Various rough, mechanical noises emanated from the jukebox after I dropped my coin into the slot and selected a random song from the list of records. I was hyperaware of each click, clunk and clattering sound as the mechanisms that were hidden behind the neon lights and wooden trim. I felt grounded in reality in that moment, finally at ease from knowing we made it back home safely.
“Woah, Genjo,” Ryu shouted as he peered over his shoulder from our booth. “I’m loving the song choice. This one of your favorites?”
“Oh, shut up.” I sat back down in the booth next to Aiko. Ryu sat across from us, allowing me to keep an eye on the jukebox behind him. Once the music started, the sound of the gears and levers faded into the background. Frankly, I don’t know the first thing about how jukeboxes work, but after such a hectic week, I was too exhausted to think about it.
Aiko began to gently sway to the tempo of the music. “Actually, it’s one of my favorites, Ryu!” She lightly elbowed me. “Lucky guess.”
I returned the favor before briefly skimming the old, slightly-worn paper menu. “Oh? Did I never tell you that I can read minds?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, you are not about to pretend-”
A young, male server wearing suspenders, a bowtie, and a soda jerker hat suddenly arrived at our table. “What’s buzzin, cousin? Welcome to Back Seat Bingo’s; What can I start you youngin’s off with?” Wow. Could this get any more excessively 50’s?
I leaned back into my seat and rested my hands behind my head, giving Aiko a quick smirk. “Ladies first, right?” With a smile still on my face, I closed my eyes as my head returned to its natural position.
For a brief moment, there was silence. I listened intently for Aiko’s first breath as she prepared to speak. “Um, could I try a-”
“Strawberry milkshake?” We both said in unison.
The server wasted no time scribbling down her order on his tiny yellow notepad. “The same for you as well, young man?”
I opened my eyes and sat back forward, resting my elbows on the table. “Chocolate.”
A loud thwap rang through the diner as the server swatted at my arms with his notepad. “Have some manners, why don’t you? Take those elbows off the darn table!”
“Sorry.” I quickly put my arms down by my sides and rested my hands in my lap. Ryu and Aiko’s quiet laughter made my ears turn blood red from embarrassment.
Ryu smiled at the server. “I’d like a root beer float, if it’s not too much trouble.”
The server hastily shoved the notepad into his apron pocket. “You got it!” Without as much as a moment to breathe, he took off towards the soda fountain on a pair of roller skates. Wait, was he wearing those the whole time?
Nobody else at the table could hold back their laughter any longer. I nervously scratched the back of my neck as I tried my best to laugh along with them. “Haha… talk about cultural differences, am I right?”
Aiko ruffled my hair until it was in absolute shambles. “That’s what you get for trying to look cool, dummy.”
I didn’t bother fixing my hair, lest Aiko find another reason to wreck it again. “Ugh, you’re right. My moment was totally ruined, wasn’t it?”
Ryu picked up his spoon and gestured in my direction. “Now that you mention it, how did you guess her order, anyway? You’re a lucky guy, Genjo, but you’re sure as hell not that lucky.”
Aiko seemed puzzled as well. “Wait… you’re right.” She frantically scanned the menu. “There’s like, dozens of drinks on here. Don’t tell me that you actually-”
I jokingly held up my hands in defeat. “Alright, you got me. I’ve been reading both of your minds this whole time! Whoops!”
Ryu’s spoon and Aiko’s palm both hit me simultaneously. Aiko scooted down the bench away from me. “You… you’re sick, you know that?”
“Guys, relax…” I picked up the spoon from my lap and handed it back to Ryu. “Joke didn’t land, huh?”
Both Aiko and Ryu let out intense sighs of relief, but Ryu still bore a confused expression. “Hold on… Then how did you-”
This time, I gave my honest answer. “Easy.” I snapped my fingers and pointed right at Aiko’s hand. “Right before the guy on the roller skates showed up, Aiko’s pointer finger was right on top of the strawberry milkshake. Can’t blame her, though - it’s kind of weird that it’s one of the only flavors with a picture next to it.”
Aiko looked down at her hand and noticed that her finger was still pointing at the same picture. “...Wow, I didn’t even notice I was doing that! That’s impressive!”
Ryu, as skeptical as ever, was still unconvinced. “I’ll tell you what that is - It’s a pretty insignificant detail to base such a confident guess off of.”
“...I guess you’re right, Ryu. Kinda silly, huh?” I turned towards Aiko, who had scooted back to her original spot. “Say, Aiko, what are you thinking about getting to eat?”
Completely ignoring my abrupt change in subject, Aiko began looking up and down the list of items on the menu. In fact, it was pretty obvious that she was scanning fairly quickly, since Ryu and I silently watched as her pointer finger matched her eyes’ every movement. After about 25 seconds passed, Aiko firmly pressed her finger down on a particular spot. “I think I’ll-”
“Thank you for the demonstration, Aiko.” I sat up straight up with a newfound sense of pride that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. “I first noticed it when you were reading off the script for class this morning.” (Even more interestingly, the fake Aiko from earlier had the same habit, but I figured it was best to leave that part out.)
Aiko couldn’t resist bursting out in a fit of laughter. “Oh my god… I just got exposed for a habit I didn’t even know I had!” She continued to let it out of her system for a solid minute while our server skated back across the diner, dropped off our milkshakes, and immediately skated back.
Ryu took a long sip from his root beer float with the happiest expression I had seen on his face all week. “Holy shit, this is life-changing. Bro, you gotta try this.” I did exactly as he asked - He was right. “...Genjo, has anyone ever told you just how… ugh, what’s the word… observant you are?”
I slid the float across the table back to Ryu. “Hm? Uh, not really.” I attempted to drink my milkshake through my straw, but quickly got frustrated with it constantly getting stuck inside, so I just ate it with a spoon instead. “I’m sure my dad might’ve told me once or twice when I was a kid, but that’s about it.”
“You’re not serious, are you?” Ryu leaned closer across the table, being incredibly careful to not let his elbows graze it by accident. “Genjo, you solved an entire reaction mechanism in the middle of a literal fight to the death today, not to mention that you even noticed those lights in the first place.”
I heard a faint clink as my spoon hit the side of my glass. “That’s just because the only thing on my mind is ‘all chemistry, all the time’, as my friends back home put it. Nothing that impressive.”
