Chapter Text
It was a Sunday afternoon, as time ticked the sun slowly started to set. The blue color of the sky phasing into a purple.
Days were long, but as everyone knows, the day before the first day of school might be the shortest day of your life. Especially if you're transitioning to high school. Each student that was about to attend The School of Color on Roseberry, focused this last Sunday before school on enjoying what little summer break time they had.
The beach, the pool. Relaxing after spending ages studying for entrance exams at the Library of Roseberry. Resting after the endless Roseberrian festivities.
Some people were dealing with their own business at home, while others were running away from that business.
and some had nothing waiting for them at home, parents gone and at work for the higher-ups, and spending another day alone, the ghost of dead dogs the only lingering voice. or maybe that was Pilar’s ghost, because for some reason Azzy’s family decided to live near her deathspot.
Azzy, for example, sat on a little bench by the corridor and front door, a plate of sugar cookies in her lap and her phone in her hand. She frequented different apps, Life360, or checking her friends’ ‘End of Summer’ Instagram stories, or even taking screenshots of clothes on Depop that she’d never buy. She was waiting for her best friend Lozia to knock on the door, as they were supposed to hangout today, like they did every Sunday.
Lozia on the other hand had already normalized this to their schedule, it was kind of just like heading home. But to another place instead. However, they won’t dismiss their excitement to see Azzy. They were… great, friends after all. It’s normal to be like this.
It was their own tradition, like church for white ladies, or Chinese food dinner for a functioning family. Azzy and Lozia could watch a movie, or bake, or watch anime and rant about how hot a female character with a lot of cleavage is. Plus, Azzy’s parents knew Lozia fairly well. They were the first of Azzy’s friends that Azzy felt comfortable introducing to them. Also, they were there for about eighty percent of choices Azzy shouldn’t have ever made, like getting microbangs and shaving her legs for the first time.
Azzy was also there for some of Lozia’s firsts too. When their parents had a huge fight that they almost separated, Azzy was rather good at making jokes enough to help her cheer up for the moment. It was comfortable for them.
Likewise, Comfortable enough that Azzy hadn’t needed to put on any makeup today, and had barely run the straightener through her hair, preferring to tie her tangled hair into a high ponytail. She also slathered on whatever clothes were in the front of her closet, even if it hadn't really matched with her aesthetic. Instead of anything pink with ribbons and bows, it was a plain pink tee and instead of a lacy white skirt, it was basketball shorts that Love had left at her house during a sleepover. Azzy had found it and put it on, noticing it still smelled like the other girl. .
She also wore socks with Obama’s face on it, even though she’d never lived in continental America.
This Sunday was going to be a little different: Lozia was going to be sleeping over.
Azzy scrolled through her camera roll, currently looking through photos of her eighth grade year. There were some with just her and Lozia, or some with her other friends: Ramina and Love. Ramina was a beauty and stunned in every photo she took, Lozia wasn’t really into posing or anything for the photos, and Love just made funny faces or flipped the camera off.
Overall, Azzy was trying to fill up the time in waiting for her best friend.
Lozia had gotten into a small argument with their parents, a few hours before this they had guests over, and they didn’t bother to be nice. They had an bad relationship, and they weren't going to bother with being perfect for these people.
They were told not to go to Azzy’s house today, but really they could care less about their parents' opinion. They didn’t bother to change themselves either, staying in their favorite black hoodie with the usual alternative stars printed on the front. Simple gray pants that fall on their shoes. Besides, being friends with Azzy for a while led them to not care much about what they looked like with her.
They grabbed their accessories, a set of their clothes for tomorrow, some makeup and hair styling supplies. They grabbed a bag of cookies they made on Saturday, and left the house with a slam on the door.
On their walk they took out their phone in one hand, holding the bag in the other with a cookie in their mouth. Chewing as they walked to Azzy’s place. Once arriving they knocked on the door, having a feeling Azzy was most likely distracted by something.
