An enjoyable day with Sarah and Sophie

Airi's alarm rang again, and I opened my eyes. It was Saturday, so we only had a half-day of class, today. I yawned and got out of bed with some difficulty.

"Time for another day as Airi…" I said, observing my body. "I will probably have to leave her body soon, so I should try to make some good memories for her." After thinking of what we could do, I got an idea. "I should hang out with Sophie and Sarah after school. We could go to a karaoke bar, maybe. I'm sure Airi will love it!”

I wore the school uniform, not having any difficult whatsoever, and no longer feeling any shame or awkwardness wearing it. Being Airi felt so natural for me now that a part of me wondered how it'd be once I leave her body

"I should tell Margaret that I won't come back for lunch."

I left the room and went to the kitchen. On the way there, I used the mind sink again, and planned to keep it on for the whole day.

We saw Mother preparing breakfast. "Good morning, Mother."

"Hmm?" She observed us, thinking for a brief moment. "Are you doing your mind sink again?"

We nodded to confirm. "It's the only way for me to enjoy things while he is still possessing me. He wants to stay like this until this evening."

"I see… Breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay, thank you, Mother. We thought of hanging out with Sophie and Sarah after school, so we might come back home later than usual."

She warmly smiled at us. "Alright. I hope you will have fun!"

"We hope so, too."

We quickly ate breakfast before leaving for school. Sophie was waiting for us in front of the gates, talking with Sarah.

"Airi!"

"Ah, there you are! Why didn't you show up yesterday?" Sarah asked.

We forgot to also warn Sarah, so of course she was a bit worried. We thought about how to formulate it. "Someone really close to Mother died, and the funeral was held yesterday. She really wanted me to come with her, to support her. That's why I missed school, yesterday."

Sarah and Sophie were both surprised by what we said.

"I see…" Sarah simply replied.

"Mother is strong, so I'm sure she will recover soon.” After a minute, we wanted to talk about what he wanted to do. "I have something to ask you."

Sophie smiled. "Sure, what is it?"

"How about we go to a karaoke bar after school?" We offered.

"R-really?" Sarah was startled by what we said, still used to how I was before he possessed me." Even she didn’t know about my passion for dancing and singing before yesterday.

"Yes."

"Of course!" She energetically nodded, happy to see me try to change.

We let out a soft sigh of relief. I felt really grateful for having her as my friend. "Thank you."

We went to class, enjoying some time with Sarah and even chatting with Andrea a bit during the morning. After class, we decided to go to a restaurant near the karaoke bar instead of eating at the cafeteria. We found a good spot and sat down, as we glanced at the interior. It was a sober yet chic place, something that highschoolers wouldn't be able to afford every day. But money wasn't an issue for me, and neither was it for Sarah, as her parents had lucrative jobs. For Sophie, though, it might be more expensive.

"I know that Mother likes this restaurant a lot, but I never came here until now." We said, looking at the menu.

"My parents brought me here a few times before. It's really good." Sarah commented.

"Oh, what do you recommend?" Sophie asked. We could see her cringe a little seeing the prices.

"A lot of things! But their dumplings are especially delicious." Sarah replied, tapping at her own menu.

"If you say they are, then I'll try some!" We said, before looking at Sophie. "I'll pay for you, Sophie, so order anything you want."

"W-what?" She didn't expect us to offer that, and neither did Sarah. "I... I don't want to..."

I knew what she was about to say, so I stopped her. "You're not bothering me, Sophie. If I offered to pay, I will, and I won't let you argue. Just enjoy the food, alright?"

After a moment, Sophie smiled back at us. "O-okay… T-thank you, Airi. I'll take the dumplings too, then."

Sarah closed her own menu and rose her hand to gesture at the waitress. "Okay, three plates of dumplings, then!"

We ordered and received our plates a bit later. The service was quick, but the food looked great. We brought the fork to our mouth and took a bite.

"Wonderful! I never ate dumplings so tasty!" The taste was so rich, full of flavor, and the cooking was perfect, the dumplings being just the right amount of crunchy.

"Wow!" Sophie was also amazed.

Sarah seemed proud seeing us enjoy her recommendation. "See?"

"Yes! I understand why Mother loves eating here!" We replied, devouring another dumpling.

Sarah grinned at us. "Now, you won't be able to eat other kinds of dumplings."

"Hehe, I think you're right." Sophie giggled blissfully.

Once we were done eating the main dish, Sarah took a serious expression, as she looked at Sophie. "By the way, Sophie, I heard about the disappearance of your friend. His name is Ben, isn't it? I know that you two were pretty close."

