Kaguya wrinkled her nose as jasmine perfume assaulted the air around her. The middle aged merchant was spritzing the liquid in the air freely in hopes of enticing her along with other passersby. Thankfully they were outside, otherwise she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to breathe. Kaguya tried once again to politely refuse, but the kiosk worker was persistent in her pitch. It was frustrating that the woman, who’s name tag read “Jill”, had trapped her, but that’s what she got for making eye contact instead of keeping her head down. She knew better, everyone knew better.
The large strip mall was made up of many different styles of stores, restaurants, boutiques, and of course, the dreaded kiosks with their vulturelike employees. Kaguya really had no interest in the perfumes and scents the lady was raving about, so instead she focused on how the late morning sun warmed her skin as the summer was coming to an unfortunate end. This time next week she would be back at school and back to the life she was forced to live. “If jasmine isn’t your taste young lady, maybe I could interest you in cherry blossom?” The pitchy voice snapped her back to the perfume prison.
Kaguya began tapping her foot furiously against the cracked sidewalk, the various shopping bags dangling from her hand smacking against her bare leg as she tried to keep her composure. “Look, Jill, I am sure you will get plenty of customers today, but I am sorry to say that I won’t be one of them.” Jill began to speak once again, her mossy green eyes seemed to be pleading more than her words. Kaguya had been raised to be polite and always listen when those older than you were speaking, but this was different, right? Just as she was about to give up and rudely walk away from the enthusiastic Jill, she felt gentle hands possessively grip her hips. Kaguya froze, her body about to enter fight or flight mode when a low, husky voice said, “Sorry to interrupt, miss, but I’m going to need my girlfriend back.”
Jill paused her rant and smiled shyly as her cheeks reddened. “Ah, of course. I’m very sorry for taking up so much of her time.” Kaguya’s brain was at war with itself; as much as she appreciated the rescue, she wanted to punch the owner of the unwelcome hands in the face.
The voice chuckled from behind her, their warm breath caressing the skin on the back of her neck making her shiver. “You’re forgiven, miss. Don’t worry too much about it.” After a brief moment, the woman nodded her head and turned away to locate her next victim. Kaguya let the interloper guide her away until she was ushered around a nearby corner, all senses on high alert as she found herself staring down a shaded area between two stores of the outdoor mall. She spun out of the unwelcome hold ready to attack, her bags scattering about the concrete covered earth, but the intruder was already apologizing, “I apologize if I’ve frightened or offended you, Miss.”
Kaguya took a moment to study her “hero” as the figure slowly stood, appearing only an inch or two taller than her. The preppy, gelled hair, fuckboy image that Kaguya had imagined based on the stranger's voice, warred with the feminine masterpiece standing before her. Her raven colored hair was down and straight, lightly brushing the tops of her slender shoulders and her round green eyes sparkled like emeralds. Her cheeks were pink as if she were nervous, but somehow she still radiated a cool confidence. Kaguya couldn’t help herself as her eyes roamed over the other girl's body, her black band tee was loose but hugged her chest tightly and her jeans were ripped at the knees.
“No, it’s fine. I should be thanking you. That woman wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I was about to lose it. I appreciate the rescue.” Kaguya flashed her best genuine smile.
Her savior chuckled. “Yeah, I’m glad I got to rescue the damsel in distress, even if you were planning to kick my ass,” she mentioned as she motioned at Kaguya’s defensive stance and the discarded shopping bags strewn at her feet.
“Yes,” she cleared her throat. “Well, thank you.” Kaguya smiled humorlessly as she straightened herself and let her eyes wander over the young woman once more, this time with more concentration. An astonishing green veil of light that competed with the color of her eyes surrounded the raven haired beauty, the likes of which she had never seen in such abundance before. There were other colors shining through as well with many different meanings of their own. But in just this moment she could tell of the heroine's loyalty, loving nature, healing spirit, and, what seemed to be a hint of attraction. Kaguya wasn’t really one for playing nice with others, but this girl had the makings to be an exceptional friend. Her ability to read the aura of others could be intrusive, and while she did often enjoy the insight, she shook her head, breaking her concentration before she meddled more than necessary.
