Picnicking Exposition [Angelica/Komachi]

i am not interested in fulfilling borrowed dreams

❝

What kind of lunch do you bring for hanging out? That was a question that Komachi found herself surprised by how utterly difficult it was to answer. She didn't want to bring something too fancy or ostentatious, nor did she want to bring something painfully plain; the optics on either end felt horrible. Komachi by no means was neither incompetent at cooking, nor was she as skilled as some of her friends, and while she was willing to put in some effort, she wasn't up for putting -that much- effort.

So after a good fifteen minutes of agonizing in her room while sorting out the groceries that she had bought earlier, Komachi decided on making a sandwich. However, it couldn't be just any simple sandwich. It had to be filling, and not something sloppily thrown together. At a further loss, Komachi had called upon the two members of Kitamura family that were in Fukui. While the immediate reaction she got over LINE along the lines of 'yes we are chefs, but not the kind that have intimate knowledge of sandwiches', her two childhood friends still were more than happy to barge into her dorm room and help prepare a full course lunch, adding a bit of salad and some diced and spiced potatoes in addition to not one, but two sandwiches, with the obvious intention for Komachi to share.

The involved food preparation took longer than Komachi had expected (largely since she was only expecting to bring food for herself), leaving the tailor in a slight rush to pick out a suitable outfit. It was by no means a date, yet she still tried to be mindful of what to wear. In the end, she settled on a light casual jacket over a simple coordinate of a soft blue long sleeve shirt and jeans. At first, Komachi had tried to carry the basket of food under one arm and a set of sewing supplies in the other, but after walking through the door of her dorm room with no means to close it, she rearranged the boxes one atop the other before locking the door.

Thankfully, Angelica was only two doors down so it wasn't much of a trek. Shifting the boxes to a single hand, Komachi reached out and knocked. At first she thought of shouting her presence, but instead said in a restrained yet firm voice, "Angelica-san? It's Komachi-san. I'm here."

Angelica Duerr ● notes: ● 000

MADE BY MIZO

"It's not a lunch date! And we've just met the other day only!"

Within the privacy of her own living room, for now given there has been notice about her new roommate, Angelica let out a small whine while talking to her aunt on the phone before smiling, exchanging goodbye and hung up. While inviting Komachi over for lunch was a good idea as she wanted to show her friend the dress, Angelica barely thought about what kind of dishes she'd made beforehand. Only when saturday classes ended that the red hair girl realised such problem and like how she often did it, Angelica usually went with the simple yet efficient option. With how she hasn't had a roommate for so long, Angelica might have filled the kitchen with random utensils and appliances ranging from a rice cooker to a caramelizer; it made sense with her doing grocery run for a simple variation of Kimbap or Korean sushi rolls as the choice of dish.

With a sheet of dried seaweed as base lying on the bamboo roller, Angelica carefully spread a layer of cooked rice onto it; then came slices of jambon or ham, sliced beef, steamed carrot and green bean before everything was rolled into shape. In the end, the red hair ended up making four small rolls, two wrapped with dried seaweed sheet and two wrapped with thin layer of fried egg instead. Finishing slicing the rolls into smaller, bite-size pieces, Angelica quickly made her usual dipping sauce, a mix of hot sauce and mayonnaise; and for a more salty kick was just soysauce together with chili paste.

As soon as she changed into her casual long sleeve white shirt and jeans after cleaning up her kitchen, Angelica clearly heard the knocking and Komachi's voice thus she responded in kind, didn't notice how long it took her to finish such simple meal.

"Ah give me a minute Komachi-san!"

Hastily button up her shirt, the red hair quickly moved to open the door. "Sorry for the wait, I was just preparing our lunch. Come on in and here, let me help you with that." Angelica offered her friend a small smile before taking the basket of sewing supplies from Komachi's hand, letting her friend walk in before closing the door after.

"Welcome to my home away from home, or should I say my home now."

Komachi Ikezawa

i am not interested in fulfilling borrowed dreams

❝

There was no rush on Komachi's end, despite the baskets she was carrying in her hand, and was willing to wait a bit longer for the door to open for her. Nor was there much of a need for Angelica to relieve her of the sewing supplies, but it was a gesture that the tailor appreciated, smiling happily as she entered Angelica's room with the customary, "Please pardon the intrusion,", politely bowing to the center of the room.

Afterwards, Komachi headed right for a nearby table to set down her food basket. "Thanks again for having me over, Angelica-san," Komachi said as she started to unpack. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the sushi rolls and chuckled slightly, opening up the tupperware of her food. "I made the horrible mistake of calling on some of my childhood friends to advise me on what I should prepare for lunch, since they're both chefs of a sort. One is actually in the Culinary Arts section too. And..."

With a grin, Komachi lifted up the bowls of salad and country-style potatoes. "This is my 'punishment' of sorts, for asking for their expertise on a relatively trivial manner. They went all-out." She set down the bowls again and looked around for a place to sit. As outgoing as Komachi was, this was Angelica's room and despite hitting it off well the first time they met, the seamstress erred on the side of caution and waited to be directed to a proper seat.

"Anyways...how have you been?" Komachi asked, looking around idly at the room. "Family still calling constantly? Speaking of..." Komachi trailed off, pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket and setting it to silent with extreme prejudice.

Angelica Duerr ● notes: ● 000

MADE BY MIZO

“Ah, those look delicious Komachi-chan~”

Letting out a cute chuckle at her friend’s 'misfortune', Angelica was easily impressed just by looking at the well-prepared potatoes and fresh salad while pulling the two dining chairs from the set of four next to each other. Now to think of it, Angelica herself barely kept any contact with her old friends from Fanacia and mostly in contact with her aunt but she was used to it. Then again getting to know and befriending Komachi might be the start of changes Angelica needed in her life that she herself hasn't realised it yet.