It’d taken a while for Azzy to hear the sound of the door knocking; she had her Beats on and was watching a video of the ‘Fruit Mountain’ her and Lozia had made when they were in fourth grade. Sure, the monstrosity and waste of food was all Azzy’s idea, but Lozia’s smartness had elevated Azzy’s creation and landed them both in kiddie detention.
Another loud knock woke Azzy out of her spell.
“shit.”
Setting her cookies down beside her, Azzy plastered on a smile as she peeped through the cracked peephole. She knew it was Lozia because only Lozia knocked like they were in an emergency.
Lozia wore their own assortment of clothes, their favorite black hoodie, gray pants, crocs, and stood on the other side, their own container of cookies in their hand. Azzy’s eyes lit up at the absurd amount of chocolate chips Lozia had baked into them.
“Lozia!” Azzy sang, before wrapping Lozia around in a hug like she’d always done. Lozia smelled like flowers, specifically liliacs, something that made Azzy smile instinctively; she liked the familiarity of it all. In fact, Azzy had a similar perfume. The lilac and Roseberry - Roseberry Island’s national flower - matching dual set was something that Azzy’s parents had gotten her and Lozia for their third-year friendaversary, something Azzy insisted they celebrate because she was a sucker for parties.
Lozia, still wrapped in the hug, shrank back instinctively, but relaxed a moment after. It was a habit they couldn’t necessarily control, patting Azzy on the back before pulling away their hand. “Azzy, remember the first day of school is tomorrow right? ” They asked.
“yup! unfortunately…”
With those words, Azzy let go of Lozia and did a fake dramatic cry, attempting to earn a reaction out of her best friend. When she didn’t, she made grand fashion of bowing as Lozia entered the house, giving them space to unwind in the corridor.
Lozia sighed with Azzy’s dramatic greeting, they went inside and followed after her.
Azzy sat back down on the bench, breaking a sugar cookie in half and offering it to Lozia who didn’t take it. They simply smiled and shook their head.
Azzy looked back towards where Lozia stood, carefully taking off their shoes and setting them on the shoe tray, placing the Crocs parallel to each other, or smoothing in the wrinkles in their black sweater, and hanging it on a hook on the wall. They held onto their bag. Lozia was always so neat and put-together.
“are you excited?”
“ i guess so. “ Lozia said blankly, not having much of a reaction. School wasn’t anything to be excited about in their world, all Lozia did most of the time was get in trouble with the teachers.
Azzy rubbed her eyes, popping another sugar cookie into her mouth. It crumbled a bit, making a mess on the floor. Azzy noticed Lozia’s eyes drift off towards the litter. Azzy sheepishly picked up the crumbs, ultimately deciding to put them in her pocket for the time being.
“honestly..” she started, while chewing. She waited a bit to swallow the cookie as it wasn’t good manners to eat and talk. Despite being comfortable with Lozia, she didn’t want to be totally gross. “i’m just glad we’ll be with everyone again.”
“ yeah. I wonder what some of them did over the summer. “ Lozia asked curiously. They knew that Kanoshii would be most likely the only person who stayed home all summer, bummer.
Azzy yawned. Her and Lozia’s assortment of friends were all vastly different. Some were very extraverted, and preferred hanging out outside or inviting friends places. Others were pretty much homebodies.
Some of their friends, like Love for example, were not at all consistent in what they did.
Azzy did not want to think about Love at this moment, deflecting and thinking about Love’s best friend, Ramina. Her and Ramina had grown up together, and it was somewhere in the middle of middle school that the two duos formed a friend group.
“oh i bet Ramina did another photoshoot again! she always looks so pretty…”
Ramina really was pretty. Due to her mothers’ influence, she either had some of the best clothes on, or her hair elegantly done, just like her makeup. Beneath all that, Azzy knew that Ramina had other things she liked to do.
