After High School

Chapter 4

In the morning, I made pancakes with my homemade strawberry syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon. As I was finishing the breakfast, the doorbell rings. It must be Honey.

"You are just on time Honey I just finished making breakfast."

"Yay... food what cha make Haru-chan?"

"I made pancakes with strawberry syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon. Would you like a choice of some orange juice or milk on the side?"

"Orange juice please", "Yummy let's eat I'm starved Haru-chan."

After we ate, we drove to the designer's studio for our meeting. As we meet with the designer, my phone was going off nonstop due to the constant harassment of the twins and Tamaki. I excused myself and asked honey-sempai to explain the event that we needed to purchase the mask. I was outside the office when I picked up.

"Yes, this is Haruhi Fugioka how I can help you."

"Haruiiiiiii," Tamaki whined, "Daddy has been trying to call you since yesterday and you do not pick up the phone."

"Well I was avoiding you and you are not my father."

"I know that Haruhi... however, we are still a family unit of friends and I am still your other daddy while Kyoya is mommy dearest."

"Whatever! Keep dreaming what do you want?"

"Well I was calling you about the party and I think it is a great idea. So do you have a date for this party?"

"Yes I do, I sent out my invitation yesterday. Why you ask?"

He was shocked, "You what! Daddy will not allow it! You will go to this party with daddy as your date!"
"No, I will not go with you anywhere! You are not my father to allow me to do anything and FYI the person you ask is not suppose to know who sent the invitation. They are suppose to find out at the party when we mingle. Therefore, I suggest you look for another date or go alone because I already have a date. If that was all goodbyes, I am busy."

"You do not have to be so mean Haruhi I get it," he said before hanging up hurt and broken hearted.

Well that went well now for the twins I bet Tamaki has called them trying to figure out who my date is. Here it comes! In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… the phone rings.

"No, I will not tell you who my date is and no I don't need any help on finding dress. I already have one see you at the party and bring your dates." I hung up so fast all I heard was "Damn...." I already knew what they were going to ask me.

I returned to the office with Honey and the designer in front of a large table looking at masked.
"Sorry about that," I said, "Tamaki and twins wanted to ask me to be their date which is stupid because the person you ask is not suppose to know who asked. They have to figure that about at the party and to supply a dress for me to wear. "

"It's ok Haru-chan come look at the masked we have selected for your facial type." Honey said with a smile.

I walk over to the table and find the most beautiful masks I have ever seen. One of them catches my eyes instantly and I think that it is the one. I pick the mask up, I then place it on my face, turn to Honey and asked, "What do you thinks about this one Honey."

His reply was, "WOW Haru-chan that one is perfect. You look beautiful."

"You think Takashi would like it." I asked nervously.

"Yes he will," Mitzkuni then turned to the designer and asked, "Do you have a male mask to accompany the one Haru-chan will purchase." Then he pulled out a picture of him and Takashi smiling at the Zoo and gave it to the designer adding, "This is what the person who will be wearing the mask looks like."

She looked at the picture and said, "Yes we do," she turned and left the office. When she came back, she had a white box in her hands. She passed the box to Mitzkuni and he opened it when we looked Inside we gasped at how beautiful it was.

"It looks like a warrior mask Honey with the most delicate of details that compliment my mask so well."

"Yeah, perfect for Takashi. I will buy this mask and the one I have chosen for myself. Haruhi I would like to buy yours as well."

"But why? I can buy my own mask Honey-sempai."

"Because you will make my cousin very happy when he finds out that you are his admirer at the masquerade, and I like to see him happy. It is a thank you gift from me to you... Ok!"

Alright was all I could have said in this situation. "Ok when we are finished here we are going to go to lunch my treat and after that, we will see if we can find a dress." However, just to see if we can get lucky I turned around to face the designer and asked, "Do you know of any other designer that designed dresses that would compliment my mask."

She said, "Yes I could make you an appointment for today with the designer and would give him the details of your mask so that he can have dresses layout and ready."

"Thank you very much for everything," we said while Mitzkuni paid for our masks. We went to eat lunch in a nice restaurant a few blocks away from the dress designer's studio. As we ate, we spoke about what Honey was going to wear and whom he was going to take to the party when his phone rang.

"Excuse me Haru-chan.... Yes, hello this is Mitzkuni Hanninozuka speaking how I may help you," pause,
"Oh hello Takashi," another pause, " Well I had things to do this morning and left practice early to do them," pause listening to Takashi's question, " No, I did not need you to go with me," another question, "Well I am having lunch with Haru-chan right now she invited me for lunch so that we can talk," I looked at him nervously from across the table. "Yes, I will tell her you said hello," he looked at me with a smile and then winked while another question was asked, "Well after lunch Haru-chan was going to show me around the club were the party is," he paused for another question, "Oh, you want to meet us there before she gives me the tour ok. I will call you after lunch bye." He looked at me again with a smile on his face. "I guess we should make the lunch quick so that he will not notice that we lied." "Heeeeehhhheeeehhh"

We finished our lunch and went straight to the designer's studio. The designer waited for us in the lobby. We greeted each other and proceeded to go to his show room where he had the dresses in manikins. Honey took out my masked and pointed to the dress I was admiring.