“Oh, I’m not finished.” Ryu started leaning even closer. “You’ve got one hell of a reaction time. It’s saved our asses on multiple occasions.” He returned back to his seat and chugged the rest of the root beer in his float. “And you’re always pointing out weirdly specific details.” Ryu started counting them all on his fingers. “Hell, I still haven’t seen that dude with the white hair you’ve been going on about for the past few days.”
White hair… Now that he mentions it, I should probably check up on them sometime.
Aiko, who had been scarfing down her milkshake in silence for the past few minutes, leaned into the conversation as well. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Genjo - Quite the opposite, actually! You should take some pride in being super perceptive!” She flicked my bangs with her pointer finger. “Some of us have much more embarrassing habits, you know.”
There was something weird about being… complimented by people. But at the same time, I didn’t hate it. Is this something that regular people feel all the time?
“Hm…” Aiko’s gaze shifted to Ryu, who was trying his best to hide how much ice cream he had gotten all over his face. “Speaking of, we haven’t talked much about many of your habits, have we, Ryu?”
Ryu immediately tried to play it cool and act like Aiko hadn’t caught him off guard. “U-uh, I suppose we haven’t.” In a panic, he reached for the center of his shirt like there was a tie around his neck for him to straighten. “I guess it’s because… I don’t have any.”
“Bullshit.” Aiko lightly slammed her fist against the table. “I learned the hard way through show business that there’s no such thing as a normal person.”
Ryu shrugged. “Maybe I enjoy being a closed book. Ever think about that one, sweetheart?”
I quietly whispered into Aiko’s ear. “Between you and me: it’s totally the shrug.”
“Agreed,” Aiko whispered back.
Time seemed to effortlessly pass between my various trips to the jukebox and the endless orders of fries that, for some reason, Aiko and Ryu just couldn’t get enough of. Eventually, the server - who we ended up finding out was the only person working that night - had to politely, yet firmly, ask us to leave at closing time. The three of us left Bingo’s and walked back to campus in the endless night, guided only by the warm, bright streetlights.
Since Ryu and I lived in the West Dorm, which was furthest from the downtown square, we walked Aiko to her place at the North Dorm first. Before leaving, we made sure to exchange phone numbers before exchanging farewells. Aiko couldn’t wipe the beaming smile off her face. “You know, despite all of the near-death experiences we all faced, I’d say that today was a lot of fun!” Aiko never fails to describe things as elegantly as possible, does she? “We should totally hang out again soon!”
I put my phone back in my jacket pocket. “...You mean without the near-death experiences, right, Aiko?”
Aiko chuckled. “No promises…” The sinister undertones in her laugh absolutely meant ‘life threatening danger included, no purchase necessary’.
Ryu had already started to walk back towards our dorm. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, Aiko. But let’s be honest for a moment - Genjo will probably be better at keeping in touch than I am.”
“That’s fine with me!” Aiko walked up to me and actually fixed my hair for once. “Sorry, I just realized how sloppy I made you look earlier.”
I rolled my eyes. “You definitely knew the entire time.” I reached up and rotated her hair clip by about 10 degrees in retaliation. “Even?”
“Pfft.” Aiko instantly put it back exactly the way it was. “What do you think, dummy?”
“I think…” I started anxiously scratching the back of my other hand. “...I’ll get my payback soon enough. See you tomorrow?”
Aiko smiled. “I thought we didn’t have class with each other again until Monday?”
With my singular morning of acting prowess, I kept up my confidence as long as I possibly could. “...I meant what I said.”
“How bold.” Aiko did a curtsey as she dusted off her exaggerated posh accent. “O Brave Knight, I shall consider your request out of the kindness of my heart. You will receive word of my decision via carrier pigeon by dawn.”
I kneeled in front of Aiko. “As you wish, Fair Lady.” Her accent was leagues better than mine.
Princess Aiko and I bid each other farewell and returned to our respective dorms. Upon opening the door, I was immediately ambushed by Ryu, who had amassed an entire pile of paper balls since I had left the room this morning. I quickly shut the door and weaved my way through Ryu’s onslaught, grabbed a shirt from one of my shelves and hit him square in the chest. “Hey, what’s all this about? You’re being a lot more… fun than usual, man. What’s going on?”
Ryu hopped into bed. “You know exactly what this is about.” He picked up another ball from his pile and started throwing up in the air and catching it over and over. “I haven’t seen sparks fly like that since I fucked up my first circuit in lab yesterday.”
I walked straight to the sink to tidy up my hair and brush my teeth. Wow, she wasn’t kidding about it being sloppy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Another paper hit me in the head. “Don’t play dumb, Genjo.” Ryu pelted me with ball after ball while I brushed. “You like her. It’s so fucking obvious.”
I rinsed out my mouth and started changing into my sweatpants for bed. “I wouldn’t say that I like her… It just feels really good to… I don’t know.” With a quick swig of water, I effortlessly swallowed my sleeping pills. “I’m so used to wanting to be somebody else’s friend. I’ve never really had someone want to be mine.”
Ryu laughed. “Oh, I see. So you’re saying she likes you. Glad we cleared that up!”
I felt my ears turn red again. “Shut up, there’s no way in hell she likes me like that. Nobody - and I mean nobody - has ever liked me back before, bro.”
He tossed another paper at me. “So you’re admitting you like her, then?”
Shit. “No, I was just saying… in general.”
“Mhm. A little Freudian slip, methinks.” Ryu started picking up all of the loose papers that were strewn across the floor. “I’m teasing, man. It doesn’t matter if you two are like that or not. I’m just saying that it’s not impossible.”
I climbed under my covers. “I’m worried that I might ruin things with her if I misinterpret that kinda stuff. I’d rather not take that risk if I can help it.”
Ryu shoved the pile underneath his bed and jumped back on top of his mattress. “You’re smart, Genjo. I trust you to be able to figure this out.” He turned off the lights and laid down. “One day, though, you’ll wish you hadn’t held yourself back.”
With that parting wisdom, Ryu went to sleep. Our conversation kept me absolutely restless. Do I actually feel that way? I don’t think I do. But what if she feels that way? Is this the stupidest, most childish dilemma ever? How should I-
*bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt*
[Text Message: Aiko Matsuura :P]
“hey!! guess who?? ≖‿≖”
“OMG I hope I’m not waking u up right now”
“( •_•)”
“i’m so sorry”
“wait is this making it worse”
“shut up aiko ur totally making it worse”
“uh”
“anyway!!! so there’s this play tomorrow afternoon, right”
“and i haven’t seen any plays in a while”
“so let’s go!! *◡*”
“it’s okay if u don’t want to”
“like i don’t expect u to cancel ur plans bc ur just DYING to see henry iv part 1 or whatever”
“but i think it’ll be fun!!! (✦ ‿ ✦)”
Why can’t emotions be easy???
