Second Worst Day of my Life

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

February was coming and Maemi knew when it was the time to shop for the ingredients she needed for homemade chocolates as well as for the right decorations, she had been surprised when Matsumi said that she needed to shop for chocolates too as she didn’t recall the time where her cousin would make her own. She was more than willing to help though and suggested they should go together, and it was why they ended up spending their day at the mall going through shops that were selling the right ingredients as well as everything else they needed for it and for the decorations. “I think we did all the shops we needed here, we can go up.” She said to her cousin. She was contemplating using the stairs, never fancying the idea of using the elevator of the mall but considering the amount of bags they had to suit the various tastes of their family and friends she conceded that they could go there this time.

“Is there anything else you need?” She asked the other girl as they made their way toward one of the things Maemi hated the most. Her fear of closed spaces wasn’t something new to her family members but it rarely acted up as bad as she act around Ryohei the last time she was on a train. “Have you figured out what he liked?” she asked, smiling, wondering how it went.

Luckily for them, the stores weren’t crowded yet and people weren’t using the elevator too much so when she pressed the button to go up, it arrived rather fast. “After you.” She said, jokingly to her cousin, better hide the fact she might freak out the few seconds she’d get stuck in there, oh lord did she know little of what was coming ahead of her.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Matsumi never made chocolate before. Not that she never had a crush on a boy and wished to offer him some before, but she bought it. This time though, she thought she could more easily get the point across by making it herself, and do her best to fit it to Osamu's tastes. She managed to learn what he liked and looked up recipes to make it. Having never made anything like that before, she bought more, just in case she made a mess once or twice first. Or three, or four... But she'd make it! She refused to give up that easily.

Maemi knew a bit more about what to buy, so Matsumi was relieved to go shopping with her. She didn't have a lot of people she could bring out with her that would help. Amaya, maybe. But the girl would not survive going to such a place! It got Matsumi to wonder how she managed to buy everything, from the food she cooked to the clothes she wore. She knew Amaya was goign in person for grocery. Did she buy everything else online?

They spent a considerate amount of time shopping and had quite a few bags. They could go home, she thought. "I have what I can get here, the rest I'll get later," she explained. It was already surprising that they got to find stores selling chocolate and other things of the like, when most stores were about beauty or fashion, she doubted there would be a grocery store in there. A cafe to sit down and eat something before heading back home would be nice though. She nodded with a smile at her cousin's question. She knew what he liked and if her confidence might be misplaced, she still intended on giving it to him.

She was surprised that Maemi took them tot he elevators. She knew how her cousin felt in those closed-up spaces. "Are you sure? We can just go home too," she suggested. She did press the button to go up, hinting at Matsumi that she either wanted to see another store or stop at the restaurants on a higher level. She would get in though, if Maemi insisted.

This shopping mall offered everything, from casual wear to high brands. Still, Ryohei wasn't normally shopping at this time of the year. They were enough into winter that no new clothes were offered but it was yet time to bring out the spring collection. He was curious about a new store however and wanted to have a look. Plus, while being there, he could not resist going to one of his more regular stops.

He was satisfied with his purchases. He didn't buy too much. But that satisfaction deserved to be topped with a tea and maybe something to eat. There was a cafe he liked here. He considered the stairs at first, but he would have several floors to climb. This was not the tallest mall center in Tokyo, but it had more than two floors as well. In some places around the world, mall centers were huge, the size of a small village it seemed. In here, they built the high. And it was a lot of stairs to climb.

What ultimately decided him to take the elevator instead of walking from one escalator to another was the fact that he saw the doors opened. He quickly moved towards it, making sure to pass an arm to prevent the doors from closing completely as they started to do. He then hopped in only to pause a moment seeing the two ladies in there. He didn't know the shorter one but he'd never mistake the other.

