Account of October 24, 2008

I was sitting on my bed waiting for the phone call. The one that would tell me if my brother was okay.

I got up, paced the room for a second, then plugged in my iPod and pressed play. "Never Alone" by BarlowGirl blasted from the speakers.

I wanted to scream. Why hadn't the phone rang? This was all my fault.

The doorbell rang. Over the music, I heard it. I went to the living room, where the front door was. I got the key out of the basket. I looked into the peephole.

I saw a spiky haired Japanese boy about my age wearing a red jacket, white T-shirt, and jeans.

"Who are you?" I asked him through the door, my panic still visible.

"I'm Daisuke Niwa," he replied. "The foreign exchange student."

"Hold on, I'll check," I said. I went through the dining room into the kitchen and saw a note on the counter: "Kuri-san, let the foreign exchange student in. His name is Daisuke Niwa and he will be staying with us for three months."

I should really read these notes she leaves more often, I thought, sighing with relief. It would have saved me all that panic. I stuck the key in the door and unlocked it. I opened the door.

"Sorry about that," I said, closing the door behind him. "Mom didn't tell me we were having a foreign exchange student stay here. But I guess you'll be staying in the guest bedroom."

How did he get here? I wondered. There's no bus, no taxi, not in the suburbs…and everyone's at the hospital.

I didn't ask him however, I felt like I would seem like an interrogator or something.

He didn't say anything else to me, just waited for me to close and lock the door, and then I led him to the guest bedroom.

He sat down on the bed, then opened his backpack and a little animal came out. It was like a bunny, but different.

I felt useless, so I turned to go and immediately the phone rang. I ran to get it, and pressed the "talk" button quickly.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hi honey," my mom replied. "Rob is okay. Is the exchange student there?"

"Um…yeah," I said. "But he doesn't talk much."

"Maybe he doesn't know the language."

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"I don't know, honey. But we'll be home around eleven. This whole thing's a mess. The doctor said he has no idea why Rob's system shut down like that. Are you sure you don't know what happened?"

"I-I told you, it was dark, and the electrical socket-"

"Never mind, honey, I didn't mean to upset you. Go make Daisuke feel welcome. Bye."

"Bye, Mom."

I hung up the phone. I sat down and started to cry. I looked down at my gloved hands for a moment, then went into the kitchen and wiped my eyes with a paper towel, which I then threw away.

"Why are you crying?" the foreign exchange student was behind me.

I turned. "My brother's in the hospital."

"Oh," he looked down. "I'm sorry."

I did a double-take. This was refreshing! A boy who barely knew me, and he cared.

"Thank you," I said. "Um…I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Kurisuta Vaste."

A cooking alarm that I had forgotten about went off.

"Ack!" I exclaimed.

"What's that alarm for?" Daisuke asked.

"Um…pizza," I replied distractedly, grabbing two hot pads from the kitchen drawer. I opened the oven and got the pizza out of it and put it on the stove to cool. "Do you…like pizza?"

"I've never had it," he replied.

"Well good, because I don't want that much anyway. Being upset makes me lose my appetite."

I cut the half-pizza into two fourths, and gave Daisuke some. We decided to eat at the little table in the kitchen because the dining room freaks me out, on account of the huge window. I feel like I'm being watched.

"I have a really weird question for you," I said, finishing my pizza.

"Okay," he replied, still eating.

"Do you…speak English fluently, or just a little?"

"It's my second language…but I'm fluent!" he smiled a little.

I didn't smile. I was scared. What if this kid found out about what my hands did?

He must have noticed I wasn't smiling, because he looked concerned when I looked up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay, just wish…" I trailed off. I didn't want him to know, did want anyone to know. I wasn't sure, but I thought Rob might know and I was scared, so scared.

My hands were shaking so much that I dropped the plate I was holding. I jumped back, and it shattered.

"Oh shoot!" I exclaimed. I carefully stepped around it and grabbed the dustpan from under the kitchen sink. Once I got back, however, Daisuke had already gotten the biggest shards and thrown them away. I used the dustpan to get the rest.

"Thanks," I said. "That could have been a disaster."

"You're right," he replied. "Why do you wear gloves?"

I almost dropped the dustpan as I was putting it away. Why did he have to notice?

"F-Fashion statement."

"Oh. Okay."

I was silent. Then I noticed a noise coming from my room.

"Oh no, I left my music on. I'll be right back."

Once I came back he wasn't in the kitchen anymore. He was in his room, so I didn't bother him for the rest of the night.

At around eleven, my parents came home. Rob was with them. I hugged them and they met Daisuke. Rob's hug was stiff and he looked at me with cold eyes.

I went up to his attic room later.

"Rob? I know you're here. Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you," he said, but he opened the door.

I went in. "Please just listen to me! It's not my fault."

"I just want to know why you didn't tell me. I'm your brother. Why did you keep it a secret from me?"

I stared at him. "I'm sorry. I should've told you. Are you going to tell them?"

"Of course not. Who'd believe me?"

"Rob. I just want you to know. Even though you're mad at me…I love you and I'm glad you're home."

I hugged him and this time he hugged me back. Suddenly I heard him say, "I just hope you never do that again. I'm staying away from your hands."

"W-What did you say? That was so…vicious."

"What do you mean? I didn't say anything."

I left knowing that if I hug someone, I can hear their thoughts. I wondered what would happen if I…never mind.

That night I woke up thirsty. I went to get a glass of water in the kitchen and I wasn't wearing my gloves, because it was late at night, and I didn't expect to run into anyone. Well I was wrong. I ran into Daisuke, in the kitchen for some unknown reason.

Here's where it gets fuzzy. Either I tripped, or he tripped, but somehow I grabbed his arm to steady myself and-got an electric shock so bad that I flew back and hit the wall.

But what I heard was very clear, but in a voice that wasn't Daisuke's at all. "Stay away."

I got up slowly, and he tried to help me, but I moved my hands away from him.

"D-Did I do that?" he asked me.

"I think it was just some kind of static electricity or something," I said. "Let's just go to bed. Maybe we're dreaming. Maybe this is a nightmare."

I got up, but backed away from him.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, no," I replied. "I just…need to sleep. Goodnight."

And then I left him there. When I got to bed I realized that he had heard what I was thinking when my hand wasn't touching him. I had thought "I hope he isn't afraid of me." But he only heard "afraid" and thought I was scared. He must have heard it and interpreted it without noticing it himself.

And that's my account of October 24, 2008. The 25th and 26th Mom and Rob showed Daisuke around town while I went out with friends, since I hadn't known and had already made plans. Well the 26th is when I'm writing this. We had church together, but we haven't really had the chance to talk since what happened. It's been busy. But I keep my gloves on. He starts school with me tomorrow.

Daisuke stared at the ceiling. What was going on with this girl?

He rolled over onto his side, staring at the wall.

I thought I could only hear Dark, he thought. But when she touched my arm, I heard her say she was scared. And what was that weird shock?

Daisuke, you worry too much, Dark interrupted. But I think that girl is trouble. You should be careful. Whatever power she's not telling you about, I think it might hurt you.

I don't think she's trying to hurt me, Dark.

I know you want to trust her, but she's keeping something from you.

So…I'm doing the same thing.

Daisuke closed his eyes. He wasn't sure what to think about Kuri-san. He didn't know if he was ready to be around another girl after Riku broke up with him.

It was late into the night until he fell into a troubled sleep.