Friendship should last a lifetime. It is an unbreakable bond like love. But some friendship comes out of shared loneliness. Some can be detrimental to one's mental and spiritual growth, leading you down a path of insecurities and destruction. Some are formed from more of an inconvenience or domination, that can lead to hatred.Maya felt that her friendship with Shiho would last forever. They had gone through many trials and tribulations and still managed to remain friends. There was nothing in the world that would stop her from being a part of Shiho’s life. Nothing.....
The lights of Tokyo shone in the distance as the airplane reached the third terminal. Maya peered out of the window as the distant objects began to come more into focus. She could see the onlookers near the huge windows and guessed that the one with the colorful neon sign, waving frantically, was Shiho.
Shiho and Maya have been best friends since primary school in Orange County, California. They were as close as sisters during primary and middle school, always seen together and were hardly ever separated, until August of their first-year student in high school. Shiho’s personality had changed drastically, leaving Maya as a shadowy figure that followed her around. Maya had clung on in hope that her friendship would be saved. It wasn’t until junior year, when a secret that she was sworn to keep, had reconciled their relationship. Soon afterwards, Shiho’s grandmother had taken ill and her family had left the States to move back to Japan. It was one of the worst days of Maya’s life and she felt a sense of loneliness all over again. High school was hard and Maya had withdrawn herself from the world and all her peers. The only comfort she felt was in the music room, where she would immerse herself in songwriting, singing, composing and playing the guitar.
During her senior year she made a few new friends and was beginning to open herself to the world. Then tragedy suddenly hit and her world was shattered again. While taking a college prep exam, she had gotten the news that her mother had instantly died in a car accident, a hit and run. The assailant was never caught and the case remained open. To keep his mind off his grief, Mr. Singh took a job at a hospital in Bombay (Mumbai). Removing Maya from all that she had known, including her maternal grandparents in Atlanta.
“Your dad is the best neurosurgeon.” “You're so lucky to have a well accomplished father.” This was all she heard from anyone and everyone she came across in Orange County. She didn’t feel so lucky. Her mother was gone and she hardly saw her dad. His way of coping with his loss was to immerse himself in his work. It wasn’t as though, before the death of his wife, he wasn’t busy. It was that the hospital became his home and Mayana was left to spend many days and nights alone in an unknown and unkind world.
The airplane finally landed, coming to a complete stop, as she reached to grab her overhead bags. She was suddenly knocked back into her seat as five other passengers quickly made their way to the exit. “How rude, they could have said excuse me,” she thought. She gazed at them dismayed. One of them looked back at her, and for a moment their eyes met. She quickly looked away. She sat back down until she was the last one left.
Shiho held her sign high as she saw Maya approaching. She threw them down and waved historically and quickly bowed. “Tokyo e yokoso. Welcome to Tokyo Maya.” She bowed again. After a few more bows, they embraced each other. Tears streamed from their faces as both girls checked each other over. It had been years since they had seen each other. Even though much of their appearance hadn’t changed, slight differences were definitely noticeable, especially in Maya’s case. After a good stare down, tears were soon followed by light laughter. “You're not so twiggy anymore”, Shiho smiled. “I haven’t been twiggy since middle school. I see you have completely filled out on top.” Maya smiled back. Shiho gave her another hug. “Yeah? Looks the same to me.” “A cup more, hey, but who would notice?” She winked. “How was the ride?” Shiho asked as she helped Maya with her luggage. “It was okay, I guess. No delays, so I can’t really complain, except....”
A crowd had gathered near the entrance of the airport. People were screaming and many paparazzi cameras were in full flash. The screams and the chants became louder as a group of boys approached the main entrance. “Seven, Seven. Seven,” the crowd chanted. Click-click, flash flash, the lights were bright and almost blinding.
“It will be a minute before we can get to my car.” “What, what’s going on?” “Only the hottest idol group in Tokyo.” “Idol?” “Yeah! Seven! They're the biggest group that’s out now, besides X-Ron, No Return, and Fifth guys.” They quickly pushed and twisted their way through the crowd. Glancing back she could see the red-headed stranger, whose eyes had locked with hers earlier. “Idol?” she thought.