After a brief hesitation, he turned around to press the right button. He moved to the opposite side of the girls. "Hirayama-san," he said with a nod to greet her. He was not going to pretend he didn't know her. But he had no intention on doing more than that. They were shopping. And they were not friends. He didn't have to do more than that.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi might fear being stuck in closed spaces, but she could manage going up a few levels in an elevator. Besides, shouldn't she try to face her fear on a few occasions and get to it? What helped convincing her was the fact that they carried a lot of bags, and some of them weren't light either considering the weight of chocolates they were carrying. It would have been too much of a handful to go up the stairs even if it would be the option she would pick in a heartbeat. She nodded at Matsumi. "Wonderful, then we're done for the day." she was contemplating the idea of gettin g a bite at one of the restaurants here, so she could hear more about the guy that had stolen Matsumi's heart and would have to make sure that she did not have to talk about Ryohei. He had his way of annoying her, even when he wasn't here! "I'm fine, it's not a small ride that will kill me." She assured Matsumi. She might not like the time she'd get in there but they'd be faster up and it was for a good cause.

"It's on me if we decide of a place to eat there." she said to her cousin with a warm smile. Family was important to her and proof was that she would often spend time with Matsumi. She also had friends of her own and spent time with them too. Either way, she was keeping herself distracted as they went in the elevator with the food she was willing to try. The doors were about to close when someone wandered in, she didn't pay much attention to it until she noticed it was no one but Ryohei. Oh lord, hopefully Matsumi wouldn't question her much as he greeted her (she would have preferred to be ignored at this point over having to explain that this was the man she was talking about the whole time). "Murakami-san." she said back to him, also agreeing silently that they should keep at that and not add more to their conversation. She focused on Matsumi instead. "Are you craving anything in particular?" She asked to her cousin, keeping up with the conversation. She needed to change her mind, the elevator started to go up rather smoothly but that didn't mean she liked it as much either. She never liked the little bump up it gave you when it started and would rather them to go smoothly. She held onto the safety railing there was in it to keep her balance.

She thought she was doing well, despite Ryohei also knowing of her fear, she kept it collected for the sake of her cousin. However, the elevator stopped suddenly and moved down a bit as it did which had her to held tighter on the railing. "What was that?" She let out mentally praying that this was just a small incident and that it would keep going up.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Matsumi was willing to suggest finding the escalators. It might be a bit of a walk, but she was aware how uncomfortable Maemi was in elevators. But they did have a lot of bags, which could be bothersome to carry around as they walked and climbed stairs. But Maemi got inside, saying it would be alright. She was strong. Or stubborn. Probably both. Matsumi joined her into the small space so they could go up. She smiled at the offer to go and eat something. "A quick bite sounds like a good idea." She didn't want to start snacking on her chocolate.

Matsumi paid little attention to the young man who joined them. He was handsome but that was it. She was focusing her attention to her cousin instead. Even when he called her out. Matsumi might have been a little curious but only assumed they met at school. They mustn't be too close if he was not adding anything, not even a 'how do you do?' or something. When Maemi called him however, he caught her attention. She stared at him, at Maemi, back at him again. She tapped her cousin's arm to get her attention. Had they been in a larger, noisier place, she would have asked directly, but he could hear them here, so Matsumi only threw a glance at the guy with a questioning look on her face to have Maemi confirm if that was the Murakami she once mentioned or not.

Ryohei heard Maemi asked the other what she wanted to eat. He didn't intend to listen, but it was hard not to, so he decided not to pay too much attention to it. However, he preferred not to end up eating at the same place. They could ignore each other and nothing would happen, but it would be best if they went to different ones. That's why he wanted to hear where they would go, while feigning disinterest.

He never heard the answer. Matsumi didn't have the time to say anything. The elevator barely started too move up that it fell down a bit before stopping completely. The lights were off as well. Maemi asked what happened. A quick look towards her allowed him to see her holding onto the railing and the girl next to her trying to calm her down. "Probably just some minor issue with the elevator. It'll restart," he said. He didn't know, but it was better than to be stuck in her with her panicking. Still, he walked to the pannel board and tried to see if he couldn't press any button to help make it restart or warn someone of an issue going on with the elevator. It also gave him the chance to now be back at Maemi and not see her in that state. He thought it was preferable that way.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi thought it might be best to try and face that fear on a few occasions just to test its limit. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Ryohei again; unfortunately, she’d have to face him during the ride in the elevator. She preferred to talk to Matsumi about what they could eat when they’d be up instead and with the bags they were carrying it was best for them to use them too. She wasn’t an idiot, it was the easier way up over having to use the stairs.

In all honesty, when Ryohei came into the elevator, she would rather have him ignore her. It might have just been an act of being civil in public but she could tell that her cousin was a bit curious now. Especially when the younger girl tapped on her arm and gave her the questioning look; there was no turning back and she slowly nodded her head in response without adding anything else.