~
“You’re looking oddly productive today, Sazama.” Professor Hirotada gave me a harsh glare. “And somehow, I have a feeling it’s not related to the lecture.”
“I was in the middle of sketching out a reaction mechanism, actually.” I added the finishing touches with my pen, ripped the page out of my notebook and handed it to my chemistry professor. “I don’t believe I made any mistakes, but if you’re worried about it, I’d love to make this a collaborative effort by asking my classmates for their input, sir.”
Professor Hirotada walked over to the camera that was connected to the classroom’s projector and displayed my mechanism against the chalkboard. It was the exact mechanism that I had drawn out the night prior while fighting a deadly, yellow snake creature - Formation of xenon trioxide via a reaction between carbon dioxide, hydrogen gas, and free xenon, plus the subsequent explosive reaction upon contact with methane.
“...First of all, I’d like to commend Sazama for having the balls to write this in pen.” Professor Hirotada examined it thoroughly, walking the entire class through each and every step of the reaction. “No mistakes after all! Great work, Sazama.”
I adjusted the volume on my headphones. “Thank you, Professor. I was-”
“Except for one.” Professor Hirotada walked up to the chalkboard and wrote out the equation ΔG = ΔH - TΔS. “Class, let’s talk about spontaneity - Or in Sazama’s case, non-spontaneity. All interactions, while theoretically possible, need some form of regulation. Otherwise, so many reactions would be happening all the time that our world would be completely unstable!” He circled ΔG. “Sazama, can you tell me what this variable means?”
“Um, yeah.” I pointed at the chalkboard. “Gibbs free energy. It’s what determines if a system has enough energy available to proceed with a reaction.”
“Precisely.” The professor walked back to my reaction mechanism on the projector. “Sazama’s mechanism is technically correct, but he failed to consider whether or not the reaction would even happen in the first place. These gases aren’t going to react like this under normal circumstances - the reaction is nonspontaneous. You can’t force bonds like this to occur without an absurd amount of manipulation.”
“Oh yeah?” I leaned back in my desk chair. “I’d like to argue that it is entirely possible.”
Professor Hirotada laughed. “Under what circumstances? You realize how many rules of chemistry you’d be violating by suggesting this?”
“You said it yourself, Professor.” I flipped through my notebook to my pages from Thursday’s class period. “The ‘rules’ of chemistry aren’t as set in stone as we might think. Rules are meant to be broken. Isn’t that how science works?”
Most people would feel bad about derailing an entire lecture like that, but I don’t see any issue with hijacking my chemistry class for a little bit each day. We’re wasting so much time on so much boring and basic shit that I honestly think I’m doing everyone a favor. This is an advanced university, after all - It wouldn’t hurt if we started acting like it.
By the end of the class period, Professor Hirotada had somehow found himself at the end of a ten-minute tangent about the creation of berkelium and how he thinks it’s our school’s turn to have an element named after us, which we all took as our sign that we could leave. I grabbed my bag and set off for biology class in Moore Hall. Even though I had only made this walk once or twice before, I was already sick of it. Who the hell decided that these classes should be so far apart again?
On my way to the classroom, I held my eyes shut as I walked past the eerie red light that leaked through the door to the dark room. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I hate walking past that room every day. When I reached the end of the hallway, the door to the classroom was shut tight - I turned the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. Locked tight, huh? There were no signs outside the classroom regarding whether or not we still had class. I checked my email - nothing. With no options left, I opened my class schedule on the school website to see if there had been any changes that I wasn’t told about.
‘Foundations of Biology - T Th Sat, 9:00 - 10:00.’
No changes there. Shouldn’t class start in a few minutes? Where is everybody?
‘Fujiwara Annex 204.’
…Why the hell is it in Fujiwara of all places? Even more bizarre was the fact that no one else was here. Did everybody get the memo about this except for me somehow? I checked the time: 8:58. Shit… I’d better get going. Which asshole decided to move classrooms without sending out a fucking email??
During my sprint across campus towards Fujiwara Hall, I slowly realized that this classroom change meant that I now had an even longer walk between my morning classes. I swear, whenever I find the dickhead who got this classroom moved…
When I entered Fujiwara Hall, something about the building felt… different. Not necessarily bad, but different nonetheless. I didn’t have much time to figure out why - I was more concerned about where the hell the ‘annex’ was. I followed a series of signs that led me to a classroom that looked larger, nicer, and more contemporary than any room in Moore Hall. I don’t remember this annex being here before…
I quietly pulled open one of the doors into the classroom and laid eyes upon a room of about thirty students, which was a far cry from the nine that I remember being in my class on Thursday. Dr. Greene stood behind a large desk in front of a meticulously clean whiteboard. “Oh, how nice of you to join us today, Sazama! I was starting to get worried that you weren’t going to show up today.”
I shut the door behind me and nervously sat in one of the two empty seats that were closest to the door. “...Any time.” With my pen and notebook in hand, I frivolously copied down all of the diagrams that Dr. Greene had drawn on the board.
“...A proper understanding of genetics solves many a conundrum in the world of biology,” Dr. Greene read aloud as he wrote out the definition of ‘genetics’. “Genetic variation… Heredity… Gene expression… These are just a few of the topics we’ll cover later on in this course. My goal is to clear up any misconceptions you students might have about genetics and how it affects our lives on a macro scale.” He turned to face the class. “Can someone tell me a myth they’ve heard about genetics or DNA, please?”
Hands quickly shot up into the air throughout the classroom. The first student to raise her hand, a short girl with green hair and a grumpy look on her face, was allowed to answer first. “I’ve been hearin’ a lot of fuss about diseases that pass down from your parents.” Her voice had one hell of an accent, that’s for sure. “Rumor around where I’m from is that stupid is genetic too.”
Dr. Greene let us have a quick laugh at her comment before proceeding with the lecture. “Sorry, I’m still trying to learn faces. You are…?”
“Kawasaki.” The green haired girl cracked her knuckles loud enough for the whole campus to hear. “Haruka Kawasaki.”