“No problem. Here, let me help you.” The young woman lowered herself onto her knees and began picking up the discarded bags. Kaguya froze, mesmerized at the sight of the beautiful girl kneeling before her. Sure, people went out of their way often to pick things up for her, or do her bidding, but they had helped her out of a sort of awe at who she was or in an attempt to gain favor. They hadn’t done it purely to help her like this woman. If she had been one to believe in such a thing as fate, then would this count as one of those fictitious circumstances? She snorted at the thought. It’s a good thing she didn’t believe in such nonsense, fate is nothing but a coincidence, a fairytale.
“I’m sorry, how rude of me.” Kaguya apologized as she too stooped down to put some of her personal items back in their bags. She looked up to see the beautiful young woman staring at her. They stood up in tandem and the raven haired girl blushed as she handed the bags back.
“Well, I should be going.” she said, as she gave a friendly smile and turned to go.
“Wait!” The young woman paused, glancing over her shoulder as Kaguya’s voice ricocheted between the buildings. Her cheeks burned realizing that she practically just shouted at the retreating heroine. She hesitated, gathering her courage before jogging up to the beautiful creature, offering an apologetic smile. After a brief moment of searching for the right words and clearing her throat, she blurted out, “My name is Kaguya.”. It was very anticlimactic, but it was the best she could come up with off the top of her head. What was this madness? Kaguya was a warrior, she was brilliant and skillful, and yet here she was standing in front of a stranger, with her mind a muddled mess.
“I’m Samantha,” the other girl offered with a giggle, her husky voice taking Kaguya’s memory back to the way her hands had felt on her hips. A buzzing noise interrupted the awkwardness between them and Samantha handed the fist full of bags back to Kaguya, who took them immediately. Samantha hesitantly pulled a vibrating phone from her pocket and rolled her eyes at the screen. “Excuse me for a second,” she uttered as she turned away to answer it. “What?” She exclaimed into the phone, as she placed her left hand into the back pocket of her jeans. Kaguya’s eyes followed and she couldn’t help but wonder the beauty that Samantha kept tucked away under her loose fitting attire. “Okay, I have one more stop to make and I’ll be done. See you soon.”
Once the call had ended, she offered Kaguya an apologetic smile, “That was my brother, I have to go. Maybe we can meet for coffee sometime? Hand me your phone.” Kaguya stared blankly at Samantha for a moment as she held her palm out toward her, fingers wiggling. Kaguya slowly pulled her phone from her back pocket and placed it in the girl’s delicate hand. She watched as Samantha concentrated, tapping deliberately on the small screen and within mere moments her phone was back in her grasp with a Hi text sent to “Sam” on the screen. Samantha smiled and started backing out of the small alley, calling out, “I will talk to you later!” as she went before disappearing around the corner.
Kaguya stood staring at her phone screen until it turned black, not even aware of the stupid grin that had appeared on her face. She shook her head and sighed as she pocketed her phone. The sensation stirring deep inside of her was new, it was like butterflies, light and fluttering, but she felt full, happy. It had been a long time since someone came along and gave her any sense of happiness which either meant this girl was trouble, or she was about to be the best thing to ever happen to her. However, with her luck, it would be the former and she needed to be careful.
Once Samantha was sure she was out of Kaguya’s sight, she jogged to the bookstore she’d seen on the mall directory, careful to avoid colliding with other shoppers while ignoring their curious stares. It had been where she was headed when she’d been distracted by Kaguya. Upon reaching her destination, she rested her body against the rough bricks and watched as fluffy white clouds moved across the early afternoon sky, taking a moment to catch her breath. Her mind was in overdrive and she couldn’t stop thinking about Kaguya and the way her toned body felt like holding onto a slice of heaven. She closed her eyes and lightly hit her head against the building with a discontented groan as she pushed away the thought of sending a text to Kaguya, she wasn’t desperate afterall.
Samantha dragged herself away from the wall once her breathing had calmed and opened the creaky wooden door of a second-hand book store. As she entered the storefront, she was greeted with the pleasant and calming woodsy scent of old paper and years old dried ink. “Welcome to The Secret Story, Miss,” the spritely, middle-aged man called from behind the large counter, appearing to be rummaging through a rather large assortment of books.
