After Akira waved goodbye to Fumiko, she turned around and began to head down the street to her own house. As she walked, she began to recall the events of the whole day in her head. She didn't know how to feel about them. She was lost in emotions that have been swirling inside her ever since the day started. It wasn't just sadness, or simply being upset. It was something much worse. It made her sick to her stomach. So much, she felt as if she was going to throw up. She hated feeling like this. She wanted to rid herself of these undesirable emotions. However, she couldn't. She couldn't get rid of these detestable feelings because she knew that they were important to her. And that the reason they are important her is because Fumiko was important to her. She thought that if she simply threw them away, it would be the same as throwing away her relationship with her best friend. And she couldn't do that. Akira couldn't understand what she was feeling but there was one thing that she understood clearly.

 

"This is the worst day ever." Akira said to herself.

 

As she continued to walk down the cobblestone road, she began to curse her luck. "Why me? It's not fair." She complained to herself. She knew that she was being selfish, making it all about herself, when in reality, her friend was the one suffering, not her, but she didn't care. "Why couldn't someone else have forgotten their memories, why did it have to happen to Rei?" She wanted to burst out in tears and blame somebody, anybody really, for stealing Fumiko's memories from her but she couldn't do that either because their was nobody to blame. Nobody to blame at all. 

 

As she made the left turn onto the street where her house resided on, she kept thinking about what she should do. If there was one thing that she was sure about, it was that she wanted to keep being Fumiko's best friend no matter what. She cherished the relationship between them as much as she cherished her own life. But now, the relationship that she holds dearly to her heart, is in jeopardy of falling apart and her, with it. She still couldn't grasp all the events that transpired from morning till now.

 

 Still lost in thought, Akira eventually made it through the gate, to the front door of her house and slid open the door.

 

"I'm home."

 

"Oh, your back." Akira's mother said as came around from the corner. "You're late. Where were you?"

 

"I stayed after school for a while." Akira answered as she took of her shoes and set her bag down. "Something happened to Rei this morning you see."

 

"With Reina? What happened? Is she okay?"

 

Akira's mother asking her those two simple questions was all it took for the suppressed emotions swirling inside her to swell up and explode. The mask that she had been wearing in front of her classmates and Fumiko shattered. Akira began to cry.

 

"She doesn't remember anything, mom! She doesn't remember me!" She wailed in response. "She's lost all of her memories. She didn't even know who she was!

 

Upset, Akira ran past her mother, up the stairs, into her room, locked the door and sprawled face first onto her bed. She tried to muffle the sound her crying by burying her face into the bed. She heard her mother calling out to her but chose to ignore her. She just wanted to be alone.

 

Akira's mother knocked on the door "Akira, are you okay?" She asked her softly. "Let's talk about it."

 

Akira threw a pillow at the door. “Just leave me alone!" She yelled at her mother. "Why Rei, why Rei, why Rei!" Aki cried out.

 

She remained there for about 10 minutes shifting between crying and complaining out loud. Eventually, she got up and sat upright on the bed. She decided she needed to calm down and accept what had happened to her best friend. She wanted to stay strong for Fumiko and herself. 

 

Akira got up and walked over to her mirror. Her face and eyes were red and puffy from crying. "Honestly, I've started high school and I'm still such a crybaby." She mumbled to herself. She then, went to the bathroom to wash her face. She felt bad about yelling at her mother so when she was done washing her face, she went down the stairs and saw her mother washing the dishes and entered the kitchen.

 

"Mom." Akira called out to her gently. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was just upset and I lashed out."

 

Her mother turned around. "It’s fine. You're going through your rebellious phase that every new high schooler goes through right? She joked.

 

"That's not it at all," Akira responded while giving a small smile. She walked to the sink and began helping her mother.

 

"Before you ran upstairs, you told me that Reina lost her memories, is that true?"

 

"Yeah, she doesn't remember anyone, not her family, her classmates," She paused for a bit. "Or me. I don't know what to do."

 

"Oh, I see. That's horrible. I'm so sorry Akira." Her mother replied as she finished the last dish. She went to over by the table to dry her hands. "But, I don't think you have to change the way you treat her, Akira."

 

"Huh?"

 

"She may have lost her memories of you, but, you didn't lose any of her. You still want to be friends right?"

 

"Yeah, of course."

 

"Then just be there for her. That's good enough." Akira's mother told her.

 

Akira realized her mother was right. Just because Fumiko's memories are gone, doesn't mean she had to change the way she acts her. She ran to her mother and hugged her. "You're right mom, thanks."

 

Her mother smiled. "I see no matter how old you get, you're still baby at heart."

 

"That's not true at all." Akira pouted. They both laughed. Akira goes back towards the stairs and before going up, she looks back at her mother. "Thank you, mom"

 

"No problem." She responds with a smile.

 

 

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The next morning, Akira headed to Fumiko's house. When there, she rings the doorbell.

Instead of Fumiko appearing on the other side, it’s Yui, her little sister.

 

"Hey Aki, Rei said you were coming yesterday."

 

"Yeah, is she up yet?"

 

Yui shook her head. "I tried to wake her up but she's not a morning person I guess.

 

"Huh? But its noon." Akira thought to herself.

 

"Just wait here, I'll go get her." Before Akira could respond, Yui bolted back into the house and up the stairs. Akira, a few seconds later, could hear playful screaming and laughter from inside. A few minutes afterwards, Fumiko came out.

 

"Sorry Aki, the little brat loves to play around. Did you wait long?"

 

Akira was glad to see her friend again. Especially since she got all of her worries of her chest with the help of her mom the previous day. "I don't have to change anything." She thought to herself. "Because no matter what, I'm still her best friend."

 

"Nope." She replied with a wide smile on her face. "Not at all."