The professor’s brow furrowed for a brief second. “Kawasaki, you say?” His expression quickly returned to normal. “...Eh, probably just a coincidence. Regardless, Ms. Kawasaki raises an interesting point of contention.” In huge blue text, the board now read ‘Is intelligence really genetic?’ “If a child of a parent with a mental disorder can be predisposed to having that same disorder, then who’s to say that intelligence can’t be tied to our DNA as well?”
As if on cue, the doors swung open behind me. The whole class turned their heads to witness the unceremonious entrance of a tall, disheveled boy in a tattered brown trench coat. He effortlessly pushed his round-frame glasses up as they slid down the bridge of his nose. Without a word, he sat down in the seat next to me, pulled out his phone for a few seconds, and shoved it back in his pocket.
Dr. Greene appeared unamused. “...Okubo.”
The boy called Okubo reached his hand above his right ear, failing to grasp whatever he was looking for up there in the mess of brown, uncombed hair. He leaned over to me and whispered, “Yo. Got a pencil?” Okubo’s voice was cool and raspy, as if he was perpetually locked in a calm state.
The professor snapped his fingers. “Okubo.” His voice was more stern this time around.
Okubo fumbled his hands through the pockets of his coat. “Don’t wear it out.” I silently slid a pencil across the table to him.
“Would it kill you to take this course more seriously, Mr. Okubo?” Dr. Greene’s demeanor changed from frustrated to simply exhausted.
“How many times do I have to say it? I am taking this seriously.” Okubo tapped on the table in front of me. “Psst. Got a notebook?”
I let out a sigh. “How do you forget a notebook, man?”
The sound of an alarm rang from Dr. Greene’s phone. I looked at the analog clock on the wall: 9:50. Most students in the class stood and left - Okubo included. Dr. Green snapped his fingers again. “Okubo. Sazama. Can I speak to you two for a moment?”
Okubo rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Come on, don’t drag him into this. All he did was give me a pencil - Hardly a punishable offense in my book.”
Once all of the other students had exited the classroom, Dr. Greene called us over to his desk. “No worries, Sazama. I’m merely enforcing my classroom’s policy on attendance without discrimination. Regardless of how late you are, late is still late.”
I bowed out of apology. “I’m sorry, professor. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re not the one I’m concerned with, Sazama.” Dr. Greene’s eyes shifted to Okubo. “I sincerely hope you don’t plan on making a habit out of this, Okubo. You should be taking your opportunity to receive an education here very seriously.”
Okubo gave him a faint smile. “If that’s what’ll get you off my case, then I’m all for it.” With that, he turned around and walked out of the classroom.
Dr. Greene’s head sank. “Oh dear…” He looked up at me, his face completely drained of energy. “Sazama, I-”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“I’ll be fine.” I walked back to my desk and packed up my things. “I’m not swayed that easily. I’ll make sure we stay focused during class from now on.”
I bid Dr. Greene farewell, left the classroom, and took out my phone to text my friends about lunch plans.
[Group Message: Ryu Kase, Hiro Takamaru, Eiichi Kido]
“Just got out of class, what are you guys up to?”
Eiichi: “war crimes”
Hiro: “Translation: ‘I never learned to not mix cleaning products’.”
Hiro: “Now our bathroom is full of mustard gas”
Eiichi: “semantics.”
They better not ask me to help them clean that.
“Just keep an eye out for rashes. Use my bathroom if you need to”
“What about you, Ryu?”
Ryu: “who are you people”
Ryu: “do I need to call the police”
Ryu: “stop texting this number”
Whoops. Did I get Ryu’s number wrong?
Hiro: “Don’t worry, I can see a live feed of his phone screen. It’s Ryu.”
Ryu: “what the fuck, hiro”
Ryu: “the hell did you do to my phone?”
Hiro: “It’s just a harmless spyware program I designed for class.”
Hiro: “The code should self-destruct after a day or so.”
Ryu: “you do see how that makes it worse, right”
Eiichi: “uh oh, ryu!!”
Eiichi: “better delete any weird porn :D”
Ryu: “i’ll kill you both”
“I’m gonna assume this means no one can grab lunch.”
Hiro: “Sorry, man. Maybe tomorrow?”
“Works for me. I’ll just-”
“Anyone ever told you to watch where you walk?” I heard a quiet, raspy voice as I walked down the hallway while looking at my phone. It instantly sent a jolt down my spine. When I looked to my left, I saw Okubo leaning on a recycling bin with his foot against the wall. “Oh, who am I kidding? You don’t exactly look like you’ve ever bumped into a guy you wish you wouldn’t have.”
I put my phone back in my pocket out of slight embarrassment. “Did you need something?”
Okubo lightly propelled himself away from the wall with his foot and began walking towards the front door. “Not particularly.” He gestured for me to follow. “Figured we both might’ve been looking for a quick chat, is all.”
I’m not sure what compelled me to follow after Okubo, but I did so without hesitation. “Alright.” I walked at a brisk enough pace to catch up to him before slowing my speed to match his. “Question: Why the hell were you so late? I mean, class was practically over already.”
We stepped outside into the refreshingly cool breeze. “Damn. Straight to the point.” Okubo reached deep into his pocket, pulled out a small vape, and took an uncomfortably long hit before blowing out a cloud the size of his head. “Got locked out of my room, that’s what.”
I swatted away the cloud of strawberry-scented water vapor while trying not to cough too much. “That explains why you didn’t have your notebook.”
Okubo held out his vape in my direction for a few seconds before taking the hint and decided on hitting it himself. “What about you? He held you after class too, didn’t he?”
I sighed. “I went to the old classroom by mistake. Nobody ever told me we moved buildings.”
A faint chuckle escaped Okubo’s mouth. “Good one.” He took a third drag from his vape before putting it in the spot behind his ear where he had searched for his pencil earlier. “Haven’t busted out the ‘blatantly lying’ strategy in a while. Ah, that brings me back.”
I lightly shoved him. “What makes you think I’m lying?”
Okubo shoved me back with an almost equal amount of force. “Um, probably because biology has always been in Fujiwara?” Without a second thought, his hand reached up behind his ear and he took another hit. “I didn’t even know about this school until less than a year ago and I even managed to deduce that one.”
This is starting to feel oddly familiar. It’s probably best that I drop it for now.
