Nap Time with Miki and Suzu

"Saweeeeet! Time to team up again!"
"Can we please get it done this time? If we screw up another assignment I probably won't pass."
"Don't just blame me, I don't fall asleep during class."
"But you don't do any work while I'm asleep..."

Noisily sliding her desk over to her friends' and plopping back down on her chair, Miki's energy wasn't felt by any of the other students in the room, all of them worn out from the heat.

Her mood quickly soured after that small bit of activity. "Arrrrrgh, can we make Shizune buy us a fan? We should have the best class, since she's in it." She made sure this complaint was audible to the people around her, who were likely to agree with her. The president couldn't hear it anyways.

Miki began fanning herself with her notebook. "I can't stand this for months, I want winter to start again. It's more comfortable to run when it's cool."

"Why don't more track competitions take place in winter then?"

"Some do. I dunno, probably ice? Or because keeping the tracks clean is too difficult?" She sighed dramatically. "If it does keep getting hotter every year then I think they should definitely move the whole thing to winter time."

The two reluctantly began to try going through their questions after drawing too many lingering stares from the instructor. Reading and writing not requiring any exertion didn't make it any less exhausting, though, and soon more of the class began chatting quietly as well. Miki looked longingly out the window.

"We should go swimming sometime. Somewhere outdoors, like a pretty lake. I want to go move around, you know? But I don't want to be hot. Maybe go somewhere windy? Oh for goodness sake."

Suzu had unsurprisingly fallen asleep while Miki was daydreaming. She looked on her friend with some uncharacteristic jealousy today, fantasizing about escaping from the uncomfortable heat. Common advice would be to work to keep your mind occupied on something other than the temperature, and she figured she would try. She figured if she could finish the assignment before Suzu woke up, she could gloat a little.


-----------------------------------------


Despite the weather being an enormous drain, the two decided to head into town for lunch, walking arm-in-arm in case of a sleep attack. Miki was hoping to find out a good place to swim outdoors, short of travelling to the ocean.

"Do you swim often? What happens if you go to sleep when you're in the water?"

"I haven't tried, I was told that it's too dangerous. I have some memories of being in the water with a life preserver when I was little, though."

"Tough break. I'm sure that would be fine with other people around, though. It's gotta be worth it now, if ever."

They got some packaged meals and cans of juice from a convenience store and took it to a park. The cashier didn't know about any place to swim locally.

"I kinda wondered today. Do you have much time to dream when you're out for such a short time?"

"Yeah," she replied muffled with a mouthful of sandwich. "I hear most people can't remember their dreams, either. I can."

"Oh. I thought I read something about dreams taking place only after being asleep for awhile. In R.E.M., right? I guess its different for you guys."

"It's still such a hassle." she sighed. "I hate waking up and my food is cold or I've knocked something over."

"Good thing I'm here to look out for ya!"

No response, instead Suzu slumped over onto her shoulder.

"Heh, again? Geez..."

"I'm not asleep."

"Oh."


-----------------------------------------


Finishing the school day was nearly unbearable, so after class they just sprawled out across the floor and bed in Suzu's room, waiting for night to cool the air down. When stopping at a different store for more juice on the way back, a customer overhearing their conversation told them about a popular river for swimming in a nearby town easily accessible by train, and Miki's mind was set on it for the rest of the day.

"You sure you wanna try it out? Don't do it 'cuz of me."

"I want to. I don't never want to swim again, that's stupid. I wanna try."

"Kick ass! I'd be pretty scared I think, but that's totally what I'd say."

They kept laying in silence after that short conversation, the effort to speak not worth boring small talk.

"What do you dream about anyways? Does it feel short?"

Suzu watched the ceiling for a few seconds. "The same things as everybody else, I think. When you wake up, you kinda realize that it didn't make much sense. But it feels like such a long time." She thought a little harder. "Sometimes I kinda... know I'm dreaming. And I can sort of choose what to do? It's weird to try and explain. Scary things happen, but if I don't feel alone then friends will be there too. And when I wake up alone somewhere it can be a little disappointing."

"Maybe you could stay over tonight? We can head to class tomorrow morning at the same time." She plopped her head over to get an answer, and smiled to find Miki'd fallen asleep at some point.

"What about you? What do you dream about?" She watched her friend for a few minutes, not really wondering about the answer.

"Probably swimming by now." It was a couple hours before Suzu went to sleep: she enjoyed the chance to watch someone else dream a bit.


-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------