"Just do it!" Okane said in frustration, watching me as I sat on my bed and hovering over the call button.
"Give me a minute!" I snapped, letting out a shaky sigh before steeling my resolve, only for it to shatter moments later.
"Should we really be doing this?" I turned to her with furrowed eyebrows, concern etched into my eyes. "I mean, calling the police just to get Jerry to take us? Won't that get us in more trouble?"
Okane crawled onto the bed next to me, sitting down staring blankly into my eyes.
"I paid you twenty dollars for this—" She muttered.
"I know! I know!" I scratch my head in frustration, eyes widened the minute I realized.
"Wait, why don't you do this?!" I snapped, shoving the phone into her, to which she denied immediately.
"Y-you can't be serious! I could never! Besides, you're supposed to do the dirty work here!" She pointed out, shoving the phone back into my chest.
"Twenty dollars isn't nowhere near enough for this amount of risk!" I argued, trying to give her back the phone but she pushed my hand back repeatedly, refusing to take it.
"Well you should've read the contract before you took the payment!" Okane practically hissed at me, her words low so only I could hear as if someone was eavesdropping into our conversation.
"What contract?! Your word is about as real as your follower count!" I pushed back at her, my words still striking a nerve.
"Would you drop that already!?" She snapped.
"No! How did someone like you even get into an industry in the first place?!"
"Oh, would you like to know! Sadly I think that's none of your business!" She responded, clearly holding back some specific choice of words to combat mine. "Just call the cops!"
"You first!"
She gave me a look of disbelief before finally snatching the phone from my hands with an exasperated sigh.
"Fine! Whatever I'll do it!"
I watched as she dialed the number with exaggerated reluctance, her eyes darting nervously around the room as if expecting the walls to close in on her. After what seemed like an eternity of ringing, someone finally answered on the other end.
"Hello, police department–" We both exchanged a glance as we heard the other person on the line.
"H-hey, is officer Jerry there by chance-" Her voice turn into a whisper almost as though she was afraid to ask.
"Who's this?" The voice pondered, waiting for a response.
"Uhh, Maiya Okane? The girl under house arrest by officer Tom and Jerry–" She responded, her eyes downcasted to her feet as she swayed them idly.
"Oh, well both of them are out on patrol at the moment, so you'll have to call again later-" she nods as though the person on the other side could see.
"R-right, thank you," Okane smiles softly.
"Have a nice day," The person on the other side said.
"You too" They both hung up, Okane staring blankly at the wall and then her gaze turned.
"So? How'd it go?" I inquired, seeing her as she outstretched her hand to me, causing me to look at her with confusion.
"What?"
"I want my money back!" She shouted, her hand outstretched more to me waiting for what she's asking for.
"Huh?!" I became even more confused by her words.
"You didn't upload your side of the deal so I want my money back!" Okane argued, her eyebrows furrowed as she waited.
"You still need me to carry all your shit! Not to mention you still need a partner-" Her eyes squint to my words, letting out a groan of annoyance before she leaned away,
"I suppose you're right-"
We just sat there, waiting on the opportunity to call again when something graced our noses from the kitchen, I raised me head to see what it was and so did Okane.
"Is your mom home?" Okane pondered, looking at me with an awkward yet curious glance.
"She's not supposed to be–" I muttered, looking at my phone to see the time. "It's only twelve in the afternoon-"
We both took a minute and got up from the bed, peeking down the stairs to see Hiyori, stirring a pot that dispelled the aroma.
"You can cook?!" Okane blurted out in surprise, startling the poor girl as she turned to us
I covered her mouth with my palm as if to take back her rather rude outburst, "Ignore her-"
Okane and I exchanged surprised glances as the delicious aroma of food wafted up from the kitchen. Hiyori, my sister, stood at the stove, stirring a pot with a focused expression.
"You can cook?!" Okane blurted out, clearly taken aback by this revelation.
I shot Okane a look of mild panic and quickly covered her mouth with my hand. "Ignore her," I said to Hiyori with a sheepish smile, hoping to smooth over the awkwardness.
Hiyori turned to us, a bemused expression on her face. "Uh, yeah. Why? Is that surprising?"
"Um, no, not at all," I stammered, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. "It's just that... we didn't know."
Okane nodded vigorously, her eyes wide with curiosity. "You're also a major cluts"
My grip around her mouth tightened and her voice became muffled.
Hiyori chuckled softly. "Well, I wanted to contribute somehow, since im living here–"
I nodded in agreement, grateful for Hiyori's calm demeanor in the midst of our unexpected conversation. "Yeah, it smells amazing. What are you making?"
She glanced back at the pot, a hint of pride in her voice. "It's a family recipe. Beef stew. Mom taught me how to make it."
"That sounds delicious," Okane chimed in eagerly, her earlier surprise giving way to genuine interest. "Can we try some?"
Hiyori goes to respond but the phone in her pocket started to ring. "R-right, just a minute," Hiyori nodded, the two of us looking at each other with excitement in our eyes.
Hiryori walked outside, closing the door behind her as she answered the phone.
"H-hello?"