“Anyway, I got some shit I need to take care of.” Okubo gestured towards a general area of approximately nothing, plus a few trees. “Real, important shit, actually. You know how the teachers can be here about things like that.”
“I’m not so sure I do, actually.” I turned up the volume on my headphones by a few notches while they still rested around my neck.
“Good. That’s how they get you.” He held out his fist for a fist bump. “I’m Rinji, in case you were dying to know.”
I reciprocated. “Genjo.” As I did, I felt an inexplicable boost in energy.
Rinji set off towards nothing in particular. “Stay out of trouble, alright Genjo? There’s already enough of me to go around, I’ve been told.” Seconds later, he vanished into the crowd of students walking to and from class.
…Hold on, what the hell was I just doing? I took a look around and realized that I had accidentally wandered halfway across campus while talking to Rinji. Excellent decision making, Genjo. Hanging out with and taking advice from a guy who couldn’t tell the difference between his vape and his pencil.
*bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzzt* *bzz-
Gee, I wonder who’s texting me right now? It could be anyone.
[Text Message: Aiko Matsuura :P]
“alright so after some research into the event”
“i discovered something crazy”
“remember when i made that joke about henry iv part 1??”
“turns out i was ALMOST right on the money”
“...i think it’s henry iv part 2.”
“(¬､¬)”
“which means i have some good news and some bad news”
“do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“okay actually i can just say both right now”
“idk why i thought i had to do one at a time lol”
“bad news: you might not have any clue what’s happening in the play”
“good news: neither will i”
“so we can still go for the experience!! (✧ᴗ✧✿)”
How can I get annoyed with someone who ends all their text spams with the silliest emoticons ever?
“I still have one more class today, but I’ll text you when it’s over!”
“And personally, I’m a little hurt by the notion that I seem like I haven’t seen Henry IV Part 1 lol”
“okay but have you?”
“Nope!”
“have you seen ANY shakespeare?”
“...I like to pretend I’ve read Macbeth to seem smarter than really I am”
“you’re super lucky they’re doing macbeth later tonight”
“if you’re okay with staying up that late?”
“Count me in.”
“┏(-_-)┛┗(-_- )┓”
“why do they look so bored :(”
“They just got done watching Henry IV Part 2 ᐠ-ꞈ-ᐟ”
~
When Aiko and I met at the park where the play was being held, I was startled by the look of immeasurable disappointment on her face. “Genjo, where’s your outfit?”
“Hm? My outfit?” I was still wearing my red jacket over my school clothes. Aiko, in stark contrast, was fully dressed for the occasion - She wore a long, white dress with an excessive amount of ruffles on the sleeves, in addition to the flower-covered olive green lace up corset she wore on top of the dress. And if that wasn’t overkill, a noticeably homemade flower crown sat upon Aiko’s newly braided hair. “...I was supposed to have one of those, wasn’t I?”
Aiko crossed her arms and groaned. “Oh, so now it’s my fault that you didn’t read my text about dressing up?”
“I don’t remember getting a text like that.” I opened my messages app to see if I had missed it somehow in the midst of Aiko’s thirty-million texts.
“so we can still go for the experience!! (✧ᴗ✧✿)”
I showed her the phone. “...Aiko, don’t tell me-”
“-that the flower emote was supposed to be my way of telling you it was a renaissance faire?” After mulling it over in her head for a few seconds, she uncrossed her arms. “...Okay, I can see how the meaning got lost in translation.”
“Apology accepted.” I took a quick glance around the park and realized that I was the only person without an outfit. “No one’s gonna be mad that I forgot, will they?”
“Only one way to find out!” Aiko grabbed me by the hand and ran towards the amphitheater, dragging me behind her while I struggled to keep up. “Come on, the show’s about to start!” Aiko and I sat down as close to the stage as possible so she could ‘live vicariously through the actors on stage’ or something like that. My only concern was that it might make it more likely to get ridiculed for my ‘odd fashion’, but Aiko reassured me that this wouldn’t possibly be the case.
Nightfall soon arrived, allowing the elegantly strung lights throughout the amphitheater to truly shine as the stage was illuminated into view. Aiko, who knew everything about Macbeth, had the biggest grin on her face throughout the entirety of the performance. The sparkle in her eyes was undeniable - Aiko lived for moments like these. On the other hand, I, who didn’t know shit about Macbeth, simply enjoyed watching the story unfold - and wow, what a story that was. There was something oddly captivating about watching a man be presented with opportunities to be a better person and, somehow, continuously make the worst possible choice every time. But at the end of day, is Macbeth really as bad as he seems? To me, at least, it seems like he only reached the point that he did because he had no other choice. When someone is only evil because they have no other choice, can you really call them evil?
Aiko vehemently disagreed with my take on the story. “I cannot believe you’re seriously defending the closest thing that Shakespeare has ever gotten to writing a political terrorist.”
“Isn’t that the best part? Morally gray characters are the most satisfying to root for!” I was obsessively scrolling through my phone, looking at as many threads discussing the morality of Macbeth as a character as I could. The moment that I had found a thread denoting the play’s connection to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and thus the annual British commemoration of Bonfire Night, I figured I had gone deep enough down the rabbit hole for the day. “Okay, I lied, the actual best part was when Macduff-”
“-stormed into the castle, right?” Aiko went right back into theatre nerd mode. “Because he was like, ‘my voice is in my sword!!’ and-”
I picked up right where Aiko left off. “-when Macbeth is talking about how Macduff can’t kill him because he’s ‘one of woman born’, Macduff goes-”
“Checkmate, Macbeth! My mother had a C-section!” Aiko and I both shouted in unison before bursting out into laughter.
After making countless jokes about how ridiculous the plot was, Aiko and I eventually stood up to make our way back to campus, but not before stopping to take a few pictures together along the way. “Hey, Aiko?” I nervously asked as we walked back together.
Aiko turned her head slightly towards me until I was within her field of vision. “Hm? What’s up, Genjo?”
“Um, I was just wondering…” Ugh. This is such a stupid question to ask right now. Why couldn’t I just wait until later?
“...wondering what?” Aiko seemed genuinely perplexed.
I let out a small sigh. “...if you could let me print out some of those photos?”
Aiko started to giggle. “Pfft, of course! I swear, you always make questions sound like they’re a lot less normal than they really are! It’s kinda funny.”
I laughed along with her. “Haha, sorry. What did you think I was gonna ask?”
