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Lunch time was complicated for Mikan. She had a small group of girls she ate with every day: Ibuki, Hiyoko, and Mahiru. She was grateful not to be sitting alone. Some might wish for some slightly different company, but Mikan is just glad to receive the attention.
Hiyoko was Mean with a capital M. She always had something to say about Mikan’s appearance, or the way she talked, or what she had to eat, or whatever other imperfection she could find on Mikan that day. Ibuki and Mahiru would come to Mikan’s defense, but it never had a lasting effect. Hiyoko would have something foul to say the very next day, she’d get scolded again, and the cycle would repeat itself.
“Oh my god, you’re having pineapple?” Hiyoko asked with disgust as Mikan lifted her fork to her mouth, “You’re so gross, skank!”
Mikan froze in place and nervously asked, “Wh-what’s wrong with pineapple?”
“A trashy skank like you would know,” Hiyoko retorted with a pout.
“Hiyoko, that’s enough,” Mahiru, seated next to Mikan, glared at the blonde girl across from them.
“She’s going to ruin my reputation, Mahiru!” Hiyoko whined.
“For eating fruit?” Mahiru asked with a furrowed brow.
It was Ibuki, who finished sipping from a carton of milk, who provided the explanation, “Pineapple supposedly makes your juices taste better.”
“Hiyoko!” Mahiru gasped.
“Th-that’s not why I brought pineapple!” Mikan cried.
“Oh my god, calm down; you’re going to cause a scene. But you’d like that, wouldn’t you, you attention whore,” Hiyoko spat.
“I mean if people started staring, Ibuki would explain that Hiyoko accused Mikan of being a promiscuous woman,” Ibuki said before taking a bite of a candy bar.
“I-I’m not a promiscuous woman!” Mikan felt tears start to form in her eyes.
“We know you aren’t, sweetie,” Mahiru gently comforted her. “Hiyoko, apologize to Mikan. You’re making her upset.”
“She did this to herself,” Hiyoko folded her arms across her chest.
Tears fell. Mikan’s lip quivered as she shoved the container of pineapple back into her lunch bag. Mahiru took Mikan’s hand, making Mikan flinch slightly at the touch, and started getting up from their cafeteria table. “Come on, Mikan, let’s go calm you down before the bell rings.”
“Oh, um, okay,” Mikan muttered as she was escorted out of the room.
The two girls walked down the hall to get to a restroom. “Are you wearing makeup today?” Mahiru asked as they approached the sinks.
“Um,” Mikan sniffled, “Just mascara.”
Mahiru tried to hide a grimace as she looked at Mikan. “I can… I can see that. Here,” and then she turned on the water, “Splash some water in your face, and we can try to get those mascara streaks cleaned up, too.”
Mikan quickly turned to look at herself in the mirror and gasped. “Mascara streaks?”
When she saw the tear lines on her cheeks, she felt like she could just sob, but she held back so Mahiru wouldn’t have to deal with her crying like a baby.
Mikan did as Mahiru suggested, cupping her hands under the cold running water and splashing it on her face. She looked at her reflection and wiped away the remnants of mascara, frowning at what she saw in the mirror. “I’m sorry about Hiyoko,” Mahiru said.
“It’s okay,” Mikan replied as she smudged mascara off her face, “I’m glad she cares enough to pay attention to me.”
Seeming not to have noticed what Mikan said, Mahiru continued, “I know she can be difficult, but she’s really lonely at home— wait, I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Mikan turned off the water and faced Mahiru, “I said it’s okay, Mahiru,” she smiled.
Mahiru took a deep breath and reached for Mikan’s hand again. “I don’t think it is, Mikan. I know she’s my… friend… but I don’t like the way she talks to you. You’re my friend, too.”
Still getting used to the idea of having friends, Mikan responded, “Well, Hiyoko’s my friend, too—“
“She doesn’t act like it.”
“She’s just being honest.”
Mahiru pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side as she thought. “Doesn’t it hurt your feelings, though? All the insults and insinuations?”
Mikan clasped her free hand over Mahiru’s. “I’d rather have Hiyoko be so mean to me than for her to ignore me or leave me alone.”
“Mikan… that’s so sad.”
“I mean, it must not be that bad if you still spend time with her, right?” Mikan inquired.
Mahiru’s jaw hung slightly agape, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Mikan, I—“
And then the school bell rang. “It’s time to go to class,” Mikan reminded her, “Let’s get going.”
Mikan turned to leave the bathroom, but Mahiru stood in place for a few seconds, processing the conversation she had with Mikan.
Maybe something needed to change.
Mahiru spent the remainder of her school day distracted. She didn’t focus on math, literature, or even photography. All she thought about was what she wanted to say to Hiyoko the next time she saw her. The two of them always walked back to the dorms together after class, and that time was quickly approaching.
Talent Development Hour, the last class of the day, was spent mindlessly scrolling through a carousel of photos she had taken the previous day. When the bell rang, she shut off the computer she was working on, grabbed her bag, and bolted out of her seat so she could go find Hiyoko. She didn’t need to look too far, though, because Hiyoko was waiting outside the photo lab door, holding something behind her back.
“I brought you a pear,” she stated, presenting the fruit to Mahiru.
“Oh, un, thank you,” Mahiru said as she gingerly took the pear from Hiyoko’s hand.
Hiyoko turned on her heels and started walking away toward the stairwell. “Talent Development Hour was lame today,” she began, clearly expecting Mahiru to follow her.
Mahiru quickly caught up to her, holding the pear tight in her hand. “Actually, Hiyoko, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“I want to talk about Mikan.”
“Ew, why?”
“That’s what I want to talk about,” Mahiru said as the girls wove through a crowd of other Hope’s Peak students trying to exit the building, “Why do you act like that around her?”
“Cuz she’s trashy,” Hiyoko replied with a scowl.
“No, she’s not—“
“Ew, Mahiru, don’t tell me you have a gay crush on her,” Hiyoko spat.
“What!?” Mahiru felt heat flood her face, but she didn’t have time to process that right now. “Does that matter?”
“You’re clearly defending her because you think she’d be an easy lay or whatever. She probably is; just look at her.”
“Hiyoko, I don’t think we can be friends anymore.”
Both girls stopped walking. They looked at each other— Mahiru was shocked that the words came out of her mouth so easily, and Hiyoko was confused about why the words were said at all. “You’d rather be friends with Pig Barf than me?” Hiyoko whimpered, jabbing her fingers to her chest.
Mahiru knows this game. Hiyoko was not subtle with her manipulation tactics, but Mahiru was not going to give in. “Mikan has done literally nothing wrong, and all you do is make her life miserable!”
Hiyoko sniffled and wiped her eyes (even though Mahiru couldn’t see any tears falling at all). “And now you’re yelling at me?”
Other people stopped walking and started watching. Great. “I’m not going to justify your words anymore, Hiyoko,” Mahiru’s fingernails started digging into the skin of the pear. Juice was getting into her hangnails. “Don’t sit with us at lunch tomorrow.”
“Oh my god, you can’t quit being a useless lesbian for five minutes to see through her act?”
That was the last straw. “Goodbye, Hiyoko.”
Mahiru shoved through the crowd of onlookers past Hiyoko, tears pooling in her eyes as she heard Hiyoko’s (crocodile) tears start to pour. She didn’t look back.