Linda-san walked in and made her way to a seat near the refreshment table. The two sisters looked at one another briefly, then looked away. Instantly, the mood was awkward between them.
Sophia-san stiffened up.
"Ah... Auburn-san, could you please wait one moment."
Without waiting, Sophia-san walked over to the table full of gifts. As she held her present in her hand, her feet shifted as she tried to regain her composure. I couldn't imagine the mixture of feelings going through her. Taking the small box, she walked over to her big sister and held her gift.
"M-Merry Christmas, Linda."
Sophia-san pushed out her arms, holding a lovely red box. With her eyes closed, too shy to even look at Linda-san, Sophia-chan waited patiently for her to take it. But Linda stood up, pushed her way in, and held her little sister instead of taking the gift.
"M-Merry Christmas, Sophia."
The sisters come together like this. Even though their love didn't work out… it was clear that they still loved each other. After a bit, they separated, still holding each other's gifts.
"Ah… let's sit over here for now, and we'll chat more later."
Linda promised, face as red as her sister's.
"S-Sure..."
With a scratch on her cheek, she returned to the center of the room.
"Good to see you, Taylor-sensei."
I said, giving her a wave. She waved back, her cheeks still bright red.
"Please enjoy as we watch our queen make an order for Conway-san!"
Saya-san explained. She gave the two a quick rundown of what was happening, and they instantly focused on the model and the shark.
"Alright, Auburn-san... I'll give a request to you."
So-chan crossed her arms, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Wow, the pressure is on. Hm, what should I ask for as a request?"
She was teasing the rest of us, making everyone anticipate her gift, and finally, she suggested one.
"If I remember right, you're from England! I would love your best British accent in English! I love those!"
"Eh? Why does it have to be in British English? Can't I just say something in Japanese?"
Mary-san giggled, and in the back, so did Taylor-sensei. Honestly, she sounded like she was the most amused out of everyone.
"Oh, I have something much better! I want you to…."
Suddenly, she switched to English.
["Tell me how much you love your friends in British English!"]
Risa-san laughed and clapped her hands, but I didn't catch everything. The rest of the girls giggled too. Even Sora-chan understood it better than I did.
["That's so dirty, Auburn-san! You're going to make the girl embarrass herself like that!"]
Risa-san said in English.
"Oh, I like her."
Taylor-sensei said, referring to my auntie, with one hand on her cheek.
["It's not too embarrassing, Conway-san! I picked something simple because I want to hear that wonderful queen's English!"]
I looked around and saw my childhood friend standing nearby. I tugged on Mae-chan's shoulder, then leaned in to whisper to her.
"Eh, what's up, Mado-chan?"
"S-Something about saying things in English… help a friend out here, Mae-chan. Even Sora-chan is laughing… and she's not the brightest kid by a long shot!"
It was rude of me to say that about Sora-chan... but it was true. I was almost begging, and the group noticed like sharks in a tank full at the scent of blood in the water.
"Hm, are you bad at English, Madoka-san?"
Taylor-sensei asked with a slight smile on her face. Another person found out my weakness.
All eyes fell on me as if I was a spectacle. There was nothing wrong with not understanding a different language. I'm not sure why I was being looked at as if I had five different hair colors.
"Madoka Onee-chan, want me to translate for you?"
Sora-chan suggested. Hana-chan leaned in and pushed her best friend's shoulder.
"Stop with that, Madoka Onee-chan already, Sora-chan! And I can translate for her! We all know Onee-chan is hopeless at English! I'll translate all the embarrassing things Sophia-san is about to say for her!"
Hana-chan was brutally honest, and it made Sophia-san lunge back like she was harpooned with a spear. Even I felt like she just jabbed a knife in my stomach.
"H-How rude! I hate all of you! Every one of you!"
Mary-san giggled and held her stomach.
"Ohh, that was fine enough as a request. I don't want to embarrass you anymore, Conway-san."