“Well, you know how a lot of guys are.” Aiko pulled out her phone to text me all of the photos she had taken of us. “You surprised me quite a bit, Genjo.”
Oh, that’s what she thought I was doing? Damn, do guys really pop the question that early? “Shit, I didn’t even think about that. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable for a bit there.”
Suddenly, I felt a quick pinch on my shoulder as Aiko began teasing me. “Aw, shut up, dummy. I knew you wouldn’t do something that stupid.” She looked down at her phone for a few seconds to check a notification she had just received. I watched her expression slowly fade for a brief moment, but in typical Aiko fashion, she snapped right back to normal. “Hey, Genjo?”
I spun around 180 degrees to walk backwards while facing her. “Hm? What is it, Aiko?”
Aiko rolled her eyes at my attempt to one-up her from earlier. “Well, if you’re not busy…” She reached out and grabbed me by the arm, abruptly pulling me towards her before I walked right into a park bench. “...I need some help setting up some new furniture in my dorm. How about it?”
I casually put my hands in my pockets, trying to play it cool and act like Aiko having to save me wasn’t painfully embarrassing. “Sure! What kind of furniture?”
“Hey! No spoilers for you, young man!” Aiko lightly smacked me on the forehead and continued walking. “You’ll find out when we get there.”
“Can I at least get a little hint?” I asked as I ran to catch up to her.
Aiko groaned. “Fine… I had a lot of vintage decor in my room at home, but I’ve been too lazy to unpack it all since we got here. Figured I’d invite you to help, since I’m better at unpacking when I have someone to talk to.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to help!” I gestured my arm out ahead towards campus. “Lead the way, milady…”
~
“Wow. You weren’t kidding about the vintage decor.” I stared in awe at the photos of old movie stars and dress models from a distant past that had blossomed into the collage sprawling across Aiko’s wall. “There’s no way you’ve done all this in just the last week.”
Aiko’s ever present smile grew as she quietly laughed to herself. “What can I say? Dad tells me I’ve always had a knack for it,” she said as she kneeled on the rug to rummage through her worn-down leather satchel. “It’s not exactly hard to impress a boy, though. I mean, anything more than a floor lamp, a movie poster and a ‘everything-goes-here’ nightstand is just excessive, isn’t it?” Her deceptively sincere grin really helped to soften the blow.
“Sorry we can’t all be interior designers like you, madame.” I slowly made my rounds through the room, astonished by just how quickly Aiko was able to turn this place into her second home. Vibrant lights were strung across every wall to compliment the masterfully restored retro furniture. It was all so futuristic - but in a way that could’ve only been imagined by designers from a long gone era. Everything in the room was wonderfully retrofuturist, from the fluorescent orange and white loveseat, all the way to the small, honeycomb-shaped mirror that rested on her vanity.
Speaking of the loveseat, I finally noticed that the unrivaled aesthetic in the room was just that: unrivaled. There was no sign of other life to be found anywhere - No bed, no desk, not even another toothbrush next to the sink. “Hey, weird question, but do you not have a roommate?” I asked as I turned around to face her, only to find that the collage on the wall had somehow nearly doubled in size. Damn, talk about efficiency…
Aiko’s head perked up when I broke the silence. “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you about that. The school itself actually strongly advised me to live on my own.” As she spoke, she was still taping even more old magazine clippings onto the wall. Where is she even getting these from? “Seems like they read my admission essay about having to stay out of the public eye and then decided that pairing me with someone who might be obsessed with me would be a total disaster.”
“Huh?” I picked up a loose photograph off the ground. “You never told me about that, Aiko - At least, you never really elaborated on it.” I started to recall what she had told me in Prodosía’s castle.
‘Those people took everything away from me and my father. All they do is relish in the misery of others because they have nothing worthwhile of their own to be proud of.’
“Yeah… That’s one of the main reasons I had to step out of the limelight when I was younger.” Even while she spoke, her hands never took a break from decorating. “There were too many eyes everywhere I went, all watching my every move so they could over-embellish every little moment for the media. I just… needed a break from it all.”
Words from the past echoed in my head.
‘Everyone’s a fucking critic. The moment you give them a reason to tear you apart, they jump on it like the predators they are.’
I set the photo down on her bed. “Sounds pretty bad… I know I couldn’t handle that kind of pressure on me at all times. I don’t blame the school for taking that precaution.”
Aiko stepped back a few paces until she was standing by my side so we could both admire her craftsmanship. “Personally, I think they were overreacting. I really don’t mind though. It just means I don’t have to worry about anyone’s style clashing with my own!” I could hear the pride in her voice during that last remark. She really cares a ton about this kinda stuff, doesn’t she? Though at the same time, I heard a touch of… something. I don’t know what, but it felt like she was hiding something.
The fake Aiko’s voice suddenly came back to me.
‘I see right through you, Genjo. You’re all the same… you’re just trying to use me for your own personal gain before you cast me aside once I’m not useful to you anymore.’
I kept admiring Aiko’s Wondrous Wall of Old People, preparing myself to ask her a question that had been on my mind for a while. “Aiko… what exactly happened back then? I know it’s definitely hard to talk about it, but whatever it was… don’t you ever find yourself wishing that things had been…” I stopped for a moment to clear my throat. Why was I getting so choked up now? “…do you ever wish that things had gone differently?” She hadn’t said a word at all yet. The fear that I had managed to make her uncomfortable again began to grab ahold of me.
Without even noticing it at first, I was suddenly face to face with Aiko, who was now standing in between me and the wall. Without a word, she slowly raised her hand to be at level with my face. She then promptly flicked me on my cheek. “Ouch! What did I do to deserve it this time?” I asked as I recoiled back.
Aiko quietly giggled to herself, her smile still going strong. “Nothing, dummy. I just had to wipe that tear off your face.” Her voice is always so reassuring and relaxing.
I wiped the rest of my face with my sleeve to make sure there weren’t any more drops left for her to plan her next strike. “It’s okay, I won’t force you to talk about it. But… if you ever want to, you know I’m always here for you.”
“...Thanks.” Aiko’s smile began to crumble, and her true feelings slowly showed themselves through the cracks. “Nobody’s ever told me that before… and actually meant it.” Aiko had a habit of forcing herself to stay positive no matter the situation, like she constantly needed to remind herself that everything is just fine. I know she’s a tough nut to crack sometimes, but I’ve never been more certain that she wasn’t trying to put on an act than I am right now.
