She read the second group of notes and paused. Something here didn't add up, Mariko could smell it. She couldn't see the six-foot girl in front of her? And she was also mute? And why did she keep that notebook in a plastic shopping bag and not in a skirt pocket, for easy access? Or even in a handbag, if that stupid pink frillpocalypse didn't have any. Mariko narrowed her eyes. How had she been shopping if she couldn't even speak, even? Did she just walk away without even saying thank you? [i]Ruuuuude.[/i] 

Okay, that last thought had crossed the line.

She shut the book and stole a quick glance at the back cover. A tiny price tag informed her that the notebook was 250 yen. Cheap, really. And it was entirely possible that she'd never wanted to remove the tag, but Mariko was pretty sure she'd bought it today. So she didn't plan on speaking to people? Was that it? Why was she thinking so much about it? Mariko reigned in her train of thought and concentrated on the question at hand. She needed to go to a hotel. And that was another odd thing, didn't you need parents to stay at the hotels round here? If she was a student, why hadn't she just gotten board at the dorms like everyone else? Gah, these thoughts were honestly starting to crowd her undersized head. She'd have to pop a Medrol later, her brain felt like it'd pop like a cherry tomato in a garlic crusher.

Mariko grinned unsteadily, and handed the book back, before bending down surrupticiously and picking up the last few of her grocery bags and standing with her back to the wall. "Well, don't let me stand in your way. I'm sure you've got things to do, people to see...?"