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Muu smiled, lips upturned in a way that made her want to punch her. In a whiny, affected voice, she chanted: “Rei-chan, Rei-chan, Rei-chan, Rei-ch–”
“What,” she all but growled at her as she turned around.
The girl was dressed out in a gold chain bracelet, clam-shell earrings, and a flowery yellow sundress. Her blonde hair was just barely tied into a ponytail, and her small smile was just as it always was. Smug, yet childish. She had the smile of a mischievous little girl, rather than the teenager she was.
“Muu just wanted to talk to her friend. Is that so wrong?” She was pulling the red, teary puppy dog eyes that always made Rei soften. Her voice was delicate, light, as she whimpered and looked up to Rei, eyes glistening.
It was annoying, especially since she had heard from Muu’s own mouth how easy it was for her to fake it. Though it was impossible to tell the difference between what was her faking it and what wasn’t. Muu was honest when asked, as she always was, but Rei didn’t want to ask.
Rei carefully stopped herself from handing Muu her handkerchief, and instead, dug her hands further into her pockets. “Don’t you have your posse to attend to?”
Muu’s tears dried up and she made a hard to parse expression, lips sealed, before saying, “But who I want to talk to right now is Rei-chan! I see everyone at school every day anyway.”
Two weeks ago, Rei had climbed up to the rooftop to see her middle school best friend standing amongst a group of friends, mocking a fellow classmate with her signature grin. It wasn’t unexpected, somehow.
“Are you here to explain to me why you haven’t done anything wrong again?”
She almost laughed at the absurdity when Muu had run after her, eyes wide, and explained. It was as if Muu hadn’t practically cut her off for her new group. As if the explanation wasn’t the kind of crap all people used as excuses.
Though the look on her face told Rei that Muu was being genuine.
“Of course not! I already told you, after all. And I know Rei-chan must understand.”
“Then why are you here?”
When Muu looked up at her, her eyes were so naively wide and glimmering that she could almost trust them. Her voice was high, clear, innocent, and cute. It was stupid how taken she once was with it. The way she would talk to people with a cloying persona, always apologizing for everything.
Suffocating. But – endearing.
“I was at the mall today with everyone, buying accessories,” she pulled out a necklace, “And this reminded me of you. It matches my bracelet.”
She showed Rei her outstretched hand, holding the chain of the necklace proudly. It was a gold chain necklace with a koi fish as its center. It looked ridiculously expensive. Obviously having accompanied it was the bracelet Muu had on her wrist. It had coral as its center.
“I – I don’t want this.”
“But I bought it just for you, Rei-chan.”
For what purpose? She almost wanted to reply, eyes narrowed. It was unbelievable to her that Muu didn’t seem to catch onto her own bad habits, or at least to the idea that Rei knew her too well. Being offered gifts at every disagreement was hard to forget about, even if it had been a while.
“Well, I guess you never accepted my gifts,” Muu began, a soft laugh, “Though there’s no reason to be so stiff like that. It’s not like anyone will look down on you for accepting an expensive gift!”
Rei froze. “What do you mean?”
“Surely people would notice I bought it for you. Since you don’t really have any accessories. And everyone knows your backpack is a hand-me-down. So I thought you were being self-conscious.”
“I’m not rejecting the gift because of that.”
“Really?” Muu took Rei’s hand with her left hand, pulling her closer. So close they were practically right in front of each other. Then she used her other hand to place the necklace in Rei’s hand. “Then you should take it! You don’t have an excuse not to.”
She was about to immediately hand it back, when Muu suddenly reassessed her expression, took it and then tip-toed. Slowly, gently, she put it around Rei’s neck. Her hands were cold, but soft. Rei shivered at the sensation.
“Why are y–”
“You suit it,” Muu smiled, “You really should dress up more. It wouldn’t kill you if you wore earrings sometimes, applied some makeup. Rei-chan is pretty, after all.”
Rei’s breath hitched, the once-dormant crush swirling around in her heart like a wildfire in a forest.
Muu was beautiful. Her long legs, model-like features, and adorable smile were all beautiful. Out of the world. And she was the same as always. Obnoxious. But she meant well, which hurt more than if Muu was simply cruel.
Then the image returned. That of Muu giggling viciously, while a girl stood, eyes darkened, back to the chain link fence on the rooftop. And even further back, to Muu the first time she ever saw her. Years ago, hiding her hands behind her back and introducing herself to the class.
Rei slipped out of the necklace and threw it at her. “I don’t want it. Go give it to one of your friends. They’ll be much happier about it than me.”
She turned her back and didn’t look back when Muu shouted her name. She had to do something.