Mariko ate a quick breakfast and read a little bit of one of her books while she ate. Then she started getting her things together to go out for the day.
"You going out? Don't forget this!" Mom said.
She handed Mariko her diaper bag, a large thick brown bag with her diapers and changing supplies in it. Mariko was always a tiny bit embarrassed to be carrying it around while her friends had stylish purses and bags.
"Um... Thanks, Mom." Mari said.
"Call me in a couple hours to let me know how you're doing, okay?" Mom said.
"Yeah, yeah, I will." Mariko said.
Mom ran over to Mariko and gave her a hug before she left.
"I love you, sweety!" Mom said.
Mariko struggled against her mother.
"Mom, I love you too, but you're embarrassing me." Mariko said.
"Aw, no one's too embarrassed to love their mommy!" Mom said, lightly laughing.
Mariko went down the street to the nearest bus stop and took the bus to the café she and her friends hung out at. They didn't order anything a lot of the time, but the manager didn't seem to mind them staying around. Kaori and Chiharu, Mariko's two friends, were already at a booth.
Chiharu was a little taller than Mariko it and was very apparent that she was going trough puberty. She was starting to grow breasts and had awkwardly large feet which made her quite clumsy. She had a warm and friendly personality, though, and was constantly optimistic. Kaori looked a lot like Mariko, in fact it was often said that they could be sisters. However, she was a bit more outgoing than Mariko and much more reckless and daring. She had dyed her hair pink.
"Mari! Good to see you!" Chiharu said.
"Hi Mari!" Kaori said.
Mariko sat down with her friends.
"Hi, guys. Ooh, Kaori, I love your hair! When did you dye it?" Mariko said.
"Yesterday morning. My mom helped me with it, she thought it was a fun idea when I told her I wanted pink hair, can you believe it?" Kaori said.
"Cool." Mariko said.
"So, how are things going with you?" Chiharu asked.
"Not much going on. Same old boring days right now." Mariko said.
"Yeah, me too. Nothing going on with me either." Chiharu said.
They were silent for an awkward moment.
...
"Man, you two are boring this morning let's spice things up!" Kaori suggested.
"Yeah, let's have some fun!" Mariko said.
The three of them put their heads together to think of what to do now...