Lozia cringed, “ yeah. She always does. Her mother most likely forced her into it.” Lozia was friends with Ramina, but they didn’t have high feelings for her. She was the complete opposite of them, and they could sometimes notice Ramina’s hesitation when talking to them.
if someone asked Lozia to stand in front of a camera and smile for three hours, they’d probably throw themselves into the ocean first.
Azzy shrugs, and grabs onto Lozia’s arm, pulling them towards her room. She knew that Lozia and Ramina were sort of strained, but they would make a badass duo. if only both of them weren't such…themselves.
the awkwardness constantly circling around them was enough for even Love to bring it up.
Azzy hums. “i really wish she had more time to herself.”
Lozia followed, “Yeah, it’d be better for her. ” They look at their phone, deciding to just look for any new messages.
Azzy peers at Lozia’s phone before abruptly stopping. “wait, Lozia. Ramina’s going to be here tomorrow right?” Azzy turned to her best friend, who had one of those inquisitive looks in their eye.
Lozia stopped as well with confusion, looking up from their phone.. However, hearing the question they didn’t ponder. “ Of course she will. She wouldn’t miss the first day of school. It’d also be bad for her mothers image, you know fans find out about random stuff. ” They shrugged.
“mhm. right. well, either way.” They continued to walk together, eventually entering Azzy's room. each step was a little lighter, now that Azzy wasn’t alone. She opens the door and switches on the lights, revealing the unkept room. There were clothes on the floor, and makeup containers half-opened on Azzy’s dressers. if it wasn’t for the odd size, the room would look and feel more like a closet.
Azzy closed her pink, flowery curtains, which were currently letting in the light of the light of the sun. It shone in the room with its shifting gradient of warm colors, something Azzy would enjoy if it hadn’t been a reminder that school was in twelve hours.
Lozia had always liked the contrast difference in their rooms. It was a new change for them, as their room was mostly dark with some specks of light here and there. They wondered how Azzy put her room together, and where she got most of her stuff. They put their bag down on the floor.
Azzy flopped onto her queen-sized bed and patted the spot next to her, beckoning for Lozia to sit with her.
“come, i wanna show you something!”
Lozia sat next to her, as they turned off their phone. “What is it?”
Azzy made a small noise, resembling that of a squeal, and opened up her photo library. She went to the folder labeled ‘screenshots’ and opened the recent one. It was an Instagram conversation.
Her legs hit the edge of the bed in excitement, and she couldn’t stop smiling. She’d been saving this news for Lozia all week.
Lozia squinted to see what it was, they knew it was a conversation… On some app, they hadn’t brought their glasses so they couldn’t see. But it clearly seemed to be important for Azzy if she decided to show them this.
“okay right so…” Azzy clears her throat, her body radiating excitement, "Jojo sent me this, uh, conversation between her and Love and i was confused too..okay.” Azzy stutters a little bit, confusing Lozia more.
“but Love was talking about the people she cared about a lot, and she mentioned me!”
Lozia stared at the picture, desperately trying to figure out what was being said, before looking at Azzy. “ You sure she just doesn’t mean platonically?”
“Loz..”
Lozia just stares back at Azzy, trying to decipher her expression
“well-ah..of course she does! but like..” Azzy’s mouth hangs a little open as she tries to come up with something a little more hopeful.
Lozia tensed a bit, they knew Azzy always tried to be positive about everything.
“you’re right. i am overthinking it, i’ll give you that one. but one day…” Azzy gets all serious, putting her phone down and looking at Lozia dead in the eye, “i’ll prove you wrong, okay?” she attempted to sound threatening, but stifled a giggle instead, squinting at Lozia the same way they squinted at them.
They looked at her, and rolled their eyes. “ wow, im so scared. but, really, try to prove me wrong. you overthink a lot, but sometimes i think you’re right. “
Azzy falls back onto her mattress and clutches the nearest pillow in her hands. her hair gets a little ruffled and she reaches out to brush a strand from her forehead. She stays silent for a little bit before deciding to speak again.
“i just wish it wasn’t like this.”
