With her hand propping up her forehead, Arisa took another deep breath.
"Okay, I get it, I get it. Sorry," She said in a gentler tone, rubbing her temple.
"Hey, Arisa..." Kasumi managed with a weak tone. She usually never reached this level of quiet. This was too out of character. As much as Arisa got overwhelmed by Kasumi’s cheery and upbeat self, she very much preferred that over this. This day wasn’t so ordinary after all.
"Yeah?"
"C-Can you stay on the call with me? Just for a little bit?"
Arisa sighed in defeat. So long to her plan to sleep well that night. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
There was no immediate reply, but Arisa could imagine Kasumi with a small smile.
"Thank you," Kasumi let out.
And with that, Arisa laid back down in her bed with her phone closeby. She didn’t bother to watch the clock or ask Kasumi when she was ready to hang up. Truthfully, she lost track of time herself, listening to the soft voice on the other end.
The call was a bit chaotic in the beginning. First, Arisa grilled Kasumi on not completing their homework to which Kasumi defended herself saying she was too occupied with practice. Then, Kasumi asked Arisa to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. With flashbacks to their first time on stage together upon receiving the request, Arisa quickly refused. However, when a significantly loud roar of thunder completely terrified Kasumi, Arisa reluctantly gave in, awkwardly reciting the nursery rhyme.
It was until Arisa was at the end of her long scolding that she noticed Kasumi hadn't responded for the past five minutes. She brought the phone closer to her ear and listened carefully. Though it was faint, Arisa could pick up Kasumi’s slow breathing.
She pursed her lips, shaking her head. Kasumi fell asleep. In the middle of her rant too, the audacity of this girl. A smile tugged at Arisa’s lips. Even though she would hate to admit it, she was relieved that Kasumi was finally asleep, safe from nature's tantrum. Hopefully, she will revert to her happy-go-lucky self tomorrow morning. Arisa looked up at her ceiling, listening to Kasumi's breathing and the rainfall. It wasn’t so bad. Maybe people were right when they said rain could be therapeutic.
With the call ongoing, Arisa felt herself drift into sleep.
—
"Look, there's Arisa." Saya pointed out. She and the other Poppin’ Party members were standing near the school entrance, waving.
It appeared that Arisa was the last to arrive that morning. She stifled a yawn before walking up to them.
"Good morning."
"Good morning!" Everyone chimed back with sunny smiles.
"Arisa," Rimi spoke gently, cocking her head. "You seem more tired today, did you not sleep well?"
"Was it the loud thunderstorm?" Tae added nonchalantly.
Thinking about it, Arisa could blame it on the thunderstorm: the root of her problem last night.
She looked up and made eye contact with Kasumi. For someone who slept near the same time Arisa did, Kasumi revealed no exhaustion. She rocked her usual radiant smile. Good, Arisa thought.
"Arisa must've worked hard last night! You need to rest well today,” Kasumi answered instead.
Huh. Arisa gave Kasumi, the true culprit of her loss of sleep, a look of disbelief. Eh, whatever. That bright energy was back and in the end, Arisa got what she wanted. As she observed the other girl, she realized that Kasumi resembled warm sunny days. No wonder she was so afraid of thunderstorms.
"Oh, look, she's smiling. Guess you were right, Kasumi," Tae remarked.
Unaware of her own accidental smile, Arisa immediately frowned. She felt her face heat up. "I didn't! Just go inside already, you're imagining things!"
Flustered, Arisa rushed them into the school building. Everyone giggled, entertained, and walked in front. Well, everyone but Kasumi. She stayed behind to walk beside Arisa.
As they made their way to the classroom, Kasumi gave Arisa a quick tight squeeze. The hug caught Arisa off-guard, not helping her already-pink face. Prepared to chide Kasumi, Arisa opened her mouth but stopped herself once she saw the sincerity in Kasumi’s eyes.
"Thank you, Arisa. Rest well today, okay?"