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About fifteen minutes later, both Elly and Shimizu returned from their errands, and Shimizu called out excitedly, “We’re back!”
“Oh, welcome back, both of you,” Mizuha replied.
Elly handed Mizuha an ice cream she’d bought, smiling. “It’s so hot today; I thought this would help cool us down.”
“Oh, thanks, Elly-chan,” Mizuha said, taking the ice cream and savoring it’s refreshing coldness. They continued studying, with Mizuha patiently teaching her friends the parts they struggled with as the sun gradually set.
When Elly’s mother called from downstairs to let them know the bath was ready, they took a break. Shimizu went first, leaving Mizuha and Elly to tidy up their study area. After a moment, Elly asked, “Mizuha-chan, did Mother say something about me earlier?”
Mizuha smiled, recalling Elly’s mother’s kind words. “She just thanked me for being your friend and mentioned how you’ve become a better person recently.”
Elly’s face softened with relief, a small tear slipping down her cheek. Mizuha placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, reminding her friend to stay true to her own personality rather than striving to be like her late sister. Elly nodded, touched by her friend’s words, and offered to take the plates back to the kitchen.
Shortly after, Shimizu burst back in, looking different with her hair down and grinning widely. “Ah, that bath felt so good!” she exclaimed.
Mizuha blinked, momentarily not recognizing her friend, and Shimizu teased her, laughing at her surprised expression. Just as Mizuha was about to take her turn in the bathroom, Shimizu called out with a silly formality, “Take your time, and enjoy!”
Mizuha chuckled, rolling her eyes. “What’s with that, Shimizu?” she replied with a laugh, heading to the bathroom.
While Mizuha is taking a bath, Elly is return to her room from the kitchen.
“Shimizu-chan what you doing? Wait is that my old console game?” said Elly
Suddenly, Shimizu asks Elly to play a video game with her as she notices that there is a game console below Elly's television cabinet. “Elly, let’s play this video game! I heard you were good at gaming,” says Shimizu after she know that Elly used to play video game so much during her childhood.
“Well, that was in the past, Shimizu-chan. That time during I was the naughty brats, it’s been a while since I played these games, and now I don’t even game anymore,” replies Elly. “I don’t even know if this console still works or not,” she adds.
“Why not try?” Shimizu suggests. Both Elly and Shimizu try to turn on the console, and to their surprise, it works. “Oh, see? It’s still working!” says Shimizu.
“Yes, I can’t believe it still works! The last time I played this console was three years ago is with Zul before we entering middle school” Elly responds. “As this seem to be working, then let me choose the game,” Shimizu says.
"Okay, let's play this," Shimizu says, selecting a fighting game called Road Fighter. They both start playing together. Shimizu is having a hard time, while Elly plays calmly without any issues.
"Eh, why do I feel like this is so easy? Even though it's been a while since I've gamed," Elly wonders. "Does my body remember how this game works?"
"Wow, she's so good, even though she hasn't played in a while. But why is she much better than me?" says Shimizu.
They play for two rounds, and Elly wins both of them.
"Ah, I give up. You're too good at this, Elly," said Shimizu.
Shimizu then pulled Elly by the hands and lifted her into her arms like a prince holding a princess.
"How are you so good at this game, my princess?" said Shimizu, acting like a prince.
"Stop it Shimizu-chan, what are you doing? This position is so embarrassing! Please put me down," said Elly, blushing furiously.
Just then, Mizuha returned from taking a bath.
"Ah, you were right, Shimizu, the bath felt good," she said as she opened the door. She froze when she saw them in that awkward position, blinking slowly. "What are you two doing?" she asked, her voice flat.
"Ah, Mizuha! It's not what it looks like!" Shimizu stammered, her face turning redder.
"That's right! Shimizu-chan just grabbed my hand and—well—this happened!" added Elly, looking equally flustered.
"Oh, I see, that really happened?" said Mizuha, nodding her head.
Shimizu and Elly exchanged panicked looks.
Mizuha glared at them for a moment before breaking into a mischievous smile.
"Would you stay like that for a moment? I want to go to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Sakamoto to borrow an awl," she said, slowly closing the door as she stepped out.