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“Hello!” Samantha replied as she casually strolled over to him, curiously eyeing the stacks of books that surrounded him.
“What can I help you find this fine afternoon?” the man asked, the tag dangling from his polo saying “Joe.”
“Not sure. Anything you recommend?”
“Well, that depends on what you are in the mood for.” He straightened and approached her, his smile brightened the room and his eyes crinkled in the corners.
Samantha leaned her hip against the polished counter as she weighed her options, her eyes roaming over the book titles piled on its surface. There was Shakespere and Hemmingway, J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Nora Roberts, and others. “I think I am going to go with Dickinson today, where can I find her?”
Joe studied her curiously. “Feeling a bit eccentric today, are we?” Samantha smiled with an inward chuckle in response. “She is going to be in Famous Poets, second aisle, third row, right hand side. Let me know if you need any help.”
“Will do!” Samantha called behind her as she disappeared between some large bookcases. It only took a couple of minutes for her to locate The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson in which she picked off the shelf, opening to a random page and reading an excerpt:
> “I'm nobody! Who are you?
>
> Are you nobody, too?
>
> Then there's a pair of us—don’t tell
>
> They’d banish us, you know.
>
> How dreary to be somebody!
>
> How public, like a frog
>
> To tell your name the livelong day
>
> To an admiring bog!”
Samantha sighed her contentment as she hugged the book to her chest and wound her way back to the front of the store where she paid before leaving, wishing Joe a pleasant rest of the day on her way out of the store sporting a pleased grin.
“What has you looking so smug?”
Samantha jumped, startled at the sudden raspy yet familiar voice coming from beside her. She turned to see Emmett, her younger brother and her step-sister Thea both snickering at her distress.
“You scared the hell out of me!” she yelled, punching Emmett’s boney shoulder making him double over in laughter. “It’s not funny, asshole!”
“It kinda was,” Thea chortled, her caramel waterfall of hair flowing behind her. Thea’s round, oceanic eyes were lined in black, accented by false eyelashes and plenty of other makeup products that Sam didn’t care to know about. Her short stature was often the brunt of jokes, but Thea was petite with lightly tanned skin and her lips set in a perfect pout. Samantha rolled her eyes and noticed Thea’s hands were full of bags of all different shapes and sizes. She certainly loved to shop, especially for clothes, which Samantha was pretty sure was what took residence in at least ninety percent of the colorful bags.
Emmett straightened to his full lankey height as his cackle dwindled, tears streaming down his freckled cheeks. His espresso hair that had been tied neatly behind him was now tousled from his outburst, his pine colored eyes still brimming with unshed tears. Samantha shook her head, bemused by his callowness.
“Let’s get all your stuff out to the car,” Samantha urged. Pointing at Thea’s bags, she added, “I hope you don’t expect me to help you with those. What did you even buy? I thought you were just getting a few things before picking up Emmett’s swords.”
Thea shrugged. “There were a lot of cute things along the way, okay?”
“The swords weren’t quite ready when we got there anyway,” Emmett chimed in. “The guy needed to make sure the hilts fit my hands, and then they needed an adjustment, so we spent some time around the area until he was finished.”
“And so Thea ended up with half the mall?” Samantha feigned surprise.
“Haha, no.” Thea rolled her eyes as she brushed some stray hairs from her face. “I bought a few activewear outfits, some lingerie because even a warrior needs to feel beautiful, and there were these super cute shoes I just couldn’t resist. And then-”
“You do know I don’t actually need a list of your purchases, right?”
“Rude.” Thea lifted her bags, intending to carry them all as she had been but one slipped from her grasp and landed on the pavement with a thud. Chuckling, Samantha reached over and took several of the colored bags from her sister’s hands. “I thought you weren’t going to help?”
“I couldn’t help myself. You looked like a poor defenseless maiden in need of a rescue.”
“Ugh, that’s even worse! I am a strong, independent woman damnit!”