Aiko hopped up to sit on the edge of her bed. She stared at the streaks of color that the lights cast on the ceiling. “Genjo, I wish that things had been different almost every single day.” Her legs unconsciously swung back and forth as she distracted herself, looking deep into the colorful mirage above. “I’ve done so many things in just 19 years, most of which the average person could only dream of. And along that path, my father keeps on telling me that I should be proud of myself for it all. But the truth is…” After a brief pause, Aiko slowly closed her eyes, her body completely still. “…I hated it.” She took another pause to take a long, deep breath. “I hate that it had to turn out like this.”
She broke her stillness to reach into her stack of old photographs, grabbing a clump of newspaper and magazine clippings that looked decades more modern than the rest. Aiko held the articles in her lap as her gaze became fixated on it. “And the worst part is… that it’s all my fault. It’s always been my fault.” I was able to make out the headline on the clipping that rested on the top of the stack: ‘The Mythic Matsuura Commits Career Suicide’.
Aiko’s grip on the paper tightened, crumpling the article even more than it already was. “I know it’s not my fault that everybody took advantage of me.” She couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Tears ran down her face and were subsequently soaked up by the paper clippings. “Even so… why was I so weak? Why couldn’t I have been strong like her?” Aiko’s hands gave way, dropping the stack of articles and sending them sprawling across the floor - They all pictured either a young, beaming Aiko… or another girl, one that I wasn’t sure whether or not I recognized. “I let her take everything from me. And it’s all because I wasn’t strong enough to have it.”
I gently pulled Aiko close to me, being incredibly careful not to startle her - She was already going through enough pain as is. “Aiko… You’re not weak. I know what ‘weak’ looks like, and you’re the furthest thing from it.” I didn’t exactly know what to do when you’re comforting someone in a situation like this. I figured that, if she didn’t want me too close to her, she would’ve pulled herself away by now.
Aiko stayed perfectly still, her arms still resting by her sides. “...You don’t get it, Genjo.” She never looked away from the articles on the ground. “They never treated her like they treated me. Her path to success was paved with 24 karat gold. Meanwhile, my path was littered with spikes - and people would get mad when I was scared to step on them.”
I continued reassuring Aiko as best I could, not making any sudden movements with my arms or my body. “Do you feel comfortable talking to me about it?”
She quietly nodded. After taking a moment to make sure she had calmed down, I let go of her and picked up her belongings off the floor. “Her name was Kana… Kana Watanabe.” Aiko took the papers out of my hands and began flipping through each of them. In all of the pictures, Kana looked like she was constantly fighting to be the center of attention. “Frankly, I was better than her, and everyone knew it. The reason I was a better actress wasn’t because of some stupid bullshit the media made up about me having ‘multiple personalities’ or whatever…” I could sense something unique about the pictures of Aiko compared to everyone else. “...it was because I actually had a passion for it. Kana was just in it for fame.”
I read some of the articles written about Aiko from when we were much younger, some of them even dating back to 2011. ‘The Girl with a Million Faces’, ‘An Interview with Aiko Matsuura, Acting Prodigy’, ‘Wanted: Aiko Matsuura (for Stealing the Show!)’. It was terrifying seeing just how much media attention she was getting at such a young age. “...so what happened? If everyone knew you blew Kana out of the water, why all the fighting?”
“It didn’t start out that way.” Aiko handed me another article - ‘Matsuura and Watanabe - Changing Theatre’s Future as We Know It?’. The picture attached showed Aiko and Kana on a stage together performing in a play. Based on the year of publishing, Aiko and I must’ve been about 11 years old at the time. “But after this article got published, something changed. Kana started to become a lot more competitive - She would audition for roles that she knew I wanted, steal as much attention as she could from me during any performances, and her dad would even pay off casting directors so they’d choose her for roles instead of me.”
“Holy shit, is that even legal?” Seeing Kana’s face in all of the articles started to make my blood boil.
Aiko’s eyes were fixed on a photograph dated July 18th, 2018 - Aiko and I were only 13 years old back then. Nothing about the picture seemed particularly noteworthy at first glance. “That day… was my last show.” She quickly flipped the picture over so she wouldn’t have to look at it for a moment longer. “Kana had been slowly turning everybody against me for years. None of our co-stars would talk to me anymore - They all believed whatever bullshit lies she spread about me. She had completely stolen the spotlight away from me… Year after year, things only got worse.” Aiko handed the stack of articles over to me. I could feel her hands tremble as I took them from her and set them down on the bed.
Nevertheless, Aiko continued. “Everywhere I went, nobody cared about knowing the real me anymore. At school, other kids would ask me if I wanted to be friends. But after a while, it was only a matter of time before I caught them bragging to everyone about how they were ‘best friends’ with the ‘Mythic Matsuura’.” She quietly laughed to herself for a brief second. “...the ‘Mythic Matsuura’... that’s what everybody started calling me after I did a show where I thought it would be fun to play each of the characters all by myself. A news outlet came up with the name because they ‘just couldn’t believe a girl like that really existed!!’ or something, and it stuck. Kinda stupid, huh?”
“I don’t think so.” I tried to imagine what a show starring only Aiko would be like, but the mental image of Aiko constantly changing voices and running around the stage pretending to be different people was too silly for me to not chuckle a little bit.
Aiko smacked me. “Ugh, of course you do!!!”
I fully embraced the fact that I deserved that hit. “No, seriously! I was just thinking about how fun that show would be to watch.”
“It was really fun to perform, actually! Honestly, that might’ve been the last time that acting was truly ‘fun’.” Aiko got lost in thought once more. “Before that night, I didn’t have to worry about fans, reputation, agents, or anything besides just having fun. If I had realized just how good I had it back then, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so swept up in all the attention.”
My eyes wandered around the room until I spotted a picture frame on her vanity. The photo was black-and-white, but one of the people in it was clearly Aiko. Looking closely at it, I could only guess that the older man in the picture with her was Aiko’s father. “...Aiko, what about your dad? How does he fit into all this?”
Aiko's face started beaming with glee. “Haha, you mean that old geezer? Only the best dad in the entire freakin’ universe! Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without him - He’s the only friend I ever really had growing up.” She reached over my lap to grab the stack of articles again, rapidly flipping through them until she pulled out a picture of her and her father - This time, the image was in color, revealing that Aiko and her dad looked almost nothing alike. “I never met my real parents. And with all the rumors that the media spread about what happened to them, I don't think I ever will. Dad adopted me when I was really little, so I don’t even remember what it was like to not live with him.”