If only the elevator didn’t have to stop! It was what it looked like and when the elevator was stable she tried to proceed with it all. There was no more need for her to hold onto the railing for now. Why was life constantly testing her? Getting her locked up here in the elevator was one thing, being stuck in there with Ryohei was on a whole new level. One she would rather miss out on if she could! She thought she was doing not too bad, not panicking yet over it. She had to stay calm. You’d think that in such a mall where it seemed to have money they’d plan not to have the elevator run out as it had on them. “Hopefully soon enough.” She said with a sigh. She assured to her cousin she was fine, for now, but she didn’t know how she could handle it.

[KIMURA MATSUMI]

Matsumi had a bunch of questions after Maemi confirmed the boy's identity. She was staring at him now, trying to see the arrogant, intolerant snob her cousin said he had been to her. For now, he was just ignoring them. Matsumi wouldn't put it under arrogance quite yet, as he might just not want to disturb her when she was with someone. She was curious for sure.

Of course, this all was shoved quite far in the back of her mind when the elevator suddenly stopped. The elevator was not responding at all. Ryohei could press any button, nothing was happening. He didn't have Maemi's issue with tight, enclosed space, but he didn't intend on getting stuck in there and certainly not for longer than a ride to his favourite cafe normally took. He didn't want to lose patience, but he knew he might. He had to calm himself lest he let it show to the two girls.

Matsumi was watching over her cousin, knowing how she could react in that kind of situation. "Will you be alright?" she asked, her voice as low as possible since she didn't want to attract the guy's attention towards them. Maemi must be thinking they should have found the escalators or something. Anything instead of that.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi wanted to die right about now, the elevator was not moving, and she was stuck in it, with Ryohei’s company out of all people that could be out there. She bet she would have had a better time with Ito-san despite the fact the other boy did not know of her fear. Luckily, Matsumi was around and it restrained any further conversation with the guy, for now, and she was glad of it. He might not want others to know that she went to his home but she did not wish others to know that they spent a whole train ride together because she was about to lose it. Matsumi already had a lot of questioning in her eyes, no doubts that she would have had more if she ended up knowing of that. Her cousin was a very nice girl, don’t get her wrong, but she didn’t see her relationship with Ryohei as a romantic matter. Far from that.

She nodded her head a bit when she questioned her. “Yes, I’m surviving all I need is for that to work again and we’ll be fine.” They wouldn’t be stuck for too long, no? She hoped not, unfortunately, the worst-case scenarios were starting to run through her mind and she didn’t like the idea of dying in the elevator along with Ryohei by her side. It was the last thing she wanted to happen.

She ran a hand through her hair. “Of course, it has to happen when I decide to take the elevator.” She mumbled mostly to herself. She was regretting it now.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Ryohei couldn't help but to hear. They were stuck in a small sapce with no other sound coming around them, it was impossible for him not to hear the two women talk to each other. "Don't push it that far, surviving," he said at first. He knew of her fear though and understood that she may not liking it, not liking it at all. But she shouldn't start to panic by thinking she may not 'survive' it. "Just... close your eyes, think you are in a much bigger space. Like a classroom or something and you have to wait for the bell to ring before you can finally leave." He didn't know if it would help but he didn't want her to start to panic. It was too small of a space for him to want to deal with that.

In a way, Matsumi thought it was not that bad of an idea. If Maemi could close her eyes and imagine herself in a place like that, perhaps it would help calm down her fear a bit. She encouraged her cousin to at least try it, at least the closing of eyes bit. If that could trick her mind from thinking she was stuck in an elevator, it was worth a shot.

He wondered though, was it just some electrical problem with the elevator or the entire mall? It was a bit difficult to tell. He pulled out his phone, to see if he could get a signal. He had no idea what to look out for. He doubted there would be a notification that the mall ran out of electricity for some reason. And it was not like he knew exactly who to contact to warn about his situation. But if he could text a friend to know what was going on, perhaps they would be able to find a way to help. Of course, they would have to be around the mall too or able to get there... In a way, Ryohei almost wished it was a power shortage across the mall. Wouldn't people be far more likley to check the elevators then, for people who might be stuck in there? He had no idea how they were warned of a problem with just the elevators otherwise, so he was not sure how long that would take. Hopefully less than it would take for Maemi to make a scene...