"An awl? For what, Mizuha? Are you planning to make a hole or something?" asked Shimizu, thoroughly confused.
"Wait, Mizuha-chan, I don't think my house has an awl," said Elly.
Both of them chased after Mizuha to explain what actually happened after that.
"What's with you, Shimizu? Losing your mind after losing to Elly-chan?" Mizuha chuckles while getting dressed.
"Ah, shut up! I never expected to lose two rounds just like that," Shimizu replies.
“Ah, Elly-chan, it’s your turn to take a bath. Let me handle this girl,” Mizuha says.
“Thanks, Mizuha-chan. I’ll go take a bath now,” Elly responds before left to bathroom
“Hey, hanging out, Shimizu, how long you want to pouting, are little kids or what?” said Mizuha.
“Ah, this video game is boring; let’s change to another activity,” Shimizu says, giving up on the video game. “I know! Let’s play a card game!” she suggests. “Oh, she got her sprit back” wondered Mizuha.
“A card game? But we don’t have any cards here,” Mizuha replies.
“Hehe, I came prepared! Here!!!” Shimizu exclaims as she suddenly pulls out a set of trump cards from her bag.
“Geez, you really came here to play!” Mizuha says.
“Well, that can’t be helped, alright, I’ll play with you. What type of game will we play?” Mizuha asks.
"Then, we'll play old maid," Shimizu suggested.
While waiting for Elly to finish her bath, Mizuha and Shimizu began playing. Luck was on Shimizu's side as she kept winning against Mizuha, who hadn't won a single round.
"What's wrong, Mizuha, still want to continue another round?" Shimizu asked smugly.
"Absolutely, I haven't won any single round yet," Mizuha insisted.
Fresh from her bath, Elly entered the room and spotted them playing. "Wait, what are you guys playing? Old maid? I want to join too, but let me finish dressing up first."
"It's okay, we'll wait for you. You see, Mizuha is losing for the third time already, and she keeps asking for another round."
"But this time I will win, you'll see, Shimizu!" Mizuha declared.
They played together for about thirty minutes, with Mizuha unfortunately losing every round.
"Ah, I'm done, I don't want to continue anymore. You guys are too good at this," Mizuha conceded.
"No, it's not like that, you just don't have a proper poker face," Shimizu chuckled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mizuha laughed.
"But it's been fun playing together, right?" Elly added.
"Yeah, you're right, Elly-chan," Mizuha agreed.
"Okay, then what do you want to do now? We're done with card games, what's next?" Mizuha asked.
"Hehe, I'm glad you asked. Now it's time for... the lover story show," Shimizu announced.
Pretending to hold a microphone, Shimizu adopted a TV host persona. "Okay, Contestant Mizuha, how has your progress with Hikaru been until now? Has your relationship improved?"
"What is this, a TV show?" Mizuha said feeling bit annoyed.
Mizuha explained that while she and Hikaru had grown closer, they still hadn't gone on an actual date.
"Oh, so that's the answer from contestant Mizuha. It looks like they haven't made any progress," Shimizu announced. "Now let's ask contestant Elly about her relationship with Zul."
Though embarrassed, Elly admitted that while she and Zul were close, she still viewed him as a big brother figure, especially given his past feelings for her late sister, Arisa.
"Oh, so that's the answer from contestant Elly - it looks the same as contestant Mizuha's situation," Shimizu concluded. "We'll see you again next week!"
With that, Shimizu dropped her TV show act and turned to chat normally with Elly.
"I understand where you're coming from, but from my perspective, I think he actually likes you. He just never mentions it. I bet you like him too, right?" Shimizu chuckled.
"Geez, Shimizu-chan, this is embarrassing," Elly said while suddenly hugging Shimizu.
“Both of them having a guys closed to them but none of them is ever date with each other yet” wondered Shimizu looking at Mizuha and Shimizu.
Mizuha then asked Shimizu if she had ever had a relationship with anyone. Shimizu replied that she had never been in a relationship before, laughing as she spoke.
Mizuha suddenly remembered that Shimizu had been sleep talking about someone named “Kita-kun” a few days ago when they returned from a picnic. Curiously, she brought it up in their discussion. "Hey, what about the person named Kita-kun? Are you acquainted with him?" Mizuha asked.