The news of his disappearance was spreading in school, it seemed. He wasn’t far, though, but he might never be able to show up again.

"I... I'm sure he's fine…" Sophie sheepishly replied.

"Y-yeah…" We nodded at Sophie, as if we were trying to reassure her.

"I'm here for you, Sophie, if you need to talk." Sarah offered.

"T-thank you, Sarah." Sophie said.

Sarah really is a great girl... Seeing her so caring for others warmed our heart.

"Let's go to the karaoke bar, it will cheer you up!" Sarah then said, finishing her plate.

We finished eating and left the restaurant to go to the karaoke bar. The guilt he felt only grew more… He really didn't like lying to Sarah…

We all entered one of the rooms, and we decided to start singing first, grabbing the mic. "You don't mind, I hope?"

Sarah nodded energetically. "No, of course not! I can't wait to hear your singing voice, Airi!"

"Yeah! Good luck, Airi!" Sophie said, looking at us.

We grinned, confident in our abilities. "Get ready, girls… You're gonna be stunned."

We took the mic and chose a song on the list. An old Jazz song from the sixties, that Mother really liked. Singing alongside friends really was more fun. Why have I never done it, before?

"A-amazing..."

"W-wow..."

Sarah and Sophie were both deeply impressed by our singing, their attention focused squarely on us. We finished the song, and noticed how flabbergasted Sarah and Sophie were.

"Hehe, did I petrify you with my performance?" We laughed and posed.

"You're incredible, Airi!" Sarah chirped, clapping her hands.

Brushing our hair in a dramatic fashion, we grinned. "Of course I am."

We traded place with Sarah and sat on the couch, drinking and resting our voice.

"Now, time for the magnificent Sarah to sing!"

We chuckled, and couldn't resist provoking her a bit. "Let's see if you're as magnificent as me."

Sarah’s eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a confident smirk. "Is that a challenge?"

"And what if it is?"

“I'll have to prove you wrong." She declared, pointing the mic at us.

Sarah chose a Rock song and started to sing energetically. She had a powerful voice, suited for this kind of song. We knew she was quite tomboyish, it was the perfect genre for her.

Once the song ended, Sarah crossed her arms and smirked at us. "So, are you impressed?"

We snickered quietly. "It was alright..."

"Only alright?" Sarah made an adorable pout.

We then giggled as we clapped our hands. "I'm joking, it was great!"

"Yeah! You should be in a band, you're so good!" Sophie commented enthusiastically.

Sitting next to us, Sarah smiled proudly. "Of course I was great!"

Now, it was Sophie's turn to sing. She chose a Pop song, one we heard from the series we watched together last time. "Let's go!"

We observed her sing, her joyful face making us feel at peace. She's so cute...

No... It was what he thoughts… We shook our head, as I was trying to be less influenced by his feelings. I wasn’t interested in her, or any girls for that matter…

We need to dissociate our feelings better...

We held our forehead, the confusion only growing stronger. It was difficult, and we we were starting to get a headache...

Sophie finished her song, and noticed us holding our head in our hands. "A-Airi? Are you alright?"

We tried to give a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's just a headache..."

But Sophie wasn't buying it. She knew what using this ability for too long entailed, after all. "I think we should stop, for today."

We stood up and gently pushed back Sophie a little. "No need. We can continue."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, worrying as well.

"Yes, I am sure, girls."

Seeing me so stubborn, Sophie gave up, and we continued to sing a few more songs. Some time later, Sarah and Sophie decided to stop, because of our condition, as our headache was getting worse. We walked Sophie home, as it wasn't too far from the karaoke bar.

"Thank you, girls." Sophie said, smiling at us.

"It's not a problem." We said.

"Yeah, it was fun! We should do it again." Sarah added.

Sophie looked at us, worried. "Airi, you should rest once you get home, alright?"

We nodded. "I will."

Sarah held our arm. "I'll walk her home, to keep an eye on her."

"Good. Thank you, Sarah." Sophie said.

Sarah winked at Sophie. "Hey, Airi is my friend, too. It's normal for me to take care of her. See you on Monday, Sophie!"

"Have a good week-end." We said, waving at her.

"You too, girls."

Sophie went inside, and we left to go to my house. Sarah walked us there, worried about our headache, which worsened.

Just a bit more...

Once we arrived, we parted ways with Sarah and quickly went to our room, to stop the mind sink.

Damn... It hurts...

I lied down on the bed and fell asleep immediately, despite it being only late afternoon and me still wearing the school uniform...