“well whatever.”
She blinks a little, and suddenly all the melancholy and emotion is gone. Instead, her eyes show interest.
“so. anything i would love to know about?”
Lozia was surprised by the sudden topic change. And emotion too, wow. They blinked, before looking away. “ nothing.. you switch up a lot. “
“well, yeah, but like. don’t you wanna change the topic?”
“ no, not really i guess. “ though, Lozia thought. “ I don’t have anything new with me though. “
“have you drawn any masterpieces lately?” Azzy ponders, “i think the day you finally show me your art is the day all my wishes will ever come true.”
“ Uhm. “ Lozia blushed slightly from embarrassment. “ I suppose I did. But I’m not showing, and those wishes won’t come true. “
“aw.”
Lozia thought for a moment, “ do you think Kanoshii likes being drawn? “
A grin starts to grow on Azzy’s face before she looks away. Ooh.
Lozia noticed and squinted their eyes slightly, curious on Azzy’s potential train of thought. However, noticing her mouth about to open they continued to listen, leaving that thought for another time.
“i think he does. but it’d have to be more of a drawing you show him only.” Azzy sits up, approaching Lozia’s question as if it’s a math equation.
“like if you showed everyone and be like ‘rah i drew kanoshii’ he probably wouldn’t like the attention. but your art is awesome. I'm sure he would love it.”
They glanced downwards, “ yeah. you’re probably right. he’s extremely shy. “
“when you become rich and famous for your art, i hope you don't get shy.” Azzy lays her head on Lozia’s lap, who is currently sitting. Lozia, despite how common this was, still was surprised by the sudden touch. She could feel Lozia go stiff, but she knew that Lozia would not mind. Which Lozia didn’t, it was still something they would need to be getting used to. This was their routine. Their Sunday.
“ you think the school announced anything about tomorrow? “
“ah! i did hear something!...other than the principal dating a teacher…” Azzy chuckled awkwardly.
Lozia was surprised, “ i did not hear about that..- “
“-- the lesbian teacher too! ms. …. uh, whatever! but i heard from JoJo that there’s only going to be one new senior this year.”
Lozia didn’t have to think more on whether or not it was true. JoJo knew everything basically, she was practically the first one who found out about their crush on Kanoshii somehow. It was weird but i guess she promised that the both of them wouldn't say anything about it.
“ but uh, hm. I’ll check the website. “ they grabbed their phone and went to it
Azzy’s phone pings, Lozia peers at it, noticing that Azzy hadn’t moved to check it.
Azzy meets Lozia’s gaze and smiles. “there’s really no point…” she shrugs after, to further prove her point.
“ oh there’s going to be new kids tomorrow. “
“new kids. wow.” Azzy is a little dejected, “remember the last instance with new kids?”
“ oh yeah. Uhm, im sure it’ll be different this time. “ They reassured, trying their best to bring Azzy’s hopes up.
Azzy picked at a fleck out dust on her mattress.
“if it’s anything like the first day of fifth grade, i don’t know what i’d do.” She suddenly shoots up, “ohmygod, do you remember that one new kid?
“The one who stole your Tomogatchi?”
“the one who stole my child, Lozia. and then my bestfriend.” Azzy cringed a little at the memory of her being insanely jealous of Lozia’s friendship with this other girl. Thank the heavens she wasn’t like this anymore.
Lozia sighed, they’d visibly remembered that. Somehow. The girl was rather nice, but they were extremely touchy and annoying for someone new. They had noticed Azzy’s jealousy in a more “i-have-a-gut-feeling” way. “ yeah. “
“do you, uh.” she thought of the best way to approach the question.
“do you like Kanoshii?”
Lozia stared at Azzy, “ What?! What makes you think that? “ They looked away, their face turning red. How could Azzy figure it out? They’re positive they hid their crush perfectly without any hints. Jojo figured it out by coincidence… They think.
Azzy grabs onto Lozia’s shoulders with both hands, another annoying grin on her face.