"Huh!? Wait, Mizuha, how do you know that name? I never told anyone about that!" Shimizu exclaimed in shock.
"Well, I accidentally heard it when you were sleep talking on the train back from the picnic," Mizuha explained.
"Huh, did I really say that?" Shimizu asked, still surprised.
"Yes, you said, 'Please don’t leave me, Kita-kun,'" Mizuha recounted.
“Ah, that so embarrassing,” said Shimizu.
"Hey, is that person important to you?" Mizuha inquired
“Then how you tell us about that person, contestant Shimizu” said Mizuha suddenly act like Shimizu tv shows earlier.
"Tell us about him, Shimizu-chan," Elly added, eager to know more.
Shimizu sighed and told both of them, "Well, I never had a relationship with him; he was just my childhood friend, like Elly and Zul. We used to play together years ago in elementary school, but he moved away because of his family’s job. I wonder where he is now."
"I see, he’s just your childhood friend. Sorry for bringing that up suddenly," Mizuha said.
"Don’t worry about it; that’s all in the past now," Shimizu reassured her. "By the way, what do we want to do next?" she asked.
"I don’t know, maybe we should just go to sleep?" Mizuha suggested.
"Geez, Mizuha, you’re so boring! Can you come up with a more interesting idea?" Shimizu replied. "What do you think, Elly?"
"Well, I have no idea either. “Elly said.
Shimizu looked outside and had an idea. She stood up, pulled the curtain back, and opened the sliding door.
"What are you doing, Shimizu?" asked Mizuha.
"Come outside, both of you!" Shimizu called.
"What's up, Shimizu-chan?" asked Elly as she walked onto the balcony, feeling the cool night air.
"Look at the sky," Shimizu said with a smile.
"The stars! There is so many tonight!" Elly said excitedly.
"They're really beautiful," said Mizuha, looking up.
"I know, right?" said Shimizu. "I thought we could all look at them together."
The three friends stood quietly, watching the stars shine above them.
"Look – that's Deneb," Elly said, pointing. "And there's Altair (Hikoboshi), and there's Vega (Orihime). Those three make the Summer Triangle."
"You really know about stars, Elly-chan," said Mizuha, impressed.
"Yeah, how do you know all that?" asked Shimizu.
Elly walked over to an old telescope on her balcony. "I used to watch the stars here with my sister and Zul," she said, touching the telescope gently. "My sister taught me about all the different stars."
Mizuha and Shimizu exchanged a gentle look, sensing the weight of memory in their friend's voice.
"Does the telescope still work?" asked Mizuha.
"Yes, I used it last week," Elly said with a smile. "Want to try it?"
"This is amazing!" said Mizuha, looking through the telescope. "The stars look so clear!"
"Let me see too!" Shimizu said eagerly. When she looked through it, she gasped. "Wow, you're right!"
As she watched her friends use the telescope, Elly remembered the times she spent here with her sister Arisa and Zul. Looking back at the sky, she thought, I used to watch the stars with Arisa and Zul. Now I'm here with Mizuha-chan and Shimizu-chan. Are you watching too, big sister?
"You know," Mizuha said, looking at the three bright stars, "those stars are kind of like us three, aren't they?"
Shimizu took both their hands. "Yes, just like us – friends shining together."
The three girls held hands and kept looking at the stars, feeling happy to be together on this beautiful night.
After watching the stars for a while longer, the cool night breeze made them shiver.
"We should probably head inside," Mizuha said, stifling a yawn. "It's getting late."
"Yeah, we should sleep," Shimizu agreed, helping Elly carefully cover the telescope.
Back in Elly's room, they laid out their futons side by side. The day's activities – studying together, their intense video game competitions, the card games where Mizuha kept winning, and their long talks about crushes and dreams – had left them pleasantly tired.
As Elly turned off the lights, moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow across their futons. She could hear Shimizu and Mizuha's steady breathing, already drifting off to sleep. Lying there in the quiet darkness, Elly smiled to herself.
Today sleepover was perfect, she thought. Studying, playing games, sharing secrets, and even stargazing together... I'm so glad to be friends with these two.
With that warm thought, she closed her eyes, the image of the three stars of the Summer Triangle still fresh in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.
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