I admired the strength of the relationship that Aiko has with her father. My parents and I have always been on good terms with each other. Sometimes, I wonder if Sui feels the same way.
“We were never as incredibly well-off as the Watanabe’s, but Dad still does so much just to make me happy.” Aiko jumped up on top of her mattress and spun around, gesturing to everything in her room. “Hell, he’s the only reason I get to focus on silly little things - like old dresses, acting, and all of my weird, vintage stuff!” After her small burst of excitement, Aiko sat back down on the bed. “Dad didn’t push me to do acting because we needed the money. He let me do it because all he cared about was letting me have fun.”
“He sounds like an amazing guy, Aiko. I’m glad he’s able to support you as much as he does.” Aiko’s joy was so infectious, I couldn’t help but smile too. “...so is that what you meant when you said they took everything away from you and your father?”
Aiko laid down and looked at the ceiling. “Yeah. When I quit, I knew how much it hurt Dad too. He just wanted me to be happy, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.” While she continued her story, I picked up the lone article that was still left on the ground - ‘The Mythic Matsuura Commits Career Suicide’. “July 18th… I had a complete meltdown on stage that night. I was sick and tired of all the drama - the rumors, the lies, and the pain that I was enduring by forcing myself into the spotlight… So I quit.”
I read the first few lines of the article.
‘In an unexpected turn of events, child star Aiko Matsuura (13), better known by her stage name, ‘the Mythic Matsuura’, announced her retirement from show business mid-performance last night. The young former actress was heard yelling, “Go ahead and blacklist me, you f***ing parasites! See if I give a s**t!”, among other things, during last night’s performance of ‘Hairspray’, in which she played the role of Amber Von Tussle. Given the premise of the play, many fans in the audience were completely unaware that this outburst was not part of the original script. When approached after the abrupt cancellation of the show, neither Matsuura nor her legal guardian were available for further comment. Matsuura, who started acting as young as six years old, is most well-known for her breakout performance in ‘Something Done Right (Doing It Myself)’, an award-nominated self-written play where Matsuura played every single role. Since then, Matsuura…’
That was where Aiko’s fragment of the article ended. The rest had been torn away years ago, likely for the best. “Holy shit, Aiko…”
“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, Genjo.” Through it all, Aiko’s smile somehow managed to shine through. “I made that choice for myself. It’s been hard, and I lay awake at night wondering where I’d be if I had just sucked it up and taken it all. But we can’t change the past, can we?”
I slid over to sit right next to Aiko and put a hand on her shoulder. “Aiko, I want to help you learn how to trust again.”
Aiko seemed startled by my idea. “Huh? Where did that come from?”
“Remember what I said yesterday? About never giving up on you?” I saw Aiko’s legs shake as she recalled standing atop the tightrope made of glass. I grabbed her by the arm and jumped off the bed, dragging her down with me.
“Ah!!” Aiko screamed and stumbled as her feet hit the ground, but quickly regained her footing as I stood behind her and spread her arms out like a tightrope walker.
“Imagine that life is just like that tightrope, Aiko.” I lined up several loose sheets of paper on the ground into two parallel rows until there was a small, narrow gap between them that ran from one side of Aiko’s room to the other. “If you’ve never walked that wire before, it seems impossible, doesn’t it?”
Aiko held her eyes shut. “Where are you going with this metaphor, again?”
I held onto Aiko’s shoulders as we slowly walked down the narrow path on the ground. “From afar, you watch how effortlessly some people can walk across, and you think ‘I could never do that!’ But when somebody guides you for the first time…” I held my hand out in front of Aiko to signal her to stop. When she opened her eyes, she discovered that she had already walked across the entire room. “...you realize that it’s not so scary.”
Aiko’s heart relaxed. “You know, you didn’t need to go through all this effort for such a simple point, dummy.”
I scratched the back of my head. “Haha, you’re right. But it worked, didn’t it?”
With a smirk on her face, Aiko closed her eyes and walked the entire line on her own. Once she reached the end, she spun around to face me in triumph. “Hmph. You could’ve at least made it harder. You know, because I’m just soooo much better than everyone.”
“That was the point, Aiko.” I picked up all of the papers and stacked them neatly on her bed. “It was to show you that trust isn’t such an impossible task.”
…I really should’ve expected the Aiko pout after that one. “Okay, fiiiiine. ‘You win!’ ‘You’re so smart!’ ‘I’m forever in your debt!’” She rolled her eyes. “Did I miss anything?”
“Yes, actually.” I grabbed the photo of Aiko and her father and pinned it onto her wall. “Just remember who you have to thank for everything.”
Aiko walked up to me and gave me a hug. It was the first time she did it on purpose. “Thanks a bunch, Genjo…” On the outside, I was playing it perfectly cool - But on the inside, I had to figure out a way to pretend that I wasn’t in a state of complete and utter emotional panic. “Oh, by the way, that picture absolutely does not fit the aesthetic.”
Without breaking free from Aiko’s arms, I reached over to the wall and delicately plucked the picture off the wall. “Okay, but my point still stands, doesn’t it?”
Aiko shrugged. “Hm… now I’m not so sure anymore… I think you need to design a whole new metaphor so I can really understand it this time!”
I gently elbowed her in the arm. “You know I don’t have to do this for you, right?”
“Yeah you do!!” Aiko reached up and tapped me on the tip of my nose with her glove. “You actually secretly signed a contract with me earlier, so that means you have to always help me with anything, no matter what.”
“Huh?” I looked at her nervously. “When did that happen?”
Aiko chuckled. “Hehe, I snuck a crystal inside of your jacket while we were watching Macbeth.”
Fearing the worst, I reached down into my jacket pocket. Right next to my MP3 player, I felt my hand hit something… warm. Aiko could definitely see the look of dread on my face as I pulled out a piece of amethyst about the size of a grain of rice. ‘It’s just part of the bit…’ I told myself. ‘This is Aiko we’re talking about. She’s just doing a bit, right?’ I looked back at Aiko - her smile was as wide as her face. “Dear Lord, if you’re really out there…” I muttered under my breath.
“Please tell me I didn’t just become best friends with a crystal girl…”