Samantha shrugged and started toward the parking lot. “You could’ve fooled me,” she teased.
“Are you ready for school to start on Monday?” Thea asked, earning a glare from Emmett as he adjusted the three foot by four foot oblong box he held under his arm. He stared at his feet as they walked, and Samantha couldn’t help but sympathize.
The main reason for the mall trip had been to pick up Emmett’s swords, new ones that their stepfather ordered for him after seeing the state of his old ones. When they transferred to this new school, he had wanted them all to be prepared for the difference in this institution from others like it.
Samantha pondered if her new acquaintance would be one of her classmates at the academy or if she would attend the public school in town. She imagined Kaguya in the mandatory short skirt and white polo, a sword in her hand striking at her. The visual made her breath catch and her palms start to sweat. She hoped the girl wasn’t one of her new classmates.
“Sam? What about you?”
“What? Oh, right. School.” Samantha smiled at her stepsister. “Yeah, I’m ready. I’ve already unpacked my stuff in my dorm room, though why we need to be in the dorms when we have the house on campus is beyond me.”
Thea laughed. “It’s part of the experience!”
“I’ve had enough of that experience,” Samantha joked, referring to their previous school. “But I guess I should be glad that I don’t have a roommate here.”
“That is definitely a bonus,” Emmett commented, though Samantha could tell it was only in an effort to take part in the conversation to keep them from worrying about him. “My roommate at the last school was always smelly, even if he showered. And he left weights all over the place. I stubbed my toes on them all the time.”
Emmett bound forward as they reached the car, opening the trunk of the Land Rover to toss his swords carelessly inside before getting in the backseat of the vehicle. As they clattered Samantha winced and hurried her step a little to reach in and move them into a better space to keep them from damaging. Thea was quick to put her bags in as well. Before she could move to the passenger seat, Samantha’s phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out to look at the screen. She couldn’t stop the grin from coming unbidden to her lips when she saw the name of who sent her a message.
“And what’s got you looking so happy?” Thea asked as she finished moving around her bags in the trunk and happened to see the look as she turned to step away and close the trunk.
Samantha shook her head. “One of my friends sent me a meme.”
“Uh huh.” Thea did not sound convinced, but when Samantha didn’t elaborate she shrugged it off. “Right. Well, get in the car and let’s get going. I’m getting hungry, and your mom is an amazing cook.”
“Our mom,” Emmett corrected from the backseat, not lifting his head from whatever he was doing on his phone. Thea rolled her eyes and shut the trunk, and Samantha made her way to the passenger seat before opening the text up and reading it.
Kaguya: I’m free this weekend for coffee if you’re still interested.
Sam: Sunday at 3 then?
Kaguya: Sounds good. Which coffee shop do you want to meet up at?
Sam: I’m actually new to the area, so where do you suggest?
Kaguya: Near the stage theatre on Main, like two doors down, there’s a really good place.
Sam: Sounds good to me.
Sam: Do you like theatre too? Or do you know about the shop another way?
Kaguya: I don’t mind theatre, but I know it because of the salon across the street.
“You’re grinning at that screen like a lunatic,” Thea commented, pulling Samantha from her conversation. “Another meme, or did you meet someone before you moved?”
“Another meme.” The look Thea shot her told Samantha that she didn’t believe that lie either, but luckily she didn’t push.
Unfortunately for her, Emmett had looked over her other shoulder and caught a look at the screen. “Why are you meeting someone at a coffee shop on Sunday?”
“Emmett!” Samantha exclaimed with a scolding tone. “You shouldn’t look at someone’s phone like that.”
Emmett grinned. “I have brothers' rights, because it’s my duty to annoy you at every opportunity.”
“If you’re meeting someone for coffee here, you met someone local!” Thea said with excitement. Then she frowned. “Wait, the only time you’ve left campus since the move was today. Sam, did you meet someone while you were gallivanting through the mall?”
“I wasn’t gallivanting. I was avoiding you combined with clothing stores,” Samantha protested. She placed her phone screen down in her lap. “Shouldn’t you be focused on the road?”
“First of all, I am focused. And second, you know you can’t keep secrets from me, I will find out eventually.”