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi wasn’t stupid, of course, Ryohei would hear their conversation hence they were all stuck in there together. In a way, it was a good thing that it was him and not someone else she’d have to tell that she didn’t like closed-up spaces too though, having Matsumi around meant she would have to explain herself when it came to Ryoko hence she had spoken of him to her in the past. She didn’t think she would cause a scene, at least, not for only being closed up in there for such a small time. It took her more than that but she certainly didn’t like it. She stared at him for a moment when he suggested she’d close her eyes. It wasn’t a bad idea. She was willing to give him that much credit for thinking of it. She nodded her head when Matsumi encouraged her and decided to sit down hence they had no idea of the time they would get stuck in there and try it. What did she have to lose? All she was praying for was also for Matsumi not to ask too many questions of Ryohei knowing how he could be sometimes. She didn’t feel like arguing with him and explaining to him that indeed it was survival for her.

Depending on the time it would take for them to be stuck in there, they might have to warn their families they might arrive home later. She took a mental note of that since she felt also responsible for Matsumi’s well-being since she was the older of the two and her family. Hopefully, they wouldn’t end up having to do that but who knows, all they could do for now was to wait, and endure Ryohei’s presence.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Matsumi thought Ryohei's comment was a bit insensitive at first. It might not look like something they had to 'survive' through, but Maemi had a phobia that made things even worse for her. She was unaware of him knowing about said fear and felt like defending her cousin. She was not really the confrontational type but being with Amaya and the guys and the boarding house helped her stand up for those who mattered to her more. Still, this time, she held her tongue, almost having to bite it to do so.

His suggestion was something new. Matsumi wouldn't have thought of this herself. Maemi seemed ready to try without her having to push the older woman much. Ryohei saw the other girl sitting next to Maemi and support her. It was all he needed to not pay attention to them. He honestly would rather not to deal with this, so if he could give this job to someone else... And Maemi was not pushing her away so they had to be friends, to have some trust between each other. He'd let her friend deal with her phobia.

He couldn't quite reach someone who could help with their problem or give him any indicator as to how long he would be stuck in there. He had no idea who he should be signaling to in order to fix this either. He let out an exasperated sigh as he understood he would have to be stuck there for who knows how long, and with Maemi on top of that! He didn't sit down like them. Rather, he rested his back against a wall of the small cabin, close to the out-of-work panel, waiting for something to happen. But when you end up with next to nothing to do other than wait, time passed by really slowly.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi wasn’t the kind to make a scene even out of fear, she was too proud for that. However, she might make one only because of Ryohei if he ended up getting on her nerves. Then Matsumi would understand why they weren’t a match and that anyone who thought otherwise was crazy. They might be getting better than they did in the past but she put it on the account that they both matured and thought it was worthless to argue as much as they did. It wasn’t much of a bother for her even though sometimes his opinion annoyed her. He clearly didn’t see what she had to go through to judge her like that and she couldn’t tell that she knew him all that well either. All she knew was that he was much more of a people person than she was and didn’t like always to be surrounded by friends.

Anyways, back to the elevator, Maemi wasn’t really thrilled to be locked in there with him. Matsumi, could do this mostly because the girl knew about her fear and that she would be much better company than he was. Besides, he didn’t need to know of their plans for the day either. She wasn’t going to invite him after that. She was glad that Ryohei didn’t pay much attention to her, it was better that way.

She started wondering if there was an emergency button and she figured that it was what Ryohei was looking for. “It’s rather ironic that it happens the one time I decide to get in.” she said to her cousin trying to lighten up the mood. Ryohei could do whatever he wanted, she didn’t care, as long as he didn’t get naked in front of her she’d be sane.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Matsumi was feeling bad for letting her cousin get in the elevator. She never liked small, enclosed spaces. But the stairs were further away and they had heavy bags. Plus it would take a lot more time climbing all the way to the restaurant they wanted to stop at for a quick meal before heading out. All this led to them choosing the elevator instead, and now they were stuck in there.

She was not sure whether the rpesence of Murakami was good or not. He had some bags too, from men's fashion stores, but nothing that would prevent him to walk. He must have picked the elevator only because the doors were opened as he passed by and chose to hop in. Maemi didn't seem all too happy about it at first. Matsumi couldn't tell what she thought of it now, since something else occupied their mind now.

