Kasumi was on her bed wishing she could hide from the world.  She winches as her cheek is more bothered by the slap than she thought.  She glances down at her phone seeing no response from Shouta yet.  He is a busy guy unlike me.  Kasumi lays down in her bed curling up into a fetal position.  She stares at the wall that her sister is on the other side of. 

Will she ever forgive me?  Will she ever believe me?  Kasumi turns her face into her pillow trying not to cry.  She has cried enough.  Junko doesn’t deserve any more of her tears.  Especially after how she laid hands on her.  How dare she!  Yet if I did the same it would be a big deal.  **** her and **** her.  Kasumi sighs as she doesn’t mean it.  Why does this mean so much?  I never cared before.  Why should I start caring now?  Oh yeah, I want to be a better person.  A better big sister.  Kasumi swallows hard.  I want Jiro to be proud of me.  Inspired by me. Junko becoming pregnant was shocking but being an aunt is one thing Kasumi does love.  Her phone chimes capturing her attention.  Kasumi holds her phone up not bothering to lift her head from her pillow.  She feels emotionally drained and would rather stay where she is.  Shouta responded saying he can talk.

Kasumi is relieved and scared at the same time.  She can barely make sense of her own thoughts.  Everything happened so fast.  Kasumi closes her eyes for a moment.  She dials Shouta.  He answers quickly.  Kasumi is surprised to hear how alert he is.  Good news maybe he can help me with Junko.

“Hi Shouta,” greets Kasumi.  Kasumi realizes she doesn't sound like herself.  Her voice sounds strained, exhausted and something else she can't put her finger on.  She's not use to feeling like this. “Thanks for taking my call.”  She sighs.  “I know there are other things you could be doing.”  Kasumi is trying to figure out where to start.  “I spoke to Junko tonight.  It didn’t go well….at all….”  Kasumi can feel her anger coming back to the surface as she remembers how cruel Junko was during their conversation.  She isn’t sure if she wants to tell Shouta everything but it may be for the best.  She needs to know exactly what to do.  Anything she can think of would hurt Junko and probably make fixing their friendship worse. 

Kasumi can’t help but smile at Momo’s giggle.  She is so charming.  Kasumi makes a mental note to see if this is something she can learn.  She doesn’t know how to not sound stupid when talking to people.  Dragging Junko during a conversation was the main thing she knew how to do.  Kasumi pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind.  Besides, Momo was still here chatting with her.  “Oh totally,” says Kasumi agreeing with Momo.  “Wearing heels to the mall can be a challenge….” Kasumi will wear heels when out but wearing them to the mall or a shopping trip takes a mental and physical toll on her.  She has tried it out a few times.  She attracted some decent guys but couldn’t keep their interest.  A story for another day. 

“Just let me know when!” exclaims Kasumi.  “It could also be seen as practice.  Nothing serious.” She gives Momo a supportive smile.  Again, this is not something she is use to.  Someone openly listening to her and taking her advice.  Junko could never.  Kasumi beams as Momo thanks her for supporting her goals.  “I believe in your goals Momo.  You clearly have a sense of who you are and what you want.  To be honest I admire you for that.”  Kasumi looks away for a moment.  She didn’t mean to make the conversation about her.  Kasumi clears her throat. 

“Anyways, at least if you get married young you can enjoy your time together as a couple.  The couple experts say that is important.” Kasumi had begun listening to dating and marriage advice podcasts from time to time.  She doesn’t know much about dating and would like to find her perfect man.  No such thing as perfect but she wants to get as close to it as possible. “You have a good head on your shoulders.  You are going to be fine.  Don’t let these other insecure people discourage you.”  Kasumi is speaking more from her experience than Momo’s with her last statement.  The people she thought were her friends weren’t.  She figured they were immature girlies.  She is older than most around her.  Kasmi begins to chuckle as Momo fist pumps the air.

Kasumi nods in agreement with Momo’s plan.  Kasumi knows for a fact if she had a man who could provide for her, and take care of her, she would keep her modeling basic.  She wouldn’t show off the goodies to anyone but her man.  “For sure, no need to rush anything.  We don’t know what the future holds but hopefully nothing but good fortune.”  Kasumi is not surprised to hear about Momo’s classmates.  Most people seem to think modeling is not fun.  It’s part of why she hasn’t told many about her desire to become an influencer.  Kasumi loves taking photos and staging items to look nice.  “I’ll buy several issues.  I’m sure once your classmates see you on the cover they will be shocked into silence!”  Kasumi snaps her finger on the word silence. 

Momo smiles before looking back over the dresses she was viewing before Kasumi and her got side tracked with conversation.  Momo addresses Kasumi's question regarding rompers and jumpsuits.  Kasumi nods understanding Momo’s point of view.  There are many clothing items in the world.  Many ways to wear them.  Not everything is for everyone.  Kasumi noticed how cowboy hats are in and she would never wear them.  Maybe if she was sponsored she could make it work but ew.  Kasumi eyes the two dresses up and down. 

“Hmmm the fact you can get two dresses is a total bonus” she replies.  “Sophisticated and cute never goes out of style.”  Kasumi takes a deep breath thinking about Shouta.  She was so nervous to ask for his phone number.  With Momo it seems more natural.  “Momo, did you want to exchange numbers?  We stay in touch, give each other fashion advice and then some.”  Kasumi chuckles.  Thus far Momo feels more like a girlfriend than those she had in the past.  This could be the friendship she needs to help her grow.  Kasumi wants to do better.  Not for those around her but for herself.