So-chan stood up straight and put both hands on her hips.
"No, I'll… I'll say something."
She begrudgingly agreed. The inflection of her voice changed as she readied herself.
["Everyone has done a lot for me… And… I do…]
She paused… and looked beyond us. Sophia-san was looking at her sister as she sighed and finished her short speech.
["I do want you to know that… I do love you all… I do. And… I'm happy that we can all have this party. That's from the bottom of my heart."]
"Thanks, Sophia-san. We appreciate it."
Yuko-chan said as she rubbed her feet together in embarrassment.
From what I gathered, Sophia-chan said something about her heart being underwater... I didn't make sense of everything, but I could tell it was sincere at least.
My little sister jumped up and whispered what the little shark had said in my ear. I thought about it... and it felt as though that speech might have been more for her older sister than me. Like Sophia-chan was making sure she knew... that she loved her.
"She's pretty cool, isn't she, Hana-chan?"
My little flower shrugged her shoulders.
"Sophia-san has her moments, I guess?"
With a clap, she drew our attention in.
"Well, I'm the queen now, and I swear I'll make the next person pay for that!"
Mary-san elegantly rose out of her seat and made her way over to Okabe-san and her little sister.
"Well, since I'm your humble servant for now, what do you two want to eat?"
Okabe-san glanced away, trying her best to save face.
"I'll have whatever Nagumi-chan wants. Nagumi-chan… tell A-Auburn-san what you want. Don't make her wait."
Okabe-san was clearly struggling, and seeing this side of her was cute. I had never witnessed it, and it made me wonder what struck her so well when she was around Mary-san. In a way… this was the first time I'd seen her interact positively with an adult.
Takade-san brought over the box in Saya-san's stead. The shark dived in and pulled one of the names. She stared at then turned to the person in question.
"Oh?"
The shark locked eyes with…
"Oh?!!!"
Takade-san squealed, clapping her hands.
"What an interesting combination~."
Saya-san commented with a snicker as Risa-san kicked her feet about. These sisters... were something else.
"But when will it be my turn?! I want to make someone do something so embarrassing!"
The boss lady groaned.
Hana glanced over to Risa-san. It was as if the little flower finally saw the truth behind the boss lady's beautiful exterior.
"Saitou-san… you're a devil in disguise."
Both of the sisters looked at Hana-chan.
"Whatever do you mean, Hana-san?! Don't look at me like your mother does!"
She begged, but Hana-chan's judging stares didn't waiver.
"Alright, which do you want to do, Takade-san?"
Sophia-chan asked.
"Request!"
She was like a child picking out candy from a store. Mae-chan leaned back and sighed. It honestly reminded me of Chie-san, Mae-chan's mother.
"This outta be good."
Mae said as she elbowed Yuko-chan. Eagerly, they both watched.
Sophia-chan shrugged.
"I dunno, do a handstand or something?"
Clearly, the shark wasn't interested. But Takade-san didn't waiver. She got on all fours and lifted herself up flawlessly like a gymnast.
"Waaaaah!"
She wobbled down and nearly hit the refreshment table with her feet. Thankfully, her senpai jumped in, grabbed her by the legs, and caught her from falling. Saya-san's arms slipped, causing her to wrap her hands around her familiars waist.
"Ahh?! Senpai, you're grabbing my ass!"
Saya-san pressed her face close to Takade-san's legs, keeping her balanced.
"How about we take a break from the game before we do something we regret. The food is about to be brought out anyway, Saki-chan. "
Takade-san's butt wiggled in excitement like a puppy wagging her tail. Even though her head was facing the floor, she spoke to Saya-san like normal. The physic turned to the rest of us.
"How about you all get your food and chat for a while. Saki-chan and I will get the next game started, alright?"
"Alright!"
We all said in for the most part. I looked over to see Sophia-chan and Linda-san chatting with one another.
Maybe their love didn't work out the way a fairy tale would...
...but it was still a miracle seeing them together like this.