“oh? ohhh...?” she turned Lozia’s face towards her own.
Lozia pulled away from Azzy’s hands, embarrassed. “ ugh, whatever. i don’t think he’ll even like me back. “ Lozia mumbled.
“still. i’ll believe it for you.” Azzy laid back down on their lap and tried her best to sound sweet. Azzy had faced her round of unrequited crushes and Lozia had been there for them all.
Sure, she didn’t know Kanoshii enough to know if he did have feelings for her best friend, but it wouldn’t help to observe and analyze tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
Lozia suddenly heard the ping from both of their phones, the blush cooling down slightly from their face, checking it they noticed it was from Ramina within their friendgroup chat they had on discord.
“ooh what’s up?”
Messenger
R<3 (Ramina): Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a good night.
kisozi (lozia): i’m doing ok
p.nklvr (azzy): hope u are too ramimi
R<3: I am, what about the others?
eatmysquarepants (Love): i’m okay
R<3: That’s good. Are you guys ready for tomorrow? There’s going to be new kids, so I’m sure we’ll need to help some of them around the place.
p.nklvr: very ready! me and loz did some research and one of them is a senior. u think jojo would be interested?
R<3: Well, I'd like to believe so. Depending on their personality.
eatmysquarepants: aster still might want to
kisozi: yeah, asters weirs when it comes to ppl
R<3: Well, I’m sure some of us could befriend the new kids.
p.nklvr: actually there is one person i wanted to befriend.
p.nklvr: u guys know esther right
R<3: I don’t recognize the name.
p.nklvr: she's blonde, has a high ponytail. super smart.
p.nklvr: remember? she won the pi day challenge by saying 200 digits?
kisozi: ohh her, yeah that was pretty impressive
R<3: oh her
kisozi: she’s really smart
p.nklvr: she is! she seems so interesting idk. i just wanna pick hjer brain.
kisozi: what
R<3: Yes, I do remember her. I think she seems nice.
eatmysquarepants: if you think she’s cool az you should tt her
kisozi: yeah
p.nklvr: maybe but like idk.
p.nklvr: she seems unapproachable in a way
eatmysquarepants: didnt know you spent all this time looking at her
p.nklvr: :(
R<3: Well, maybe that’s just how her aura is. She’s most likely sweet. We should never assume based on what we see.
p.nklvr: will one of you help me or we do it as a group
R<3: I probably could!
kisozi: i could mybe help
p.nklvr: yay
p.nklvr: love
p.nklvr: hey
kisozi: is she off or smth?
R<3: I’m sure something happened, it says she’s on.
kisozi: oh
p.nklvr: did you guys hear about the new flavor of fanta coming out ?
eatmysquarepants: theres a new flavor ?????????????
kisozi: no i havent heard
p.nklvr: oh my god Love now that youre on do you wanna help us ?
eatmysquarepants: i guess
R<3: You okay?
eatmysquarepants: no
eatmysquarepants: so what about that new fnata flavour
Lozia stifled a snort, Love could be so random sometimes.
Azzy gazed at the messages, smiling.
“Loz , what do you want to eat for dinner?”
Lozia thought, “ I want ramen honestly. “ they imagined their usual, some cheese, chicken and vegetables in it. Though anything available is fine too.
“ooh ramen…” Azzy puts a finger to her temple, “spicy ramen?”
“ Definitely. “
Azzy shoots up from her bed, extending her hand in royal fashion to Lozia. “Your carriage awaits, Monarch.”
Lozia rolled their eyes, but took Azzy’s hand. “ why thank you. “ It was always random whenever she did this, but it made things more fun in the end.
Azzy grins at the warmth of Lozia’s hand. “Allow me.”
Lozia followed Azzy to the kitchen.
Azzy shrugs, opening her fridge for anything to drink. “you can choose today, my lord.” she states, continuing the fake british accent mess.
Lozia hummed, looking through the options inside the fridge.
“ maybe this one? “