Her thoughts may have been spoken out loud or maybe the red-headed devil had remembered the incident that happened earlier. His eyes were now set on her, gazing intensively. She quickly tugged at her luggage as she moved closer to Shiho.“Those eyes are so piercing, almost cutting, like a dagger through my soul,” she whispered to herself. They made their way out onto the parking lot. Shiho fumbled for her keys. She was never good at finding anything and relied solely on modern gadgets to help ease her frustration. She clicked the keys and saw yellow blinking lights from the car behind them. She looked back and blew a kiss at the middle-aged driver. “Dad and mom are excited that you’ve decided to study here. Almost more than me.” She smiled, unlocking the doors of her two-door 1957 red Corvette. “I told them about your pre-med plans and...” Maya shoved her luggage into the small trunk. She held onto her overnight bag, and her guitar case. Slamming the trunk shut, she turned to Shiho with a questionable look on her face. “You didn’t tell them about it...” Shiho looked at her surprisingly. “Oh no, not that! I wouldn’t say a word. I don’t think they would care anyway.” She sat down and adjusted her mirror. “I asked Dad to rent us an apartment within walking distance of everything. There are many agencies around here. You can take your chances at any of them.” Maya sighed as she sat on the seat, placing her bag on her lap. She looked into the rear view mirror. She could see the idol group making their way across the parking lot to a parked limousine . A few fans followed, waving and screaming. She looked on as the limo drove off. She had made the last minute decision to pursue her dreams. It was a rushed decision, but nevertheless it was something that she wanted deep in her heart. Tokyo and Seoul were hotbeds for creating superstars, and since she spoke Japanese, her best-friend lives in Tokyo. It was her best option. She was ready and willing to put in the hard work that she had heard trainees go through. And through it all her dreams would soon be realized. “One day....I’m going to be a star!” She repeated constantly. Shiho started up the car, carelessly pulling out in front of the limousine without glancing in her rear-view mirror. The limo quickly halted as the driver blew his horn. She was excited to see Maya and didn’t care about the ambiance of curse words that were being hurled at her. Maya held her breath, gripping her seatbelt. “Same old Shiho,” she thought. Shiho had suggested that they go to a restaurant to eat and have a couple of drinks. “Let’s commemorate your first night in Tokyo. I know the perfect place. "Okay." “It’s a five-star restaurant. They have the best tasting wine.” “You’ll have to do the drinking for both of us. One of us needs to be sober.” “We can take a cab to the apartment.” “And leave your precious convertible?” “Yeah, you're right. Okay, I’ll drink for both of us.” She pulled out her phone and entered her contact under Tasty. Maya’s eyes opened wide. Shiho smiles. “Usually you have to book in advance. To even get a reservation is almost impossible. Lucky for us, I know the owner personally.” “How personal? You didn’t sleep with him, did you?” Shiho ignorer her. She placed the cell to her ears. “Hello. Tell Ike Yoshiaki to hold me a table. Just for two. I’m on my way now.” She hung up and shifted into gear as the car raced out of the parking lot. Maya was speechless. She wondered if Shiho had changed her wild ways. She wasn’t up to taking part in Shiho’s drama stories and hoped that her coming to Tokyo wouldn’t be filled with regrets.
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Even though the restaurant was crowded, it still had an air of elegance to it. They were quickly ushered to a table and immediately given the golden treatment. Ike Yoshiaki greeted them as they sat down. Only top A-list celebrities were able to glance at this renowned chef. He was particular about everything and everyone. This was probably why his restaurant was always in high demand, for he himself was extremely picky. Maya studied the interaction between them both. She had drawn her own conclusion that they were definitely involved. How deep, she wasn’t sure. “Yoshiaki, this is my childhood friend Maya.” “Oh hello.” He bowed. “Welcome to Tokyo.” “Thank you.” “Are you visiting from the states?” “No India.” “India? But you sound so American, like my sweet Shiho.” He smiled and turned to signal one of the waiters, waving and snapping his fingers. They scurried back and forth from kitchen to table, bringing soups, different flavored ramen and cocktails. Her attention was diverted to another table that was some distance from theirs. Silver eyes intensely stared at her. She tried to ignore him, reverting her attention back to Yoshiaki. It was of no use, his attention was directed completely to Shiho. Their flirtation was obvious to everyone that took notice of them. It was as though there were only the two of them and no one else in the entire world. Maya felt the same about this stranger. There was no one else but him and this intense gaze. She was beginning to feel uneasy and wanted to ask Shiho if they could leave. She already knew that it would be impossible