"Yes that is the one; try it on Haru-chan."

I tried it on with the mask and I looked breath taking feminine never have I felt this way. Not even when Tamaki and the twins dressed me up back in high school. The designer came behind me and started pinning pins in some places to accentuate my figure. I was looking better and better with each pin he placed in certain spots in my body. When he was done, all I could say was "I'll take it."

Honey giggled and said, "Haru-chan you looked like a water nymph."

I looked at Mitzkuni and blushed saying, "Thank you Honey-sempai." I paid for the dress it was a reasonable price for such a beautiful dress and the designer was keeping it over night to resize to the pins measurements. We then got in the car and hurried to the bar and called Takashi and my dad to let them know we were on our way. I hid my mask in my dad's office and went to meet Takashi outside the club.

"Hello Mori-sempai were you worried about Honey-sempai."

"Ah, do you have a date and an outfit for the party."

"Yes I have a date for the party and I will have an outfit tomorrow, my dad and I are going to go shopping tomorrow," I said blushing.

"Ah, need any help," he asked looking very disappointed at my answer. If only he knew, he was my date.
"No, my dad's men can handle it but thank you for asking."

"Ah, where is Mitzkuni?"

"Well he is over there eating cake that we bought on our way over here. He has never been to the pastry shops downtown so he wanted to try them out. I think he is going to need a nap any minute now."

"Takashi I am tiered," Honey said as he walked over to them from the table he was sitting in. "I miss usa-chan too it is no fun eating new things without usa-chan here to enjoy."

"Ah, we will pack the rest of the pastries and eat them at home with usa-chan ok."

"Ok, Haru-chan I am going to go to the car and take a nap ok. See you late."Mitzkuni said leaving to the car.

"Would you like me to show you around or would you like to take honey home to bed," I said as I picked up the pastries from the table and put them into bags to be carried to the car.

"Ah, show me around then I shall take you home and we will go home."

"Ok," I said and left the bags on the table. "I will show you were the food is going to be set up on the second floor." And looking down at the first I pointed at the booths and told him that those tables would be put up here and the booths would be empty and decorated with pillows and covered with shears all the decorations including the pillows were black and white. I told him about the tables my dad had in storage that he is thinking of using they were of some sort of plastic and all you have to do is insert an LED light on the stand and the table would light up with a sensor. "He thinks it is a good idea so that you know what booths are empty and which ones are not." I also showed him the walls. I turned off all the lights and hit a button on the wall and a bunch of LED lights came on and twinkled like stars, they formed from one wall to another. I told him that one of my dad's friends is going to program the LED lights to the left of the entrance to say Happy New Year and show a countdown when its time.

Takashi listened to her talk with enthusiasm and pride of her dad and his accomplishments also about the party. He had never seen her so happy before. As he continued to listen to her, he realized that she was doing all of this for them her friends that had never celebrated the holidays and new years with family and friends. Our parents were always too busy and if they had a party or a dinner, it was always work related even in the holiday season. Now he fully realizes why she started doing these things back in high school and specifying that each year was to be one person's duty to organize the year's special events. It was the only thing she could think of Christmas and New Year's party for them to celebrate because she was trying to make it up to use for never really having and experiencing it for ourselves like she had every year. When we were about to leave I asked, "Haruhi why do you liked celebrating the holidays?"

She said, "It's because I always had. Christmas is a time when families come together and celebrate our good fortune. To live and share a healthy life with the people we love. To be able to take care of one another in good times and bad by coming together and share good food and by exchange gifts you are thanking them for all the good things and the bad that they helped or supported you through. We celebrate New Year so that we can cleanse our selves of the year's negativity, hurt, and hate that might have happened to us in the year. It is a time of letting go and starting a new chapter in your life bigger and better than it was before. We celebrate the end of the old and the start of anew."

All I could say to that was, "Ah," she understood and smiled at me with that smile that I have come to recognize as only as my own. Because she does not smile like that to anyone else. We went to the car Mitzkuni was asleep in the back seat and the pastries were in the trunk of the car and we drove Haruhi home. The drive was nice Haruhi spoke about the music that is going to be played at the party, about what types of appetizers were going to be offered, she also said it was going to be open bar for the night. When the car stopped in front of my house I asked they guys if they wanted to stay for dinner.