Ryohei sighed, having heard Maemi once again. It was impossible to mumble anything without being heard here, really. "There are a lot of people still in the mall. If it's only the elevators that have a problem, someone will have warned they cannot call them. And if it's the entire building, well, they'll try fixing it at an even faster pace." he pointed out. It was tough to stay in here but Maemi needed to get her mind off of it. Ryohei didn't know how he'd be able to handle her otherwise. "Besides, you're supposed to close your eyes and need or larger spaces," he reminded her. He sighed heavily. He hoped things would be fixed soon, because they would all end up claustrophobic at this rate.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

In a way, Maemi thought that Matsumi would get what she was talking about when she was referring to Ryohei but she didn’t like the idea of being stuck in a broken elevator with him. He might know of her fear but she didn’t believe that he was one of the people who would help her being relaxed there. Quite the contrary. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She could manage sitting and to pretend that she wasn’t in an elevator but it was hard to forget so.

She was hopeful that he was right on that point and they wouldn’t be stuck in there for too many hours. She didn’t know if they would get to go through that without ripping each other’s heads off. She felt bad for Matsumi being stuck in the middle; she didn’t need this. “Let’s only hope that you’re right.” She said. She couldn’t believe how some people thought it was romantic to be stuck with a boy in an elevator. She failed to see the romance in there. She could only try to bet for the time they would handle there without getting at each other’s throats.

“That’s what I’m doing.” She restrained herself from saying anything else for the mere reason they didn’t know how long they could make it in there and also for Matsumi’s sake who didn’t need to witness her fights with Ryohei.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Maemi was now sitting in a corner of the small space they shared, the other girl by her side. Their bags were around them. They looked rather full and heavy, it had to explain why they preferred to keep them down while they waited. His weren't exactly heavy but Ryohei too was getting tired of holding them. Or maybe it was the fact he had nothing else to do but to hold onto his bags as they all waited for someone to do something. Ryohei texted people to know if there was anything happening outside. He had no idea where he should call for maintenance but with some luck there would be someone who could warn people that the elevators didn't work. Well, this one didn't. At least it only dropped a little when it stopped working and then froze in place. That had been the scariest, when it fell. It was probably just of a couple of centimetres until the emergency brakes stopped everything but being inside the elevator, it had not been pleasant at all.

He figured he could focus on his phone and see if someone would answer him. Maemi was not in a good state but she had her friend so he thought he could ignore her. Not that he fully ignored her, of course. He would, from time to time, peek up from his phone to check that she was not suddenly freaking out more.

Matsumi was trying to help her cousin as much as she could but she also feared doing something that could make things worse. Maemi had closed her eyes, if only for a moment. Would talking disturb what little peace she managed to get or would it help get her mind off of their situation? In a similar way, she dared not touch her, it case it startled Maemi. She sat next to her, looking around with concern, her frown growing ever more whenever her gaze landed on her cousin, as she did the only thing she felt they could do in the situation, wait.

[HIRAYAMA MAEMI]

Maemi’s prayer was that it wouldn’t take too long before they’d get that darned elevator to work once again. She didn’t want to be stuck in such a tiny space for too long, even less when the other person she was stuck with was Ryohei. Dear, she hoped that Matsumi wouldn’t have too much of an opinion of him after that. Besides, she did tell her that he was getting under her skin on various occasions. She bet he even liked it to challenge her. She was the one who would reply to him and not hold her tongue back. Being rich didn’t give him the privilege to say anything he wanted to anyone. Though, even if she had seen different sides of him, that he could be nice – when he wanted to – as well as helpful, she didn’t completely trust him either. It was rather ironic that she was stuck in a situation that would be perfect for a television drama with the last person she’d want.

She wasn’t freaking out too much yet and tried to change her mind. Making sure that she got everything on her list for Valentine’s. She wanted to bake her chocolates and knowing that Matsumi wanted to do the same had inspired her even more to do so.

She needed to change her mind though, and she knew that she wouldn’t if she was just to sit and wait forever until it started working again. “You got everything you needed, right?” she asked her cousin, letting Ryohei in his corner for now; he was good there and should stay there for her own sanity.