to break this five-star chef away from Shiho, and Shiho away from him. Maya had no clue of what they were discussing or even what Yoshiaki was asking her. She just nodded and acted as if she was fully in tune with their conversation. Her mind was wandering all over. Trying desperately to respond to her friend and her friend’s lover, all the while trying to ignore the other table. Finally, she was left alone with her friend, as Ike hurried back to answer an emergency phone call. “That’s probably his wife. Nagging hag!” Shiho pulled her phone out of her bag, and began flipping through her contacts. She looked up at Maya. “I’m surprised you have nothing to say. Hello earth to Maya.” As if being awakened from a trance, Maya stared at her. What was she supposed to say? This was something she expected of the old Shiho. Dating older men, getting anyone she wants. It seems as though she had downgraded to married men, instead of single eligible bachelors. If you asked her why, she would probably say it was more thrilling to see how long they could get away with sneaking around, before a wife starts trailing them. “How long have you been seeing him?” “About a year now.” “Oh” “That’s all you gotta say? I expected more.” “Like what?” “You know the full speech. This isn’t right, you know, blah blah blah.” A waiter placed their orders in front of them along with a bottle of the most expensive wine. Shiho smiled at seeing the bottle. “Cocktails and wine, that’s what I like,” she said, reaching for the bottle. It was hard for Maya to be at ease with such silver-piercing eyes staring at her. And she didn’t feel this was the time or place to get into it with Shiho. From the letters she received from her, she thought that her old ways were discarded and she was changing her life around. “Yours truly, becoming a virtuous woman, Shiho.” She would sign all her letters in this way. Then again, it could have been her way of mocking her. Shiho looked up at her and then turned around. Seven was only a few tables away from them. She, too, noticed the intense gaze of the silver-eyed figure. She smiled at him and ordered a waiter to take a bottle of wine to his table. Maya was confused as to why she would do such a thing. “Do you know him?” “Who doesn’t? He's one of the most wanted bachelors, and founder of his group. I think it's also his label.” Maya knew that Shiho had probably thought that this bachelor was interested in her and no one else. That was Shiho’s personality. She considered herself top notch and everyone else was second-rate, far beneath her. If a man didn’t notice her first, then he was probably senile or born completely blind. She was extremely attractive and her hourglass figure was practically unbeatable. This was her way of thinking which she shared with anyone who thought otherwise. You had to be crazy not to notice her first. Perhaps she was right. Men always seemed to flock around her or any crowd of friends she came along with. She wasn’t the type to hang out with any stray. She was confident in herself and chose the best of the best for friends. Except for Maya. Their friendship started off in the most peculiar way and had nothing to do with looks. As Maya started to grow into her own skin, men also began to take notice of her. She was too naive to notice them back. “Yep!” He was most likely to be interested in Shiho and not her. She was more of his social standards anyway and probably was just as snobbish as all the elite people she had met, who were a lot like Shiho. If that was the case, she could rest more at ease because those eyes always seemed as though they were undressing her to the deepest part of her soul. The waiter approached the group and bowed politely. She placed the bottle on the table. Ren picked it up, read the label and placed it back down. “Who sent this?” “It’s from the table over there.” “I know which table it came from. I want to know which one ordered it.” “The dark hair one.” Ren sighed a long sigh. “They’re both dark haired.” “Oh. I mean the one with the short brown hair.” He picked up the wine and handed it back to the waiter. “Here, take it back, we have our own drinks.” “Yes, but, I don’t want to seem rude.” “Just say politely we’re declining having a lady pay for our drinks and this one’s on me.” The waiter bowed and returned to the table with the wine. “Aren’t you being a little bit too braising?” Yokuto asked. “Not my flavor. I prefer red wine, not rice wine.” “But it was free,” Yokuto snapped. “So was this one.” He picked up his glass and took a sip. His eyes diverted back to the table where both women sat staring at him as the waiter returned the wine. He watched as the waiter bowed over and over apologetically. “Besides, we should start heading back to the hotel. We have an early day tomorrow. There’s a 5 o’clock meeting in the studio and a little PR work we need to attend before that.” He raised his glass again, this time as if toasting the other table, and took another sip. The one with the short brown hair was the only one to accept his toast. He took one more sip and stood up. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to the youngest member. “Take care of this.” Shoving his hands back into his pocket, he headed for the door.