"Just normal classes for me, nothing much interesting sadly but if you have time then would you like to come to one of my piano practice session ? And after my promise to attend the ball there hasn’t been any call much to my relief. Right, go ahead and make yourself comfortable Komachi-chan, let me get you a drink first!”

Within the privacy of her room the red hair girl appeared to be more friendly than usual, pulling out the chair for her friend before making her way toward the fridge. “Do you prefer milk or orange juice ?” Angelica called out while looking through the content of her fridge again. “ Or I can quickly make some tea or coffee for us if you want.” And that was the perk of her randomly grabbed all kind of stuffs for her kitchen, Angelica kept telling herself, the variety of food and drink she can make on the fly.

Komachi Ikezawa

i am not interested in fulfilling borrowed dreams

❝

Komachi returned her phone to her pocket with a chuckle. The tailor never got a good picture of how much the red-head's family tended to pester her, so it was good news that Angelica's family had backed off a bit. Seeing Angelica in such an energetic state in general was heartening as well.

With Angelica pulling out the two chairs for them, Komachi to her cue to take a seat in one of them. Though she was told to make herself comfortable, the tailor still felt it more prudent to not go into complete relax mode like she would with her middle school friends, but she did allow herself to lean back a bit and cross one leg over the other.

"Oh gosh, I'm a horrible sucker for tea, but I can take the orange juice to save you the trouble," Komachi replied, adding, "And I'd be honoured to listening in on your practice as well."

Suddenly, Komachi blinked in realization, looked towards the kitchen area. "That said, you have quite an impressive collection over there. You really are talented, aren't you? Playing the piano, cooking so much." There was genuine admiration in Komachi's voice as she looked to Angelica again. "I mean...I'm confident in my cooking, in as far as taking care of myself...but I have no musical ability.

Angelica Duerr ● notes: ● 000

MADE BY MIZO

Opening part of the cabinet for beverage, Angelica took out two loose-leaf tea bags which shaped like pyramid,putting them in two glass cup before filling up with hot water from a pitch. If she had known Komachi's fondness for tea, the red hair girl would have prepared more properly with the usual teapot and sugar cubes with milk but now this would have to do. Hearing Komachi's praise, Angelica can only smile to herself while putting the glass cups and as small bowl of sugar with its small spoon on a tray before bringing the whole thing back to the table; not fogetting the dishes and sets of knive, fork and chopsticks for her and Komachi.

"My travel sure helped me knowing many random recipes for food and drink but my presentation skill of such dishes is non-existent; a designer like you might find my lack of artistic skills appalling." She'd never let anyone see the terrible doodles in her notebooks, Angelica quickly made the note to herself while bringing the glass cups out. "Darjeeling is one of my favourites, I hope you don't mind your tea like this Komachi-chan; I'll be sure to treat you with proper tea time next time!"

Setting the table quickly, the red hair sat down opposite of her friend with all the dishes between them on the small table as well as a pitch of cool water with the two mugs.

"How is your jacket project going Komachi-chan ? Drawing and designing isn't my forte but I could always be a model for you in my free time. I can imagine and see things in my mind but when it comes to actually creating such image, my mind just fail to do it no matter what." Angelica put bit of the fresh salad alongside a slice of sandwiches and delicious looking potatoes onto her dish while making sure to put some sugar in her tea. "That's why I asked for your help with my mother's dress Komachi-chan, I don't want to mess it up even if it's just simple patching. But let's enjoy our lunch first shall we ? I can't wait to find out how delicious everything is."

Komachi Ikezawa

i am not interested in fulfilling borrowed dreams

❝

Travel.

A small pang of jealously flared up inside Komachi, who hid it with a brief smile. Most of her travel overseas with with her parents, following along with the family business. The rest was with her best friend Yuki, visiting her family in the States. While she definitely enjoyed the company of what was effectively her second family, the tailor still desired to learn a bit more from her travels.

The topic of tea brought Komachi back from her morose trance, and she chuckled and tried to smile reassuringly to Angelica. "Darjeeling is fine. I am not particularly picky, and really, you don't need to go all-out you know? I am a friend right? I won't be chased away so easily." Komachi shook her head with a smile and a light-hearted chuckle. For a girl from Germany, she very much had the Japanese humility, for better or worse. "But yes, let's have some food first. Itadakimasu~!"

Komachi helped herself to one of the seaweed rolls before taking a sandwich for herself, rounding out her plate with the salad and potatoes. It was a full meal for sure, but besides a small breakfast of yogurt in the morning, she hadn't eaten much for the day. She started with the sushi, and even after a single bite the tailor found herself nodding happily. The seaweed roll was good, and Komachi was hoped that what she brought was also of acceptable quality.

After a few more bites, Komachi swallowed her food and leaned back, closing her eyes, trying to find the right words. "The jacket is...at a bit of a standstill. Not that it is anyone's fault. Yuki...is a bit unsure of her own future. Electrical Engineering or...Law Enforecement. And whatever she chooses will affect the final design."

A soft chuckle escaped Komachi's lips as she shook her head, then opened her eyes as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands. "I must confess that, as a designer, I'm driven more by pragmatism that aesthetics. That jacket may be riding on some fashion trends, like a mix of modern streetwear and old school film noir, but...it is very much tailored to what Yuki needs from it. Carrying capacity. Protection. Ease of movement. And maybe a little intimidation factor."

Angelica Duerr ● notes: ● 000

MADE BY MIZO